| Non-motoring > KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice | Miscellaneous |
| Thread Author: Zero | Replies: 33 |
|
New Tue 9 Feb 16 20:10
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Zero
|
|
Planning a cuba vacation. Question 10 days enough 3 nights in Havana Hotel Iberostar Parque Central 7 nights in Hotel Royalton Hicacos Resort & Spa Varadero Is that enough? or 14 days better, extra nights where? |
|
New Tue 9 Feb 16 21:10
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - big bird
|
|
Not Kevin, but here's my ha’pporth We did very close to your itinerary in 2006 and loved it We did 4 nights in Havana - with kids 1 day was jetlag recovery time. - Museum of the revolution and Harbour Spanish Castle took up a day. - A day of walking city with life all around. The city centre late at night with the kids playing in the street and the music coming to of the houses - great fun. I recommended the Coco taxis for fun - esp if there’s enough of you for two - for a bigger tip they’ll race across the city. - We stayed for 4 nights and used the extra day for a bus tour west (to near Pinar del Rio I think). Bit of a tourist trail, with cigar factory/ rum distillery, but also meant we got to see rural Cuba, pony/cart in the fast lane of the highway, ploughing with oxen etc. Also went down some nice caves with a boat ride in a National park, very good We did 6 nights at the Melia in Varadero - nice but nothing special . It’s a real beach resort with no locals around, so all about the beach/pool or trips. We did 2: - catamaran cruise - inc swim with the dolphins - wet bikes through the swamps - kids still talk about that one - incredibly fast. Havana we were at the Telegrafo, just across from the Parque Central but you’ll be much better there - more up market and has a pool -a big plus after hot days walking around. |
|
New Tue 9 Feb 16 21:24
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Zero
|
|
10 days enough then you think? |
|
New Tue 9 Feb 16 21:32
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - big bird
|
|
Any longer and you'll just be adding beach days (unless I missed something crucial). So if you like that - stay longer, if not 10s enough. |
|
New Tue 9 Feb 16 23:40
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Dulwich Estate II
|
|
Zero, Make it longer and do it properly - by car. Remember this from 2008 ? We wanted to see the faded grandeur of Cuba before Fidel Castro pops his clogs and there?s soon a MacDonalds on every corner. So, after doing fair amount of research (thanks HJ forum) SWMBO and I booked a flydrive holiday to Cuba. If you haven?t got time to read further I?ll summarise my feelings here and now by saying DON?T DO IT. We had learned that road signs were few and far between, sat navs banned and maps very difficult to source locally ? undeterred we bought maps here in London and bought a compass (thanks HJ forum again). We had just about every guidebook ever published including 3 editions of Lonely Planet ! I bought some Learn Spanish CDs and spent maybe 20 hours trying to learn the basics, as my knowledge of Spanish prior to this was limited to only the usual ?2 beers per favor?. The Virgin flight to Havana was very pleasant even though it was full (451 souls on board according to the purser) and we had 3 car free days in Havana itself. At check?in to the hotel we were told our floor in the hotel had had a water leak and we were upgraded to a better place for the night. We learned later that in fact one whole floor of our hotel was out of use and had been for weeks. No work was going on and I got the impression they needed to cannibalise that floor?s fittings for other rooms leading eventually I suppose to the closing-down of the place in years to come owing to the never ending shortage of materials and supplies. It goes without saying that in the 35 C heat the air conditioning didn?t work. We found this sort of dilapidated state in hotels time and time again all over the country. The number and assorted types of old cars in the streets were far better and varied than I?d expected and the smell and dense fumes coming out of most of them was pretty bad. I guess they make up around 30% of all traffic in the country and are typically American 1950s and 1960s with a few Moskvitches and European makes represented too. The newer cars were Ladas, stretch limo Lada taxis and VW group modern ones. I?m no expert on old US cars but I guess they were all represented ? the problem was that usually where the original name had been spelt out in individual letters in chrome on the bonnet the letters had since fallen off and not been replaced. So you?d see a CHE - - - L - T , a HUD - ON, and a D- - GE. I drooled over one immaculate red Chevrolet Impala but its condition was the exception. There were plenty of 1950?s station wagons used as MPVs and they were usually crammed full with families. All the wood trim had usually gone and the cars re-sprayed all over in one colour. I didn?t see a single intact windscreen and a lot of quarter lights where replaced with solid plywood panels. Most tyres were bald and I picked up a thing or