Havana
You can be here in November for about €762, 4 days, 1 stop.
Why now
Prime time in November: 29°C days, sea 28°C, fares below average.
The dry season from late autumn to spring is the comfortable one, but it is also when cruise groups and tour buses fill the old town by mid-morning. Power cuts and supply shortages have been frequent in recent years, so plan around them rather than being surprised.
Best months here: January, February, November. Daytime highs, sea temperature and rainy days from three years of Open-Meteo reanalysis; a rainy day is one with at least 1 mm of rain, which is the WMO threshold and not the same as "it drizzled".
The place
Havana is a city of grand façades and improvised interiors: colonnaded streets in Habana Vieja restored block by block, Vedado's 1950s apartment towers, and a daily economy that runs on queues, shortages and ingenuity. It suits patient travellers who like talking to people more than ticking off sights.
What you can do
- 01Walk the four squares of Habana Vieja early, before the tour groups, starting at Plaza de Armas.
- 02Ride the Malecón at dusk in a classic-car taxi, then sit on the sea wall with everyone else.
- 03Visit the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes' Cuban building for Wifredo Lam and Amelia Peláez.
- 04Eat at a paladar in Vedado or Miramar; ropa vieja and black beans are the reliable orders.
- 05Hear rumba at Callejón de Hamel on a Sunday afternoon, arriving before noon for a place to stand.
Where to stay · neighbourhoods
A casa particular in Habana Vieja or Vedado is the sensible first choice; the state hotels are often expensive for what they deliver, and reviews of recent power and water supply matter more than star ratings.
Unusual things
- ◦Fusterlandia in Jaimanitas, a whole neighbourhood tiled in mosaic by the artist José Fuster over decades.
- ◦The Necrópolis de Colón in Vedado, a walled city of marble tombs with its own street grid and chapel.
- ◦Fábrica de Arte Cubano, a former cooking-oil factory turned gallery, cinema and concert space, open Thursday to Sunday nights.
Day trips
Flight options
Routes come from OpenFlights (historical) and a 2026 route reference compiled from public timetables. Durations are the published schedule where we have it, otherwise a block-time model fitted on measured nonstop flights. Verify schedules with the airline before booking.
Entry requirements · IT passport
Cuba: e-visa (tourist card) required, ~€22–35.
Source: passport-index-data, March 2026 (coarse indicator), covering 258 of our 268 destinations for each of 199 passports. Always confirm with the destination's official site.
Airports
Distances are centre to airport derived · nonstop counts are our route reference for 2026, not every flight that exists.
Local transport
- Airport to city
- Taxi, 30 min, ~€25
- Car needed?
- No — walkable or good public transport
- Getting around
- Yellow taxis, app rides where they work, and negotiated classic-car rides cover the city; the airport is 30 to 40 minutes by taxi with no useful public link. Bring cash in euros or dollars, as foreign cards frequently fail.
- Clock
- Same time as New York (America/Havana) derived
- Daylight
- 11 hours of daylight in November · sunrise 06:43, sunset 17:46 derived
- Currency
- CUP
Good to know
Expect scheduled and unscheduled power cuts, patchy internet and shortages of fuel, medicines and some foods; bring what you cannot do without.
Alternatives at a similar price
Whole trip per person for 4 days from New York in November, then the flight time; estimates, like the total above.
Mexico City
Orlando
Casablanca
Houston
Oaxaca
Fez