Havana + Cancun: Cuba and Yucatan on one crossing of the ocean
Flying across the Atlantic for a single country is a waste. Havana and Cancun are an hour apart in the air, and the difference between them is a matter of decades.
Why connect them
Cuba is Old Havana, cars from the fifties, an absent internet and the sense that time was stopped on purpose. Yucatan is the opposite: hotels, cenotes, Mayan pyramids and the full tourist machinery. Separately each half leaves questions; together they add up to a coherent picture of the Caribbean. The flight between Havana and Cancun takes about an hour.
Cuba: six days
Havana for three nights: the old town with its squares, the Malecon in the evening, Vedado with its hotels of the era, the Colon cemetery, rum and live music in almost every courtyard. Then the trips: Vinales with tobacco plantations and mogotes — limestone hills sticking out of the valley; Trinidad with cobbles and colonial houses seven hours away; Varadero if you want a beach without complications. A car with a driver for the day is an ordinary service here and an inexpensive one.
Yucatan: six days
Cancun is the entry point rather than the goal. Cenotes — karst wells of clear water in the jungle — are the local highlight, and people swim in them. Chichen Itza with the pyramid of Kukulcan is best at opening; Tulum has ruins directly above turquoise water; Coba still keeps jungle around it. Isla Mujeres and Cozumel are islands with reefs. Merida, three hours away, is a colonial city living its own life rather than a tourist one.
When to go
December–April: dry, not stifling, calm sea. From June to November runs the hurricane season, peaking in September — that does not guarantee a ruined trip, but the risk is real and insurance should be chosen with cancellation in mind. In summer both places are hot and very humid.
Cuba: what to prepare for
Foreign cards work poorly on the island or not at all — bring cash. The internet is paid for by access cards and is slow. Shop shelves are limited, so bring medicines, toiletries and anything specific with you. None of this spoils the trip, but it should not come as a surprise.
Cuba beyond Havana
Vinales, three hours west, is a valley of mogotes, tobacco fields and farms where cigars are rolled by hand and where they explain how leaves from different tiers of the plant differ. Trinidad in the south is a colonial town preserved since the nineteenth century, with cobbled streets, coloured houses and music on the steps in the evening. Between cities people travel in almendrones — those American cars from the fifties working as shared taxis. Rooms in private casas are cheaper than hotels and noticeably more alive.
Cenotes: how to choose
There are thousands in Yucatan and they differ a great deal. Open ones like Ik Kil near Chichen Itza are a well with vines hanging to the water: beautiful and crowded. Semi-open ones have a collapsed roof. Fully underground ones are entered down a ladder with a torch, and there the water is clear to the bottom with almost nobody around. One rule: sun cream is banned before swimming almost everywhere because it kills the ecosystem — wash it off beforehand or use an approved biodegradable one.
What to check before you fly
Cuba needs no visa for a Russian passport, but it does need a tourist card, issued in advance or at the departure airport. Entering Mexico requires an electronic authorisation submitted online before the trip. The rules for both countries have changed before, so verify them before buying tickets — including in our visa section.
Moscow → Havana → Cancun
Route and nights go into the form — adjust the date and passengers.