Three Weeks in Cuba

Havana and the west

Havana's old town, Habana Vieja, is a UNESCO-listed grid of plazas and restored and crumbling facades, and the Malecon seafront fills with people at sunset. Live music and the arts scene in Vedado fill the evenings. West of the capital, Vinales sits in a valley of limestone mogotes and tobacco farms, where walks and horse rides visit growers who explain how cigars are made. Caves such as the Cueva del Indio and the beach at Cayo Jutias are within day-trip range.

The colonial centre

Cienfuegos, on a wide bay, has a neoclassical centre built by French settlers and a waterfront at Punta Gorda. Trinidad, an hour and a half along the coast, is the best preserved colonial town on the island, with cobbled streets, live music on the steps by the Plaza Mayor and the sugar mill ruins of the Valle de los Ingenios nearby. Santa Clara is the site of the Che Guevara memorial and mausoleum, and Camaguey is a maze of winding lanes known for its large clay jars and churches.

The far east

Santiago de Cuba is the island's second city and a centre of Afro-Cuban music, with the clifftop Castillo del Morro guarding the harbour. The road east crosses the mountains on La Farola to Baracoa, Cuba's oldest town, set between rainforest, cacao farms and the flat-topped El Yunque mountain. Its isolation makes it the slowest-paced stop on the route and a natural finish, with flights or long buses back west.

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Visas: Most visitors need a tourist card (tarjeta del turista) and must complete an online entry form before arrival, and US citizens face specific travel restrictions under US law; check the official sources for your nationality. Transport: Viazul buses link the main towns, but seats are limited and fuel shortages cause cancellations, so shared taxis often fill the gaps; Baracoa to Havana is usually covered by a domestic flight or a very long bus ride. Weather: December to April is dry and less humid; hurricane season runs June to November. Budget: Cuba's economy is in a prolonged crisis, with an official exchange rate far from the informal one; cards issued by US banks do not work, other foreign cards are accepted unevenly, and ATMs and card terminals are unreliable, so most visitors carry cash in euros or US dollars. The mid figure assumes private rooms in casas particulares with breakfast, colectivo transport, guided walks and some restaurant meals. Connectivity: Mobile data and public Wi-Fi exist but are slow and patchy, and prolonged power cuts affect much of the island. Safety: Violent crime against visitors is uncommon; petty theft and money scams are the main issues, along with shortages of food, fuel and medicine, so some travellers bring basic supplies.