Cayo Coco/Cayo Guillermo, Cuba

[pad444]

I have just booked a holiday allocated on arrival on one of these Cayos in Cuba - leaving on March 26th.

Please can anyone give me any advice/info on anything about here at all. Everything is welcome and will be much apprecaited. Many thanks.

[jobarker1969]

Not sure about the exact place where you are going in Cuba, but you must visit Havanna and enjoy a Mojito on the terrrace at Hotel Nacional overlooking the sea - 5 star and visited by top models/film stars. If you can I would also book yourself into a room there. It is well worth the money.

[dot.hawkes]

oh my God change it quick! I went to the Iberostar Daiquirir on cayo Guillaume at the end of may and apart from the beach and coastline being stunning, it is not the best of resorts . The Melia next door to the daiquirii where my friends stayed also on Guillaume was dire! No air conditioning and loads got inmfections from the pool. If you are on msn go on messenger and add me to your faves, I am [email protected] and i will flip thru some pics I have of the catamaran tour of the cayos, which was the highlight, the lowlight were the 100+ mozzy bites I had. Sorry to be so negative, i tell everyone you can't spoil the caribbean but this part of Cuba is built on a reclaimed swamp and very very isolated. A long hot bus trip to Varadero and a very expensive plane ride and overnight trip to havana are options from the Cayos,

[dot.hawkes]

If possible insiist on an allocation on Coco, it is nearer the airport and the flight crews stay in the melia hotel on Coco and they say it is adequate.

[Sunnie]

We stayed at Sol Cayo Guillermo. It is very peaceful and the beach is heaven. You must do the Colorful Cuba trip where you go on a steam train through the farmland and have a barbacue. You can make it as adventurous as you like by going on many trips or as lazy as you like. We went out on alternate days. Speedboats are great fun in the mangroves where you can go scuba diving. Bring your own snorkel as the ones they provide you with are not brilliant. Food: it is simple and nice, dont expect much. Cuba is not a place for shopping. Take your own 1st aid kit-as there are shortages in the country for all sorts of things. Check the Debbies Carribbean website. Hotel was excellent for us.

[dot.hawkes]

we went on the speedboat thru the mangoes but it is actually a swamp and that is where I got most of my bites. there was a tree rat lurking about the size of a big ginger tom cat. the swamp water was murky, my daughter and I refused to go in, but we did rate the speed boat ride highly, my daughter drove and it was amazing.

We also had looked forward to riding along the beach on horses, which we booked for, when we saw the poor state of those horses it was very upsetting, they were skin and bone and they had then standing under 100degree sun with no water, their heads had dropped and they just ambled along. We took the ride as if they aren't used by tourists they would probably be slaughtered, it was hard to see which would be better. We only managed to ride along a short stretch of beach as the sol hotel security stop yopu riding past their beach front. the rest of the ride was on the rough roads inland and very very hot.

The French Doctoe at the Iberostar daiquiri was excellent, she told me I should not have taken European protector out, but waited and bought it out there, and she also said don't use a plug in repellent in the room as the cuban mozzies love them! It cost me over $100 for treatment and I had to have an injection. my advice if u are going late march, which can be stormy and mozzy season, is to get a course of Vitamin B capsules and odouless garlic capsules from the health shop and start taking them, as the mozzies lick your skin and they reject u if they taste those on your skin. I was only told this after the fact! I used them to go to Antigua and I had no bites, tho there weren't many mozzies there at the moment. I should have also taken my own anti histamiens (?) which I had to pay alot for there.

[dot.hawkes]

Oh the best bit in one way was that the Cuban souvenir sellers will swap their wares for any item of designer clothing, I had a kickers halter neck top that i wore over my bikini and i had had it 3 years, they ofered me allsorts of carved gifts for it, so my daughter swapped her England cap for a bag full of stuff! Chess set, wooden model of a car, keyrings, they have a real craving for anything designer as they can't get them, also, toiletries, i left all our stuff in the room for the maid. I guess the fact that the Americans aren't allowed on Cuba means the service isn't as hot as Cancun, but they are quite cheerful.

[Sunnie]

About the mangroves. It is for the more adventurous. It is certainly not dirty - and the animals living near are like beavers - there were 2 of them this time and sooo friendly. We fed them banans. If you love nature, you will love this holiday. Make the most of it - it is your choice.Cubans there were very helpful.Yes, take lots of gifts - better than tips.

[whiskeysheri]

I stayed at the Iberostart Daiquiri at the end of November/ beginning of December and had a brilliant time. There's not all that much to do on the Cayos, well, nothing actually, but that's what we like.

If you want to go to Havana and such you'll need to catch an internal flight, but you can arrange those trips when you're at the resort.

If you are staying on Cayo Guillermo, you must go to the Pilar beach- it's absolutely beautiful. The people are some of the nicest I have ever met and the evening entertainment is fab (for kids too)!

Have a great time x

[pad444]

Thank you all for your varied answers. I am going for a relaxing break, but would possibly like to visit Moron to get a taste of the real Cuba. Anyway no matter what its like I will enjoy it, I'm sure.

Again Many thanks to all.

[pad444]

For anyone thinking of going to the Cayos all I can say is rest assured you will love it. It is pure paradise. The people are nice, the hotels are great, the beaches are amazing and the sea is lovely. Anyone who doesnt like the place is hard to please. I thought it was going to be a restful holiday but there was so much to do I never stopped. I liked it so much that I am going back June 1st, so it must be nice! If you are going...........look forward to it..........enjoy.........you wont be disappointed ......it's paradise!