Léa NadeauYou probably saw on social media that Sacha and I just came back from our trip to Cuba. A very enjoyable 3 weeks road trip with the kids and the boyfriends. A beautiful trip where we got to spend time together discovering this unique country. Here is our 3 weeks travel itinerary in Cuba.
We stay in Cuba for 3 weeks with my little family, whilst Sacha came to join us for the last 2 weeks of the trip.
On January 25th of 2018, I left Quebec with my (almost) 2 years old, my 6 months old baby and their daddy.
Destination: ‘’Auténtica Cuba’’!
1st WEEK : BOCA DE CAMARIOCA, SOROA, LAS TERRAZAS, VIÑALES, PINAR DEL RIO, CAYO JUTIAS AND MORE!
DAY 1; BACO DE CAMARIOCA
It’s D day, direction Varadero. Once arrived, we picked up the rented car and drove to Boca de Camarioca (as the title says, it was a road trip 😉 ). Boca de Camarioca is a small village located 15-minute drive from the Varadero airport. There we rented a casa, so we could rest a little bit before driving further down the next day. Our first real destination of the trip was Soroa, a city located on the west of the island and about 3h30 drive from Varadero. We thought it would be smarter to rest for a night and let the kids chill before getting back on the road. To be honest, there isn’t much to see in Boca de Camarioca, other than a cute beach that’s worth a detour if you’re staying in the area.
DAY 2-3-4 ; SOROA ET LAS TERRAZAS
DAY 2
We drove to Soroa and arrived at about 13h. We enjoyed lunch in a restaurant located on a farm in La Curva, close to Soroa. There you quickly understand where your food comes from. I think we saw the chicken running around before they serve it to us. The chicken was unbelievable, the best I had in Cuba (my apologies to all the animal lovers). As many companies don’t have actual names in Cuba, I am unfortunately unable to recommend this one to you. Seeing how small the village was, this was probably the only restaurant around. We then drove some more and arrived at our first Casa, where we would be spending the next 3 nights.
DAY 3
We went to visit the Las Terrazas Ecovillage, listed in the UNESCO world heritage. The landscape is beautiful and very enjoyable to walk. We also went to the San Juan bath where there were many natural pools in which you could swim. But during the night we had a lot of rain, so the water of the pools was troubled and therefore we didn’t feel like going for a dip. We simply admire them from a far distance. We had lunch at Cafetal buenavista which is a restaurant on the mountainside in the historical site. They serve traditional Cuban food, we enjoyed the fish of the day.
DAY 4
In the morning, we went horse riding in the fields and in the forest around the casa. Then we went out for lunch in the El Salto restaurant located on the Manantiales river. On-site there was a small band playing Cuban music, it was the perfect place to rest and enjoy the moment to the max. We went for a hike in the woods to go to a viewpoint on the Soroa mogotes. Although, halfway into the hike, we turned around as it was too steep for us with the babies on our back. We saved the day by visiting an orchid garden in Soroa, it was a beautiful place to enjoy nature and more than 500 kinds of orchids.
DAY 5-6-7-8 ; VIÑALES, PINAR DEL RIO ET CAYO JUTIAS
DAY 5
We were back on the road for 2 hours! Next stop; Viñales. We opted for the long road, but the most beautiful road; the one on the coastline with a view of the ocean! On our way up there, we stopped in La Mulata, a tiny fishing village, super rustic and beautiful. Let’s say that all the bumps in the road were worth it #AClassicInCuba ! I will let you judge by yourself with those pictures. We arrived late afternoon, then went to our Airbnb and grab dinner on the way to Viñales’s main street.
DAY 6
In the morning we drove to a tobacco farm named Alejandro Robaina. They produce the very popular cigar Vega Robaina. The tobacco plantation is located 1h30 out of Viñales. You can visit the farm for as less as 2 CUC per person. The visit last about 20 minutes. If you’ve never seen or smell a tobacco plantation it’s worth the detour. Following the visit, we went for lunch at Pinar Del Rio, where we also enjoyed a walk in the city which has a beautiful main street.
DAY 7
We had breakfast at the casa for 5 CUC per person then we drove out to Valle de Dos Hermanas to see the prehistoric mural. We then enjoyed a walk in the national park of Viñales where the view was stunning. Following that, we went for a hike close by the Finca Raul Reyes farm. There are many dirt trails around the area where you can enjoy a wall and live the Cuban lifestyle!
On our way up, we took a path that leads us to the Cueva de la Vaca cave. To reach the cave you need to climb about 40 steep set of stairs. The views you get once at the top are breathtaking, one of the most beautiful viewpoints of the region. You can visit the cave that’s pitch black at the center and we also heard many bats flying over our heads. You can then walk all the way across the cave to the other side of the mountain where you can admire the other side of the region. It was a unique experience to be able to see both sides of the region through the cave.
We went to the Balcon del Valle restaurant for dinner, which looks over the mogotes, it’s beautiful! As for the food, well that was only ok. My boyfriend and Téo got the flu following this meal… you know what happened next!
DAY 8
We headed down to the playa! We took a long and bumpy road to Cayo Jutias, 2h30 later we were there, but it was worth the detour. We enjoyed fresh jumbo shrimps for lunch at the only restaurant we found on the island. Everything seemed to be going as planned… until Téo started having the flu. We haven’t had finish lunch that he was having a fever and that his diaper needed to be changed every 5 minutes. #sickbaby 🙁
DAY 9
The second part of our trip is here ! 😉
Pamela Denis
Léa Nadeau
Sacha Nadeau
