The flight was good with some breakfast and even sparkling wine. We departed about an hour late as they ha to remove ice from the plane. The day before the flights were delayed
or even cancelled due to a big snowstorm, so at least we were lucky for that. We arrived in Cuba at 11h30 and 15 minutes after clearing controls were at our hotel.
I have been to Cuba before, to Santiago and although the beaches were nice the hotel was new but average and food almost inedible excluding juices, drinks, and fruit. All was spoiled with palm oil including deserts. So I had very low expectations for this trip and was a bit worried as this time I brought my family. I also have been to many excursions in the past in Cuba, but wasn't too impressed in general. At least the prices were low at one time. The meals included with excursions tasted like soap. Well, that was an improvement from bitter inedible hotel meals at that time. Ice cream had a texture and even the taste of sand. The highlight was the carnival of Santiago.
Especially I disliked any excursions with included meals, when often the meal becomes the center of the excursion rather than sightseeing. Not even sure why they advertise the meal as all our meals are included and are good quality. This is usually also true for other places, not just Cuba.
Now, the Cuban excursions also do have hefty prices for next to nothing to see or visit. Cuba is about beautiful nature, pristine beaches, good drinks and shows which are exceptional. The rest to me wasn't worth the big money requested. So, we didn't plan any excursions since we had it all at the hotel. And it was possible to use water bikes and kayaks which were included. Things like a catamaran or fishing can be interesting, but again the prices requested where not justified in my mind. We paid less for many excursions in Mexico where the pyramids definitely worth it, and even in Europe where there is so much to see, and the Euro is strong as compared to CAD, excursions are not that expensive. If a Cuban salary is of 15 CUC per month I can hardly see how they get to 115 CUC (115USD) per person for a 1 day excursion. A 50 CUC taxi ride to get to another beach? really? When we have an amazing beach right in front of us or can take a bus for 5CUC. See if you can rent a scooter, but this is not an option with small kids.
An excursion including cigar making? really? We had a guy at the hotel lobby making them. So, if you decide on an excursion just be careful and don't overpay for nothing.
Cuba has rationing for electricity and water. They lack essential items. In Santiago every night 12AM to 6 AM they turned of electricity and sometimes water. Water was the worst.
Also from experience the a la carte restaurants at the resorts are rather very average and often worse than the buffet meals. Not sure why they have some of theme restaurants such as an imitation of TexMex or Italian and it is considered as high end? I will take authentic Spanish food or even Cuban any day over these imitations. And although included we decided not to try from reviews of other travelers and we were pleased with the food in general at Iberostar Mojito.
Anyway, these were the reasons of my worries and low expectations. However on the bus we were told Cayo Coco is a resort place only. No Cuban live there, so it is only for tourists. It is also protected by UNESCO, so all the lagoons, faune and flore are protected. This was a relaxation escape for us for 1 week only, so this was a good place for that.
No comments:
Post a Comment