This trip was so much more than the tour headline of "Salsa, Cigars and Classic Cars". If you want to experience the real Cuba, then this is the trip for you.
I am not going to repeat what was written from the October trip review on an earlier thread .... it is well worth a read, from a helpful, practical perspective and for managing expectations prior to departure.
Be under no illusions. The trip covers the whole island in 14 days, which can be tiring in the heat and humidity (chose your travel dates wisely) and the accommodation is as it states simple in style. We had a very late change notification of hotels to departure from a 4 star on the beach in Trinidad to a 2 star local hotel an hour inland. This meant 3 consecutive nights in a 2 star accommodation in the 2nd week which took its toll on the group. We were grateful for our local driver, Eduardo for offering to take the group into the centre of Sancti Spiritus for the 3rd evening rather than stay around the hotel. The Hotel Colon in Camaguey was adeptly named, whilst we understood the run down colonial charm of the hotel. It wasn't brilliant. Simple style I could do, but the majority of the group had dirty or dodgy rooms.. JY and the local tour company need to find somewhere else for the overnight stay in Camaguey. The group have said we will probably look back on those 3 nights with amusement and have a good laugh about it at our reunion in 2016 ....
Enough of the negatives, I loved this trip ...... every stop on this trip had something different to offer from the crumbling buildings of Havana, to Havana at night and driving back to the hotel along the Malencon in a pink 1949 Chevrolet convertible with a fellow traveller waving to the crowds as if we were movie stars on the evening of Day 2, the beautiful beach in Guardalavaca, the rhythm and buzz of a balmy Saturday night on a rooftop bar listening to a fabulous live band in Santiago De Cuba, the historical buildings of Trinidad, listening to the live orchestra in Cienfuegos square during free time, to rising early to watch the sunrise across the Vinales Valley (and listening to the Valley waking up) from my balcony. I don't think any of us will forget the sight of the ricemen drying the rice crop on the tarmac road, traffic on the Cuban 'M25' or the other modes of transport in Cuba - horse/cart or ox/cart. The Cuban scenery is diverse and greener than I thought it would be.
Our Tour Manager, Mike Nixon was fantastic and couldn't do enough for the group to make sure our Cuban experience was perfect and as easy as possible for us. Missing my daily itinerary list now I am home ... it made life so easy on tour. Mike's advice from the airport .... "Go with the flow .... this is Cuba." was spot on.
As a vegetarian, I knew the food choice would be buffet style and limited. Be prepared for cheese sandwiches or an omelette. When we ate in private restaurants, the quality was better - the lunch in Trinidad, hotel buffets in Cienfuegos & Venable's, lunch on the Hemingway Tour and the final meal in Havana were great meals (sometimes better than the UK).
This was a wonderful holiday and a real Cuban experience shared with some wonderful travelling companions. It was great. Go now!.
