Cuba

Welcome to Cuba

Pack a sunhat and a book of José Martí’s poems and get ready to uncover the buoyant, sophisticated, beautiful magic of Cuba.

Expect the Unexpected

Complex, contradictory and idiosyncratic, it’s not easy to capture Cuba in a single sentence. That’s its intrinsic beauty. It doesn’t matter how many times you visit this plucky Caribbean nation with its bewildering bureaucracy and free-flowing music, you’ll still return home with more questions than answers. One moment it’s hot and frustrating, the next it’s humbling and heart-warming. One day nothing adds up, the next day everything makes sense. From the theatrical streets of Havana to the deserted beaches of the Isla de la Juventud, Cuba jolts you with its baffling uniqueness. Welcome to a country with no precedent.

Historical Heirlooms

Bereft of modern interference, Cuba’s colonial cities haven’t changed much since the days of sedan chairs and horse-drawn carriages (indeed horse-carts are still the primary modus operandi in many towns). For outsiders, the architecture is particularly stirring in places like Havana, Trinidad and Camagüey where grandiose squares and cobbled streets tell erstwhile tales of opulence and intrigue. Other Cuban towns are less spruced up but no less captivating. It doesn’t matter where you go, there’s always some underappreciated heirloom – a private homestay, a retro-themed restaurant, a dusty museum – showing off its weighty historical heritage.

A Country Awakening

The 2020s is an exciting time to visit Cuba. Fewer restrictions on private enterprise have led to an explosion of creativity, while the culture-dampening effects of globalization have yet to dilute the local charm. Isolated but eager to advance, the country is buzzing with ideas. Here a free-spirited cafe where earnest students sit around debating Che Guevara’s contribution to world T-shirt art; there an avant-garde art factory where two bucks gets you six hours of electrifying entertainment. Fueled by graffiti artists, farm-to-table restaurants, city historians and indie designers, it’s as if the whole country is awakening after 60 years of slumber.

Beyond the Beaches

The vast majority of Cuba’s tourists gravitate to the attractive arcs of white sand that pepper the country’s north coast. But, explore beyond the beaches and you’re in a different domain, a land of fecund forests and crocodile-infested swamps, abandoned coffee plantations and rugged mountains as famous for their revolutionary history as their endemic species. Cuba, once observed German scientist Alexander von Humboldt, is a kind of Caribbean Galápagos where contradictory elements exist side by side. Get off the beaten path and seek them out.

Cuba

Duis dolor est, tincidunt vel enim sit amet, venenatis euismod neque. Duis eleifend ligula id tortor finibus faucibus. Donec et quam pulvinar, blandit tortor a, sollicitudin mauris. Donec orci enim, bibendum a augue quis, aliquet cursus quam. Pellentesque pulvinar, elit at condimentum dictum, sapien nibh auctor tortor, vel vulputate sapien tortor et velit. Sed nulla nisi, congue eu quam vel, molestie gravida ipsum. Curabitur ut lacus vitae tellus lacinia pretium. Proin vestibulum sollicitudin tortor, quis auctor mi rutrum non. Donec non eros eget purus lobortis imperdiet ac vitae est. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Duis ultricies mi sed lorem blandit, non sodales sapien fermentum. Donec ultricies, turpis a sagittis suscipit, ex odio volutpat sem, vel molestie ligula enim varius est. Pellentesque sodales ipsum nisi. Suspendisse ultrices nulla eu volutpat volutpat. Nunc vestibulum, tortor sollicitudin dapibus egestas, lorem eros vestibulum turpis, ac condimentum erat ipsum rutrum dolor. Donec blandit nisi ut congue rutrum. Vestibulum enim velit, semper hendrerit tristique non, malesuada auctor nulla. Nullam ac justo efficitur, tristique ligula.