Our weekend in Havana 9/1-4- some ideas for you?

After spending 12 hours in Havana back in July, my wife and I decided that we needed to go back and spend more time there. Thanks to our schedules, we were able to go down Sept 1-4 and not take any days off.

On our first trip, we booked a 6 hour (turned into 7) car tour we booked through Tour Republic. During the tour, we found out that our driver, Ruben, also has a home for rent. And with it being listed on Airbnb, it was a reasonably easy choice. Only reasonably, because we also found some cool looking spots in Plaza Vieja- but in the end, we went with a person we knew, and the cheaper room.

My wife did all of the research, and she found a good number of people offering tours, but as it turned out, the main two that we used were Tour Republic and Airbnb. The latter may be a surprise- as it was to me. I thought they were just a room booking thing, but they also have experiences that anyone can book.

I know there are quite a few other choices of companies, but those are the ones we used, and that's what my information is about... Both Airbnb and Tour Republic allow you to pre-book and pre-pay before you leave- which is perfect for many cruisers who are familiar with doing that.

I'll go over this day by day...

So our flight arrived in Havana at about 10:30am. We had expected that our previous host and owner of the apartment we were staying at would pick us up. BUT- his wife got ill... :( He contacted us the night before telling us that he had a friend of his come get us. Worked out perfect.

Got to Havana, saw our apartment (which was close to La Floridita), and went out to get some basic provisions for breakfast. Odd experience that few here would need to worry about- the store we went to dealt in CUC, and you had to pay at ever station we got stuff at. Thanks to us looking confused- a woman helped us, for the small fee of a bag of powdered milk. Considering how much we spent, that was pretty expensive. Next time, we will go to a smaller market nearby where it's less confusing. But that's no what a cruiser needs to know.

The first area we wanted to visit was the Santo Angel neighborhood- specifically some community projects started by a barber that wanted to revive his neighborhood. There are some artists, a museum for barbers, and some restaurants we saw. Very nice.

First things first, though- since we've been traveling since morning- lunch. We had a light lunch at La Farmacia, which is a palador (private restaurant) in an old pharmacy. The appetizers we got were very good, and the mojitos were perfect.

After that, we went to the Seis Seis Studio- (#74 Aguiar) - we passed it a few times since the very simple white doors were not open. But we found it, and knocked. Very cool more modern art, and a great conversation with the two owners.

Next on our schedule was a Free Walking Tour. (just google free walking tour havana). This is a good one for cruisers- as it's done twice a day- 9am and 4pm. The tour is 3 hours wandering around a lot of old Havana. Learned a lot about Havana and living in Havana- and I very much recommend this tour. We paid a decent tip, and had to head back to our hotel to shower for our final first day event.

We've been fans of Afro Cuban All Stars and Buena Vista Social Club since we saw both in concert almost 20 years ago. They still have a club in a different neighborhood in Havana, but they also have a nightly concert in old Havana- the Legendarios de Guajirito. This event you need to get tickets for, and we spoke to a few on our ship who did it, and so I'm sure someone on your ship can help. We contacted them directly, and our host, Ruben, paid the 50% down and we paid the rest when we arrived (of course, we paid Ruben back... ;) ).

You can either just see the show OR that and have dinner. The people who sit for dinner get the best seats- so just be aware of that- we were right up front. The reviews of the dinner on line are accurate- it's ok food, not spectacular. But well worth it with the seat we got. The real show starts at 9pm, and goes just about 2 hours. Great, great, great show. We *might* do this again. Or go to the Tropicana next time. This is a great show for cruises that overnight in Havana.

After the show, we took one of the bike taxis back to our apartment. Which work great, BTW.

Some notes- old Havana is pretty small, but it can be a lot of walking. We generally had no issues walking from one place to another- other than the HEAT. Holy cow. If you can, the walk from the ship to the Capitol/Parke Centrale/La Floradita isn't too bad. There's a pedestrian road, Obisbo, that goes from Plaza del Armas to La Florididta- which has a lot of shops along the way.

On the other hand- if you have mobility problems- Old Havana can be really tough. Rough streets, narrow sidewalks, and many things up stairs. So you know...

Thanks! Are going to post more, I hope? Enjoy reading about Cuba. We're going later this year...

Day 2...

We started the day with a tour of the San Isidro neighborhood. This we booked as an experience with Airbnb, and our tour guide Claudia is a history student at the University of Havana. She has done a lot of research in the area, which turns out to be a very historic, but somewhat forgotten neighborhood. It's located to the south of the port area- past where you see buildings being restored.

VERY interesting tour, and it included a couple of fascinating churches- one that is very similar to a cathedral in Europe- layout and the frescos on the walls. But all of the art was done by Cuban artists. Beautiful art. Given the state of much of Old Havana- the condition of the church is in great shape. Claudia would really like to see the church restored- and I agree. The other church we visited is the oldest church in Cuba- and it designed more like a modest colonial style Catholic Church, including the wood roof. Again, in great condition.

