Havana, Cuba

Time-capsule streets, live son in every bar, and beaches at Varadero. Dry season November to April.

cityculturemusicbeachclassic-cars

Best time to visit

Month	High	Low	Rain	Season
Jan	26°	20°	30 mm	prime
Feb	27°	20°	30 mm	prime
Mar	28°	21°	23 mm	prime
Apr	30°	22°	34 mm	prime
May	31°	24°	93 mm
Jun	31°	25°	157 mm
Jul	32°	26°	107 mm
Aug	32°	26°	134 mm
Sep	31°	25°	149 mm
Oct	30°	24°	95 mm
Nov	28°	23°	41 mm	prime
Dec	27°	21°	29 mm	prime

30-year averages (1995–2024) from ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo. Rain is the monthly total.

Serves travellers at Backpacker→Mid-range level. Typically around $70 a day on the ground.

Ranges are typical costs, not quotes. Check the real price before you book.

Treat this as a cash trip. Foreign card networks work unevenly or not at all depending on which bank issued the card, and there is no reliable fallback once you are there. Bring the whole budget with you.
money · editorial
Connectivity is limited and unreliable, and you should plan to be offline for stretches. Shortages of ordinary goods are routine, so bring what you actually need rather than expecting to buy it.
know before · editorial
Hurricane season runs through late summer into October. The summer months are humid to the point of immobility.
when not to go · editorial
Habana Vieja is the restored core and the most convenient. Centro Habana is louder, poorer and more lived-in. Vedado is leafy with the 1950s hotels and the best nightlife. Miramar is embassies and distance. Rooms in private homes are the normal way to stay here.
where to stay · editorial
Habana Vieja and Centro are walked. Beyond that it is shared taxis running fixed routes, private taxis, and the classic American cars, which are transport as much as a photograph. Long-distance coaches link the cities and book out.
getting around · editorial
Havana airport is around half an hour from the old city by road. There is no useful rail link. Varadero is a two-hour drive east along the coast.
getting there · editorial

Malecón
Eight kilometres of sea wall. At night it becomes the city's living room.
Plaza de la Catedral
Cuban baroque in coral stone, with sea fossils in the facade.
The Capitol
Much like the one in Washington and a metre taller, deliberately.
Plaza Vieja
The restored square, with stained-glass balconies the whole way round.
Castillo del Morro
The fortress at the mouth of the bay, on the far side of the tunnel.
Callejón de Hamel
An entire alley painted, with rumba on Sunday afternoon.
Fusterlandia
A whole neighbourhood covered in mosaic by one artist, house by house.
Hotel Nacional
The 1930 terrace above the Malecón, with the cannons in the garden.

Eat ropa vieja in a neighbourhood paladar
Eat ropa vieja with congrí for lunch
Shredded beef and black beans with rice. The food of the house.
Drink a café cubano standing at a street window
Small, sweet and strong. It costs almost nothing.

Sit on the Malecón at dusk, when the whole of Havana sits there
Hear live music without having gone looking for it
In Havana it finds you first.
Sit on the Malecón until the sun goes into the sea
With no plan at all for afterwards.