The Rough Guide to Cuba

The popular image of Cuba as a tourist destination has fluctuated wildly over the years, and there is no question that this fascinating corner of the globe has enjoyed visitors of wildly disparate expectations -- from the hedonistic revellers of pre-Revolutionary Cuba (when it was essentially America's playground) to the many travellers who have visited for ideological reasons, seeing Fidel Castro (however controversial a figure) as a symbol of opposition to American global hegemony. As this guide demonstrates, a more balanced view of this remarkable country may be achieved. And of the many tourist guides to Cuba over the years, travellers who know their stuff will realise that the Rough Guide to Cuba is most likely to give a clear, authoritative and enthusiastic vision, recording all of Cuba's glories without drawing a veil over its less savoury aspects. Despite the country's isolation from the West in general and its hostile relation to the US, Cuba has undoubtedly emerged (in the last 50 years or so) as one of the principal tourist destinations in the Caribbean. And Cuba has never lost its image as the home of sun, salsa and rum, along with an engagingly laid-back attitude that quickly communicates itself to visitors.

This is one of the more ambitious guides (as befits the subject), coming in at over 600 pages, and the range of information here is truly impressive. And what a range of fascinating destinations Cuba offers, from its sultry beaches to its lively, noisy entertainment venues. If you've long nourished a taste for all things Latin, it's probably time to pick up this guide and head for Cuba. And whatever your attitude to Fidel Castro -- pro or con -- it hardly matters; you're hardly likely to run into him on the sun-baked streets. --Barry Forshaw

View other editions of The Rough Guide to Cuba.
View books by Fiona McAuslan, Matthew Norman.

Not as good as other Rough Guides - Rated
We used this guide to travel around Cuba independently for two weeks. It's not as good as other Rough Guides we've used in the past (Kenya, Egypt).

While it isn't particularly bad, there are a few issues:

The maps of Havana are worse and smaller than in the previous (2005) edition of the guide, and there's no map of the area between Centro Habana and Vedado - you have to flick between two maps and there are no street names on the overlapping area. We ended up carrying the DK Eyewitness travel guide for Cuba just to have a half-decent map.

The writer(s) seemed to get bored of Cuba and there's a thread of cynicism and sarcasm that, while generating a smile at first, does become very tedious as it threads throughout the whole book.

Also, there are no bus timetables included.

Really, Really Useful and Up-to-Date - Rated

We have just returned from a 2-week holiday in Cuba - including Havana, Santiago,Trindad, Camaguey and Guardalavaca. The book is a bit unwieldy to carry around but is bang up-to-date. We used it for example to find "paladares" in which to eat. It is informative, contains an amazing amount of detail and is very thoroughly researched. And the advice about what to do - and what not to do ( or avoid) is spot on. A great buy.

Important errandum - Rated
I have yet to test this book in Cuba, although thus far it seems to be as thorough as any other rough guide I have used.

That said, on p63, the book claims $1 CUC is worth roughly £1.80 GDP. The Cuban CUC is currently worth around £0.53 and has been (more or less) for the past year. Perhaps the author converted the currencies the wrong way. This lead me to believe that everything in the book cost 4 times what it actually does. And almost made me consider changing my entire plans.

I always use Rough Guides, so this schoolboy error is rather disappointing. I'll reserve judgement until I return from Cuba.

Not perfect - but as good as you're likely to get - Rated
I've just used this book to help me in my travels round Cuba and while it's not perfect, it was invaluable. The potted histories and local insights are all as well written as you would expect from the Rough Guides.

The book's usefulness is, admittedly, limited by the rapidly changing nature of much of Cuba. Paladars (the privately run restaurants) open and close all the time, musicians spring up here and there and then vanish again apparently without warning. And such seems to be the way of things in Cuba at the moment - all part of the charm. You just have to go with the flow and sometimes you strike gold, other times you find that the gold has moved on.

This guide contains accurate maps (better than many tourist maps available in Cuba - one good reason to buy it) and fair assessments of the more stable attractions such as museums, hotels etc, and that's about as good as you can hope for in a rapidly changing country.

To my knowledge the Rough Guide is currently a more recent edition than offered by its main competitors which in my opinion is a big selling point, given the changing nature of Cuba. If you're going, I recommend it. Don't rely solely on local maps and guidebooks which aren't plentiful and also tend to be slanted to emphasise what the Cubans think we tourists want to see and what they want to show off.

A Rough Guide not quite up to usual standard - Rated
This guide book is not as reliable as others in this normally excellent series. It tends to over-rate some of the sights - such as the comically old-fashioned Camilo-Che room in the Museum of the Revolution, and the restaurant recommendations are often wayward. The text often contradicts itself, and among the unmissable recommendations at the beginning of the book there are sights which are hardly remarkable.
This being said it is the most thorough guide book for Cuba, and is awash with listings.