10 experiences to live the real Cuba

Lately we are hearing a lot about experiential tourism and creative tourism as some of the most innovative trends in the tourism sector. Thus, we reccomend 10 experiences to live the real Cuba

A new concept: Experiential Tourism

I would summarize the experiential tourism as the one where the tourist seeks a more intense and authentic contact with the destination inhabitants. In short, unique experiences that make you feel something special and arouse your emotions.

Creative tourism is basically a type of experiential tourism. In it, the creative tourist seeks learning and interaction with the locals and their idiosyncrasies through creative and artistic activities of all kinds. This experience and emotions when traveling is not something new, because emotion is something by which people distinguish ourselves, and many of us when we travel we greatly value getting to know the local culture and its people up close.
What touches our hearts and excites us is what we later remember best, right? Well, I said "many of us" and not all, because there are tourists who prefer to travel to Cuba to stay at a beach resort and not look beyond the seashore! We cannot say it is a bad choice though. There’s no accounting for taste!.You will, however, miss part of the essence of this colorful and beautiful island if you stick just to the crystalline blue of its ocean or to the almost white sand of its beaches.

A new kind of tourism: thanks to ICTs

Now we are much more informed, we use comments, experiences and recommendations from others. We are more demanding, much more autonomous when it comes to defining itineraries, and, in short, more authentic, and that is what many of us are looking for, authentic and unforgettable experiences.

Cuba: A place to live unique experiences.

So if you are one of those travelers looking for experiences, I can assure you that Cuba is the perfect place to travel alone, as a couple, as a family or as a group, due to its great human, cultural and natural wealth.

Cuba is known for its wonderful beaches of fine sand with turquoise waters, but the island also has a lush natural landscape that allows multiple activities of ecotourism, nature sports and navigation.

National parks, ecological and biosphere reserves, cave systems, coral reefs, incredible and amazing ecosystems with waterfalls and springs, mountain ranges, etc. Its flora and fauna are also worthy of observation.

Cuba as a destination for cultural tourists

But if there is something that Cuba can also take pride in, it is its culture: music, cinema, theater, salsa, Latin jazz, plastic arts, ballet, contemporary dance, etc.,

Culture in its varied disciplines spreads through the Island by means of textures, colors and sounds. The creativity of Cubans also begins to be reflected in their culinary creations.

If you add the human quality of its people, we have the perfect mix for Cuba to be the ideal experiential and creative tourism destination. Cuba is full of welcoming, friendly, cheerful people, full of smiles and optimism. Let yourself go and blend in. It will be the best memory you will take with you from the trip.

The experiences, better guided by professionals

But careful! From my experience I can tell you: traveling to Cuba without recommendation can become an irreversible mistake. The web is full of bad experiences of many tourists who have mischosen their destinations, transportation or accommodation.

Actually, the quality and services of hotels, restaurants and private homes of Cubans (a very interesting option as accommodation on the island) is often disappointing and does not stand for the high prices. So before traveling, get good advice !!

Here you have 10 experiences to live Cuba from the emotion:

1. Hiking or horseback riding route with a specialized guide, through the landscapes of extraordinary beauty of Viñales. You will visit tobacco plantations and dryers where local farmers will show you their way of life and the handmade production of tobacco. Lunch in Finca el Cuajaní, unique agroecological incredible farm.

2. Feel like Robinson Crusoe and enjoy a boat ride through the virgin, tiny and unknown Cayo Mégano to take starfish with your hands and cross the fantastic mangrove ecosystem. Meal between mangroves on the island based on seafood.

3. Go out of the comfort zone and take a themed city-tour, for example: art, visiting private studios of Cuban artists and contemporary avant-garde spaces; or take a design route to know the latest trends on the island, or a photographic safari with the best views of the island, or simply a mojitos tour or a gastronomic tour.

4. Visit the “house-museum” of a babalao who will explain the variety and complexity of the Afro-Cuban religion and, if you get the chance, attend a ceremony of santeria, a snails roll, or find “Yabo” .

5. Visit the natural environment of Lake Hanabanilla in a bucolic boat, in the heart of the Sierra del Escambray, in the province of Villa Clara, an absolute delight. Have lunch in a country house, a rustic Creole food ranch surrounded by extraordinary beauty.

6. Live with Cuban families who will open the doors of their house and even accompany you on city tours, cook for you, take you to their local parties, etc. and above all they will talk to you, becauseCubans are great chitchatting ('tienen muela')! Not all houses have the same conditions, so don't be seduced by the 4 photos that you can see on the internet, but some may be authentic boutique hotels, look carefully

7. Visit Cafetal La Dionisia, an old coffee mill from 1820 in Matanzas, and immerse yourself in the history of slavery and coffee cultivation, while enjoying its exotic vegetation and fauna, as well as a horseback ride or a typical Cuban homemade food.

8. Sign up for a music, dance, crafts or cooking workshop. There are many interesting ones, depending on your hobbies.

9. Walk through the Valle de los Ingenios, in Trinidad, a landscape forged for centuries by the cultivation of sugar cane. The starting point is La Casona, a beautiful restored 19th-century ranch located between the town of Trinidad and the Santa Rosa Valley, overlooking the countryside where you can enjoy birds, leafy mangroves and purebred horses.

10. Discover a unique eco-lodging, El Manantial, in Sierra del Escambray and Tope Collantes, and enjoy nature and its natural water pool. From there, you can visit the town of Trinidad and organize mountain activities.

---

See you soon!!

By Bárbara Pérez García. Travel Experience Designer de CubaUnique.

 

0