Cuba Airfares

By Rachel Newcombe: Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean Sea and the most promising. Many citizens, expatriates and expectant visitors are eagerly awaiting what changes may come when Fidel Castro’s presidency is over. His presence, however, isn’t thwarting the scores of European, Latin American and American (via a 3rd country) people from visiting the country every year.

The capital city, with over two million inhabitants, is Havana. The city is awash with hotels - you can choose to stay in the tourist areas, near the Caribbean shore or in the heart of the oldest section. Sites worth visiting include El Capitolio Nacional, Casa de Las Americas and Museo Nacional Palacio de Bellas Artes. Also, popular are tours of Ernest Hemingway’s old home and haunts.

Pinar del Rio is the place to go for stunning, countryside landscapes. There are mogotes – strange round limestone mountains – and a number of caves with impressive stalactites and stalagmites. One of the most popular beach resorts is Vardero, on the north coast, with sandy white beaches and blue seas. The old quarter in Santiago de Cuba is home to colonial mansions and popular carnivals – even a carnival museum. Moncada Barracks, near Santiago de Cuba, is where Fidel Castro launched an uprising in the mid-1950s. See Cuba travel deals!