International flights arrive at Terminal 3 of Jose Marti Airport, after immigration, collecting your bags, and customs you will require to get currency from the exchange in the arrivals hall. The rates seem very standard wherever you exchange money into Cuban Convertible Pesos ($), beware that Banknotes should be English and with no tears although the Banks are slightly less fussy if any do have small tears. Taxis seem to be a set rate of $25 into the old part of Havana, but would probably be more to other areas. Don’t even think of the buses in Havana use Taxis, or Coco Taxis, or Bici Taxis there appears to be no rhyme nor reason to prices or when or not they use their meters but they are all cheap also doormen usually have a friend round the corner with a Lada who will take you where you want to go for the same price as a taxi The Hotels are very handy if you need to use the toilet facilities remember to keep small change as you will need it in all bars as well. Two hotels worth a visit are the Hotel Inglaterra, Paseo de Marti with a great outside terrace and the Hotel Sevilla, Trocadero No 55 (off the Paseo de Marti) which as well as a great lobby bar also has a rooftop bar at night
The old part of Havana has some wonderful buildings which have been beautifully restored by a state organisation called Habanaguanex, they have a web site www.habaguanex.com this still seems to be work in progress as details of all the hotels are there, also the restaurants they have but the bars and cafes section is not complete. One to recommend is Hostal Los Frailes, Calle Tenitente Rey (Brasil) all streets have two names just to confuse. The Los Frailes is a beautifully restored mansion so lovely that it features on nearly every guided tour of Havana Vieja, there are 22 rooms including 4 mini suites which are recommended as they have large windows and balconies the rest only open onto a central patio and don’t have windows but this is not uncommon in this part of the city. The rooms are very well appointed, the staff incredibly nice and helpful and the whole place is a relaxing and soothing after a day’s sightseeing with live music in the bar during the day. Some way across the city in Vedado is the famous Hotel Internacional, and even further away in Miramar there are several Hotels, owned by the major chains.
There are two types of eating in state run restaurants including those run by Habaguanex and in privately owned ones called Paladares which are restricted in how many people they seat and what they serve to eat and drink in theory ! In Habana Vieja the following are all worth a visit the standard of food is reasonable, not madly exciting but better than I had been lead to believe and cheap. Al Medina, Calle Oficios 12 Middle Eastern-ish menu and a lovely courtyard.
Hanoi, Calle Teniente Rey (Brasil) 507 up near the Capitolio very cheap plain Cuban food
El Meson de Flota, Calle Mercaderes 257 nice setting and the main attraction is probably the excellent flamenco music, which starts roughly at 8 pm food OK wine available by the glass
La Paella Calle Oficios 53 well the Paella is not quite up to Spanish standards but it is not bad
La Taberna de la Muralla, Plaza Vieja great attraction of draught beers brewed by an Austrian Brewery Light Claro or Dark Oscura it does food grills etc and is supposed to do good burgers you might be surprised how keen you are for one
El Santo Angel, Plaza Vieja, food is a cut above some of the others in the area and has a lovely terrace overlooking the square Sunday night it does dinner with a big band on the terrace. Café Taberna does something similar on Saturday nights.
Ambos Mundos Hotel in Calle Obispo has a handy lobby bar with snack type meals and also a roof top terrace.
El Templete, Avenida del Puerto 12-14, this is an upmarket fish restaurant and they know how to cook fish even if the choice is limited also has a good wine list of Spanish & Chilean wines more expensive than any of the above but worth it.
La Casa Julia Calle O’Reilly is a Paladar and one of the best in the old part it looks like someone’s front room because it is, be prepared to share a table and eat reasonable well and cheaply
Go to China Town, this is mainly one street Boulevar del Barrio Chino (Cuchillo) in Centro Havana not far from old part, there are twenty plus restaurants one of the best is Tien Tan No 17, food is good and very cheap go for a few of the small dishes the large ones must be huge
La Guarida, Calle Concordia 418 in Habana Centro is a Paladar however it is the best known in Havana as the building featured in a well known Cuban movie Fresa y Chocolate the food is wonderful, the setting amazing, the wine list and cocktails excellent however beware that when you get a taxi there you will think that he has misheard as it is a crumbling mansion. You need to book in advance you can do this on line www.laguarida.com and yes it is expensive by Cuban standards but worth every Cuban Convertible Peso
In Vedado visit the Hotel Nacional but the restaurant is very pricey and the outdoor terrace grill is nothing spectacular but do have a drink on the terrace or in the garden.
