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In 2011, my family and I travelled to Cuba using Air France flying out of Manchester via Paris to Havana. There is the option to fly direct from Gatwick if preferred.

Cuba seems to attract a variety of clientele. Those looking for beach & sun normally make their way to Varadero (or Cayo Coco), and if it is of interest can add on Havana and Trinidad. Or for those looking to see more of Cuba – travelling further afield, where there can be a variety of accommodation and transportation that may require a more flexible approach.

One of the main reasons to visit Cuba now is to experience the country as it has been for over 50 years, with Fidel and Raul Castro in charge of its day to day running. There is no Sky TV and you will find internet access here and there but it is very very slow. Cuba is changing so it would be good to visit sooner rather than later.

Raul is beginning to open up Cuba e.g. on our last evening we dined at the first large commercial privatised restaurant in Havana – the government is usually part of any enterprise.

Our first few days were spent in Havana staying at a central Hotel with excellent rooftop views over Havana (and a refreshing rooftop swimming pool). One of our highlights was a guided walk of Havana taking in the Museum of the Revolution which set the country and city in context. Throughout Cuba there are portraits of Fidel and Ernesto "Che" Guevara as reminder of the country’s recent past. Cuba feels very safe and is easy just to wander around. There are 2 currencies in Cuba – one for locals and one for tourists.

From Havana we flew to the south east corner of Cuba – Baracoa. Baracoa is in the province of Guantanamo. The town doesn’t see so many visitors and is relatively untouched by tourism, though it comes alive at night with infectious salsa music from a street band. We spent three days relaxing and observing an unaffected Cuban way of life. A local Baracoan took us on a fascinating walk through the countryside tasting fresh passion fruit, drinking coconut milk and visiting a hidden cave.

From Baracoa we transferred to Santiago De Cuba, for two nights. Here, on 26 July 1953, the Cuban Revolution began with an ill-prepared armed attack on the Moncada Barracks by a small contingent of rebels led by Fidel Castro. This explains the many references to 26 July you will see dotted round Cuba. Being Cuba’s second city, Santiago itself is a busy and industrious city, with an amazing number of motorcycles in use.

From Santiago we drove via Camaguey (spending one night) to Trinidad where we stayed five nights in this town declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1988. Trinidad has lovely cobblestone streets, pastel coloured houses with elaborate wrought-iron grills as well as beautiful residence and plazas.

It was here that we visited the locally known horse-whisperer and booked a horse trek for the following day. It was a very customer friendly, relaxed way of experiencing the Cuban countryside and we even had a stop off at a beautiful cave waterfall where we had a refreshing dip and then lunch at an old sugar cane plantation house.

In Trinidad we experienced some of the nicest food in several Paladars (small family owned restaurants with heaps of character), with charming live quartets playing as we ate. After the calm and quiet of dinner you could take a very short walk up to the locally famous ‘steps’ where a live salsa band was playing and there we saw a whole array of people practicing their dance moves in warm balmy air under the stars until the small hours of the morning!

On our last day of the trip we negotiated a tour of Havana in a bright orange open top Buick (very reasonably priced); we visited Morro Castle (built 1589) a relic of Spanish colonialism; a cigar factory where the world famous Habanos cigars are produced; a tropical area almost in the centre of Havana (which surprised us all); the Plaza de la Revolucion and the famous Hotel Nacional where the gangster Al Capone frequented.

In December the Cuban climate was lovely – I think it rained once but otherwise the daytime temperature was around 27-30 degrees, so not too hot and pleasantly warm in the evenings.

It was a hit with the whole family.