Mooching around in Cuba!!

[harticus]

Anyone been to cuba, I'm thinking of going in Jan 08 for 3 weeks. Theres no way on earth I am going anywhere near the all inclusives, was thinking of flying into Habana and taking it from there.

Has anyone got any tips RE accommodation or tips in general etc.

Also I want a mixture of city life, some good historical beautiful places and a few days on a paradise beach.

Please tell!!

[trabuquera]

there was a recent thread on this very board - try a search...
you'll get more detailed info and some possible itineraries on the Cuba branch of the Thorntree forum via lonelyplanet.com

good news: what you want to do is totally possible -there is perfectly good accommodation, food and transport outside of the all-inclusives bubble.
bad news: it's pretty costly, less so than other caribbean islands but much much more expensive than central america/mexico

[zoltan]

it might be cheaper to do an all inclusive & then fock off when you arrive and de jet lagged?

Ive done them to the heinous Cancun & scarpered to Belize & Guatamala - cna be good value if you can cope with the rigid flight timing

[Oula]

I posted on the other thread and am at work so can't write much now but we stayed with a lovely guy in Havana that I can PM you the details of. We went to some paradise beaches in Baracoa but that is right the other side of the island and a bit of a trek.

[rubbershoes]

we stayed at a casa particulares in havana. the woman who lived there had a cousin who ran one in pinar del rio . her nephew could drive us.

we got passed around the whole family. it was great :)

[Errol's son]

It can be dirt cheap if you want but the food is not great if trying to do it on a budget.

I think Zoltan is right... get an AI and just don't bother with it... use it as a comfortable place to crash and eat as much as you can there etc etc but just get out of the AI experience as much as you want to/need to! I think it is the cheapest way even if you are paying for a Casa and your AI at the same time.