two about tyre construction too. English cars were represented with a Ford Zephyr 6, 105E Ford Anglia, Austin Devon and a few Hillmans. You?d see plenty of abandoned and cannibalised wrecks just parked by the road side where the owners had presumably just given up trying to keep them going. A lot of ex-Canadian yellow school buses were in use, but the broken windows, rust perforated bodies and bald tyres scared me. If you wanted to risk your life further you could try a Coco taxi ? a motorbike engine 3 wheeler with the driver out front wearing a crash helmet and the unbelted passengers in a pod at the back. The car we picked up on Day 4 was a Seat Altea XL 1.6 litre poverty spec but with heavenly air con. I noticed plastic blanking plates in place of the side indicator repeaters and then found that no cars in Cuba had repeaters. This was clearly no problem as I soon found out that nobody bothers to indicate anyway. Just as we pulled away from the hire place SWMBO read to me from the guide book that if a driver is involved in an accident involving an injury he gets locked up as a matter of course until proven innocent ? just what I wanted to hear as we edged into the surprisingly busy Havana traffic ! Driving though a tunnel we learned that headlights aren?t used but hazard-warning lights are ? bizarre. Apparently it?s illegal to have your lights on during the day. We got lost after 10 minutes and couldn?t find the way to the Autopista (M-Way) going south-west, so decided to do a 360 turn at the next roundabout. There are police on nearly every street corner (no exaggeration) and we got stopped by one. His English was worse than my near non-existent Spanish but it was clear we had done an illegal manoeuvre. Apparently roundabouts are only for turning off and not going around. He demanded my licence, car hire contract and passport, and after an age he got out his little book and I wondered if an on-the-spot-fine or a week in the nick were coming next. Thinking quickly I thought I?d maybe momentarily distract him by saying how lost we were in his beautiful city bla, bla, bla. He turned over his notebook and drew directions for us on the back of it and we were away ? phew ! We were maybe 5 miles from the start of the Autopista in the middle of Havana and saw only one sign to it at around the half-way point which was reassuring. We found the slip road leading to it by going past it and wondering what those crowds of people were nearly blocking the way down it ? hitch-hikers (more on them later). Clover leaf junctions are rare and so after we did a perfectly acceptable U-turn (must have been as we copied others) on the dual carriageway we drove past our slip road which was now on the wrong side. Another U-turn later and we were on the right road. No signs, 3 lanes each way, plenty of potholes and pretty much deserted until we came to an over-bridge, where again there were hordes of Cubans sheltering from the sun in its shadow looking for a lift. I slowed down from my 70kph to walking pace trying not to kill or maim anybody and caught sight of the government appointed yellow uniformed hitch-hiking marshal. Ours was a hire car with a tourist red numberplate and we weren?t stopped. The marshal, who I saw was equipped with a clipboard with destination lists, has the power to stop all state vehicles and force the drivers to give lifts. A lot were empty trucks with people standing in the back and the crowd happily gave help to the aged and infirm to get onto the trucks. On our travels we saw all sorts of vehicles crammed with hitchers. The Autopista presented another difficulty ? it may have had 3 lanes, naturally with no lane markings ? so ?3 lane width? is more accurate, because the slow lane often had horses and carts, bicycles and pedestrians in it coming toward us going the wrong way. Sticking to the fast lane was not on either because we found it to be used as a hard shoulder more than once with vehicles stopped in it having wheels changed. U-turns through gaps in the central reservation hedge were often done too. Turning off the Autopista was easier because there was always one sign, no countdown markers, no repeaters just one sign before the slip road. If it was a major turn off you?d know by the crowds hitching at that point, though you?d have to decide for yourself if you were going left or right afterwards. In maybe 800 km ? 1000 km we got stopped maybe 3 or 4 times by police checks and I didn?t see a single sales or repair garage, only the odd filling station where petrol was 95c per litre (54p at 1.77 CUC to the £). A small comfort was that even dual-band mobile phones worked and the signal strength was excellent absolutely everywhere. I didn?t run over anybody, the car was returned in one piece, and we got our deposit back ? what a relief. Never, ever again. |
|
New Wed 10 Feb 16 22:17
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Kevin
|
|
