Five great days in Havana

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An Australian friend, travelling with a small group, recently asked me how to spend five great days in Havana! There are infinite posibilities, but I put together the following itinerary and advice.

Firstly, try to ensure that you have a full weekend in Havana, as there are more things happening then. I would always advise staying in private houses (casas particulares) rather than hotels, but for a group of more than 4, a hotel makes sense. While not the best in the world, customer service is looking up, especially in some of the classier hotels, such as the Hotel Nacional in Vedado on avenida 21 and calle O) – a national historic monument; Hotel Presidente, on Avenida Presidentes (also known as Avenida G) which is only a block or so from the Malecon, the waterfront boulevard that connects all Havana; Hotel Habana Libre in the heart of Vedado, on Avenida 23 and calle L; Hotel Mercure Sevilla in Old Havana, on El Paseo de Martí (or Paseo del Prado) and Trocadero; and Iberostar Parque Central in Old Havana on Neptuno and El Paseo de Martí.

The reason for normally recommending casas particulares ahead of hotels is that the families who take you in, have a personal interest is ensuring that you have a great time, are safe and well cared for, so that you will recommend them to others, and maybe come back again… or just because they are Cubans and Cubans are warm, hospitable and want you to enjoy their country.

Day 1

After getting a taxi from the airport to your hotel ($US25), and checking in, you could go for a stroll along the Malecon on your first evening and get your bearings. Whether you are staying in Old Havana, Central Havana or Vedado, nowhere is far from the Malecon. For most of the week, especially the weekends, the Malecon is a lot of fun. If you reach the Hotel Nacional, pop in for a beer, mojito or coffee. It is a peaceful oasis in the frenetic, hot bustle of Havana.

You may be able to book for dinner at Porto Habana, a nice place to eat on the 11th floor of a pre-revolution apartment block, overlooking the city and the sea. (on the corner of calle E and Linea i.e. ‪Calle E No 158B piso 11 entre Calzada y 9, Vedado (phone: 78331425). You may need to book a few days in advance as it has become popular.  An alternative for a good meal, is La Roca, on the corner of 21 and M in Vedado – just about 400 metres from the entrance to the Hotel Nacional.

You might as well start the trip with a bang – get a taxi from your hotel to the FAC (Fabrica del Arte Cubana, calle 26, Vedado, Havana). Entry is $2 after about 8.30 and it stays open till 2, 3 or 4 am. There is a cafe and snack bar, and drinks, and live music – jazz, pop, salsa, reggaeton etc.). It is a great place to see the groovy folk of Havana having a good time.

Day 2

If the weather looks good, you could organise at the Hotel to get a car or cars to take you to the beach – Playas del Este, viz. Playa Santa Maria del Mar near the Hotel Tropicoco. It is always fun, and is where Cubans love to go. You can buy drinks and rum there, and hire beach beds and sun umbrellas. Not expensive (maybe $US3 for the day each). The car/taxi should be about $12-15 each way i.e. $US30 return, but shared between the passengers, normally 5 passengers in an American 1950s Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge or Cadillac!

You could return to Havana in time to walk around the old walled city, Havana Vieja – heaps to see there and at 7.30 pm get a car to take you to the historic Spanish fort, “La Cabaña” which overlooks Havana. You can watch the sunset over the city, and at 9 pm every night is the Cañonazo (firing of a cannon to tell the good citizens to close the gates of the walled city – a tradition dating from the 1700s). The soldiers that enact this ritual every night are dressed in period uniforms… it´s a good show.

From there you could wander the streets of Old Havana again—always lots of bars and live music in Obispo, the pedestrian shopping mall in the heart of the city.

Day 3

Time to really explore Old Havana (Habana Vieja). Get a car from the hotel to take you to Parque Central (Central Park) – the entry point to Old Havana. From there you can head in any direction. Opposite you is the Gran Teatro (Grand Theatre) which may now have re-opened after years of renovations. – a great place to see live music and dance and orchestras etc. Check it out to see if there is a live program on. While it has been closed for renovations, the centre for the arts has been Teatro Nacional  – alongside the Plaza de la Revolucion, near the huge monument for José Martí.

