Cuba is the biggest island in the Northwest Caribbean, west of the Antilles group of islands and south of Florida. With Havana as its capital and Spanish as its official language, this UNESCO World Heritage site has maintained the integrity of its pristine beaches and magnificent coastline.

A lot of the island’s landscape is mountainous with the narrow Sierra de los Organos, where nearby the finest Cuban tobacco is grown, as well as the Guaniguanicos hills to the west. Encircled by the Sierra Maestra Mountains the port of Santiago is a beautiful site to visit, as is the Valley of the Sugar Mills where one can view from the Torre de Manaca Iznaga, once a slave watchtower.

There are large parts of the island covered by mountain forests of mahogany and pine trees, while the province of Pinar del Rio offers lush vegetation from which strange looking ‘mogotes’ rise, these are oddly shaped limestone mountains. In this area there are also caves to visit with underground rivers and impressive stalagmites and stalactites, one of the most visited being the Cueva del Indio.

Santiago de Cuba is a lively city with a culture for music and dancing. Here one may visit the Museo Emilio Bacardi, where a collection of fine art and antiques can be admired.

Cuba’s climate is a hot sub-tropical one all year round with a high humidity rate. Rainfalls go from May to October, while the cooler and drier months are from January to April.