Honestly, it's a difficult question to answer Zero. It really depends on what you want from the trip. Wherever you go though, you will find that the Cuban people are fantastic. Friendly, very well educated and multilingual. It would be the perfect place to set up a call center if telecoms links were better. It's also the only place I've been that is totally devoid of any hint of racism. Havana is a definite but 3 days is probably enough so as the big bird says, anything extra will be usually be beach or exploring days. An evening at the Tropicana is worthwhile. Outside Havana and the tourist areas, public transport links are very poor so getting around isn't easy. Like Dulwich, I would seriously advise against a hire car unless you are really, really brave. All the hotels have the usual organised trips to a rum distillery or cigar factory and they are genuinely interesting, but if you want to see more of the real Cuba your best bet is to ask around to get a local taxi driver who will negotiate a daily rate. They'll show you the bits that organised tours don't and can be excellent chatty tour guides. We haven't been to either of the hotels you mention (or Varadero for that matter) so can't really comment on hotel choice. We go there just to chill out from the UK winter and our last 11 trips have been to the same hotel. It's called Paradisus Rio De Oro in Guardalavaca but it's at the opposite end of the island to Havana so you would lose a day travelling and internal flights can be 'interesting'. A few points: 1) Carry a few tissues with you wherever you go. Loo-paper is like hens teeth outside hotels. 2) Food is generally OK but quality can vary. Try Ropa vieja, which is pretty much the national dish, consisting of a beef stew with peppers and/or veg served with rice and beans. Simple but tasty. 3) Wines will mostly be Chilean or Spanish. 4) Cuban hotels might have 5 star facilities but the decor might be a bit aged. 5) Take cash for extras (eg. wines not on AI) and tips. Credit cards are accepted in hotels but you will have problems if they are issued by US companies eg. Amex, Cap One etc. Lastly. Go for it, you'll love it but be prepared for a culture shock. PS. Did I mention that Cuban people are fantastic? Last edited by: Kevin on Wed 10 Feb 16 at 22:18
|
|
New Thu 11 Feb 16 08:23
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Focal Point
|
| So what happens with cash, exactly? Tourists use the Convertible Peso, which you can't get hold of until you get there. Do you use plastic to pay or to get currency from an ATM, or do you bring sterling? Am I missing something? |
|
New Thu 11 Feb 16 09:49
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Zero
|
|
>> Am I missing something? You are missing Dollars my man, good ole US greenbacks. You bring em in with you, and spend on the fly or convert in batches. |
|
New Thu 11 Feb 16 11:12
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Kevin
|
|
>You are missing Dollars my man, Don't take US dollars. Sterling, Euro or Canadian dollars are easiest to exchange. US dollars attract an extra commission (10% I think) because of US sanctions. Do not take notes that have any writing or marks on them either - they will be refused. You can change money at the airport, a licensed money exchange or at your hotel. Some hotels will even have an ATM but it will not accept cards issued by a US company. I use my Nat West Visa debit card. Do not try to exchange money on the black market. Trading a few Cuban Convertible (CUC) for the bell hop who might have been tipped in sterling is OK but buying CUCs from the guy in the baseball cap will land you in big trouble. |
|
New Thu 11 Feb 16 12:20
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Zero
|
|
Thanks for the heads up, Next question, how much to take? Will be 4 nights three days in Havana, B&B, 6 nights in resort hotel fully inc. Last edited by: Zero on Thu 11 Feb 16 at 12:22
|
|
New Thu 11 Feb 16 21:44
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Kevin
|
|
Difficult to say. It really depends on how much you are going to spend on food and entertainment in Havana and any taxi trips you arrange. Local food and drink is cheap compared to UK prices and I think we paid about 25 CUC plus tip for a taxi for the day, but that was a few years ago. Curiously, the CUC seems to be tied in value to the US dollar. As far as tips to hotel staff go, I generally give: Bellhop 1 CUC per bag. Room maid 10 CUC every 3 or 4 days. Waiters & waitresses in bars 1 CUC per order. 1 or 2 CUC for waiters & waitresses in buffet restaurants if they have looked after you. 5 to 10 CUC in à la carte restaurants. 5 to 10 CUC to the barman if you've been sat at the bar for a few hours. All depending on service of course but I doubt that you will have any reason to complain about that. Mrs K and I also tip the folks that many people overlook but who make a real difference. Folks like loo cleaners, buffet chefs and gardeners. Usually 1 CUC every now and again. If you have an old, unlocked smartphone sitting in a drawer somewhere you might want to take that too to give away if someone has been particularly good to you. Mobile phones are ridiculously expensive at local salaries and highly prized. You will also need a few quid for the obligatory el Che teeshirts. Check that your tour package includes departure tax. Previously, everyone had to pay 25 CUC per person (cash only and big queues) at the airport but when we came back in December we were just waved through. |
