Off to Cuba
Flight to Cuba
The older the boys get, the harder it is to coordinate time together….especially extended time. This will be our first family holiday since 2017…and we are off to Cuba for a week.
John was in Cuba over 20 years ago, but this is a new country for the guys and I.
It turned out cheaper to book an all inclusive with Sunwing instead of booking flights and accommodations separately, even though we are not staying at the resort the whole time.
Our flight leaves at 6:25am so we are up at 2:00am and leave the house at 2:40am
Unfortunately once boarding the plane, we sit on the tarmac for 1.5 hours. The captain tells us that the jetway is stuck and will not retract back from the aircraft door. This takes over an hour to fix. By then it is snowing so we have to get the plane de-iced. Finally we are off and fly up above the clouds into the bright sunshine.
Arrival in Varadero
A little over three hours later, we arrive in Cuba. It’s sunny and 23 degrees. We are directed to a bus where we sit for almost an hour waiting for other passengers also going to Varadero hotels including our Sunwing resort (Starfish Cuatro Palmas).
The resort is nice and we check our luggage in until we can get into our rooms at 4:00pm. We immediately go to the buffet for lunch. Everyone tells us the food in the hotels is not the greatest, they are right. Its basic and nothing exciting.
The beach is stunning; fine, white sand and the water goes from a light aqua to a vibrant azure colour. Just gorgeous.
We check out the downtown (very touristy) but cute. Classic 1950s cars are all over the place.
Drinks are also included in our stay at the resort but they are quite watered down. The beer is fine.
Wifi here is limited and slow.
We check into our rooms which are in the complex on other side of the street. We have a very large king size bed in our room and the guys have two doubles in their room. We all nap for a couple hours before going to the buffet for supper.
After supper the guys have a game of chess on the large outside board by the beach, John and I head back to our room and the guys head out for the evening.
Varadero- Day 2
The buffet breakfast is not great, but not bad.
After breakfast we meet with our Sunwing rep and we book a classic car to take us to Havana tomorrow. I also make a reservation for dinner at the hotel’s international restaurant for 7:30pm.
We spend the day on the gorgeous beach. For only $20 per person, John, Cameron and I rent a catamaran to take us out to a reef for some snorkeling. There were really only two types of fish that we saw.
Before supper we take a long walk down the main street in Varadero.
The food in the restaurant is much nicer than what we have had at the buffet.