Captivating Cuba

Caroline Linton on 20 August 2015
Having visited the Caribbean over a dozen times, I knew I would love Cuba. What a beautiful place with such an interesting history.

We flew to Holguin from Gatwick with Thomas Cook Airlines. The flight was fine and it helped that we had prebooked extra leg room seats. After an hour transfer on a modern air conditioned coach, we arrived at our hotel for the two weeks - the all inclusive 4* Sol Lunas Y Mares Resort in Guardalavaca. We were greeted by cocktails and a cheerful traditional Cuban band ! The great thing about this hotel for families is that you can pre book a family room which is actually two rooms guaranteed to be adjacent to one another. This was perfect for my family.

The hotel has a Lunas side and a Mares side and rooms either overlook the bay behind or the sea the other way. The hotel sits on the stunning Esmeralda Beach and sunbeds are provided along with watersports such as pedaloes, hobbie cats and kayaks. The beach is soft white sand and the sea is one of the most turquoise blue I have ever seen - think Maldives clear ! One end is great for snorkeling as there is coral right up to the shore, whereas to the left the shore is pure soft sand. There is a bar and a lovely restaurant to grab lunch on the beach too. The hotel has a la carte Mexican, Italian and French restaurants that you book and can visit each once a week. Also there is a surf and turf, burger/snack restaurant and the main buffet which was very impressive. Daily entertainment and a daily little craft market kept everyone happy and the children loved the pool games organized. There is also a hotel run kids club for 5-12 year olds. All hotel staff seemed friendly and efficient. The hotel has 'theme nights' such as 'White Night' and a unusual Water Ballet Evening which we all enjoyed. Cuba is exceptionally good value for money, for us it worked out cheaper than Greece or Turkey. I would highly recommend this hotel for a family holiday.

Cuba is the largest Caribbean island and is 780 miles long. The area of Guardalavaca is too far away from Havana to be able to visit the islands' capital city on a day trip. For this, you are best to stay in the Varadero beach area. You can still visit the city of Holguin to see the old cars, cigar factory and market if you want to see a real part of the country. We took two excursions which were great value for money and I would highly recommend. The first was a Dolphin swim and a sunset catamaran cruise. The dolphinarium is set in the nearby bay at sea so the dolphins are in the most 'natural environment' possible for captive dolphins. It was a wonderful experience ! The second trip was called 'Island Paradise' when we boarded a catamaran, set sail, enjoyed snorkeling with the guide and saw the most amazing shoals of fish and then you head to a secluded picture postcard beach for lunch in the restaurant there and time to swim/sunbathe or do a mini jeep safari. The guides on these trips talked about the history of Cuba and about the way of life here. Very interesting and we have since bought a book on Cuban History to learn more.

Cuba is exceptionally good value for money, for us it worked out cheaper than Greece or Turkey. I would highly recommend this hotel for a family holiday.

I've heard people say so often to visit Cuba now before the' Americans arrive and ruin it' - The Cuban people seem very proud of their country and the ones we spoke to all said how the country is in no hurry to suddenly open up MacDonald's' everywhere and be overrun with American tourists. Our rep summed it up when he said 'we have been talking to the US for 50 years and we will probably continue to do so for the next 50 years, doesn't mean anything will change'

If you'd like to experience this amazing island, contact me for details/quotes.