Havana 7-Day Itinerary

Havana is the kind of city that defeats planning. The car that should take 20 minutes takes an hour; the restaurant you read about switched to dollar prices last month; the electricity cuts out at 8pm and suddenly you are in candlelight with strangers who speak no language you know. That is not a bug. But you do need to arrive with realistic expectations and enough cash to absorb surprises.

Before you go: Cuba is experiencing a severe energy and fuel crisis that began in late 2024 and continued into 2026. Rolling blackouts of 10 to 18 hours per day are common in Havana; confirm with your accommodation that they have a generator before booking. Some areas of the city have been more affected than others, and the situation changes week to week.

Currency: The Convertible Peso was abolished in 2021. Cuba now uses the Cuban Peso (CUP), though US dollars and euros are widely accepted in tourist-facing businesses. As of early 2026 the official exchange rate is around 466 CUP per USD, but many businesses and private individuals use the informal market rate. US-issued credit and debit cards do not work in Cuba due to sanctions. Bring all the cash you need for your entire trip in euros or US dollars; ATMs exist but are unreliable and regularly run empty. Small bills matter: change is scarce.

Arriving: Jose Marti International Airport is 18 km south-west of central Havana. An official state taxi to Old Havana or Vedado costs USD 25 to 30. Shared collectivo taxis to the city cost around USD 10 per person. Do not change money with anyone who approaches you in the arrivals hall. Book your casa particular host’s recommended taxi in advance if possible; many hosts will arrange pickup.

Where to stay: Casa particulares (private homes licensed to rent rooms) are almost always better than state-run hotels on both price and atmosphere. Budget EUR 30 to 60 per night for a clean, central room. La Guarida and most of the well-known paladares (private restaurants) fill quickly; book by email or phone before you arrive.

Day 1: Arrival and Old Havana

Check in, eat something simple, and walk. Old Havana (Habana Vieja) is a UNESCO World Heritage zone and the most intact colonial streetscape in the Americas. Plaza Vieja, Plaza San Francisco de Asis, and the cathedral square are all within 10 minutes of each other on foot. None require a ticket to enter.

The Capitolio Nacional reopened after years of restoration and is worth the entry fee (around CUP 200 or a few dollars) for the interior. Avoid the souvenir hawkers on the steps who will lead you to an overpriced “state rum shop” around the corner.

Dinner at La Guarida on Concordia (Vedado): this is the paladar that put Cuban private dining on the map, set inside a crumbling Baroque mansion. Budget USD 25 to 35 per person for food; add drinks. Book at least a week ahead in high season. If you cannot get in, Starbien on Consulado is a solid alternative at lower prices.

Day 2: Museums and Art

The Museo de la Revolucion (Museum of the Revolution) in the former Presidential Palace on Refugio is one of the more frank state-run museums in any socialist country. The Granma Memorial outside, housing the yacht that brought Fidel Castro and 81 rebels from Mexico in 1956, is included in the entry. Allow two hours; entry is around USD 8 for foreigners.

The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes splits across two buildings: Cuban art in one, international art in the other. The Cuban collection is the better reason to come, particularly the 20th-century republican-era painters who received almost no international attention during the Cold War.

Evening: Fabrica de Arte Cubano in Vedado (known locally as FAC) is a former cooking-oil factory converted into a gallery, live-music venue and bar. Entry costs around USD 2 and shows begin at 9pm. It attracts a mixed local and tourist crowd and is one of the few places in Havana that reliably has electricity through the evening.

Day 3: Vedado and the Malecon

Vedado is the residential and commercial district west of Old Havana, built mostly in the early 20th century when Havana was one of the wealthiest cities in Latin America. The wide boulevards and crumbling mansions tell that story more quietly than any museum.

Walk the Malecon seawall from Vedado toward the old city in the late afternoon when the light is best. Locals fish, play music and socialise here; it is the closest thing Havana has to a public living room. Do not bring anything you are not willing to lose to sea spray.

