Just got back from Cuba...

[bottleneckblooz]

Man what an awesome place!! Highly recommended for anyone looking to go down south on Vacation. It was my first time there and I'll definately be going back. Absolutely amazing beaches.

[MuSuLPhReAk]

How are the locals? How's the entertainment there? What about safety. Is it safe?

Pics would be nice too :)

[Anatomy]

Anything seem out of place with the castro switch up? The reports I saw showed that the locals didn't really expect any changes.

[Bowlcut]

I want to get there before El Commandante dies because after that the country is going to be just like any other Banana Republic.

[bottleneckblooz]

Cuba is very safe. It is probably the safest place to visit. I would be more worried about the other guests than the cubans. The locals love Canadians and are very nice! I went to Cayo Coco though and the only locals that I met are the ones who work at the resort. My gf has been into the bigger cities before and said the locals were always very friendly.
It's true that the Cuban people that I talked to didn't expect to see a whole lot of changes. To them it was just another day.

I will put some pics up soon.

[bigben]

Varadaro is a very nice area, a peninsula of all beach resorts. Beautiful white sand. Not a lot to do outside the resorts, aside from organized tours, unless you go into Havana. Havana is really cool, but I'd be cautious at night unless you know where you're going. Lots of beggars and people. Very nice to wander around during the day.

[Anatomy]

I have a friend that goes every year. Each time he loads a suitcase with $50-60 dollars worth of dollar store toys and gives them to children in local villages; he says it's the highlight of his trip.

Looking forward to the photos, we're on the melt here but nothing beats sunny beaches this time of year [even if they're only photos]

[shithead]

I heard to take gum as they dont have gum in Cuba.

Glad you had a good trip.
If you dont mind me asking, what did you end up paying for your accommadations?

Was the rum cheap? I would drink it all day.

Me three! Lets see some pics of Cuba!

[bottleneckblooz]

As promised....

[bottleneckblooz]

More..

[bottleneckblooz]

I heard to take gum as they dont have gum in Cuba.

Glad you had a good trip.
If you dont mind me asking, what did you end up paying for your accommadations?

Was the rum cheap? I would drink it all day.

Me three! Lets see some pics of Cuba!

We paid about $750 each, all inclusive for 1 week. The rum was about $7.00 Canadian for a 750ml bottle. :D

[shithead]

What was your flight $$?

So? did ya see any gum while there?

Thanks bro, those pics are awesome. Those beaches are magnificent.

What was the highlight?

[Gib]

Is juice legal down there?

[bottleneckblooz]

What was your flight $$?

So? did ya see any gum while there?

Thanks bro, those pics are awesome. Those beaches are magnificent.

What was the highlight?

Gum? lol, now that you mention it, I don't think I saw any locals chewing any gum. But they are so poor that gum is probably not high on their priority list.

The $750 each includes your flight, hotel, all you can eat and all you can drink for a week. Not a bad deal at all!

The highlight was probably the snorkelling. We went snorkelling on what they claimed was the second largest coral reef in the world. But I found out that it isn't actually, the second largest is off the coast of Belize. But anyway, it still was awesome.

[bottleneckblooz]

Is juice legal down there?

Not sure, but I would guess yes. But I would imagine it is quite hard to come by.

[MuSuLPhReAk]

Thanks for the pics. Very nice.

[Mr.Freeze]

yeah nice water!

[tripleA]

How were the people? I've been there a few times over 5 years ago and a $1 tip was appreciated. My friends went there a few weeks ago and the workers at the hotel would not take loonies or toonies, so it was $5 and up if you wanted any type of service. They told me they were so money hungry.

[AlbertaBeef]

I was there in '87 and tourism was just getting fired up. People were unbeleivably freindly, freaked me out one night in Varadaro coming home from a bar (some old boat in the water) by myself pretty loaded and about 7 guys followed me and surrounded me. None of them spoke english but the buggers were grinning and smiling like crazy and just wanted to talk and find out where I was from, what it's like there etc....at 3 in the morning. Rum was $1.50 US and they only took US money, nothing else. I want to go back, I thought it was beautiful down there.

[cedric]

A gorgeous place over there. Great pics!
Anatomy that sounds awesome of your friend to do.
Cuba resort towns are incredibly safe for foreigners/tourists.
The people are very friendly.

If anyone has the opportunity to go and like rum, buy one of their local brands called Legendario. The name is pretty suiting for it.

[savage]

nice pics..looking to go to Cuba, before the US gains a foothold there and corrupts it.

[shithead]

Banks and stores wont exchange toonies and loonies in the southern US. My assumption is that would be the case there as well.

[nottobig]

When I went a few years ago I was told there banks won't deal with coin money. When I went to Havana there were alway locals trying to trade loonies and toonies for cuban pesos because they said they couldn't take them to there banks. As for drugs I had a long talk with a tour guide who said that drugs and sex workers were not excepted well by the government. I remember reading an article in a fitness mag not long ago talking to cuban bodybuilder and they said they had no idea what roids were. If you go there you will see the gym are the shits, but they have unreal atheles there so who knowes if they are clean are not. Great country would recommend it to anyone interested in going.

[St]

Great pics,can't wait to go there one day.