In Old Havana, I recommend having a look at the Museum of the Revolution in the former President´s Palace, and behind that is my favourite attraction, the National Art Museum (for Cuban art – which is spectacular). Not far away is the elegant Hotel Seville and a newly re-opened and renovated bar “Sloppy Joe´s Bar ” (Agramonte, La Habana, Cuba) which was popular with American sailors before 1959.

There are 5 great plazas, squares, in Old Havana – make sure you see them all: Plaza  de la Catedral (and the nearby best restaurant in Havana, Doña Eutimia); Plaza de Armas (book markets and street theatre and the former Spanish Governor´s residence); Plaza San Francisco, near the docks, (often great live music in the adjacent Basilica San Francisco, and nearby the Jardin del Oriente – a good value eatery); Plaza Vieja (the most beautiful, with Café El Escorial on one corner opposite a microbrewery with great beer); and Plaza del Cristo (was being renovated last year… and on one side is a great Uni student hangout, the bohemian El Chanchullero).

Any night, but especially Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, check out the live music scene – at any of the Casas de La Musica (big bands), or Salon Rosado Benny Morey – home of black Cuban music, or many of the bars along Obispo, the pedestrian mall in Old Havana. There are also several excellent jazz venues in Vedado, such as Jazz Café, at the corner of Paseo and Avenida 3, Vedado), and La Zorra y el Cuervo, on La Rampa, Avenida 23, Vedado.

Day 4

It may be time to relax and recuperate, spending the day alongside and in one of the many hotel swimming pools available. For example, you could go to the pools at Hotel Nacional, Hotel Habana Libre or Hotel Sevilla – or go to my favourite, Hotel Riviera, corner of Paseo and Avenida 3. You pay $US10 entry for the day, and that includes $8 credit at the bar-restaurant. So you can consume $8 worth of food and drink, and your day at the art deco 1950s pool costs you just $2.

Alternatively, you may feel like an outing for the day in an air-conditioned bus to Viñales  – about 2 hours to the west of Havana. The karst scenery of the best tobacco growing area of Cuba is spectacular. Another option could see you could go by bus for the day to the most famous Cuban beach resort at Varadero. It is popular with tourists, but you won´t see many Cubans there.

In the evening, check out some more live music – the quality is amazingly good – or go to any dance shows, such as the famous Tropicana Club cabaret show ( 72 A, La Habana, Cuba; phone 7 2671717).

Day 5

Perhaps time for a walking expedition with a sun-hat, drink and cut lunch, leaving early to beat the midday heat. Havana is a great city to walk around, being fairly flat, not very big and very safe. There are heaps to see and do in Old Havana, Central Havana, Vedado and Miramar, not to mention numerous other suburbs. For example, you can get a ferry (la lancha or lancheta) to take you from Old Havana, across the port to Regla, and the beautiful, historic maritime church built as a sanctuary to house the black Virgin of Regla – a Roman Catholic saint who is simultaneously revered as Yemaya, one of the most powerful of the Afro-Cuban orishas (saints or gods). Another outing, perhaps by car, can take you to the old “barrio” of Guanabacoa – a part of Old Havana first settled by freed slaves, and site of an interesting Museum of Slavery and Afro-Cuban Religions.

For those Ernest Hemingway devotees, half of the bars in Havana claim that “Hemingway frequented this establishment”, especially the famous Bodeguito del Medio, at Empedrado and San Ignacio in Old Havana. Well worth the effort is getting a car to take you to Hemingway´s house, Finca Vigia, on the outskirts of southeastern Havana.

I hope that is a start to your great 5 days in Cuba. You will get lots more suggestions from the people you meet along the way. It is worth being open and friendly to Cubans – sure, many are on the make, but not dangerous – and they have little access to money, except from tourists – so a friendly smile, a sense of humour, and “gracias” (which means “NO”) goes a long way.

Remember, an up to date promotion of what´s on when you are there is available at www.cubaabsolutely.com/ and LaHabana.com – Cuba’s digital destination  (What´s on in Havana)

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