Best time to visit Cuba

However, we also recognise that Cuba is in a period of very rapid transition. Its minimal tourism infrastructure has yet to catch up with the swelling numbers of arrivals, including US citizens who are looking to visit legally for the first time since 1960, as well as tourists from Europe and Canada who are rushing to visit before the anticipated ‘changes’ kick in. Consequently, tours, hotels and casas are often booked up months in advance, and some visitors have been surprised at the number of other tourists they have encountered, particularly during high season. Cuba is still very much an alternative destination, however, with a crumbling infrastructure, high poverty levels, and lack of many essentials, from toiletries and medicines to clothes and furniture. While we still strongly encourage people to visit Cuba, and to do so responsibly, we also advise people to go with a very open mind. Casas are comfortable but they are not luxury hotels: they are family homes. What you want to eat may not always be on the menu, WiFi is in its infancy, and that 70-year-old Chevrolet will be noisy and the windows won't wind down. But this is Cuba “before it changes” – and it also offers wonderful hospitality, seductive live music on every street corner, passionate dancing and Caribbean beaches without the high rises. It’s not a postcard perfect Caribbean beach holiday; it’s a fully immersive and thoroughly unique life experience.