My trip to Cuba was one of the highlights of my year – we had an extraordinary time exploring the capital city so here is a travel guide to give you tips on where to go if you only have one day in La Habana!
Start off with a healthy breakfast at your casa particular – It will be a long day of fun so you will need it!
Explore Old Havana (La Habana Vieja)
Make your way to the centre of Havana Town. If you are taking a taxi like we did, ask your driver to drop you off by Fraternity Park (El Parque de la Fraternidad). It is a landmark site that is right opposite Hotel Saratoga, one of the oldest hotels in Cuba and the Capitol building. It is also a very short walk to Havana Central Park, which is where the best of Cuba’s classic vintage cars can be found waiting for tourists like us to hitch a ride!
Walk down to Bishop Street (Calle Obispo)
This is a famous narrow street in Old Havana which is full of bars and restaurants with live salsa dancing. Start off at the famous bar Floridita, this is said to be the “cradle of the daiquiris” and Ernest Hemingway’s favourite watering hole so we couldn’t resist popping in for a drink.
Don’t stay too long and spend all your money at Floridita, there is a lot more to see down Calle Obispo. Floridita is usually packed full of tourists so the novelty wears out really quickly if you don’t have somewhere to sit or put down your drink!
Grab some Churos and Coconuts
Calle Obispo is a sensory overload, we didn’t feel like eating around lunch time as we has a big breakfast so we made do with some tasty coconuts and churos. The churos were incredible. Get the ones with the chocolate drizzle. YUM!
Take pictures with the locals
Now if you take pictures with any locals, PLEASE TIP THEM. It is their livelihood. We met this beautiful lady and I couldn’t resist taking a picture with her.
Get lost in old Havana
My one key tip for this Havana Travel Guide is that you should not be afraid to wander. Don’t be held back by a rigid itinerary of what to do, the experience of Havana is made more magical through exploration. Make sure you have a chat with locals and you will be surprised where you end up!
Learn Salsa/ Bachata at La Reliquia
This was my favourite part of the day and there was no way it was being left out of this Havana Travel Guide. I am OBSESSED with Latin American music so I jumped at the opportunity to learn the proper moves at La Reliquia (address: Ignacio 260, Esquina Amargura, Habana Vieja). La Reliquia is a cute little restaurant/bar that serves tasty drinks and offers dancing classes for those moments when the music hits you!
Check out my Bachata moves below, I have never learned how to dance to bachata properly and certainly not in public, but a large class of Cuba libre gave me the confidence to go for it!
(if you enjoyed that, please show me some love and follow my Instagram!)
Dinner at La Guarida
Walking into this former palace in central Havana makes you feel like you are stepping into a film noir set. La Guarida is one of the most famous restaurants in Cuba, and the atmosphere is something cannot be replicated anywhere in the world. The food was tasty but that is about as much as I can remember, but the ambience, the live music and the unusual location is a memory that I will never forget. Reservations are a must if you are planning to come here for dinner.
After dinner, head up to the roof top lounge for some more drinks and dancing. Our moves were mellower at this point of the night and we were grateful that the party at La Guarida was not a wild one as it had been a long day.
If you follow the itinerary in this post, I figure you will be exhausted by the end of the day so I decided to make this is the chilled version of my Cuba guide. The party version is coming up with a VIDEO soon so do subscribe to my youtube channel to be notified when that is out!
