Family friendly Cuba

With so many places to go to in the world, I like to go somewhere different for my annual holiday. So for me to go back to somewhere I had already been, meant that it had to be somewhere very special! The place is Cayo Coco in Cuba. The hotel where I stayed was the Sol Cayo Coco. The hotel is rated as 4 star and I think this is a fair rating. It’s not elaborate, but it’s very clean, friendly, comfortable, well planned out, with good food and excellent staff. It’s not just the hotel that makes this place so special, it’s the location, the value for money, the family friendly beaches, the people, and the facilities. The hotel sits on a headland which means it has two fantastic beaches to choose from. The main hotel beach is typical of the Caribbean, white sand, blue water, and palm trees with all the hotel facilities there.

As it’s an all inclusive hotel things like pedalos, kayaks, catamarans, and snorkelling are all included. The other beach has to be the most child friendly beach anywhere. It is so shallow that even the sand is raised out of the sea in places, forming small islands where you can pull up your sunbed and be completely surrounded by water. You can paddle out with small children in the warm water forever as it’s so shallow with hardly a ripple in sight.

The next thing that makes it so good for families is the animation team. They work tirelessly all day long entertaining adults and children alike. They have a kids club which is set beside the beach which means you can see your children whilst you do your own thing. They even do trips out from the hotel for the children. Parents can go as well; we took the trip to El Baga to see the animals and the natural beauty of this island. At night they do the usual kids disco but also once a fortnight they do a full Disney production on the open-air stage. My daughter was lucky enough to be chosen for the part of the cub in the Lion King. A very proud and memorable moment. They love children and go out of their way to keep them entertained which in turn means happy parents. Other evenings, more adult type shows take place like Broadway style musicals, magic shows, cultural dancing and comedy shows sometimes with audience participation. They have a sister hotel on the neighbouring island of Cayo Guillermo. For a small fee a bus will take you across to this hotel where you can use their facilities. This makes a pleasant change and the beaches there are just as good.

One day we went horse riding along the beach and even into the sea, a great experience. Another day we did the jungle safari where you get to steer your own speedboat through the mangroves, zigzagging through like something out of a ‘James Bond’ movie. We took a day trip to swim with the dolphins and had to fly to the south coast of Cuba, to the City of Cienfuegos. First we toured the city, photographed the architecture, saw the old cars and funny little yellow taxis and watched the locals going about their business, before moving on to the dolphinarium. What a fantastic experience. Two dolphins pushed at the soles of my feet and lifted me out of the water. My four year old daughter was pulled around the pool holding onto the fins of her dolphins. This is not to be missed and excellent value for money. Another day we hired a minibus and driver and he took us over to the mainland to the nearest town of Moran. It reminded me of the village square in the movie 'Back to the Future'.

Time seems to have stood still in Cuba and this adds to the charm of this country. The Cubans are quite poor by our standards but are very happy and contented. Because Cayo Coco is not commercialised and most things take place in the hotel you certainly feel very relaxed after a couple of weeks there. I think this is due to the fact that everything is more or less hotel based, no crossing busy roads, choosing which restaurant to eat in, you don’t have to get dressed up if you don’t feel like it, no worrying about how much things cost. For a family holiday Cayo Coco is hard to beat.