Cuba

Tap into the rhythm of Cuba, a vibrant Caribbean island that is found at the intersection of the northern Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. Infused by music, art, cuisine and architecture from Caribbean, Latin America and Spanish influences, colourful Cuba dances to the beat of salsa, rumba, jazz and flamenco. 

Yet the ubiquitous Afro-Cuban tempos and appealingly faded hues of crumbling colonial-era buildings only tell part of the story of this complex Caribbean jewel, put on the world map by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Its tumultuous history has seen numerous clashes, revolutions and rebellions, and its culture and economy has been shaped and defined by its conflicts, including the Cuban Revolution in 1953–1959 led by Fidel Castro and revolutionary figure Che Guevara, the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, followed by a plunging economic crisis that shut Cuba off from the world.

Today, Cuba is a country on the up, Havana especially is a revived city with a vibrancy that is palpable and easy to love. See the city’s dynamic entrepreneurial spirit triumph in its clutch of boutique hotels, restaurants ready to show off a hybrid Cuban-Creole gastronomy and the ever-present musical heritage to be enjoyed in dance halls, piano bars and live music venues, or perhaps just that lone jazz performer on the street corner. Amid pastel-hued houses, vintage cars and grand plazas, observe everyday life or trace its past – American literary giant Ernest Hemingway called Cuba his home for 20 years – visit his house and the Hemingway Museum.

Elsewhere on the island heritage industries prevail, like Cuba’s world-famous cigars. In Vinales, a rural heartland in west Cuba, presided over by the monolithic Sierra de los Organos mountains, tobacco farms grow the high-quality leaves which are dried for Cuba’s most famous export: the cigar.

The palm-fringed town of Trinidad on the coast of the island’s central south side is Cuba’s tropical heartlands – at its core you can swoon over pink, yellow and blue houses and winding cobbled lanes; or take historical tour of the sugar plantations and mills. The inlet of La Boca leads to pretty beaches and snorkelling just offshore. Divers will also be drawn to Jardines de la Reina, a marine reserve and Cuba’s second largest archipelago, known for excellent diving and great visibility. 

Cuba’s door is wedged firmly open, come explore.