Destination: Cuba
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Places to find the ‘real’ Cuba
Endless line-ups, dirty washrooms, crowded buses, awful food – the search for the ‘real’ Cuba can sometimes be a little hard on the nerves. And then suddenly, like a blinding light, you find it…
Weekend street party – La Fiesta de Cubanía, Bayamo
Riding the rails Cuban style – the Hershey train, Habana Province
Any given Sunday – baseball in Holguín
Hanging out with the locals – Puerto Padre
Beach alternative – Guanabo, Playas del Este
Campismo culture – La Sierrita, Granma
Rodeo fever – Feria Ganado, Las Tunas
Market shopping – Agropecuario del Rio, Camagüey
Art talk – Uneac cultural center, Holguín
Choosing a casa – Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud
Beaches
From five-star deluxe to no-star nirvana, Cuba’s beaches – all 300 of them – are some of the best places on the island to kick off your shoes, lock up your worries and spend a day or two relaxing in quiet contemplation. The following hints should provide enough inspiration to send you running for your bucket and spade:
Playa de los Pinos, Cayo Sabinal, Camagüey
Playa Ancón, Sancti Spíritus
Varadero, Matanzas
Playa Santa Lucía, Camagüey
Playa Maguana, Baracoa
Cayo Levisa, Pinar del Río
Playa Pilar, Cayo Guillermo, Ciego de Ávila
Playa Guardalavaca, Holguín
Playa Boca Ciega, Playas del Este, Habana
Playa Sevilla, Chivirico, Santiago de Cuba
Cycle Routes
Cuba is one of the best countries in the world for bike enthusiasts and, with an estimated 500,000 cyclists in Habana alone, you won’t be short of company. To get off the beaten track and discover the corners of the island that most tour excursions fail to penetrate, test your metal on a few of the following:
Marea del Portillo to Chivirico – the seaside rollercoaster
Cajababo to Baracoa – tackle the white-knuckle bends and switchbacks of La Farola, the famous ‘lighthouse’ road
Viñales Valley – meander meditatively among the mogotes
Bartomlomé Maso to Santo Domingo – the guerrilla killer, Cuba’s toughest road ascent is not for the faint-hearted
Guardalavaca to Banes – scenic undulations take you from all-inclusive resort to all-Cuban town
Baracoa to Maguana Beach – the rutted road to paradise
Camilo Cienfuegos to the Valle de Yumurí – Habana to Matanzas, via the back door
Morón to San José del Lago – wake up where the cock crows and fall asleep in a sumptuous spa
Bayamo to El Saltón – time-warped villages and bucolic bohíos (thatched huts) in the Sierra Maestra’s rural foothills
Trinidad to Playa Ancón – from mountains to sea in one fell swoop
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