The Cuban archipelago, which is strategically located in the Caribbean Sea, is a fast-growing tourist destination in the region, where vacationers can enjoy a wide range of options.
Excellent beaches, history, culture and tradition complement one another to provide a one-of-a-kind tourist product to thousands of foreign vacationers who visit the Caribbean Island every year.
In the Cuban capital, a city founded nearly five centuries ago, emblematic institutions treasure major elements of the country's traditions.
The Inglaterra Hotel is the oldest in Cuba. It was inaugurated on December 23, 1875, and its name honored the world's major power at the time, England. After being rebuilt in 1886, it became the world's best hotel.
The building, which was declared a National Monument and located in a busy area in the so-called Old Havana, has a neoclassic style in which original elements such as tiles from Alicante and railings from Seville, Spain, stand out.
Among the most famous establishments in Havana is the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, which is across from the Malecón seafront drive and was inaugurated more than 70 years ago.
The establishment, owned by Grupo Gran Caribe, is Cuba's flag hotel and a National Monument.
The hotel, which ranked among the top ten Palace Hotels in the world, was the only five-star hotel in the Caribbean region from the 1930s to the 1950s.
In the eastern part of the Caribbean Island, on the outskirts of Santiago de Cuba, tourists can visit La Gran Piedra (The Large Rock) – the largest rock on earth according to the Guinness Book of Records. The majestic and imposing rock weighs 63,000 tons. The area was named after one of the most important geological elements in Santiago de Cuba province: a huge volcanic rock that is 51 meters long, 25 meters high and 30 meters wide.
La Gran Piedra is part of the Sierra Maestra Grand National Park, where a hotel offers accommodation at 1,225 meters above sea level.
Cuban tourist authorities have also developed other destinations around the main island. That is the case of Jardines del Rey (King's Gardens), where hotels were built on Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo.
In central Cuba, on the northern keys off Villa Clara province, Villa Las Brujas, on the islet of the same name, offers 24 cabanas and a long sand strip of nearly two kilometers.
A causeway over the sea connects the main island with Cayo Santa María (13 kilometers long and two kilometers wide), where visitors can practice several nautical sports, including scuba diving and snorkeling.
|
|
|