Cuba

Caribbean Flamingos at Zapata
Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae)

Photo by Ernesto Reyes
Art in Havana

Photo by Michelle Korczynski
University of Havana

Photo by Michelle Korczynski
Trinidad

Photo by Michelle Korczynski
Santa Clara

Photo by Michelle Korczynski
Palacio Valle, Cienfuegos

Photo by Michelle Korczynski
Plaza at Cienfuegos

Photo by Michelle Korczynski
Coral reef

A trip to Cuba is like a step back in time, with its colonial buildings, classic American cars, and oxen pulling wooden plows through the fields. The travel landscape is rapidly evolving as the government continues to ease its restrictions.

In Havana, a thriving artistic culture transforms African, Spanish, and American influences into a distinct national identity. Witness Cubans’ creativity, resourcefulness, and friendly nature in spite of economic hardship. Consider the strengths of a society committed to providing education and healthcare to all citizens, and see a tightly controlled economy face challenges and opportunities as entrepreneurs emerge. Outside Havana, fertile fields produce tobacco and sugar to fuel the country’s economy. Here you can examine firsthand U.S.-Cuban history and the impact of the U.S. embargo.

Beyond its cultural legacy, Cuba has a wealth of natural resources, including the distinctive limestone hills known as mogotes, unspoiled coral reefs, miles of beaches, two UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites (Alejandro de Humboldt National Park and Desembarco del Granma National Park), and a Ramsar Site (Zapata wetland), among others.

Holbrook Travel has been offering legal travel to Cuba since 2000. In that time, we’ve developed a vast network of connections and knowledge, and we look forward to sharing what we’ve learned with you to ensure you get the most from your experience.

Trips to Join

From $3,495

Birding

Cuba`s Birding Hotspots

with Cayuga Bird Club

Apr 16, 2025 - Apr 23, 2025

From $3,695

Natural History

Exploring Cuba | with Texas Association of Biology Teachers

Jul 8, 2025 - Jul 16, 2025

From $3,595

Birding

Cuba | Photographing Cuba`s Birding Hotspots with Renate Grupp

Dec 1, 2025 - Dec 8, 2025

Trips to Plan

From $3,495

Natural History

Cuba | A Mosaic of Culture, Community, and Ecological Riches

9 Days | Choose your dates

From $3,195

Birding

Cuba | Cuba`s Birding Hotspots

8 Days | Choose your dates

From $3,495

Garden Tours

Cuba | Agroecological Farming and Sustainability

9 Days | Choose your dates

Buildout

Overview

Environments

Called the “Pearl of the Antilles” for its natural beauty, Cuba has lush mountains, limestone mounds riddled with caves and underground streams, and pristine beaches with offshore islands ringed by coral reefs. Exploring these preserved habitats gives a glimpse of what the world's habitats were like many years ago. Valley de Vinales, one of the most beautiful parts of Cuba, and Zapata National Park are home to an impressive number of plant and bird species. Conservation projects are a priority in Cuba, to preserve this precious Caribbean biodiversity.

Wildlife

Just 90 miles from the Florida Keys, Cuba’s political and geographic isolation have kept its ecosystems pristine and allowed endemic flora and fauna to thrive. Healthy coral reefs are a sanctuary for marine life, the vast Zapata Swamp shelters millions of migratory birds and the feisty Cuban Crocodile, and snail colonies survive on isolated mogotes. Among Cuba’s 360+ recorded bird species are several endemics including the Cuban Trogon (Cuba’s national bird), Zapata Wren, Zapata Rail, Cuban Emerald Hummingbird, Cuban Screech Owl, Cuban Tody, and the Bee Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world. Several endemic species of bats, snakes, anoles, lizards, toads, frogs, butterflies, fish, and plants have also been recorded in Cuba.

U.S.-Cuba Relations

Given its proximity, Cuba inevitably shares deep historical ties with the United States. In the 1950s Cuba was a premier vacation destination hub, especially for wealthy Americans, many of whom also owned much of the country’s farmland. When the United States severed diplomatic ties and strengthened an embargo against Cuba in 1960, Cuban material culture virtually stopped in time. In a community that has been isolated from the world’s resources, it is the tenacity of the Cuban people that has made the country the fascinating and welcoming place it is today.

Arts & Culture

Havana, the heart of Cuba, is the country’s vibrant capital. There are few cities in the world with such varied architecture, and Havana’s plazas, museums, churches, fortresses, and buildings under restoration tell many stories. Cuba’s history of incorporating new influences, whether Spanish, African, or American, has established it as a leader in reinventing musical and artistic trends. Their prestigious fine arts institutions cultivate what seems to be an innate artistic talent among its people. Throughout the country, creativity, talent, and passion are evident among the Cuban people.

Travel Info

Entry & Exit Requirements

U.S. citizens need a valid passport and a tourist card to enter Cuba. Passports must be valid at least six months after the date of entry.

Holbrook Travel will purchase and provide tourist cards. Please keep your tourist card with your passport as it will need to be returned to the Cuban authorities when departing Havana.

Unless collected in advance by the charter service, a departure tax of CUC $25 is collected when exiting Cuba’s international airport and is payable only in Cuban convertible pesos. This is subject to change without notice. If the departure tax was not included you will be advised upon confirmation of charter services.

Health Information

IMMUNIZATIONS

The Centers for Disease Control recommends that all travelers be up to date on routine vaccinations such as measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus vaccine, varicella (chicken pox) vaccine, and your yearly flu shot before every trip.

There are no vaccinations required for entry into Cuba, unless you are traveling from an endemic yellow fever area within six weeks prior to entry.

Please consult your physician for additional information and recommendations based on your individual circumstances.

ZIKA VIRUS

Locally transmitted cases of Zika virus have been reported in Cuba. Local transmission means that mosquitoes in the area have been infected with Zika and are spreading it to people. The CDC recommends that travelers to Cuba protect themselves from mosquito bites. As a precaution, the CDC advises women who are pregnant to consider postponing travel to any area where Zika virus transmission is ongoing.

SUN EXPOSURE

The effects of the sun can be damaging to the eyes and skin. Spending time outdoors exposes you to the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays, even on cloudy days. To protect yourself from the sun, use a broad spectrum sunscreen of at least SPF 15, protect skin with clothing, wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, and drink plenty of fluids.

Currency

The national currencies of Cuba are the peso and the convertible peso (CUC).

Electricity

Most electricity in Cuba is 110V AC 60Hz, but some are 220 volts. Flat American-style two-pin plugs, and three rectangular pins are generally used.

Time Zone

The time zone in Cuba is the same as Eastern Standard Time.

Cuba does observe Daylight Saving Time, but the changeover dates can be different to the United States.

Departures and arrivals on flight schedules are listed in the local time.

Communications

PHONES

Cuba’s calling code is +53.

To call Cuba (from the U.S.): Dial 011-53-(xx-xxx-xxxx)

To call the United States: Dial 001-(xxx-xxx-xxxx)

Check with your cell phone provider to determine whether your cell phone will work internationally. Be aware that you are likely to incur additional charges for international use.

Calls between the United States and Cuba are expensive (about $4 per minute). Calling cards are not accepted and there is no way to make a collect call so you must pay cash for your phone calls. Personal cell phones can be used only if they are unlocked quad band GSM, i.e. the kind used on ATT or T-Mobile networks or bought specially. SIM cards (pre-paid for $3 a day) are available from Cubacel offices at the airport and (with long lines) in Habana Vieja, Vedado, and Miramar. These give you a local number with domestic calls costing about 50 cents per minute. You can charge up the phone with an estimate of usage and get a 10 or 20 CUC scratch card for back up.

INTERNET

Internet is available on computers in the business center or lobby of most hotels, but it is dial-up speed and usually costs CUC$6 per hour. A handful of high-end hotels will offer WiFi, but it is usually also slow and costs around $8 per hour.

Resources

Reading List

FIELD GUIDES

Wildlife of the Caribbean

Herbert A. Raffaele

Following an introductory section which reports on the state the Caribbean’s fauna and flora and conservation efforts thereon, this guide includes 600 vivid color images of 451 species of plants, birds, mammals, fish and seashells. A truly comprehensive guide to the area.

A Photographic Guide to Birds of the West Indies

Allan Sander & G. Michael Flieg

A compact and convenient guide to more than 250 birds, covering Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, Dominica, Hispanola, the Virgin Islands, San Andres, Providencia, and the Lesser Antilles. Includes 306 color photographs and maps of the region.

Birds of Cuba

Orlando Garrido, Arturo Kirkconnell, & Lester Short

A compact field guide to the birds of Cuba, featuring 51 color plates, detailed species accounts, and 144 local maps. In addition, it includes a brief discussion of biogeography, habitats and birdwatching on the island.

MAPS

Cuba Map

ITMB

A colorful map of Cuba at a scale of 1:1,000,000.

Guidebooks

Cuba Handbook

Christopher P. Baker

A detailed guide to both Havana and the provinces, filled with plenty of practical information, as well as background on the slave trade, Ernest Hemingway and the Revolution.

Knopf Guide Cuba

Knopf Guide

A guide to Cuba, packed with high quality color photographs, drawings, illustrations and maps.

Footprint Cuba Handbook

Sarah Cameron

A detailed, comprehensive guide to travel in Cuba by the venerable British publishers of the “South American Handbook.”

National Geographic Cuba

Christopher Baker

A traveler’s guide to the history, nature, culture, and attractions of Cuba, thoroughly illustrated in dependable National Geographic style.

Time Out Havana, and the Best of Cuba

Ismay Atkins

An up-to-date guide on what to do and where to go by the people who publish Time Out Magazine.

Lonely Planet Cuba

Brendan Sainsbury

A compact, practical guide to Cuba geared for the independent traveler with sketch maps, a good overview of culture, history and nature, and much nuts-and-bolts information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing.

