5 Great Things to Do in Havana, Cuba

Welcome to Havana, Cuba

"Havana ooh na- na...
Half of my heart is in Havana ooh na-na...
He took me back to East Atlanta, na-na-na
Oh, but my heart is in Havana (ay)
There's somethin' 'bout his manners (uh huh)
Havana, ooh na-na (uh)"

Sing with me, dear friends.
I bet you are quite familiar with this famous single of Camila Cabello, Havana.

So, what do you have in mind when you heard the word Havana?
The famous cigar?
Fidel Castro?
Classic cars?
Ernest Hemingway?
Beautiful beaches and lovely sea lanes?
Salsa all night long?
Or all of them?

happy me at Cuba :)

Well, for me, it's all of them.
I have been wanting to come and visit Cuba since ages ago, especially since some of my 
best friends at the UN are Cubans. Surely they have been inviting me to come and visit their beautiful home and before I went back to Indonesia, I managed to sneak and fly to Havana, Cuba, with my dearest sister-in-crime, Erma.

Feel like riding it? Why not!

Akhirnya sampai juga #myitchyfeet ke kota Havana, Kuba.
Bahagianyaaaaa tingkat dewa!
Dan mohon maaf karena postingan ini jadi #latepost.
Meskipun jalan-jalan dan mampir ke Negeri keren ini bulan Juli 2018, aku baru semita menuliskannya sekarang.
Aku benar-benar nagga sabar karena Havana, Kuba benar-benar kota yang Sudan lama masuk dalam bucket list aku.
Dan ternyata Kuba benar-bener cantik dan unik deh!

Don't miss Havana Cuba when you are around!

Kuba memang sudah lama nangkring di puncak teratas bucket list aku sejak pindah ke New York City. Buatku, Kuba adalah negara unik yang rasanya sayang untuk dilewatkan, apalagi karena jaraknya yang relative dekat dari NYC and sejarah serta kota Havana yang menawan. Waktu aku menawarkan Erma, saudara sepermainan dan seperjuangan di the Big Apple, untuk ikutan cuti dan liburan bareng ke Havana, Kuba, tanpa pikir panjang dia pun setuju! 

Pucuk dicinta ulam pun tiba namanya. Untungnya, cuti kami berdua pun langsung disetujui dan dapat tiket pesawat yang murah meriah, less than USD 500 untuk tiket pulang pergi dengan . Alhamdulillah bangeeet! 

Super happy me after swimming at Santa Maria Del Mar

So here comes a little throwback from July, last summer.
We decided to have a 4 days, 3 nights trip to Havana, Cuba. Since we're using diplomatic passport, Cuban visa was easily and speedily approved in Cuban Embassy in Washington D.C. 
We were super excited and booked JetBlue to have a direct flight there.
As you now, Cuba is still blocked by the US own certain issues as their political relationship is 
It took around 6 hours to fly from JFK to the International Airport. 
By the time we arrived, we directly lined up to get some local currencies and head to our lovely hotel, N.H. Capri at Vedado, a region near city center of Havana, Cuba.

We went there for 4 days and 3 nights.
And for sure, it's enough for us to have a nice and memorable visit to Havana, Cuba
So, what can we do while in Havana, Cuba?

How many days is perfect for exploring and enjoying Havana, Cuba? 
Btw, check out my teaser video for our trip to Cuba at my Youtube Chanel at Indah Nuria Savitri and see how lovely the trip was :)

Without further ado, here are 5 Cool Things to do in Havana, Cuba, for you.

Explore the Old Havana

During our first night in Havana, we went to the Old Town, Old Havana, or famously known as La Havana Vieja. 

Here you can see the grandeur of Cuba in the past. Majestic buildings with stunning architectures, big and historical squares, as well as vibrant day and night lives dominate this tourist center area. We went to one of the cafes and danced all night long, joining the old and young doing salsa to their heart content!

The Grand Opera at the old city of Havana

We hired local tourist guide that we got from Air B&B website. 
Ismeth, our tour guide, took us around the Old Havana during the day and we really loved it!  So many beautiful buildings there like the Grand Opera, National Capitol and wonderful street like Paseo del Prado. Old and elegant, yet, unfortunately, not maintained properly. Well, it's understandable as Cuba has been blocked for too long up until now.

Visit Hotel Nacional de Cuba

At Hotel Nacional de Cuba

Hotel Nacional de Cuba is a must! 
We are lucky that our hotel is not too far from this historical spot.
The Hotel is located only 5 minutes walk from our own hotel, NH Capri Havana.

Waiting for my mojito

We had great drinks (mine is virgin mojito) and I really had great times looking at all those photos of celebrities, presidents and world leaders coming to this very spot. 
The garden behind the hotel is also lovely, with stunning view of le Malecon!
The garden also housed several peacocks which are very interesting to see.
Inside, they have souvenir shop as well.
I got my post cards and stamps from here, then posted them as well here as they have the post box.
So for sure, you should not miss this!

Ride the classic car

Oh don't you miss it, dear.
Cuba is haven for antique cars lovers.
And that's the first thing we have in our bucket list while traveling to Cuba.
Oh my, it's wonderful and it feels good.
We strolled around the city riding this classic hot pink car and I felt super awesome.
We paid around USD 50 for around 2 hours ride and photo session.

Cheers...

Swim and stroll along Santa Maria Del Mar Beach

Visiting Havana, Cuba and enjoying the beach? Why not?
And Santa Maria Del Mar Beach is one of the best options here in Cuba.
It took us around 45 minutes from Havana and we rent a taxi for our hotel to go here.
We brought some snacks and water and arriving there, we just strolled around the beach, had a little dip, and drank fresh coconut!
I have spent some times here to have a little deep in the fresh ocean.

Cheers from Santa Maria Del Mar

We came here in the morning so it was not that packed with people yet.
And the most important thing is it was not that hot yet.



Learn Salsa!

Cuba is the beautiful home of Salsa, so make your trip more memorable and amazing by learning salsa dance right with the master. Make sure you don't miss this chance because there are so many salsa short course being offered on the net. 

Erma and I found our salsa master, as well as our tour guide from Air B&B website for Havana. 

Check out my video of us enjoying our private Salsa dance lesson in Havana.
You can definitely see how fun the private class of Salsa in Havana, Cuba!
I feel like dancing all night long!

Enjoy the cuisine, cigar, and more

Now, this is what you can enjoy in Cuba.
I don't smoke cigar but we bought a lot for our bosses and colleagues. And for sure they all love it! Cuban cigar is top notch indeed. 

We also tried the food at the famous Floridita restaurant, the home of Daiquiri! 
I tried the famous menu of Ernest Hemingway, Gran Plato Hemingway and I know why Hemingway loved this menu.

We went to Museo Revolucion or Museum of the Revolution and learnt a lot about the history of the Cuban peoples' struggle, including the Three Musketeers,- Ernesto (Che) Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, and Fidel Castro.

The three musketeers at Museo Revolucion

So many other places we tried and it was also beautiful! 
I guess 4 days in Havana, Cuba is far from enough.

Cheers from Cuba

So, that's 5 great things to do in Havana, Cuba. 
How do you like Havana, Cuba?
Do you think you will put Cuba on your bucket list?
What you will first visit in Havana, Cuba?