Cuba
Cuba Holiday
The largest of the Caribbean islands is becoming increasingly popular and it is not difficult to see its attraction. The fascinating history, spectacular scenery and fabulous beaches combine to give the island its unique quality and make it an exciting holiday destination. The capital, Havana, is considered to be the essence of Cuba, with its vibrant atmosphere and intriguing history. Admire the Cuban architecture, shop for cigars or rum, sample the local cuisine and then salsa the night away in this captivating city.
Away from the hustle of the cities, the beach resorts boast miles of fine white sandy beaches on which to unwind. Varadero is a relaxed beach resort with international style hotels, while the quieter Cayo Coco is a little known part of Cuba but just as appealing with its powder soft beaches and clear blue seas.
With the appeal of Cuba becoming less of a well kept secret, now is the time to go and enjoy this island in its natural state.
In a world buffeted by the changes following the fall of Communism in Europe, sugar, rum, cigars and tobacco have been proving almost as difficult to export as the revolution. Cuba, while remaining under Fidel Castro a stubborn Marxist hold-out, has rediscovered its magnetic appeal for the increasingly profitable tourist industry.
This largest of the Caribbean islands is once again attracting hard currency with its beaches, the superb music and dancing of its nightclubs, and historic monuments of the Spanish colonial past (and revolutionary modern era). Besides pouring into the recently developed resorts like Varadero and Guardalavaca, visitors are discovering the proud capital of Havana, and other handsome cities such as Santiago de Cuba and Trinidad, dating back to the 16th century.
The most westerly of the West Indies islands extends some 1,300 km (over 800 miles) in length and about 100 km (60 miles) across its centre, standing at the entrance of the Gulf of Mexico. Its western end is only 145 km (90 miles) from Florida's Key West. In fact, Cuba comprises an archipelago of some 1,600 isles and cayos (cays), the largest being the Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) south of Batabaṇ Bay. Sheltered by long coral reefs, the coast has plenty of splendid sandy beaches, facing the Bahamas and Atlantic to the northeast, Jamaica and the Caribbean to the south. To the east, the Windward Passage separates Cuba from Haiti.
Three mountainous regions dominate the interior: the Sierra Maestra rich in flora and fauna, rising to over 2,000 m (over 6,500 ft) in the southeast, the lower Sierra del Escambray in the centre, slopes notable for their coffee plantations and several lakes, and the Sierra de los Organos, growing rice and tobacco, to the west. Between these ranges is a countryside of gently rolling hills and broad plains, where the vital sugar crop is harvested.