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I need a vacation.. suggestion needed!
After spending the last hour or so shoveling over 15 cm of snow off my driveway, I figure I've had enough of this stupid weather. I gonna book a vacation out of this winter forever land.
I am thinking of going to Varadero, Cuba since I haven't been there before. Have you been there? What were your favorite activities or places? Once again, I am bringing my kids with me (5 and 3 yrs old) so I need something that we can do as a whole family. I have gotten some excellent recommendations from you guys for our last trip to Mexico so I figure I go the old well once more. Any information that you provide may help us a long way in making our trip as enjoyable as it can be. Thank you. PS My wife is Canadian permanent resident. Is she allowed to travel to Cuba? I'll check with my travel agent on Monday but I thought I check with you guys first. Once again, thanks a bunch. |
I went there about 10 years ago and thought it was ok. The water was not that great if you like to go in the ocean. In my opinion it's best to go with the 4+ star hotels or you're going to be disappointed in the quality of everything including food. The hotel I stayed at is no longer there but I heard that Breezes is nice. For stuff to do it's the same as everywhere else, there is dolphin excursions, snorkeling, there is a little market there with local vendors and if you want you can go to Havanah which is a nice little city and not too far from there. It doesn't have great shopping areas but excellent Rum and cigars obviously. I would recommend it if you're looking to just go somewhere and not looking to break the bank going.
Canadians are allowed there...oh and the airport scared me as it's not as friendly as I was use to (security guards in full army gear including huge guns just standing and staring at you) |
Cuba is nice, but I haven't been with kids so can't suggest family activities. I don't see any problem with your wife going. If you go, make sure you book 5 star, as that's going to be about a 3 star anywhere else. If you go to a resort, eat local food, it's what they make best. There are a lot of good restaurants in town, and you can probably arrange a home cooked meal through someone at the hotel. Some of the best meals I had was while staying with a family in Havana.
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Only time I saw armed patrols was in Havana when I went to rally to hear Castro giving a speech. Then ya, lots of guns :) |
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I'v e been to Varadaro, and didn't like it because it was too touristy for me. The beaches always had a red flag out to warn you not to swim. Though some people swam anyway. My friend went there and had a totally different experience. He loved it. Swam every day and on some reefs as well, where he saw a lot of life.I must have been on the wrong beach.
I would recommend, You use google earth, satellite, and see if the hotel you are thinking of has a reef outside. I've been 3 times to Cuba and have always felt safe. Just didn't like Varadaro. |
Cozumel is nice. Been twice.
Very quite. Great snorkeling. Food is unreal. |
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On another trip, we stayed with Iberostar Varadaro. It was for a friend's wedding and there were kids within the group. This place has ok food, but it's just your run of the mill foods. It was a great resort though, with nightly early shows for kids, and then the adult oriented live shows followed. The resort also had regular activities where staff went around and solicited participation... I played a lot of volleyball with friends there. Kids easily met friends at the pool or beach, but the place was big enough that kids and families didn't bother us. It was nice to drink with friends and chill on the beach.
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The first time I went anywhere was to Havana, and spoke three words in Spanish. It was embarrassing :) So when I got home, I started studying and now speak a fair bit so I can carry on casual conversations. But Google basic Spanish, learn greetings, please, thank you, where is stuff, etc. Cuba is de nada for you're welcome vs con gusto in other countries. Papaya is a bad word and do NOT use it outside of the buffet at the resort :) most other stuff is generic. A popular tourist phrase is "mucho bueno" which means nothing in any proper form :) Those were 2 of my three words my first trip -lol And spending the week with a family that spoke 2 words in English made it very interesting. Actually one of my most memorable vacation times, but I felt bad for assuming everyone in a foreign country would speak my language. They don't! |
Oh, and if you know French at all, Spanish shouldn't be tough. Same language structure with feminine/masculine, verb tense, etc. Also formal vs. casual greetings.