The Hotel Nacional de Cuba on the Vedado headland is worth a drink in the garden even if you are not staying there. The lobby bar serves decent mojitos at USD 5 to 7 and the garden has a view down the seawall toward the old city.

For dinner, try Los Nardos on Paseo del Prado. It looks from the outside like a social club (because it used to be) and is easy to miss. The food is straightforward Cuban cooking at fair prices, well below the tourist-strip paladares.

Day 4: Day Trip to Vinales

Vinales is a UNESCO-listed valley 175 km west of Havana, in Pinar del Rio province. It is the most scenically dramatic day trip available from the capital: limestone mogote hills rising from flat tobacco fields, with a tradition of small-farm cigar growing that predates the revolution by centuries.

A shared collectivo taxi from Havana costs around USD 25 per person each way and takes 2.5 to 3 hours. A private taxi costs USD 60 to 80 for the whole car. Book the evening before; your casa host can usually arrange this.

In the valley, visit a working tobacco farm to watch cigars rolled by hand (around USD 5 including a sample cigar). The Cueva del Indio cave tour with a short boat ride through an underground river costs around USD 5. Skip the Mural de la Prehistoria unless you have extra time; it is a painted cliff face from the 1960s and the payoff does not match the 20-minute detour.

Lunch at Los Jazmines overlooks the valley from the hilltop above Vinales town and serves straightforward Cuban plates. Return to Havana by early evening.

Day 5: Beaches

Playas del Este is a string of Atlantic beaches 18 km east of Havana, reachable by taxi for around USD 15 to 20 each way. Santa Maria del Mar is the cleanest and most organised stretch with shade palapas and beach-bar food. Guanabo further east is quieter and more local in feel.

Pack your own water and snacks if possible; beach vendors are present but supply is inconsistent. The sea is warm, clear and calm on most summer days. Go early (by 9am) and leave by 2pm before the afternoon heat peaks.

Day 6: Rum, Chinatown, and Neighbourhood Rhythm

The Museo del Ron (Museum of Rum) on Avenida del Puerto in Old Havana gives a competent overview of sugar-cane distillation history with a tasting at the end. Entry is around USD 7. The adjoining Havana Club gift shop sells bottles at better prices than the airport.

Havana’s Chinatown (Barrio Chino) around Calle Zanja is small by any international standard but historically significant: Chinese railroad workers arrived in Cuba in the 1840s and the community left a distinct architectural and culinary mark. The Callejon de los Pekineses pedestrian alley has the most concentrated examples. Have lunch here; the Chinese-Cuban fusion cooking (rice-heavy, with slow-cooked pork) is one of the genuinely unusual food experiences the city offers.

O’Reilly 315 on Calle O’Reilly in Old Havana is the place for dinner on Day 6: contemporary Cuban cooking in a narrow, two-floor space, with cocktails that are more creative than the standard mojito-daiquiri default. Book ahead; it seats around 30 people.

Day 7: Final Morning and Departure

The Mercado de Artesanias San Jose (Almacenes de San Jose) at the old port is the most organised craft market in Havana. Cigars, rum, Afro-Cuban religious art, hand-painted tiles and vintage propaganda posters are all available; prices are negotiable especially later in the morning. Buy cigars here rather than from street sellers, who frequently sell counterfeits.

La Bodeguita del Medio on Calle Empedrado is the famous Hemingway mojito bar. Go for one drink and the experience, knowing you are paying tourist prices (around USD 7 to 9 per mojito) in a room that has become as much a photo stop as a bar. It has not served its best mojitos in decades, but the walls covered in decades of visitor graffiti are worth seeing once.

Practical transport note: Taxis Cubanos (pink collective taxis) run fixed routes through the city for a few pesos per person and are how most Havana residents actually get around. They are not marked like Western taxis; you flag them on major roads and call out your destination. For tourists willing to navigate basic Spanish this is far cheaper than private taxis and you share the car with locals rather than other visitors. The standard single-journey fare within central Havana is typically 50 to 100 CUP.