|
New Sat 13 Feb 16 20:10
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Kevin
|
|
Zero, Another thing I should mention is that reservations are generally required for à la carte restaurants in resort hotels. If you can find the email address or task-id of whoever handles the reservations at your hotel you should see if you can make your bookings via email. Preferably at least a week before arriving. Otherwise you'll probably find that folks already at the hotel have grabbed the best slots days in advance. There will also be a dress-code. It's surprising how many people you see (always male) who think that teeshirt, shorts and flip-flops are suitable evening attire. |
|
New Sat 13 Feb 16 20:17
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Zero
|
|
Thanks for the heads up mate, as it happens we like to dress for dinner - Cuba Vacation now booked with Virgin, gone for the 10 days option, 4 nights and three days in Havana (In November, Mrs Z wants to be in Havana for her 60th Birthday - probably some kind of Hemmingway thing) and the rest at the resort hotel. Last edited by: Zero on Sat 13 Feb 16 at 20:19
|
|
New Sat 13 Feb 16 20:34
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Kevin
|
|
>Mrs Z wants to be in Havana for her 60th Birthday - Contact the hotel and tell them it's a special occasion, they'll probably do something special for you. |
|
New Sat 13 Feb 16 20:46
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Zero
|
| Whats Spanish for "Birthday Cake with 60 candles"? |
|
New Sat 13 Feb 16 20:51
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Harleyman
|
|
>> Whats Spanish for "Birthday Cake with 60 candles"? >> FUEGO!!!!! |
|
New Sat 13 Feb 16 21:50
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Runfer D'Hills
|
| pájaro viejo |
|
New Sat 13 Feb 16 21:59
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Zero
|
|
>> pájaro viejo your goose is cooked pal |
|
New Sat 13 Feb 16 22:06
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Runfer D'Hills
|
|
Try this then ( only trying to help...) esta es mi esposa , ella es muy vieja hoy ;-) |
|
New Sat 13 Feb 16 22:23
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - No FM2R
|
|
xx/xx/xx es el cumpleaños de mi Esposa. Es un cumpleaños muy especial y importante. ¿Me puede ayudar a organizar algo bueno para ella? ¿Tiene algunas cosas que puede sugerir? Although quite frankly I am absolutely sure that they will have an English speaker reading their emails. Though they do very much appreciate the effort. It is not important how b***** awful your spanish is, trying will make a greta deal of difference to the service you receive. Phrases I think you should know; [excuse me if this is egg sucking] Buenos dÃas Buenas tardes [even at night] Buenas noches [*never* a greeting, only ever a farewell] Si, quiero y ya pedà [una cerveza] I have already ordered.... (to be used when a waiter asks you if you have ordered and you neither wish to receive 0 or 2). La cuenta por favor La carta de vinos [wine list] Una mas por favor [while holding up your glass] Por favor nos llevará a ... (ll = y) [asking a taxi to take you somewhere] Para llevar [take away] Para servir [eat in] Loads more of course. Last edited by: No FM2R on Sat 13 Feb 16 at 22:25
|
|
New Sat 13 Feb 16 22:26
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - No FM2R
|
|
And if you will be writing emails....... Hold ALT, type numbers into numeric keypad and release á = Alt + 0225 é = Alt + 0233 à = Alt + 0237 ó = Alt + 0243 ú = Alt + 0250 ñ = Alt + 0241 ü = Alt + 0252 ¡ = Alt + 0161 ¿ = Alt + 0191 |
|
New Mon 15 Feb 16 10:24
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - pug3
|
|
We visited Cuba in 1997 when the US dollar was king. After a week touring, based in the Hemmingway Marina, we spent a week in Varadero. During the tour we formed a group of eight who had dinner together. In Varadero we found a very attentive waiter who, in the buffet restaurant, ensured our empty plates were promptly removed and wine glasses were topped up. We chatted to the waiter and eventually he invited us to meet his family at home. Two couples, who hired a car took the waiter up on his offer and came back to tell us what a lovely family they were and how difficult it was for them to make ends meet. The waiter and his wife were both well educated but still had a low income. The evening before we came home the group raided their wash bags, medical kits, deodorants and anything that might be useful or of interest to their children. After the evening shift the staff had to go through a security search to ensure they have not taken anything from the Hotel, including gifts from guests. We put all the items we had collected together and filled several carrier bags. We followed the waiter to the security check and while he was being searched we walked around the barrier and down to the staff bus. As the waiter stepped on the bus we handed over the carrier bags and he went home. I imagine it was a routine the waiters