NATURAL HISTORY

Natural Cuba

Alfonso Silva Lee

A natural history of the Caribbean’s largest tropical island.

HISTORY & CULTURE

The Reader’s Companion to Cuba

Alan Ryan (Editor)

An anthology of travel writing on Cuba, beginning with 19th century writers like Anthony Trollope, John Muir and Frederic Remington and continuing on with Anais Nin and Langston Hughes. It’s full of surprising gems about baseball, the mob, rumba and revolution.

Cuba in Focus: A Guide to the People, Politics and Culture

Emily Hatchwell & Simon Calder

A compact overview of the history, culture and changing economy of Cuba. With frank sympathy for Castro and his enduring legacy, the authors’ give a fair and detailed assessment of the island, its contradictions and prospects for the immediate future.

Cuba, What Everyone Needs to Know

Julia Sweig

Director for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Sweig traces the geography, history and identity of Cuba in this admirably succinct history of the island nation and its role in world affairs.

Jeffrey Milstein

Milstein’s beautiful collection of 100 photographs captures the colors, textures and people of vivid and gritty urban Cuba. His images provide a portrait of everyday life.

Cuba, 400 Years of Architectural Heritage

Rachel Carley & Andrea Brizzi

A sweeping survey of the island’s architecture, featuring three hundred gorgeous color photographs.

Cuba or the Pursuit of Freedom

Hugh Thomas

World class historian Hugh Thomas spent 10 years researching this monumental book. Organized chronologically, it follows Cuba from 1762 through the colonial period and the revolution to its present friendless state.

Havana Dreams, A Story of a Cuban Family

Wendy Gimbel

A remarkable memoir, drenched in history and nostalgia, of three generations of women in a Cuban family.

Waiting for Fidel

Christopher Hunt

The author sets out to meet with the man himself and spends the winter wandering the cane fields and back streets of Havana talking to rumrunners, Santería practitioners and ordinary Cubans struggling to survive the “special period” that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Old Man and the Sea

Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway’s story of an old Cuban fisherman who, after a long time without catching a single fish, spends three days struggling with a giant Marlin. This novella won the author the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

From the blog

Thoughts on Cuba Through Travels with Lyuba

"Solidaridad. Other words that mark my notebook are adelante, lucha, socialismo sostenible. Above all solidarity...

From the blog

Lessons of love learned in Cuba

Andrea Holbrook traveled to Havana, Cuba in early February 2012. Since her trip concluded on Valentine’s Day, February 14, it was very fitting that...

From the blog

Trip Report: Birding in Cuba from a First-Timer's Point of View

Stefanie Plein, educational travel consultant, recently traveled for the first time to Cuba on “Birding in Cuba: Discover the Island’s Endemic &...

Cuba

You are here

A trip to Cuba is like a step back in time, with its colonial buildings, classic American cars, and oxen pulling wooden plows through the fields. The travel landscape is rapidly evolving as the government continues to ease its restrictions.

Trips to Join

Birding

Natural History

Birding

Trips to Plan

Natural History

Birding

Garden Tours

Buildout

Environments

Wildlife

U.S.-Cuba Relations

Arts & Culture

Entry & Exit Requirements

Health Information​

IMMUNIZATIONS

ZIKA VIRUS

SUN EXPOSURE

Currency

Electricity

Time Zone

Communications

PHONES

INTERNET

Reading List

FIELD GUIDES

Wildlife of the Caribbean

Herbert A. Raffaele

A Photographic Guide to Birds of the West Indies

Allan Sander & G. Michael Flieg

Birds of Cuba

Orlando Garrido, Arturo Kirkconnell, & Lester Short

MAPS

Cuba Map

ITMB

Guidebooks

Cuba Handbook

Christopher P. Baker

Knopf Guide Cuba

Knopf Guide

Footprint Cuba Handbook

Sarah Cameron

National Geographic Cuba

Christopher Baker

Time Out Havana, and the Best of Cuba

Ismay Atkins

Lonely Planet Cuba

Brendan Sainsbury

NATURAL HISTORY

Natural Cuba

Alfonso Silva Lee

HISTORY & CULTURE

The Reader’s Companion to Cuba

Alan Ryan (Editor)

Cuba in Focus: A Guide to the People, Politics and Culture

Emily Hatchwell & Simon Calder

Cuba, What Everyone Needs to Know

Julia Sweig

Cuba

Jeffrey Milstein

Cuba, 400 Years of Architectural Heritage

Rachel Carley & Andrea Brizzi

Cuba or the Pursuit of Freedom

Hugh Thomas

Havana Dreams, A Story of a Cuban Family

Wendy Gimbel

Waiting for Fidel

Christopher Hunt

The Old Man and the Sea

Ernest Hemingway

From the blog

From the blog

From the blog

Custom comes standard

At Holbrook Travel, you’ll never pay extra to take your own path. Our travel consultants can customize any itinerary to meet your needs.

Health Information

At Holbrook Travel, you’ll never pay extra to take your own path.
Our travel consultants can customize any itinerary to meet your needs.