Why Cuba? Why not! We spent ten days in this surprising country, learning about and loving on the people and culture. This was our third time using Intrepid Travel, and I am sure it won’t be our last. Cuba has long been on our bucket list. Many Americans have trepidation about visiting Cuba, generally based on media reports. But guess what? I felt safer in Cuba than I have in any part of Mexico, or in any of the African countries I have visited. Frankly I felt safer than in many American cities, especially lately. Let me tell you about Beautiful Cuba An Amazing Ten Days.

Support for the Cuban People

As an American, visiting Cuba means declaring your intention for your trip is for Support for the Cuban People. What does this mean? This is an American requirement – one of four reasons you, as a US citizen, can visit Cuba. The others are family visits, educational activities or professional research which includes media. Over the years I have considered using the professional research category as a writer, but decided we would rather do a group tour with a Cuban guide. So that is how we came to book once again with Intrepid Travel. We were not disappointed. Through Intrepid we supported the Cuban people by only staying in privately owned Cuban Guesthouses and only eating at privately owned Cuban restaurants and shopping at privately owned Cuban stores and working with Cuban guides. Beautiful Cuba An Amazing Ten Days

Colonialism, Revolution and Today’s Cuba

The history of this island nation is vast and complicated – difficult to cover in a few paragraphs. But here is my synopsis;

Colonialism

From the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, Cuba became a key colony in the Spanish Empire, valued for its strategic location and fertile land. Spanish rule reshaped the island through the near-destruction of Indigenous Taíno populations and the development of plantation agriculture of primarily sugar cane and tobacco. Large numbers of Africans were brought to the island as slaves to work these plantations. Havana grew into a major port linking the Americas and Europe, while wealth and power remained concentrated among colonial elites loyal to Spain. By the nineteenth century, economic dependence on sugar and slavery fueled social tensions and inspired independence movements. Finally formal independence from Spain came in 1898—though only after U.S. military intervention in the Spanish-American War.

Revolution

In the twentieth century, Cuba’s political trajectory was marked by strong U.S. influence, economic inequality, and authoritarian rule under leaders such as Fulgencio Batista. Although Batista began as a revolutionary, he quickly betrayed the people and became a dictator creating hardships for average Cubans, while creating wealth for the Spanish-descended elite and the US Mafia. These conditions led to the Cuban Revolution of 1959, which brought Fidel Castro to power.

Today

Castro transformed Cuba into a socialist state aligned with the Soviet Union. The revolution dramatically altered Cuban society through land reform, nationalization, and expanded education and healthcare. Though Castro curtailed political freedoms of average Cubans, most Cubans believe his policies of education and healthcare were good for the country. After the Soviet collapse, Cuba endured severe economic hardship yet maintained its socialist system, and today it continues to navigate gradual economic reforms (see below), strained relations with the United States, and ongoing debates about political change and national identity.

Western Cuba

During my ten day visit we covered a large portion of the western half of the island of Cuba. We did not venture east of Trinidad. See map. Cuba is about the same size of Switzerland and is the largest Caribbean island. Roughly 42,800 square miles, it is comparable in size to U.S. states like Virginia, slightly larger than Tennessee, and a bit bigger than Maine.

Things to Know

We traveled in a nice bus (Chinese made) on mostly comfortable roads, although some of the mountain roads were a bit rough. We have seen much worse though in other countries. Four major issues we noticed as visitors;

1. Blackouts due to an aging infrastructure and lack of fuel due to embargoes. Some cities are completely left in the dark, and businesses, including guesthouses we stayed at, must resort to generators and solar but these are expensive and difficult to acquire.

2. Gas shortages – most people don’t own cars, but trucks, buses and cars are all facing a gas shortage which will get much worse with the situation in Venezuela. Cuba relies heavily on oil from Venezuela.

3. Lack of internet in much of the island. Even major cities like Havana have internet service that is plagued with outages and the country has no solutions currently in the works.

4. Finally and the most difficult is all transactions need to be made in cash. No American credit cards are accepted in Cuba. And your American ATM card will not work in Cuba, even if you can find a working ATM. You must bring US Dollars and exchange them in the country for Cuban Pesos. US dollars are accepted in Cuba, but they must be clean bills in perfect condition.

You must be prepared for these issues if you visit this island nation. It was all worth it though to experience Beautiful Cuba An Amazing Ten Days.

Barack Obama and the Cuban Thaw

President Barack Obama made a historic visit to Cuba from March 20-22, 2016, becoming the first sitting U.S. president in 88 years to do so. His visit signaled a new era of normalized relations after decades of hostility. Obama’s visit included a visit with Cuban leader like Raul Castro, a televised address to the Cuban people, and a focus on human rights and ending the U.S. embargo. The trip marked the peak of the “Cuban thaw,” leading to increased travel, trade, and diplomatic engagement, though significant differences on human rights persisted. The Cubans have a great fondness for Obama.

Unfortunately this era did not last, embargoes have been reinstated and relationship between the current US Administration and Cuba are at one of the lowest points in decades. However, since Covid, more Cubans have been allowed to own private small businesses such as guesthouses and restaurants. These businesses are the ones American visitors are allowed to use as part of the Support of the Cuban People program.

Beautiful Cuba An Amazing Ten Days

My husband and I arrived in La Habana (the actual Cuban name of Havana) one day early just as a precaution for any unforeseen travel delays. We were able to book an extra night at the same privately owned guest house that the group would be staying. We enjoyed an amazing dinner with beer that evening for $8 USD.

Meeting our Intrepid guide the next day (Yummet) and the 12 other Americans on our tour, we knew we were in for a great tour. Our fellow intrepid travelers were fabulous, and as has been our experience with Intrepid in the past, our guide was fun, knowledgeable and on-point.

