Cuba is an island that assaults the senses: The visitor is greeted with strains of exotic rhythms – the salsa or rumba – emanating from every corner. Cuba has undergone a transformation since it first opened its doors to global tourism after almost three decades of isolation. Most noteworthy has been the rapid growth in private accommodation, the extensive network of casas particulares allowing the independent traveller the opportunity, not only to experience life as it is lived by the average Cubano, but also to explore corners of the country that had previously been inaccessible or off-limits. Good news for the tourist is the growing choice of resorts and the number of new or refurbished hotels that are opening in towns across the country.
An aquamarine sea laps the white, palm-fringed beaches of Varadero and offshore Cayos Largo and Coco. Here you can try your hand at blue marlin or barracuda fishing, or dive to the coral reef and search for shipwrecks. The tobacco-growing area of Viñales with its intriguing limestone mogotes (outcrops), contrasts dramatically with the rugged tree-covered mountains of the Sierra Maestra.
