Whether to go all-inclusive or not really depends on what sort of a holiday you want. If you are looking for a beach-based holiday in a hotel in one of the tourist resorts then you'll find it almost impossible to find anything other than AI on offer anyway. Depending on where you go, you could find that there isn't much on offer outside your hotel to compare with what is on offer on AI in it anyway. On the other hand if you are planning on a city-based stay or tour then AI is generally not an option in the city hotels.

If you are going to Cuba, then yes, a stay in Havana is worth the effort but have a browse through all the information that is available here and let us have a bit more info on the sort of thing that you look for in a holiday. For example, letting us know the sort of holiday and resort that you've enjoyed in the past will help people suggest comparable places in Cuba that you mgiht want to take a closer look at.

As for getting around, local journeys are best done by taxi - very cheap compared to the UK - and for travelling between cities it's best to use the Viazul buses. As a first timer though, unless you have good Spanish, you might find it easier to book onto the organised excursions available from your hotel.

SM

thanks SM, we have never been always gone to goa, there its B+B and u hire scooters, there are loads of places to eat out which are cheap, just wondering if cuba is along the same lines, dont realy want to be tied to a hotel for meals would like to explore the area and visit havana x

I've never been to Goa so can't directly compare it but have been dipping in and out of the Goa forum here because friends keep trying to presuade me that I'd love it. I'm not convinced and haven't been yet wheres as go to Cuba nearly every year which tells you a lot.

I think that there are a lot of similarities eg gorgeous beaches if you go to the right places, a very free and easy atmosphere and the Cubans are lovely people who on the whole probably won't subject you to the same level of hassle that seems to be the case with beach sellers in Goa.

However, you won't find the same sort of 'shack culture' that seems to be one of the big attractions for Goa regulars. Nobody goes to Cuba for the food, away from the hotels expect it to be pretty basic on most bars ans restaurants. Cuban cooking is based around grilled/fried meat, mainly chicken and pork or fish accompanied by large quantities of carbohydate, eg boiled rice and/or fried potatoes or plantains and the like, including yukka. Yes, you might have one as a houseplant at home but in Cuba its a carb staple where it's bolied and often served with gravy. There are other things to be had which are delicious such as roast suckling pig but you need to know where to look for them and find them amongst the 'paladares' which are privately run restaurants in people's own homes and which aren't widely and publicly advertised. Or you need to travel some distance - the most delicious spit-roasted pork cooked over an open fire that I've ever had was at a small place up in the mountains a 2hr drive from where we were staying in Santiago which might have been one of the reasons why it did taste so delicious once we got there. At least it fortified us for the drive back! To seek these sort of places out you'll need a reasonable level of Spanish if you are to get onto the local grapevine.

I've never come across scooters being for hire and hiring a car is expensive and frustrating - once away from the cities the road signs are very few and far between. And a hire car marks you out as a rich tourist because the number plates are different and all the locals know that you must have money if you are using one! As I said before Taxis are the cheapest way of getting around locally and the Viazul buses for travel between towns and cities. Cuba is a big island and some of the most popular tourist beach resorts are where the best beaches are but they are also often the most isolated from everyday life and Cubans.

If you are wanting to get to know something about Cuban life and meet local people other than hotel staff then you might want to consider staying in a 'casa particulare' - in other words staying as a house guest with a local family. This is what I usually do and the costs are very reasonable but even so, I suspect more than what you'd pay in Goa for comparable basic accommodation. And again, your hosts will probably only a a very basic knowledge of English and you will ned to meet them halfway with at least some basic Spanish. On the whole, I've been better fed in a 'casa' than I have in anything other than top flight hotels in Cuba and it's certainly better than the fare on offer in most bars and restaurants outside of the hotels.