Havana

Highlights of Havana included UNESCO Old Town walking tour, four important squares of the colonial period including the Cathedral Square, Entertainment Square, San Francisco Square and Revolutionary Square. You can’t visit Havana without a driving tour in the beautiful and historic old cars of Havana (learn about these cars here). We toured the Callejon de Hamel where we learned about the local Afro Cuban community and the sub-culture of Santeria. Lunch was incredible at Rum Rum Restaurant – we skipped dinner because we were so full!

Heading West

Into our comfortable bus with guide-extraordinaire Yummet and our incredible driver Marcos we go. Today we head west towards the darling town of Vinales, but first two stops along the way.

We made a brief stop at Fusterlandia just outside of Havana. This neighborhood is completely covered in mosaics, a passion project of artist Jose Fuster. Quirky but also fun. Next we drove several hours west to visit Las Terrasas, a UNESCO Biosphere village, built by the Cuban government as a reforestation project, inhabited by local Cubans caring for the land. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch here with a beautiful view.

Vinales

Arriving in Vinales we were enchanted by this cute, sparkling clean and colorful little village. Two nights here. Before dark we took a quick walking tour of the village then headed to Paradise Farm, a privately-owned farm-to-table restaurant where we enjoyed a spectacular dinner with a view.

Next day was a busy and fun one. Starting with a beautiful walk into the astonishing Valle de Vinales National Park with a local guide. Our walk took us to a privately owned coffee plantation where we learned about Cuban coffee then on to a privately owned Tobacco farm where we learned about growing and producing tobacco and the famous Cuban cigars.

Back on the bus to Mirador Balcon del Valle where we continued our agricultural theme of this beautiful valley with a cooking class using locally grown produce of sweet potatoes, yucca,cassava, papaya, guava, onion, garlic, and more. It was fresh, healthy and delicious, as was all the food we ate in Cuba. After that big meal we ended our visit to beautiful Vinales learning how to Salsa dance! Hot and sweaty and fun!

Cienfuegos

From Vinales to Cienfuegos was our longest bus ride day. We were kept entertained onboard the bus with an incredible documentary series from Netflix about Cuban history. Fascinating and helpful. In the late afternoon we arrived the famous Bay of Pigs, site of the 1961 failed US invasion. Here we had an opportunity to swim in the Caribbean or just lounge on the beautiful beach before arriving in Cienfuegos and our lovely guest house for one night. In the morning before departing we had a walking tour of the beautiful colonial town of Cienfuegos with free time to shop, see the museum and have some fabulous coffee before departing on to Trinidad.

Trinidad

Driving from Cienfuegos to Trinidad meant going over the Topes de Coyantes mountains, where we encountered the only poor road conditions of our tour. Our driver Marcos was amazing and we barely noticed. High in the mountains we stopped at a tiny privately-owned coffee growing roadside restaurant called Mileidy’s. Here we learned more about how the locals grow and process the local Arabica beans. We also enjoyed possibly the best, yet simple and locally sourced lunch. Adios to our new friends and then on to Trinidad.

We loved our beautiful privately-owned guesthouse in Trinidad, where we had the best WiFi of the entire trip. Right in the old town area of the beautiful Spanish Colonial town of Trinidad. We took a sunset stroll of the old town before enjoying the famous local drink of Canchanchara (yum) followed by dinner at Los Conspiradores.

Trinidad Day Two

Next morning our guide took us to two museums where we learned more Spanish Colonial history – the Architecture Museum and the Romantic Museum. We had some free time to shop for the beautiful local traditional Trinidad embroidery. I fell in love with it and bought several items. In the afternoon we headed for swim and sun at Ancon beach which included an incredible catered picnic lunch. That evening we were not hungry, so we watched the sunset from a rooftop bar and then enjoyed an early to bed.

Santa Clara

It’s our last full day in Cuba as we make our way back west towards Havana. We stop in Santa Clara to learn about Che Guevera. Ernesto “Che” Guevera is revered by many Cubans as a true Marxist revolutionary whose life was dedicated to overturning colonial and US intervention in Latin American countries. He was a brilliant but complicated man who is both revered and reviled depending on which camp you sit in. Because he died young at the hands of CIA-sponsored action in Bolivia, he has become a martyr and the Cuban government has built a small museum, which includes a mausoleum and statue in his memory. We visited this place in Santa Clara before continuing on to Havana.

Farewell

Back in Havana our final night. We have become good friends with the group and our leaders and we are sad to say goodbye. Tonight though we celebrate with a show and dinner with the famous Buena Vista Social Club. Dinner was amazing but the show was the highlight – lively and interesting with lots of audience participation. Unfortunately not many photos of us actually on stage, you will have to take my word for it. 🙂

It was midnight before we went to bed, and my alarm went off at 4:30am for our flight to Cancun. It was all worth it though. A remarkable ten days, learning about this country and removing some of the mystery and misconceptions. I loved its colorful culture, began to understand it’s difficult history and most of all learned to respect it’s resilient people. Beautiful Cuba An Amazing Ten Days.

Yes You Should

Step out of your box and come to Cuba. Intrepid Travel is a great way to experience a place unlike anywhere else I have ever been. And that is saying something. Put aside your fears and preconceived notions, because I can tell you, you will be pleasantly surprised. Educational, entertaining and safe. Delicious, colorful and enlightening. The culture is musical and bright. The people are talented and patriotic. Cuba is welcoming and fascinating. I have absolutely no regrets. Muchos Gracias Cuba. Viva la Cuba!

See last week’s post, our Ninth Annual World Travel Awards 2025 here. I hope you will continue to follow us as we enjoy a month in Mexico with lots more travel blog posts on the way.

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