Family friendly  : Cuba

This is a big island, so it's hard to see it all in one trip. Many tourists don't leave the very built-up tourist area of Varadero, home to high rise hotels and a great white sand beach. If you want a big choice of hotels and restaurants, Varadero is for you. Kids will enjoy spending beach days in the crystal blue waters, water basketball, a boat ride to explore the reefs or a horse and buggy ride around town. However there is much more to Cuba. Close to Varadero, older kids would like the limestone Bellamar caves, filled with stalagtite and stalagmite formations. They may also enjoy Cueva del Indio, a large cave in the Vinales Valley once inhabited by local Indians where they can see petroglyphs on the rocks and go on a boat ride across an underground lake in the cave. If your kids are old enough, riding horses is a great way to see the Cuban countryside, lush green fields and red earth. Arrange through your hotel, or look for places to rent horses in the countryside. Look for maracas and CDs of Cuban music as souvenirs.

Memories of Cuba

By Sharon Walker

One of my favorite places to visit is the Brisas Guadalavaca hotel in Cuba.

The staff at the hotel are the friendliest people that I have ever met. Starting with Rosie in customer relations,who goes our of her way to answer all your questions to Jose Pupo at the pool bar who not only serves great local cocktails but also entertains you as well, to Yanier at the cappacino bar. They all go out of their way to make your holiday the best. The entertainment staff are very talented and are always finding ways to keep you busy during the day, with dance lessons, volley ball games and evening entertainment. The hotel rooms are kept very clean and spacious, if you are looking for a bigger room try the villas. I can't say enough about the beach, you can lay around and bask in the sun or partake in water activities such as paddle boats or kayaks, or go out on the catamaran. If you like to walk there is a nice scenic walkway along the beach that takes you to an open air market where you can purchase hand made souveniers. Memories of Cuba

By Rick Trebilcock

If Orillia is the Sunshine City, then Cuba is the Sunshine Country and the only escape I want to think of at this snowbound time of year. In fact, the longer the winter lasts the more I engage in daydreams of the warm turquoise sea bordered by the white, sandy beaches of Cuba.

In the 1979 romantic film “Cuba”, Sean Connery is bemused by the persistent efforts of the Cuban bellhops and airport personnel to wrest his luggage from his hands. This facet of Cuban life hasn’t changed much since Castro’s revolution overtook Batista’s regime in 1959. In fact, perhaps because the communist experiment has not been as successful as the revolutionaries hoped, the pursuit of American dollars (now pesos) is even more frenetic.

Although we didn’t notice it on our arrival at Ciego D’Avila airport for our first trip to Cuba in 1999, we were besieged by seemingly official airport personnel grabbing our luggage at Antonio Maceo airport upon our arrival at Santiago de Cuba in the spring of 2000. As the bus to the resort pulled away from the airport, we were relieved to put this merry band of tipsters behind us.

Despite the constant panhandling of a segment of Cuban society, the magical beauty of the island, including its history, art, architecture and music overwhelms the visitor. Our first visit to Cuba was to Cayo Coco where we relaxed on the white, sand beaches, which extend for miles on the island. Cayo Coco is part of a string of islands, Cayeria del Norte, just to the north of Ciego De Avila province. It has 22 miles of beaches and 180 species of bird including flocks of pink flamingo, which can be seen while travelling the causeway between the mainland and Cayo Coco. Our visit to the town of Moron on the mainland, where uniformed schoolchildren participated in celebrations to mark the anniversary of the resistance to the Bay of Pigs invasion, was a fascinating glimpse of island history.

Our second visit to Cuba included side trips to the second largest city in Cuba, Santiago de Cuba, and the Sierra Maestra mountain range. In Santiago, our bus plunked us in Parques Cespedes, a bustling square in the middle of the city. After shopping a little, we sauntered down Calle Heredia to the Casa de la Trova; one of Cuba’s more famous music venues. During our visit to “the City of Heroes”, we stopped briefly at Moncado Barracks which Castro had first tried to take by surprise on July 26, 1953. His reinforcement troops did not show up on time, so Castro and his troops had to fight outnumbered fifteen to one by Batista’s troops. Many were taken prisoner to be later tortured or executed. Trained as a lawyer, Castro pleaded his own defence in his famous five hour “History Will Absolve Me” speech on October 16, 1953. For the attack on Moncado Barracks, he was nevertheless sentenced to eighteen months on the Isle of Pines. Despite being turned into a school in 1961, a section at the front of the barracks has reconstructed bullet holes and is a constant reminder of the revolution.

The view during our trip by helicopter into the Sierra Maestra range was spectacular. “El Soldon”, the waterfall, is a mountain resort consisting of several rooms for tourists, a restaurant and a couple of bars. We had to climb on our own steam into the hills to visit the first working farm which consisted of two, one room shacks and some outbuildings for the animals. Tourists gave some of the children lingering by the path penils, crayons and other gifts. Our guide, Ricardo, said these people were not the really poor people of Cuba as they happened to be situated on a path traveled regularly by tourists. He describes them as “indolent” and notes that they will sell whatever the tourists give them to the really poor people deeper in the hills. This was not the first time we’d heard from Cuban guides that tourists were not doing the people of Cuba any favors by doling out handouts to beggars. Understandably, most Cubans don’t want their children to become dependent on the charity of tourists.

Steeped in North American history of the last century, Cuba is worth at least one visit by any observer with an interest in its unfolding story. Even if you’re not a history buff, you can relax on the beaches on the islands off the north coast of Cuba and shake the Canadian winter blues. Whatever the politics of the country, Cuba will always draw visitors to its climate, people and culture and at a weekly, all-inclusive cost of about $1000 per person you don’t have to put a second mortgage on the house.