Some advice on Cuba please :)

Aquatronixjenny

I agree with the above post, try to avoid the All Inclusives that are miles away from anywhere...

Brisas Guardalavaca is an All Inclusive, but if you want to eat out at a restaurant or go to a bar then you can ask at reception and they will give you a voucher to present which will get you about 50% off. I think I ate at the hotel about 8 of the 14 nights we were there and the rest of the time we went into town to eat. Also it is very close to the public beach, about 5 minutes walk along a lovely promenade where you can get a can of local beer for 1 peso.

jtr2803

delwynshd wrote: »

Yeah thats a good price, but I would lok at the hotels in detail

I wouldnt imagine they have good reviews

Thanks
Del

I wholeheartedly disagree with you!

Price is NOT indicative of the resort and/or service you will recieve in Cuba. If that was the case surely the Sol Rio De Luna Y Mares and Blau Varadero would be right at the bottom of the TA ratings as they cost considerably less than the Paradisus' and a number of the Melia hotels? How funny then that they are respectively rated 5 and 4 in the whole of Cuba at this present time?

OP, I went to Guardalavca in June 2009 and absolutely loved it! We paid just over £700 each through Thomas Cook, the rooms may be a little tired but the Cuban people are amazing, so friendly and the country is so naturally beautiful (and safe for the most part).

Thomas Cook are normally somewhat cheaper than thomsom as you get lower baggage allowance and they tend to have more basic rooms, didn't bother us though, we paid over £200 less each and went and swam with the dolphins again.

Some hotels off the top of my head that are worth considering (based on my own research, I have only stayed at one)

Sol Rio De Luna Y Mares
Brisas Guardalavaca
Blau Varadero
Iberostar Tainios
Breezes Jibacoa (might be worth contacting Delwyn who posted above as I think he works for the only UK agent I can find offering this hotel)
Playa Pesquero

Zazie

We went in November with The Holiday Place who seemed to offer best value for money for what we wanted. I did all dealings over the phone and the girl I spoke to had first-hand knowledge of the resorts and was more than happy to tailor things to suit us. http://www.theholidayplace.co.uk/.

I agree it seems a shame to go all that way and not see more than the beach. We did a 2-centre holiday : 4 nights B & B in the capital Havana (Hotel Mercure Sevilla) and then 9 nights all-inc at the Blau Varadero in Varadero. It was a good balance. We loved Cuba and were really pleased with both hotels.
We also did a day-trip from Varadero to the south of the island to get a glimpse of rural life.

Incapuppy

Aquatronixjenny wrote: »

I had no problem with my insurance, didn't need any jabs at all.

I sincerely hope that anyone travelling anywhere abroad is sensible enough to seek current advice from their GP or practice nurse regarding recommedation or requirement of vaccinations rather than take the above sort of advice as gospel.

kaya

ermmm.... have you checked your not going in the hurricaine season? we have been to the carribean several times and the prices are cheaper when its pants weather, i think the hurricaine season stops in mid november and starts in april?
E.T.A
just checked and it starts in june !!!
http://www.cubatourism.ca/travel-tips/cuba-hurricane-season-information/
hope you havent booked it just yet !!

Incapuppy

kaya wrote: »

hope you havent booked it just yet !!

...without checking what the hurricane season actually means in terms of day to day weather. I have been to Cuba three times in the hurricane season and the weather was far from 'pants'

jtr2803

kaya wrote: »

ermmm.... have you checked your not going in the hurricaine season? we have been to the carribean several times and the prices are cheaper when its pants weather, i think the hurricaine season stops in mid november and starts in april?
E.T.A
just checked and it starts in june !!!
http://www.cubatourism.ca/travel-tips/cuba-hurricane-season-information/
hope you havent booked it just yet !!

I am sorry to correct you but while, yes, it is technically hurricane season that doesn't equate to rain and hurricanes every day! I went for 2 weeks in June and we had one 10 minute shower in the middle of the day while the sun was still blaring......

Aquatronixjenny

Incapuppy wrote: »

I sincerely hope that anyone travelling anywhere abroad is sensible enough to seek current advice from their GP or practice nurse regarding recommedation or requirement of vaccinations rather than take the above sort of advice as gospel.

eeerm, that was the advice of my GP! Don't need jabs for Cuba. Their sanitation is fantastic and their health service is excellent, much better than ours. Obviously check with your GP at the time of your holiday as the regulations may have changed. Only thing is that you may be exposed to viruses that we don't have over here, but if you get sick the doctors are amazing and you won't get landed with a huge bill (like you will in Europe). A few years ago a friend of mine became sick in Cuba (a virus, caught off another hotel guest). He had to be admitted to a hospital for 2 days and the bill was.... £20!

stanehyve

we are going to Cuba in July what is the best way to take money some posts on this matter say take all your money in sterling and change it as required some say travellers cheques are a waste of time use your debt card, not sure what to do.

Stanehyve

Katerina_sa

Incapuppy wrote: »

I sincerely hope that anyone travelling anywhere abroad is sensible enough to seek current advice from their GP or practice nurse regarding recommedation or requirement of vaccinations rather than take the above sort of advice as gospel.

I'm going to cuba in 26 days and I had my jabs today - Hepatitis A & Typhoid and Tetanus/Diphtheria/Polio.

We are going to stay in Havana for 2 days, travel around cuba for 2wks and we will spend 3-4 days in Havana before coming back to the UK.

I don't think it's worth going all the way to Cuba and stay in a resort. It's always better to get to know the culture a bit and see what the island has to offer. Lisa's daughter is only 19yrs old so i'm not sure how safe it is for young people to travel around (I'm a bit reserved!).

I'm looking for a travel insurance now and ideally I would like one which offers medical repatriation, you never know. I've looked 10 companies so far and no one mentions repatriation. I will keep looking, unless someone has any advice for me.

Rgds
Katerina