Review of Havana Homestay & Varadero Experience The tour and the guide were excellent, and we saw a lot more than we were expecting in Havana. They were also flexible in letting us see some places on our list so we appreciate it. The hosts in Varadero were also very accompanying especially when we asked to stay a couple extra nights. Overall the tour was fantastic.
A great way to see the country (single parent) This local travel expert was able to plan a super trip for me and my 9 year old son. We saw so much and the activities were engaging, with breaks to relax and wander at our own pace. Highly recommended.
The travel agency offered us a reasonable price personslized tour including all transfers, accommodation, tours, and 24 hours available local representative from the agency. What I liked most was that the drivers for the private transfers between the cities picked us up from our accommodation and arrived exactly at the agreed time. The drivers and owners of the casa pariculares where we were accommodated were synchronized by the agency and there was no confusion or need for us to personally call the driver to tell him the location from where they should pick us up or to explain to the owner that a taxi driver should come to a certain time. They were already informed about these things. Regarding the tours, they were quite informative and interesting, the guides also collected us on time from the places where we were staying and gave us an intro about the tour as well as a proper review at the end of it. The casa particulares where we stayed in Havana, Santa Clara, Trinidad, and Viñales were clean and the included breakfast was delicious, it seems that the agency has carefully selected the casa particulares they work with. In the personalized trip, apart from the above mentioned casa particulares, we decided to stay a few nights in an all inclusive hotel in Varadero. Although we expected the hotel to be better than casa particulares, we experienced the opposite. The hotels are run by the state and the employees don't bother too much, so there were cases when we didn't have soap and toilet paper in the toilet and nobody put new ones even though we informed the people responsible about it several times. The food at the hotel was great but I can't say the same for the drinks. They put coffee in plastic cups that literally melt in your hand. The beach was on the hotel itself and was great, the ocean water clean and warm with waves. Feelings about staying at the hotel are mixed, but I guess this could be expected in most hotels since they are state-owned. I can't fault the agency for this, because they offered me several alternatives for an all-inclusive hotel and we chose Starfish Varadero All Inclusive based on price and online ratings. However, don't have high expectations for the hotels. Some tips that would make your trip easier: be stocked with wet towels, toilet paper, toothpaste, pads, soaps, shampoos because as you will see the locals have limited number of products that they can buy per month so tourists can buy the same only through a black market or highway market, but not in a local store. So be sure to pack extra hygiene products for your trip to Cuba. I rate my experience with 5/5 because the agency fulfill everything it promised, and was available and flexible whenever we needed it!
