Cuba and the tour operators that serve Cuba offer thousands of packaged All Inclusive type options. These range from 2 to 5 star hotels and include a large number of helpful amenities, wonderful food, safety, luxuries and beautiful beaches. These also excel at minimizing travel risks and uncertainties. All of which is perfect for those travelling with young kids and are only on a one week holiday and do not wish to risk any inconvenience, disruptions or too great a culture shock.

The cost of the above packaging however, comes at the expense of experiencing truly Cuban moments, culture and people. For some, travel is more than beaches and sun, but much more rewarding if used as an opportunity to learn and expand ones understanding of others and self. For these, potential priorities may include:

• meeting many Cubans

• walking and seeing more traditional Cuban neighborhoods and towns

• shopping where Cubans shop

• experiencing more representative Cuban nightlife, dance and music

• being on the beach surrounded by Cuban families

• taking the opportunity to pick up a bit of Spanish

• learning about Cuba’s history and past, current and potential future political system and directions

• saving lots of money by learning to Cuban shop (accommodation, restaurants, pubs, groceries, transportation etc.) and using Cuban pesos rather than convertibles or CUCs

• use the opportunity to eat very fresh, delicious and high quality Cuban food such as vegetables, fruit, juices and fish

• Experiencing fun and very low cost Cuban services such as an outdoor haircut and nail pedicures, tattoos, massages etc…

• getting accommodations that are more like small apartments rather than hotel rooms

• spending hours on a main street café or pub patio watching and learning as Cuban families, workers, kids and students may their way, rather than staring at hundreds of other tourists at an AI pool or restaurant

• and access to a large number of truly non-commercial local Cuban guides for different tours

But this too comes at a small cost, risks and possible inconveniences, in areas such as:

• less predictable and secure logistics

• Miscommunications and/or misunderstandings when booking a Cuban hotel or casa particulara (e.g. reservations/bookings getting dropped etc.) probably due to language barrier or being late etc.

• Very small, but some possibility of petty theft (i.e. cigarettes, lighter, pickpocket, cell phone etc..)

• finding good food takes a bit more effort, meaning meeting and chatting with experienced people

• small complications or confusion with respect to transportation (i,e, buses and taxies)

Therefore there is a bit of a trade-off between the two types of travelling. And at the end of the day it largely comes down to circumstances (e.g. length of trip and previous traveling experience, priorities and whether family or single/couple) and personality.

Our web-site, friends and partners aim to provide years of experience, insight, information and other services to significantly minimize the above risks/situations and also importantly to very quickly familiarize, orient, establish and provide important and helpful Cuban contacts in Cuba.