Near the end of the tour, we stopped for a rest and a drink at Draquecitos Bar-Restaurant. Lots of good reviews for this, and had we been back in the area, for sure we would have had some kind of meal there. It's only been open since June '17- so they are very new.

At the end of the tour, we ended at Daniel Aties Sans' art gallery. Daniel has been an artist for many years, and his education is also in engineering- so that explained some of the appeal of his art. If you are in the neighborhood, I would suggest finding his studio and checking it out. He's making a lot of changes to help the neighborhood. Very cool.

We spent longer than we expected, and had to quickly find someplace to eat. We were on our way to the Art Museum, and Sloppy Joes was right there. The food was ok, but the drinks were really good. Not sure if it's totally worth it, but there's a lot of pop culture there. Worth seeing.

Next up was a tour of the art museum (Museo de Bella Artes Cubano) with a guide. This one we booked via Tour Republic. Really incredible tour, but was cut short because we all thought the museum closed at 6pm, but it really closed at 4pm. Orlando was an AMAZING guide- very knowledgable and passionate about Cuban art. The big problem- he only does Spanish. So if you are fluent in Spanish- this is an amazing tour at an amazing price. We plan on going back next time we are in town.

WIth the tour ending early, we sat down to a drink at a hotel across the street from the museum. After talking with Orlando for just about 2 more hours, we had learned a LOT more about Cuba and the history. This was one of those conversations where you learn that there are a lot more freedoms that Cubans have relative to what many of us think.

It was time for dinner.... Our original plan for Saturday was to eat at Dona Eutimia, which is pretty well known thanks to the effforts of the owner. Sadly- it was closed for September... :(

Time to insert a little editorial here- thanks to the large, recent increase in paladors, the number of reviews on the internet is pretty small- and every single popular known restaurant is pretty crowded. No doubt they are really good. But realize that you may want to branch out and try some less known places- so that you can find a table to eat.

I was getting little cranky due to hunger, so tried to see what restaurants have. Even sat down at Cafe Paris. Thankfully, they were out of the food we wanted.

Remember the Free Walking Tour? At the end of that, they gave us a list of restaurants to eat at. One was both off the main path and close to where we were, so we decided to try it.

Mas Habana on Calle Habana.

When we got in, there were only a few other people there, but we were hungry, and decided to stay. There was a trio doing some jazz, so that was nice. Good thing we stayed. The food was the best we had all weekend by a very, very wide margin. We had sliced pork and ropa vieja- and both were really, really good. Like spectacular good. Both were served with Cuban tamales- and don't expect what most Americans know as tamales from Mexico- while they are made of corn, the flavoring is very Cuban. It reminded us of Puerto Rican pasteles.

Oh, and the drinks were great, too.

Mas Habana.

One more editorial. Last time we were in Havana, we ate at a Paladar on the tour. That one had a "tourist" menu- app, soup, main, desert, drink, and water. The prices kind of surprised us starting at $20pp, so that was clearly for the tourists. BUT... Mas Habana and El Patchanka (tomorrow) were FAR more what we were told about on the cruise. The menu is more what we expect- all ala-carte. And the prices were really amazing- we did Mas Habana for under 30 CUC. So it does pay to look around and find restaurants that don't have fixed menus for tourists. You may find better food, and you probably will find cheaper prices.

Day 3...

This one started out really interesting. We booked a culture run via Airbnb. Yes, a run where you see the sights of Havana. This one *might* be possible for an early arrival, easily done if you do an overnight.

Our guide, Gelin (pronounced Helen), started us in the neighborhood we started at- Santo Angel. Specifically a cool little place called Cafe del Angel. And you will see this come up again this same last day... :)

From there, we ran out toward the Malecon- well, not really there- somewhat near where the chain was drawn up at 9pm every night preventing ships from entering Havana harbor back in the day. From there, back to the Capitolio, through the entrance to Chinatown, and through central Havana. We stopped a few times to talk about history, the economy, specifics about where we were, etc. We even went to a mall. The trip wound through the University of Havana, before ending near a market close to the middle of the Malecon. Totally cool run. Cool as in neat. It was still hot as in Cuban hot. And we had to get back to our apartment. If you are familiar with the area, we were out near the Hotel National. Which is a few miles from our apartment. While the walk was tough (hot) we got to see more central Havana and some of the Malecon. Even with the exhaustion, the walk was neat to see it.

We ended up on the Prado- and there were some artists out there selling stuff. Of course, we got a few more things.... :)

After a shower, we were hungry- and the restaurant that was close and known was full (I pointed this out in the last post). So we were starving, and found El Patchanka. Again, few people were there. And AGAIN, looks were deceiving. Good think the music was so good that we just collapsed- again, the appetizers we got were really good and really inexpensive. We also got the special mojito- was was just 2.50 cuc. Very cool, and we bought a CD of the band. I should remember to rip that CD, now that I'm thinking about it.

