Exploring Cuba? (beyond Cayo Coco, Guillermo)

[geron]

I was in Cuba before I knew how to kite; I rented a car in La Habana with the family and went to Viñales and Trinidad. In retrospect; I think there are tons of possible sites to explore in a kite (starting from La Habana). I would go to Viñales (it is a grate town to visit) and try to kite on the north coast areas near it. Even in trinidad you could kite in the bay area if the wind direction is from the north.

[cichenlùp]

Getting ready to head down for two weeks in Cuba with my kiting girlfriend. Not primarily a kite trip, but we do hope to find a few nice spots. While the kiting in Cayo Coco and Guillermo looks really nice, we aren't so into the all-in-one resort vibe. Hoping to find some other spots along that massive coast, but there aren't many reports beyond the resort areas. Anybody have some suggestions for other spots to check out? Our Spanish is good, as is our willingness for some rough adventures.

I get your point, you could spend a few days at http://www.cubakitevillage.com/

I've never been there but it seems a nice option to me

[madmax7]

Questions,

When is wind season , or when should I not go - cause wind stats bad?

My GF windsurf so is there an area to rent and sail and kite ?

Anyone explore St Lucia?

What airports available from states other than HabAna?

Can you guys post pics and any info available ?

Thanks in advance

Max

Include good and bad experiences! One tip a friend on a package deal and they wanted $50 to board kite gear on bus He argued and got away w/o paying. But he had been there before and called him on it

[MQN]

Are there some low key places where I can just live close to the beach and get to know a typical Cuban lifestyle? Where would I find this?

[cichenlùp]

Ok, I've just come back from a 8 days vacation in Cuba.
As many of you, I didn't want to spend all the vacation inside an all-inclusive resort, and since it was my first time to Cuba I was looking for a place near La Habana. For that reason i chose to stay in Playa del Este, https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_ ... _Cuba.html , where the beach is real nice, you can reach El Habana in 30 mins by taxi or bus, and the feeling is much more informal.
I personally was in Tarara at Cuba Kite Village ( https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Revie ... _Cuba.html ), which is run by a Canadian (Coco, she) - Italian (Peppe, he) couple that offer Yoga and Kite related activities.
About kitesurfing with them, the most particular thing is he will also drive you to kite in different spots, either in a single day trip (we were at Varadero) or a longer trip, according to the wind and the waves.
I really enjoyed the time spent with Peppe and the group of kiters (Spanish, German, Norwegian and Canadian people) and definitively advise the place. On one night we also had a beach party with a community of local kiteboarders.
A few more info:
1) The local beach at Tarara is really beatiful and less crowded than it appeared to be on the eastern side
2) Tarara is less attractive in the nightime, due to the presence of only few bars that at night seem to offer very few. But this was not a problem for me, since I used to have dinner in La Habana
3) If you visit Cuba kite village website http://www.cubakitevillage.com, they still refer to a villa that that has recently been demolished. The present accomodation is actually inside Tarara Residence.

This is a video I found in Youtube, after watching it I decided to go...
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhCgLSVGc0A[/youtube]

[Clarencephil]

Are there some low key places where I can just live close to the beach and get to know a typical Cuban lifestyle? Where would I find this?

A typical Cuban lifestyle is working very hard 5 or 6 days a week for next to nothing, and having very limited freedoms and no Internet. I don't think you want this

[cichenlùp]

Are there some low key places where I can just live close to the beach and get to know a typical Cuban lifestyle? Where would I find this?

A typical Cuban lifestyle is working very hard 5 or 6 days a week for next to nothing, and having very limited freedoms and no Internet. I don't think you want this

LOL I guess you've never been in Cuba, right?
What I found particularly funny is "working very hard"...
Anyway as I wrote, I met also some guys of the local kite community in the area of Guanabo. Very nice guys, if you can speak a bit of Spanish (even if you don't actually, some of them speak some English) they will be happy to talk to you. So MQN best place for you to start would probably be in the area from Tarara, Sta Maria, Guanabo. Same spot advised by Marlboroughman, see his post.

To madmax7:
In the few days Ive been there I didn't see any windsurf... I couldnt say
The season: as far as I know it's windy from november to march. Ok Cuba it isn't probably the windiest spot in Caribbean, but I personally had wind 4 out of 8 days (first week of february), 3 days with a 12m and 1 day with 9m
Airports: in my experience domestic flights are pretty unreliable, usually people moves by car or by bus
Pics of the beach in Tarara: