Cuba in 8 days

Best time to go: the best months to go are December to April, before the hurricane season and before the extremely hot temperatures that hit the summer.

General advice: Cigars should only be bought from official shops or on the farms, as there are a lot of people selling fake cigars on the streets. Internet is simply not reliable, not even WIFI.

Day 1: Havana

You will probably arrive in the evening so your first day will be pretty much gone.

Hotels recommended are: "Gran Hotel Manzana KempinskiLa Habana" or "Saratoga Boutique". Both are central and have very nice rooftop swimming pools. For some reason these hotels are not on the typical hotel finding websites (i.e. Kayak or Booking) so you will have to book directly through the hotel website.

Day 2: Havana

In your first day I recommend you walk around the Old Havana (it takes around 3 hours) exploring the small side streets and admiring the beautiful colonials houses. The mandatory visits of Old Havana are:

• Plaza de la Catedral - one of the five main squares in Old Havana and the site of the Cathedral of Havana, from which it takes its name.

• Plaza de Armas - the city's oldest plaza is surrounded by cafes, bars and many nice colonial buildings.

• Castillo de la Real Fuerza – a bastion fort on the western side of the harbour in Havana, bordering the Plaza de Armas.

• Plaza de San Francisco - one of the oldest squares in Havana named after the nearby Convento de San Francisco de Asís built between 1575 and 1591.

• Plaza Vieja - Havana's most architecturally eclectic square, where Cuban baroque mixes next to Gaudí-inspired art nouveau.

• Revolution Museum – even though the outside is beautiful, in my opinion there is not much to see in the inside so you can skip the visit.

After an intense morning walking you should go for your first mojito at "La Bodeguita del Medio".

Dinner at "Restaurante Paladar La Guarida" - on the top floor of a colonial palace, meaning that to reach it you get to walk up a beautiful staircase. I would recommend to arrive around sunset so you can enjoy the view before dinner.

Day 3: Havana

For the second day visiting Havana, I would recommend to take a driver with a vintage car. You can either get help from the hotel to book one or go to the street and negotiate the price directly with the drivers. They usually ask for 50 CUC, but you can get it for 25 CUC. The route for this day is:

• Plaza de la Revolución - notable for political rallies and Fidel Castro' speeches. This a bit far from everything so taking the car is definitely a good idea.

• Barrio Chino – kind of an optional stop, given the fact that the Chinese population in Cuba has declined in recent years.

• Capitolio - a public edifice and one of the most visited sites in Havana built from 1926 to 1929.

• Fábrica de Tabacos Partagás – very close to the Capitolio factory- museum that produces the world-famous habanos cigars.

• Paseo De Martí o Paseo del Prado – the beautiful boulevard that goes from Fuente de Indias to the Malecón.

• Centro Cultural Antiguos Almacenes de Deposito San Jose - a huge handcraft market to buy souvenirs to take home.

A nice place for lunch is el "Chanchullero". Very close to this you can find "El Floridita", where you can have the best daiquiris in the world and one of Ernest Hemingway's favourite bars.

Dinner at "La Esperanza" typical Cuban dishes.

Day 4: Havana - Viñales

Spend your 3rd day on a day trip from Havana to Viñales where you will see the coffee and tobacco plantations during a horseback ride or trek. It takes around 3 hours to get there by car so I recommend you to get up early to have time to enjoy this beautiful scenery.

Day 5: Havana – Los Cayos

I would definitely skip Varadero, which is fully crowded with massive resorts, so instead go to Los Cayos, either Guillermo or Cayo Santa Maria.

To get there the best option is to take an internal flight (50 min) with Cubana from Havana to Cayo Coco. By car it takes 6 and a half hours.

Recommended hotel at Cayo Guillermo is "Cayo Guillermo Kempinski Cuba".

Day 6 to day 8 : Cayo Guillermo

Spent your last days enjoying the beach at Cayo Guillermo and try the water sports activities.

I highly recommend booking a private boat to take you sailing around the Cayos and fishing. We did this full day activity and it was a fantastic! We stopped at many of the deserted islands where we were able to take a walk and appreciate the wildlife.

Do you have more days? Santiago de Cuba and the south of the island could be a very good extension for your trip.