Editorial time again- this trip really stretched outside of our comfort zone. I'm not going to claim that we go out and spend time in odd and poor neighborhoods when we vacation- we don't. This time we were. Kinda hard to avoid poverty in Havana. So if you walk to El Patchanka, to know that it's not a super clean neighborhood- it's just a neighborhood. What people HAVE posted about Cubans is 100% spot on- they are really nice, and we never, ever, felt unsafe. But it did take a little to get fully comfortable with the surroundings. Just know that. Havana is still awesome.

After lunch, we spend the rest of the afternoon shopping- mostly for souvenirs for our family. It was a pretty hot walk up and down Obisbo.

Then our last scheduled event- a dinner experience at La Giraldilla. This was cool, as we had a balcony overlooking one of the small original forts. AND we had a great seat to see across the bay for the 9pm cannon. The food was very good, but the experience was really cool. Not the cannon- but the people at the restaurant. My wife booked this experience through Tour Republic, too- which seems odd for a tour. But they were expecting us, and gave us a massive welcome. To the point of Skyping the family member we had spoken with who was in San Fransisco (and remember, the internet is far from free).

We could see some things moving around on the other side of the bay, and sharply at 9pm, there was the cannon. Very, very cool.

After dinner, we walked out to the bay, along to it, and back in the Santo Angel neighborhood (again :) ). This time, we also found a playground that the barber had built for the kids that my wife wanted to see. And ran into Cafe Angel again- looked really neat. AND saw a few other really fun looking bar-restaurants. Again, I'll remind the reader that it can pay off wandering around a little to find a restaurant.

This was it- the next day we got up, and flew home. (BTW, anyone know how to get through Atlanta terminal E with Duty Free Liquor and not have to pack it???)

Some final thoughts.

Cuba is a great place to visit. The history you see is really neat to see up close. Havana is a very historic area- dating back many centuries, and has a pretty significant part in the history of the European history of the western hemisphere.

Music is ALL OVER THE PLACE. You can hear various sized bands playing in restaurants all the time you walk. So it's pretty easy to find a small bar with a band, have a few drinks, an appetizer, and before you know it, a few hours will have passed by.

Food is great. One should be reminded that Cuban food is like Puerto Rican- so while there is flavorful spices, it's not hot. Lots of use of garlic and onions. Drinks are generous- you will find Havana Club in Moito every place you go.

But, by far, the biggest highlight of Cuba and Havana are the people. We had so many awesome conversations every day- artists, students, taxi riders, etc. People are so cool to talk to. For sure, if you speak Spanish, you will have a far easier time. Better- if you are Puerto Rican- as there's a LOT of shared culture between Cuba and Puerto Rico. My wife was so happy with the greetings every time she mentioned where she was born. And it was fun to talk about the contrast between the two places in similar time periods.

I've been fascinated by Cuba for a long time, and wanted to go for many years. I very much hope we can keep going back. From rumors have been talked about- it was restricting the individual person to person licence. But we went with the "Support Cuban People" - the only "state" part was the fee going into the Museum- as we ate in paladors, toured with individual entrepreneurs, and stayed at a private apartment. Which reads of what needs to be done for that.

I hope that gives you some ideas for your trip. I don't expect our trip would be for everyone, but it gives you some ideas for searching on Google if you don't want to use the cruise line excursions.

Thank you very much, alfaeric. There's so much good stuff in there, and while I'll be on a cruise and my time will be limited, there are certainly some gems in there. Who knows, maybe I'll go back some day on my own (if current administration doesn't make that impossible) and explore different areas, restauraunts, etc.

Thank you very much, alfaeric. There's so much good stuff in there, and while I'll be on a cruise and my time will be limited, there are certainly some gems in there. Who knows, maybe I'll go back some day on my own (if current administration doesn't make that impossible) and explore different areas, restauraunts, etc.

My pleasure. I know there isn't a lot of info out there, so any reviews can be handy.

And I think that all we did can fit into an itinerary of some type- the night stuff can only be done with overnight trips, and if the ship arrives later than 9am, then the morning items are limited.

But the available itineraries are varied enough that something might fit. And not everything is time specific.

What a wonderful review. We are scheduled an overnight in Havana for Nov 4th. I just saw a piece on BBC NEWS AMERICA highlighting the damage to historic Havana buildings by Hurricane Irma. We remain hopeful that our trip will be fine.

Again, thank you for all the great information and insights into Cuba.

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What a wonderful review. We are scheduled an overnight in Havana for Nov 4th. I just saw a piece on BBC NEWS AMERICA highlighting the damage to historic Havana buildings by Hurricane Irma. We remain hopeful that our trip will be fine.

Again, thank you for all the great information and insights into Cuba.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We have heard from everyone we met (all of them are ok), and it seems that most of the damage was within a few blocks of the Malecon, right along the Atlantic waterfront. Some of the Old Havana buildings might have some new damage, but for the most part Havana made it ok. It's to the east that really got horrible damage.

I hope you can still go- we really loved Havana.