Roland Koch, Travel Tips, Pictures in FullHD, Havanna, Havana Vieja, Malecon, Carnaval, Plaza de la Revolucion, Castillo de los tres Reyes del Morro, Trinidad, Valle de los Ingenios, Cienfuegos, Playa Larga, bay of pigs, Sierra de Escambray, Soroa, Vinales, Cajo Jutias

CUBA - TRAVEL TIPS AND INFOS

Panorama: Thunderstorm at the old part of Trinidad

CUBA at a glance:

Area: 109.884 km²

Population: 11,2 Mio (Wikipedia, 2016)

Capital:
Havana 2,1 Mio (Wikipedia)

Language: Spanish

Best travel time: November - February

Telephone area code: +53

Internet extension: .cu

Time zone UTC -5 MEZ
UTC -4 MESZ (March - October)

Current weather:

weather Havana

Climate:

Area:	109.884 km²
Population:	11,2 Mio (Wikipedia, 2016)
Capital:	Havana 2,1 Mio (Wikipedia)
Language:	Spanish
Best travel time:	November - February
Telephone area code:	+53
Internet extension:	.cu
Time zone	UTC -5 MEZ UTC -4 MESZ (March - October)

To eat and drink:

The Cuban Kitchen is not exactly for special culinary highlights known. There are many Influences from the Spanish and African Kitchen. In the last few decades stood the Supplying the population with calories and Carbohydrates in the foreground. All the more amazing is the talent for improvisation and the Ingenuity of the Cuban hosts with the Few what they do in the shops or on the Markets find appealing dishes.

We have paid for Breakfast in Casas particulares, the Private accommodation of the country 5 CUC. Especially the freshly prepared fruit juices or a fruit salad on coffee, eggs and pancakes we enjoyed most. We always find sausage on the plates but we did´t like them.

We can not imagine how difficult it is for our hosts to provide this diversity. Even the simple desire for a little more butter sometimes raises huge problems. Because the distribution of goods is not adapted to the needs. So we learn that our hosts have to collect the butter and even the toilet paper from the next provincial capital 100 km away by collectivo. No one knows in which store a delivery has just arrived. The Cubans manage a barter trade and are often on the road for hours to supply us.

Typical Cuban dish - Ropa Vieja Beef strips with beans and rice

Also in the evening we often eat at our hosts or in private restaurants called Paladares. Here the quality is surprisingly high. Many Cubans have worked abroad or in the large hotels in Varadero. They have become self-employed in recent years as small entrepreneurs and today run restaurants serving Italian, Spanish or Mexican cuisine. The prices for a full menu in the private pensions are 10 CUC. Fish was unknown in Cuban cuisine for a long time. Fidel Castro had to show the Cubans in one of his TV speeches that eating fish is not life-threatening. In the restaurant you pay for a main course between 6 and 12 CUC.

Music:

The Casas de las Trova has been around since the 80's Performance of unknown musicians. The Cuban Music since the triumphal march of the Buena Vista Social Club in the 90s worldwide famous. Even today resounds in the streets and in the squares of the old town all over. Music.

Cuban music in a bar in Havana

Fernando Ortiz said " Die Afro Cuban music is like a sounding rum, the you drink with your ears. She brings people closer to each other and the feelings of cooking“.

Pablo Milanés The most famous songwriter Cubas. He represents the musical genre Trova Nueva. In 2010 he recorded the most beautiful double CD / DVD live with his daughter Lynn in Havana, whom I found in Trinidad.

Buena Vista Social Club Together with the greats of Cuban Son music, Ry Cooder recorded the Buena Vista Social Club back in 1997

In music shops and souvenir shops in Cuba you will find many more CDs. Unfortunately, there is usually no playback option for auditioning. Many street musicians or bands sell CDs after their performances. At least that's how you've already heard the music.

Worth to know for the trip:

Multivision Show: Cuba

Travel preparation:

If you want to travel individually to Cuba, we can recommend these guides :

Lonely Planet Cuba (Travel Guide) (English Edition)

DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Cuba

Cuba Marco Polo Pocket Travel Guide 2018 - with pull out map (Marco Polo Pocket Guide) Travel with insider tips. Includes free tour app & Update service - the most important thing soon

Highlights:

