It’s been 5 years since I launched a tradition of spending our summer holidays in winter. In our native country the climate is severe in January and February so it’s become a trend in young Ukrainian families to have extended winter holidays somewhere in Asia or South America.

Visiting Cuba was my teenage dream, all those photos of vintage cars and post-colonial architecture.. who haven’t been allured by them tell me! So, it was decided 2016 would start on Cuba. Our trip started on the 9th of January and lasted 3 weeks, but this post is about a lazy part of vacation – Cayo Largo retreat.Cayo Largo is a tiny island in the Caribbean sea, it’s territory belongs to Cuba though locals are not allowed to visit this island, only hotel and airport stuff is allowed.

There are 3 large chain hotels on the island, a couple of villas and an airport. All property is owned by Italian or Spanish capitalists.

The place is literally paradise, you have pure white sand and azure waters of Caribbean within 10 minutes walk from your villa, cocktail bar on the beach with cheerful latin barmen and music, several restaurants with seafood, pools and even night club. And all is for free (since you’ve already paid for this in advance haha).

HOW TO GET TO THE ISLAND

By charter from Habana.

Convenient and rather cheap option is booking the package tour through Cuban tour operator (we opted for Cubatour) in Habana. This includes: bus transfers from/to the airport in Habana, helicopter transfer from Habana to Cayo Largo, number of nights in chosen 4* all-inclusive hotel.  It all costed us $600 per person for 7 days as I recall.

Charters are available from Canada and Italy as well, so if you live in one of these countries first just check with your local tour operators.

WHERE TO LIVE

In one of the hotels: Sol Cayo Largo, Sol Pelicano, Iberostar Playa Blanca. Or villas: Soledad, Lindamar, Marinelo.

It’s possible to book the rooms through hotels’ websites or booking.com but the price will be much higher and you’ll have additionally to sort out the flights.

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

In January it’s not that hot, +25C maximum, with possibility of clouds and even rain. So my recommendation – plan your trip to Cayo Largo starting February or March to catch warm sea and pure sky.

When planning a trip to Cayo keep in mind the island is really small and you won’t find much entertainment outside the hotels. Mostly people rent motorbikes and wander around the island, or go to the beautiful Playa Sirena. This is why ensure you have supplied yourself with enough music and books. Oh, and yes, there is no free internet.

Hope you’ve got some inspiration and probably started considering a trip to one of Caribbean islands. If you are interested in budget Caribbean island travels check out my post Is Roatan Island In Honduras Worth Visiting?