If you venture over to Miramar have lunch at El Ajibe there is only one thing to eat amazingly good roast chicken, with rice, a secret sauce, beans, chips, fried bananas and salad staff helpful
Most have live music, and sell local beer Crystal or Buccaneero (strong) and of course cocktails mainly Mojitos they also mostly do a decent basic food selection, Calle Obispo probably has the largest selection in the old part but they all close at midnight
Bar Monserrate, Avenida de Belgica 401
Bosque Bologna, Calle Obispo 460 more an afternoon place
Café Paris, Calle Obispo well run relaxed atmosphere
Dos Hermanos Avenida del Puerto next to the Museo del Ron, feels more like a locals bar
La Lluvia D’Oro, Calle Obispo 316 good variety of music depending on the type the crowd varies and sometimes the locals can get fairly lively
Bar Escabeche, Calle Obispo possibly not the most comfortable bar as it seems to attract some of the less desirable customers
Café Oriente, Calle Oficios 112 one of the best cocktail lists around and the menu also looks good
El Floridita one of the Hemingway haunts worth a visit just to see the bar and the staff uniforms and to try the Dacquiris even if they are more expensive than most places
La Bodeguita del Medio, Calle Empedrado 207 the main Hemingway haunt, not sure the very average mojitos are worth the detour
El Patio, Plaza de la Cathedral a lovely setting to sit outside in the square
There are so many lovely small Museums in Havana Vieja that are worth a visit, every street seems to have at least a couple from the President’s train to coins, and chocolate ! The whole of the old part is just wonderful to wander around.
The Camera Oscura in Plaza Vieja is worth a visit given you an amazing view of the city
The Partagas Cigar Factory is also worth visiting for one of the English speaking tours Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes & the Museo de la Revolucion should also both be on the list Explore the architecture of Vedado
Walk along the Malecon
Visit the forts on the Eastern Bay Coast the first with the lighthouse is the Castillo de Los Tres Reyes del Morro (El Morro) you will if you are lucky get invited up to the Port Control Office . If you walk onto the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana then you could walk onto Casablanca and get the ferry back to Habana Vieja
Travelling around although Viazul are recommended if you book your ticket in advance you still have to turn up at least hour in advance to pay and check in your baggage the fare to Trinidad is $25 for a journey which is timetabled as 5 hours and can take 6 and a half. Transturs who are part of CubaTours run what seem to be much more modern buses with a guide for the same price and drop you at your hotel in Havana.
This is a UNESCO world heritage site and is a wonderfully preserved colonial town, it is also visited by a very large number of people and surprisingly there are only two hotels in the town the Iberostar Grand Hotel Trinidad, expensive but worth a visit for a drink or dinner, and Las Cuevas half an hour up the hill from the town much cheaper and with a pool and views but with fairly poor service.The town is also full of Casa Particulares which since they are in town could be a good option. The music centres round the stairs leading between the Casa de la Trova and the Casa de la Musica but there are quite a few other bars with music and shows
There are only supposed to be three Paladars in town however there are lots of people trying to get you to try their home cooking two excellent Paladars are
Estela, Calle Simon Bolivar 557 - excellent Cuban home cooking go early to get a table in the lovely setting of the garden
Sol y Son, Calle Simon Bolivar 283 another excellent place for Cuban home cooking and a lovely plant filled terrace
Trinidad Colonial, Calle Maceo No 402, is a restaurant and bar set in a wonderful restored mansion, the food is good although lunchtime may have more atmosphere.
Bar Dacquiri, Calle Lino Perez 313 a great place to sit outside and chill over a beer or a cocktail if you have had enough live music
Visit the Museo Romatico and any of the many other museums in the town, also take a taxi to the Playa Ancona although the beach is public the hotels are all inclusive so you will have to eat and drink at the basic beach bar which grills some decent fish