It all depends on what you are looking for in a holiday, I go to Cuba for the music and dancing and I'm not really into beach-based holidays. Lots of others do go for the beaches but in my experience it is hard to combine the two - especially if staying somewhere where the really good beaches are - unless you do a two-centre holdiday or an organised tour. For example, the beaches near to Havana simply do not compare with what you'd find at Varadero and the cayos where some of the main tourist developments are. But if you go to those places, the opportunities to explore urban Cuba and the local bars and nightlife are few and far between.

Finally, if shopping is a big part of any holiday for you then forget Cuba. Once you get past rum, cigars and basic handmade craft souvenirs you've exhausted the shopping possibilities. Lots of people who got to Goa seem to enjoy the bargains to be had with regards to jewellery, 'designer' fakes, getting clothes made etc and there simply is none of that in Cuba.

SM

thank you, a lot to think about ...

Hi Adele,

We visited Cuba for the first time in June this year and loevd it. I hope you'll find it helpful; my trip report is here - http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=104&t=146215

SMa is someone who has been to Cuba loads and gave me lots of helpful advice before we went. I have a friend who has been to Goa many times and from talking to her, I don't think there is any comparison (other than the beaches) between there and Cuba so if it's a new experience you're looking for then try it, if you want more of the same I'm not sure it's for you.

I've never been to Cuba but I've travelled quite a lot and did both all inclusive and not. From my experience, when going to poor countries don't bother with all inclusive. It will much cheaper to stay at a B&B and eat out.
When going to European countries I always go for all inclusive or half board. I booked a half board holiday at a boutique hotel and it was amazing, so relaxing, didn't have to bother to go out at a resturant for food or get out of hotel for a massage. Great!

Jenny55 wrote:

I've never been to Cuba but I've travelled quite a lot and did both all inclusive and not. From my experience, when goiing to poor countries don't bother with all inclusive. It will much cheaper to stay at a B&B and eat out.

For most countries you are probably correct, but Cuba is very different. If a beach holiday is what you want then staying in the major beach resorts your only option will be AI Hotels.There aren't many places to eat out of the hotels. When I toured Cuba a couple of years ago apart from Havana and Santiago hotels either offered AI or half board not B&B.
Away from the major cities it was difficult to find anywhere to eat at lunchtime bread and cheese or ham and cheese were all that was on offer, if of course the restaurant had been able to obtain supplies at that time. As SMa you don't go to Cuba for the food.
Cuba really isn't the same as anywhere else I've visited, but it's colourfull and vibrant with super friendly and welcoming people and well worth visiting.

I would agree with Judith, B&B isn't really an option for the majority of tourists. The only hotels that do B&B are those in the big cities but most tourists on B&B rates still end up eating in their hotel anyway because there is so little on offer outside of the hotel. And doing that can be more expensive than just going HB or AI in the first place. The reason why the majority of hotels in the beach resorts are AI only is because their location means that there are hardly any facilities outside of them. For most tourists, going B&B in Cuba means either resigning yourself to very poor quality food or else paying over the odds compared to booking HB or AI in the hotel in the first place.

The other point to remember is that the only places you'll find any sort of beach infrastructure eg bars, toilets and sunloungers etc are on those beaches accessed from the hotels. If you are not staying there you'll either not be allowed on the beach in the first place or you'll be charged for using them - 10CUCs pp per day soon mounts up. Beaches away from those attached to the hotels tend to be just a that - a stretch of sand with nothing on them. Beautiful but not usually what the average tourist on a CAribean trip is wanting.

One way of doing Cuba on the cheap is to stay in 'homestays' (casa particulares) ie a room in someone's home - it's what I usually do but I also usually book an evening meal with them too. That way I can usually be sure of getting a good homecooked meal with a bit of variety compared to what's on offer elsewhere. But then I usually do city based trips. The sort of beaches I would want to spend time on aren't usually where you'll find a good choice of casas to stay in and if I was looking for a beach-based stay I'd always go to a hotel on HB. And resign myself to a basic ham (usually tinned) and cheese sandwich at lunchtime if away from the hotel doing a bit of sightseeing.

SM