Cuba, Havana, Havana Vieja, dilapidated houses, restored classic cars

Havana:
La Havana Vieja is the centerpiece of the old town with Four historic squares of Plaza Vieja, the Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza de San Francisco and the Plaza de Armas
UNESCO World Heritage since 1982
Havana
Kapitol, Plaza Marti and Paseo del Prado
Havana:
The promenade at Malecon, in the evening with the Cubans to stroll here, to sit on the seawall and to see the sunset in the sea
on 2 Weekends in August there is Karnaval at Malecon
Havana
UNESCO World Heritage since 1982
Opposite the old town is the Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro and the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña together with the Old Havana World Heritage Site. Here is also the Lighthouse, the Faro of Havana
Havana:
Plaza de la Revolucion huge square with 104m high Monument to José Marti, born in 1853.
Trinidad
UNESCO World Heritage
colonial old town
with mansions of the sugar barons, numerous Trova Music pubs and a lively pub scene, 20 km outside the Valle de Los Ingenios the center of sugar cane cultivation with the Torre Iznaga and one Row of weekend barrows of sugar barons
Cienfuegos:
UNESCO World Heritage since 2005
Art Deco, Art Nouveau. The city has in the 19./20. Century Trinidad has run out of rank as the most important sugar city and developed into a colonial gem. With the Palacio del Valle in Punta Gorda a Moorish style villa of a sugar baron
Laguna Guanaroca, nature reserve with large Flamingo colony, small dolphinarium at Playa Rancha Luna
Sierra de Escambray:
Up to 1000 meters high mountains, the climate is pleasant all year round at a good 20 degrees and there is a dense, species-rich nature with tree ferns, Orchids, palm trees, numerous endemic species, rushing Waterfalls, Explore bathing pools and karstic caves.
Playa Larga, Playa Giron:
Playa Larga at the end the Bay of Pigs is a cozy little resort on the edge of the skinny Zapata peninsula with pristine mangrove forests populated nearly 200 Birds and 900 plant species as well as free-living crocodiles. In Bocca Laguna live in the crocodile rearing station 3000 crocodiles. In Playa Giron attempted by America Södner 1961, the still young Ending Cuban Revolution.
Soroa / Laz Terazas:
Orchid garden with 700 Orchids, Good opportunity to observe hummingbirds, Numerous Waterfalls like the El Salto, ruins of old coffee plantations

Vinales Tal:
Center of tobacco cultivation, Fantastic Landscape with the round hills the Mogotes

Pictures of the Top 10 Highlights in Cuba can be found on this page below. see 300 Pictures in FullHD click here.

Picture Gallery Cuba

Get inspiration and inspiration already when planning your trip. Now the
highlights Cuba's FullHD with 300 images enjoy it for free.

Getting there, Entry and connections:

fly Lufthansa to C uba
Car Rental in Cuba
We have frequently booked rental cars through TUI Cars. The company has reliable on-site Cooperation partner with well-maintained vehicles. The fully comprehensive deductible will be refunded in the event of damage.
The demand is bigger than the offer. Every second Booking is not confirmed. We were lucky and got a brand new Peugeot. Chinese Small cars are widely used as rental cars.
Driving tips in Cuba: There are enough gas stations in the country. On Tourists will only be the Especial variety for 1.2 CUC sold. Paying by credit card is possible but cumbersome as the passport be submitted. There is very little traffic in Cuba. The highway is three lanes expanded while one mean all tracks needed. Again and again suddenly dive huge potholes in the Highway, which I dodge lightning fast had to. I feel like in one Video game. As a deep pothole catch, I realize that is not a game. God Thankfully, the tires withstand the blow and also on the subsoil there is no damage.

Overnight stay:

During our three weeks cuba vacation we spent three nights all inclusive in Varadero. As always in the big Hotel facilities, the profit remains with the state and big corporations.

Casas particulares, Private accommodation are for us the better alternative. The prices for one Double rooms are between 30 and 50 CUC. Meanwhile, you can also use some of the accommodations Book Booking or AirBnB, however, are the Prices then much higher.

airbnb.com
Visiting the apartments of families. A highly recommended option for us is AirBnB. Register here and receive a voucher on your first trip.

The power plug in Cuba are not compatible with ours. Matching adapters please get it already at home.

There are in Havana now also hotels of the 5 star category. On In the country, the rooms are often lovingly set up. 8000 CUC the hosts invest in average in a guest room. For Cuban Ratios incredibly much money. Sometimes they are the rooms a bit too colorful for our purposes.

We have searched for the accommodations by using Tripadvisor. We sent a mail from Germany, and got a reservation. An evening before arrival our hosts called at the next accommodation. So they always knew that we actually come.

Cuba Accommodation Casas Particulares

We were always very friendlly received. We were provided with tips Suggestions for bathing places, walks and Excursion suggestions including maps to the side. By the way, we learned a lot about the country, the People and the mood in the country.

. Almost all renowned tour operators have package deals for Cuba on offer