often employed but it was done in such nice way no one objected. We had one embarrassing moment when we decided to try and book dinner in the ala carte restaurant. When we asked if a table was free for the following evening, we were told that there were none available. A member of the group stepped forward, pulled out a roll of US dollars from his pocket, peeled off a few, folded them and slipped them into the top pocket of the head waiter. He patted the waiter lightly on the back and asked him to "see what he could do for us". The waiter looked a his list again and told us he had found a table! I have been told by several people that you should tip early to ensure good service and in this case it worked. I have booked another tour of the Eastern areas at the end of this March, so it will be interesting to see the changes, before the Americans invade. |
|
New Mon 15 Feb 16 11:08
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Zero
|
|
>> I have booked another tour of the Eastern areas at the end of this March, >> so it will be interesting to see the changes, before the Americans invade. Its why we are going this year, there is talk of 15 flights a day starting from the US mainland. |
|
New Sun 28 Feb 16 18:27
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Kevin
|
|
Decent article in a travel section today Zero. Apparently US and Cuba signed an agreement last week to allow 20 flights per day into Havana starting later this year. Partial scan (2 x 2.4MB) of the article sent to your hotmail. Last edited by: Kevin on Sun 28 Feb 16 at 18:29
|
|
New Mon 29 Feb 16 07:53
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Zero
|
| ta, |
|
New Sun 13 Mar 16 18:53
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Kevin
|
|
Article in the Mail travel section by a returning visitor. tinyurl.com/h8cc3n2 |
|
New Sun 13 Mar 16 20:00
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Zero
|
|
thanks mate, clearly its get it done by this year or forget it for ever. We are now booked, probably in truth 12 months later than we should The real shocker is that - wait for it - Not only do we want to spend out 60th in Havana, I have just discovered we want to do Salsa in a Havana night spot for our 60th! She wants to drag me to Salsa lessons! |
|
New Sun 13 Mar 16 20:40
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Kevin
|
|
>..we want to do Salsa in a Havana night spot for our 60th! She wants to drag me to Salsa lessons! The locals will love you just for trying. Watch this for an idea of what you are in for. tinyurl.com/h63l64k |
|
New Sun 10 Apr 16 18:29
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Kevin
|
|
Oh dear! tinyurl.com/zzvnnhr (Independent) |
|
New Sun 10 Apr 16 19:56
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Zero
|
| I saw that. I fear I may have left it too late. The end is near. |
|
New Sat 16 Apr 16 17:59
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - pug3
|
|
I have just returned from Cuba. Although we were told there may be a shortage problem we did not have any problems. The cruise ships are already causing problems. On one evening there were 1200 visitors to the Trocodero (spelling?) in Havana when the max is normally 1000. Our Hemmingway tour had to be cancelled as 450 cruise passengers were about to come ashore and they had priority on the coaches. |
|
New Sat 16 Apr 16 20:39
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Kevin
|
|
>The cruise ships are already causing problems. Are they mainly American cruise ships pug3? The ones that disgorge hundreds of rather loud passengers who struggle to walk further than the 50yds from the dock to their air-conditioned coach? Did you do your tour of the eastern end of the island? PS. I think you meant the Tropicana ;-) |
|
New Sun 17 Apr 16 18:04
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - pug3
|
|
We were not told the nationality of the cruise passengers but I think the American ships start to arrive in May, with direct flights later in the year. You are correct it is the Tropicana. We did not visit this time as we went in 1997. Likewise we did the Hemmingway tour previously so this time chose to cruise the sites of Havana as passengers in a classic American convertible. We chose a 1949 Chevrolet. Our tour started in Havana. We went West to the Vinales valley then worked our way East down to Santiago de Cuba then up to Holguin and flew back to Havana for our flight home. Havana Airport cannot cope with the present number of tourists. It took 2 hours from landing to exit the arrivals terminal and on the return another 2 hours before we reached the departure lounge. We had to wait another hour on the plane as there was a problem with the refuelling tanker. Our internal flight was delayed by 3 hours. We were told by our tour manager that when in Cuba " expect the unexpected". The touring element was great. |
|
New Sun 17 Apr 16 21:17
KEVIN! Yoo Hooo Cuba Advice - Kevin
|
|
>Our internal flight was delayed by 3 hours. That sounds like a decent tour. 3 hours delay is a pain but Holguin airport isn't the worst in the world. |
Forum Version 3.0 - By Khoosys
Car4play Forum
