Cuba Part 2 - Vinales

We booked a taxi to Vinales from Havana.  We stayed at a casa particular, called Tres Caballeros for two nights.  It was a lot easier to book than I expected. I have just sent the owner, Denis an email a few weeks in advance ( cl1gw@frcuba.co.cu ) and I have got a reply the next day with pictures of the rooms, local map and list of things to do in Vinales. 

As soon as we arrived, we were welcome with freshly made mango juice and he organized everything for us right away - hiking trip around the valley and farms, taxi to Cayo jutias and taxi back to Havana. 

  

Denis speaks perfect English and we really enjoy chatting with him. His mum and his wife are both great cook. We had both breakfast and dinner there and they were one of the best - delicious and very generous. 

Breakfast - Fresh fruits, a selection of baked goods

Dinner 

- Started off with freshly fried crisps, plantain, chicken soup

LOBSTERRRRRRRR 

On the next day, we went for a guided walk around the valley
Most people go for horse riding but I'm not that keen :p
It was very hot and sunny but multiple stops for drinks helped.
Coconut, Pina colada freshly maade at the farm house.



We have been advised to go either earlier in the morning / late afternoon to avoid the blazing sun.




We were there in June so all the tobacco leaves were already been harvested.
I was disappointed at first but what we saw were lots of plants - guava, mango, avocado, pineapple etc.

We stopped by a tobacco farm and were shown how they make and roll cigars.
Hubby had some and apparently it was very good quality.
It was all organic - used fruit peels to ferment the tobacco leaves, used honey to seal.

Baby kitten 

We went to the town centre.  It's very small.  

There are some shops and restaurants.  

 Church
There is a bar next to the church and the guard from the hike told us there was a huge party in the evening with live band.

We had tapas at 3J Bar de Tapas

It was good :-)

On the next day, we went to Cayo Jutias - We miss the beach and we really need to cool down!

A swim at the beach was refreshing...

The water wasn't as clear as the Varadero beach

The beach is not big.  We went on a weekday so it was OK but I've been told it could get very busy over the weekend. 

It's quite well equipped - with toilet, shower and lockers.  

There is a bar and restaurant

We asked the driver to drop us by hotel jasmine for the view


For dinner, we wemt to a farm house/restaurant - Finca Agroecologica El Paraiso
GO THERE AND YOU WILL NOT REGRET!
It's away from the town centre and apparently you should book.
We were very lucky as the taxi driver knows the owner and managed to get us a table.

Amazing view of valley from the restaurant  

Live music

Food just didn't stop coming and it wasn't overly expensive

Loved their version of pina colada - called "Anti stress" - with cinnamon, fresh mint and basil.

The table was covered with food - for just the two of us. 

Fresh veg from their farm

All sorts of meats to choose from.  

Grilled pork 

As we left Vinales, the driver dropped us to this place which apparently sells the best Cigars in Vinales

Sorry - I forgot the name of this place but there were lots of these buttery flowers and has a painting of a guitar? by the entrance 

Cuba - Day 2-5 Varadero

There are lots of resorts available at Varadero.
We went for Royalton Hicacos at the end  and we loved it.
Love the decor - french colonial style building, poolside bar, THE BEACH!
It's adult only - so no kids running around :p

Lobby

Poolside bar

Map of resort.  We were given a room right at the edge away from the main area. 

The great thing is that it is relatively quieter... but it was like a good 7-10min walk to the bar/pool..

It was a quick walk to the beach though.  

I would have prefer one that's closer to the main area. 

Enterainment

Make good use of my glasses ....

It was the best beach we have ever been. 

Clear blue water.  Clean.  

Evening entertainment

Timetable

Foam party!!! 

We missed it though :( 

It was all inclusive - cocktail, tea coffee all 3 meals, icecream + snack bar during the day.
The food is very average ... but I have been told generally, the standard is lower in Cuba anyway.
So we didn't expect too much.
You can book for a table at one of the a la carte table through the butler on the day of arrival.

Out of all the restaurants, the Cuban one was the best. 

I love their plantain chips :p

 

The beachside lunch was good too.  

Just simple grilled fish with chips with a view. 

 

We took the local bus and went to the city centre one day. 

It wasn't very exciting - nothing much to see.

There was a small street market and a park. 

I wouldn't recommend it personally.

Cuba - Overview

Itinerary

3 nights at Varadero
3 nights at Havana
2 nights at Vinales
1 night at Havana

Casa particular vs Hotel
I would recommend staying at Casa particulars.  We stayed at casas for most of our stays (other than Varadero) and we had no problem at all.
Even though there is very limited internet access for the locals there, we normally get reply by email from the casa within a day.
You can read reviews from Tripadvisors.
It could be as cheap as 25CUC per night - a lot cheaper than hotels.
I have also looked into hotels in Havana but the reviews are not that great and I don't think it's worth the extra cost. So I thought I might as well save some money and go for the local experience. 
The hosts are generally very nice and helpful - booked everything for us.
It's nice to chat to them and find out what it is like to live there. 
We are not too fussy anyway - as long as it's clean and most importantly -AC!!! we are fine.


Getting around
We flew to Havana via Paris and arrived  8.30pm in the evening.

Having gone through custom (which took forever) and collected our luggage.
We got to our casa particular around midnight.
We stayed at a casa particular near the coach station - no frill, clean and cheap.
We were planning to take the coach (http://www.viazul.com/) to get around Cuba.
We walked to the station an hour before the departure time and there were a bunch of taxi drivers at the bus station trying to persuade us to go for taxi instead.
We shared a wornout taxi with a local at the end.  (at some point, we couldn't close the the window on keith's side lol.  It was a little windy when the driver was driving 80mph on the motorway..haha :p)
It costed us 60CUC to get from Havana to Varadero.
It costed more when organized by the resort at Varadero - 90CUC by a Mercedes benz to Havana
To get to Vinales from Havana, it also costed us 60CUC (organized by our casa particular)

25CUC from Havana airport to city in a vintage car.

Must bring

- Mosquito repellent!!!!!!!!!!!!! (or bring someone that attracts mosquito :p )

- Suncream spf 50+

- Spare flip flop / sunglasses -  both of them broke during the trip and I had such a hard time looking for a replacement. 
- Hat

We went there end of June.  It was 35 degree - unbearably hot and sunny.  
I would recommend going a little earlier where possible.