"Como Estas" for casual, staff that call you amigo or campenero. "Como esta usted" for more formal greetings. Assume all women are Senora, not seniorita. But similar to French. Not tough to learn if you've already played with other languages. |
There's a number of off resort excursions that you can do. Cuba is communist so all the tours are government operated. The country is quite safe as they have a very limited tourism market (mostly Canada and Europe), so the government works hard to keep tourists safe. Locals treat tourists like gold. You convert your CAD to Cuban Convertible Pesos at the hotel (like USD exchange rate) but each tourist Cuban Convertible Peso that you tip is like tipping them $25 so they work hard for tips without being imposing.
Of the off-resort trips, we liked the local province (Matanzas) trip, the snorkelling trip to coral beach, the boat cruise to Cayo Blanco. The trip to Havana was ok just to say that we did it, but we felt very 'processed' as it is their most demanded trip so they just rush you through the full day. Skip the jeep safari if you go on many other trips, as you just hit the same spots as all the other tours. https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n..._2669548_n.jpghttps://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n..._1620895_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n..._5124599_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n..._2148108_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n..._5658393_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n..._4758183_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...3_710970_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n..._2457448_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n..._7033703_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n..._1062931_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...09653329_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...32981049_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...65664932_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...85541527_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...55640024_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...94612146_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...78690562_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n..._6323774_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n..._4093865_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n..._6065520_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n..._8191243_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n..._7577955_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n..._6268607_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n..._5106642_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n..._4066857_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n..._1867307_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...3_941481_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n..._1371914_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n..._3712472_n.jpg supposed jeep safari are in these things, and you just go where all other tours go anyway. https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n..._2105692_n.jpg |
All those pics make me want to go back :)
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this being Canreef and all, here's some Varadaro water related shots. Not the best snorkelling. It's a poor country... so near shore waters are well-fished.
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my next trip is Florida Keys though. Going to get some dives logged. It's been about 7 years since I was there. I recall great snorkeling with lots of big animals in the marine preserves. |
Wow.. those are beautiful pictures Reef_Geek. Thank you so much for the pictures and the detailed information. So should I bring Canadian or US dollars to Cuba? Which do they prefer or it doesn't really matter since they gonna force you to convert everything to Cuban convertible pesos?
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I brought CAD and converted as I went. The front desk at the hotel can convert for you. Sometimes around the resort, I tipped CAD. I tipped our room maid $5 CAD a day and she left me a personal thank you note every day. The tours can be purchased at the hotel, where tour sales reps have daily hours. They'll take Visa. (will not accept AMEX due to embargo). |
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More snow today.. can't wait until I see the travel agent on Monday.
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Just want to say thank you again for all your opinion/recommendation. We had a really good time in Varadero and I would come back there in a heart beat.
It's cloudy and windy with a chance of rain/snow in Edmonton today. Would this ever stop?? |
Glad to hear you had a good time.
Alberta April... sigh... yeah. |
Reef geek I stayed in jibacoa last year, between veradero and Havana.
Some of the best reef I've seen, extremely lush and full of life my camera died after my first picture of a cuttlefish so I had to just enjoy it for the week. No pics |
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I don't think I'm going to go back to Cuba any time soon. I already have my next trip booked / paid. Going back to Florida to log some dives in Key Largo. There's a number of MPAs in Florida waters and stringent fishery regulations, reinforced with enforcement infrastructure & penalties that are debilitating to offenders. When I think of a reef that is 'lush' there's got to be apex predators that keep lower trophic levels in check, in balance, and so diversity is sustained. Most dives in Florida will include encounters with many apex predators bigger than yourself. Jew fish (PC name is now Goliath grouper), reef sharks, bull sharks, lemon sharks, nurse sharks, baracudas etc. A tell tale sign of whether a system is locally over fished or not... is whether you commonly see apex predators. If they are present, there is strong protection in place to protect (both) them... and their food species. This is why places like Florida Keys and Bonaire are such gems... unlike other places in the Caribbean that lack the means or economics to protect their fisheries. I'm looking forward to seeing these guys again: https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...952_4378_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...952_2173_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...952_3131_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...952_4897_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...952_4650_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...952_1166_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...952_1928_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...952_2451_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...952_4043_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...952_7068_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...952_9512_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...952_7047_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...952_8855_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...952_3555_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...952_2649_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...952_7758_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...952_8818_n.jpg |
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