Travelling solo as a mature (ahem) woman...

Hey there! Avid traveller here, lots of experience flying solo - would like to do about 5 days in Havana mostly to take photos and experience the music but the cheapest option seems to be a 7-day all-inclusive. I'm not sure I wanna do that as I'm only looking to stay about 4-5 days - does anyone know of a cheaper easier option?

Thanks!

Where did you get the idea that cheapest would be AI?
Where are travelling from and which hotel and what price were you looking at for the package?
Have you read a guidebook or looked at FAQ's here for other accommodation options?

does anyone know of a cheaper easier option?

Your question is meaningless when you give zero clue whatsoever about where you're flying from, etc.

Cheers,
Terry

Cheers Terry! I'm flying from Vancouver, Canada.

and i'm open as to dates but prefer within the next six months.

The west coast of Canada is one departure point where an all-inclusive package is (almost) always cheaper than flight-only simply because you have so few choices in airlines and so many of them transit via another city so the flight-only cost is even more expensive.

In any case making 4 long flights just to get to/from Cuba for 4 - 5 days doesn't really make sense. That's a long, long trip for such a short visit.

That said I'm seeing Vancouver to Varadero (via Toronto) arriving Feb. 7 and departing Feb. 12 (so 6 days) for less than $400 CAD all in, that sounds amazingly cheap to me.

You need to hit up a decent Travel Agent.

Good luck.

Cheers,
Terry

• I agree that unless you can get a direct flight - which does happen at times - then for only 5 days seems a long way from Vancouver. Maybe ttjpdo will see this and comment on when the direct flights are available. And you still haven't explained what you mean by cheap so pointless guessing further.

Did you intend to ask for comments on your thread title (Travelling solo as a mature (ahem) woman...) or just on flight logistics?
As someone who falls into much the same category and with the same interests you stated, I would recommend an introductory short-ish trip to Cuba, but as mentioned above, stay for a slightly longer period than you stated, maybe a full week or so. If that flight to Varadero is indeed as cheap as mentioned, you could spend a couple of days there in a casa particular near the beach to rest up from the long flights, and then take the (3 hour) comfortable, air-conditioned Viazul bus trip to Havana that passes through some pretty countryside and small towns. Adjust your expectations regarding comfort level in casas particulares though. (Most are 25-30 CUC, so pretty cheap.) Brush up on your Spanish so that you can socialize with Cubans, the best part of the trip IMO.

Thanks very much for your info! I was unaware of the $400 price point; all research I'd done so far has indicated at least $650 so today I'll be hitting up a travel agent for sure. Thanks again.

Jajajaaja. Off topic somewhat but I did a double take at your moniker because I know a English bloke by the same name who hangs his hat for several months of the year in Banes. Thought he'd been deceiving me all this time and really was a she.

I had the same reaction Candy.

I was actually disappointed that it wasn't the real bellagio but welcome anyways chica.

From Vancouver, the cheapest flight to Cuba is almost always to Varadero, which as noted by an earlier poster, is an easy 3-hr air-con bus trip from Habana. I agree with that poster's suggestion that you fly into Varadero, spend a night in town in a casa particular (Cuba's version of our B&B), hit the beach next morning if you like beaches, and in the heat of the afternoon, take the Viazul bus to Habana, and stay in a casa there, in Habana Vieja or Centro. The casa host where you stay in Varadero can phone ahead and confirm reservations for you, both for the Viazul bus and for the casa in Habana. And once in a casa in Habana, that host too will probably be very helpful at finding transportation to get where you want to go--almost all of them are. Return to Varadero the day before your departure, maybe to the same casa you stayed at on arrival, if you liked the folks there. If not, have your Habana host book you a different one.

Thanks for the great advice. Terry can I ask, where did you find that $400 flight?

Actually I got it, thanks :-)

I sent you a PM. No response. Could you share the link to the cheap flight?

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