sf7307

We will be taking an 8-day tour of Cuba. We'd like to spend at least a few days in Havana before or after the tour (which only has one day in Havana). How many days would you recommend?

SambaChula

You could spend the whole time in Havana and still have lots to see and do. Where else is the tour going to take you? What are your interests?

sf7307

We're interested in almost everything (history, live music, hanging out in the town square, architecture, parks, markets, shopping, poking around, old and quaint towns, eating....not as much art museums, ziplining and the like). The tour will take us to Vinales, Cienfuegos and Trinidad, in addition to Havana.

SambaChula

In Havana Vieja, you can just walk and take photos of the crumbling architecture. Get off the touristy streets (Obispo) into where the locals live. "Town square" is pleasant but very touristy.
Vedado has big old mansions, an interesting dance museum, the Malecon...
Take a classic car ride if you want.
Big souvenir warehouse right on the water in Vieja...
See Hemingway's house, Fusterlandia, the rumba on Sunday afternoon in Callejon de Hamel or at least the murals/graffiti there, stop by Cuba Libro bookstore/cafe.
Ride the ferries.
Go to the canon firing at 9pm at the castle.
Check www.lahabana.com for the month's schedule of art, dance, and music events and venues.

crosscheck

We went independently and spent 4 days/4 nights in Havana - We're interested in everything you mentioned as well as music and art. I would have liked one more day because we love to just wander around, and it was time consuming to visit certain places on our list because they were slightly out of town (Hemingway's house, Fusterlandia, etc.). But if you have at least 2-3 days in Havana in addition to the one on your tour, you should be okay.

annhig

sf - we had 4 nights in Havana at the beginning of our stay and another 2 at the end, and I'd say that the 4 days in total was about right for us.

Personally I'd spend the time there at the end of the trip - you don't want to duplicate what you've already done when you have your tour day there, and at the end of the tour you'll be a great deal more "Cuba-savvy" and able to negotiate and get the most out of Havana.

BTW when are you going?I just got an email from the casa where we stayed in Old Havana advertising reduced rates for the summer. it's not in the "best" area but very safe and the accommodation was clean and friendly.

sf7307

Thanks all, this is all very useful.

annhig, unfortunately, we're going in August - the worst time of year to visit (heat and humidity), but that's when our DS and DDIL have a break from work. We're going through a group organizer because we have so many people - us, our daughter, son, daughter-in-law, her parents and two in-common grandchildren.

SambaChula

The extreme heat and humidity of that season in Havana can be exhausting.
Hard to walk around.
You will want to make more use of the more expensive air conditioned taxis.
Take more breaks to have a cool drink in an air conditioned bar.
Check out the pool at the Hotel Seville for a break. About 15 CUC a day per person, of which 12 can be used on food.
The beach is 20 minutes away, and is not as beautiful as some in Cuba, but nice.
You will see firsthand the reason for the crowds hanging out on the Malecon to catch a cool evening breeze.

annhig

sf - it's a shame that you are going at that season. The owner of the casa where we stayed in Remedios [on the north coast near Santa Clara] said that she hated that time of year because of the humidity. i agree with SC that you'll need to seek out a/c wherever you can, but IME the more modern taxis that have it are not necessarily more expensive than the older types; when we were in Trinidad and our casa owner's brother let us down with his taxi one day [I think that he'd thrashed it too much the day before] the public one that they called for us was the same price and it had air con and seat belts!

Enjoy your trip - it's a great place to visit.

SambaChula

The newer air conditioned taxis in Havana give a highly inflated price and, if you do not accept, prefer to sit there waiting for the next tourist who will pay without thinking than to bargain at all.

Cuba is a destination for which you must adjust your expectations about most everything from food to lodging comfort to how things function.

WoinParis

Air conditioned taxis in Cuba ?
They are adapting fast to US tourism.

We spent 2-3 days and it was good but 2-3 more would have been great too.

Ps : taxis have windows that open. It gives some air. If you want coolness caribbea is not the place to go.

SambaChula

There's Caribbean heat and there's the health/life threatening heat of August in Cuba in which one must keep hydrated and seek a cooled space occasionally, esp. when following a touristic schedule.

Casas particulares are required by law to rent rooms with air conditioners. Cars of the late 20th and the 21st century, even Gillys from China, have air conditioning. Even many of the classic cars in Cuba have after market air conditioners installed.

SambaChula

For adult US travelers particularly, the expectation is there of a certain level of comfort while traveling. In Europe, one can pay a small differential to upgrade. Certainly rental cars there have air-conditioning.
Cuba offers mostly backpacker conditions (in most casas particulares) unless staying at very expensive upscale properties and eating at a few upscale restaurants. One of those expectations in extreme heat is air conditioning.
I dare say most US residents are used to walking from an air-conditioned house to an air-conditioned car to an air-conditioned office or shopping mall or supermarket.
This should not stop US tourists from visiting an interesting country like Cuba (or anywhere else with hot weather) however. But it can be vital to take those "cooling breaks" and an air-conditioned taxi can play a large part in this.

sf7307

We went into this "eyes wide open", knowing we weren't going to get the same level of comfort/service that we got, for example, in Tulum or even Guatemala (our most recent trip).

SambaChula

But you haven't BEEN yet!

SambaChula

And forget comparisons with Tulum. The most modest posada or hostel in the pueblo, let alone even any of even the most rustic beach places, would seem like a true 5 star hotel after sleeping on mattresses that you can feel the springs through and riding in cars with sprung out seats. After little sleep under those conditions for a week or more, with back aching, and not eating well.......and the heat......
Maybe you'll be luckier in your choice of places to stay (photos do not tell the whole story though)and in your choice of places to eat in Cuba.
But it is hard/impossible for casa owners to get better household furnishings, unless they have financial support from relatives abroad, so those few who do seem to be hosting the more upscale "adventure" travelers.
Also Havana Vieja (the most interesting neighborhood IMO) has very few casa rooms that have windows facing the street, for example--just the way Colonial construction was in that tightly packed neighborhood. Some casa hosts report they've had tourists walk out after looking at a room, citing lack of windows.

(btw I am a person who takes adventures, who has stayed in homes in countries where the situation was 2 bunk beds that barely fit in one room without a ceiling high wall, each bed with a 1/4 inch of crumbling foam held up by a few tree twigs. So not your usual spoiled US tourist, but just too frail now to enjoy the "challenges".)

PANCHOLO

Hi folks,

NCL Sky is cruising to Havana and we would like to know if Havana Bus Tours offered by NCL are multilingual, even using earphones or any other method or devices, for those that English is not the primary language. Can anybody help us ?? Thanks folks !!

SambaChula

Ask on Cruise Critic.

annhig

Just thinking about the casa rooms we had, they mostly opened into inner courtyards and had windows which faced that direction. Perhaps more important than that is whether you've got a usable outside space such as a terrace or balcony on which to sit in the evening or to have breakfast. The best ones had several such areas which could be chosen according to the weather and time of day.

The one that we ran away from Vinales had no outside space, a precipitous path through a building site to negotiate for access and a view of a brick wall from the only window, not to mention a womb-like feeling provided by the walls and furnishings which were in their entirety a vivid pink. [and before we get flamed for depriving the owners of their income, we paid in advance in total, including for breakfasts that we never ate so they were not out of pocket.]

sf7307

Thanks Ann and Samba. We are on a tour, and are staying in places they call "comfort" level, which is one step up from "standard", and means they have "every Comfort room has air-conditioning, an en suite bathroom, a window to the outside or to an interior open-air courtyard, modern imported mattresses, and cold and hot water." We shall see!