My husband and I traveled to Cuba for our honeymoon during the second week of November. We had a fabulous time and were treated very well. We purchased the combo-vacation, spending 3 days in Havana at the Melia Cohiba and 4 days in Varadero at the Melia Varadero. The flight from Vancouver was just over five hours and jammed packed. The meal was very light and so we suggest bringing some small snacks. The wait to get through customs at the Cuba airport was over one hour and the wait for the luggage was another 90 minutes. Patience is a virtue, but we were prepared for this and didn’t mind it too much. Upon arrival at the Melia Cohiba, we were upgraded to a larger room that had a fruit basket, flowers, rum, cigars and desserts waiting for us. The hotel is older, and not a 5-star by North American standards, but still nice. The food there was so-so, but that encouraged us to get out more and experience Havana’s culture.

On our second day, we went on the Cubanacan five-hour city tour. I’m not a huge fan of bus tours, especially one this long, but this trip was great and a steal at just 15 pesos. Our guide was terrific and she showed us a combination of touristy spots and favorite local hangouts. I’d highly recommend this tour and it gave us a good sense of where to travel on our own.

The Melia Varadero was also a nice hotel and we had no problems there. We couldn’t, however, book any dinners at the specialty restaurants, with the exception of the Trinidad, because they were already booked up. You can have your travel agent book these in advance and in retrospect, I would have preferred to do that. This would also avoid standing in long lines at reception. For our honeymoon, we were also treated to a bottle of rum, fruit basket, breakfast in bed, and special dinner.

The beach at the Varadero was very nice. There is some exposed coral at the beginning of the beach, but if you walk further down, it’s not a problem. It was a little windy while we there and on the last day, the wind was so strong, swimming was not allowed. This made for great storm watching though and the pool was still open for swimmers.

We thought the food at the Varadero was great, especially the dessert. Yes, it was the same stuff every day, but there is enough food that you don’t have to eat everything at once! The staff was also very nice and friendly.

Overall, we had a wonderful time. We enjoyed the city of Havana much more than Varadero, because of it’s culture, friendly locals, and history. Varadero was a beautiful, relaxing beach vacation, but not especially unique from any other beach vacation in the Caribbean.