An Extensive Travel Guide for Cuba

This UNESCO World Heritage site is a well-preserved slice of Cuban history. While strolling around its cobbled streets and gazing up at the grand Baroque and neoclassical buildings, you can get a great insight into what life was like in Cuba 200 years ago. Major attractions here include the Plaza de la Catedral, home to the Cuban Baroque Catedral de San Cristobal, the legendary restaurant Bodeguita del Medio, and the military fortress, Castillo de la Real Fuerza.

There’s also Plaza Vieja, one of Havana’s most vibrant gathering spots. The main building of interest here is the 18^th-century Casa del Conde Jaruco with its beautiful stained-glass windows. Nearby, is the Camera Obscura which offers tourists fantastic views from its 35-meter tower. Visitors should spend a day exploring this fantastic old town.

This is one of Cuba’s most popular beach destinations. More than 50 hotels line this popular strip, and its magnificent white-sand beaches and stunning blue waters draw in visitors from all over the world. Highlights include the Parque Natural Punta Hicacos, a nature reserve with a beautiful beach and two caves that can be explored.

If you get fed up of the beaches, you can also take a trip to Parque Josone, a wonderful park that is home to botanical gardens and wildlife, a restaurant, and a small lake where you can go rowing. If you’re into snorkeling or diving, northeast of Varadero is Cayo Piedra Underwater Park, a popular diving and snorkeling area with shipwrecks and an array of colorful fish. Besides this, Varadero offers great deep-sea fishing, skydiving, golf, and day trips to cultural attractions.

This is the oldest city in the country – it was founded in 1511 in the province of Guantanamo and construction began on the first church here around that period. This city was cut off from the outside world until the La Farola highway was built in the 1960s, but it still has a remote feel to it. Tourists come here for the charming colonial architecture and lavish countryside where waterfalls and beaches provide a nice contrast to the hot and steamy jungle.

To really appreciate the stunning scenery, visitors should take a trip down the winding La Farola highway, a 49-kilometer stretch of road from Baracoa over the mountains to Cajobabo. Roughly 20 kilometers northwest of Baracoa is one of the area’s best beaches, Playa Maguana, the adventurous type can rent a bike in Baracoa and cycle here. Flights to Baracoa depart frequently from Havana.

If beach towns all start to seem the same to you, Santa Clara, in the province of Villa Clara, will add some depth to your Cuban itinerary. Rich in cultural attractions, it’s a vibrant university town and the site of the last guerrilla battle led by Che Guevara in 1958. He was buried here, and his mausoleum and monument, the Memorial Comandante Ernesto “Che” Guevara, are the town’s big attractions. Next to the monument, the Museo Historico de la Revolucion displays some of Che’s personal items.

Santa Clara is also home to the Teatro de la Caridad, one of the country’s few surviving theaters. Despite some renovations, much of the original interior remains in its original condition.

This remote, sparsely populated area of Cuba is a haven for birdwatchers and nature lovers. The Cienaga de Zapata, or the Zapata Swamp, is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that is home to around 150 different species of birds. Crocodiles are also very common.

At the mouth of the Bay of Pigs is Playa Giron, the famous site of the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion. Visitors can learn all about its fascinating history at the small Museo Giron. At the top of the Bay of Pigs, tourists can enjoy a beautiful long beach backed by lush vegetation. Those who like to dive can explore the underwater wildlife at numerous dive sites along the reef.

Boca de Guama is the peninsula’s tourist center and its main attraction is the Criadero de Cocodrilos, a crocodile farm. Nearby, on Laguna del Tesoro is Villa Guama, a tourist resort that’s only accessible by boat.

The cobblestone streets and beautifully restored buildings give this town a quaint colonial feel. Much of the town’s architecture dates from the 17^th to 19^th century when Trinidad prospered from sugar and slave trades.

Nowadays. Trinidad is one of Cuba’s most popular tourist towns and the streets are often full of foreigners. Tourists can soak up the lively ambiance of this charming town in the cobblestoned Plaza Mayor, the city’s central square. Above the square is the Neoclassical Church of the Holy Trinity. Other popular attractions include the Church and Monastery of Saint Francis, the Museum of Colonial Architecture, the art gallery at the Case de Aldeman Ortiz, and the Palacio Brunet, a grand palace, built in 1812.

East of the town, on the way to Sancti Spiritus, the lush World Heritage-listed Valle de los Ingenios contains a number of relics and monuments from the 19^th century when sugar cane plantations and mills flourished. It’s also a great place to go horse-riding.