We just returned from our first trip to Cuba, and if this beautiful island nation isn’t on your travel radar it should be! The longstanding U.S. embargo means that technically Americans aren’t allowed to visit strictly for tourism, but there are (perfectly legal!) exceptions to the rule. The government permits travel for one of 12 reasons, the broadest of which is “support of the Cuban people.” To tick this box on your visa application, you only need to spend your dollars at Cuban-owned (rather than government-owned) businesses, meaning local restaurants and Airbnbs, not large hotels–something we always do anyway.
If you like white sand beaches, warm, welcoming people–and yes, pina coladas–add Cuba to your list of must-see destinations. We stayed in colorful Old Havana, the true city that never sleeps, where we found live music music and dancing everywhere we went.
From Havana, we traveled to the Vinales Valley, whose stunning round-hilled landscape and rice paddies resembles Indonesia more than the Caribbean. There, we rode horses through a tobacco farm, toured a coffee plantation, and explored a pre-historic cave where a 140 million year old aquatic fossil was recently discovered.
After our day of adventure, we were ready to hit the beach and relax. The private tour we signed up for included pick up in a 1954 Dodge, and a local guide to take us to the town of Varadero, a skinny peninsula on Cuba’s north coast. We were given access to a private white sand beach complete with lounge chair frozen drink delivery. The water was warm, the daiquiris cold, and the whole day was heavenly.
On our final day in Havana, we toured the impressive Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes with the curator of the museum’s collection of Cuban art. It was really interesting to learn about so many great artists we’d never heard of because their work isn’t shown in the U.S. We ended the day with cubano sandwiches, pina coladas, and live music at Hemingway’s favorite hangout, El Floridita. An all-around unforgettable trip!
