The Differences

Vacationing in a different country is great because you get to experience things you’ve never seen or done before. You see buildings that are designed in ways you’ve never seen before. You taste food you’ve never eaten. You hear a totally different language. You hear certain music for the first time. You meet new friends. It’s a fantastic adventure. 

You also get to see where and how others live. That is the most awesome part of the experience. Most of us spend our lives in one general area and grow accustomed to our surroundings and what takes place on a daily basis. We then naturally assume that it’s all normal and standard for everyone else. But, we live in a great big world and that’s not the case.

The Beauty of Cuba

Cuba has so much to offer. It’s the largest island in the Caribbean and is full of stunning beaches. Its unique jazz, Latin, and Afro-Cuban melodies constantly fill the air. Brilliant cars from days past travel the roads – where else do you actually see them in use?And, the food, with its distinct flavors and spices – you can’t get it anywhere else.

You’ll notice something especially interesting as you stroll along, admiring the uniquely designed buildings and various colors – there’s ardly any advertisements, posters, or signs marring the windows, walls or buildings. All you see are the beautiful colors and the splendid, pristine architecture. It’s fantastic.

“Que Bolaa”

“Que Bolaa” is how Cuban friends ask one another “what are you doing?” and “how are you going to have fun?” That’s how former United States President Barack Obama greeted the citizens when he came to Cuba. It had been nearly a century since an American president last visited.

His kind gesture of friendship inspired a group of tourist professionals to name their then, recently formed, cuban private travel agency,Que Bolaa Travel.

Que Bolaa Cuba Travel

QuéBolaa Cuba Travel, as the name suggests, specializes in Cuba travel. Its agents are trained, skilled professionals with a wide range of travel experience. Their aim to bring people to Cuba and show them its exceptional beauty and fun in a totally different way. Yes, visitors will see all the great tourist sites, but they’ll also see the wonderful, exciting sites only natives know and love. Especially, the untouched beauty. So, come visit Cuba and experience a different way of life and meet the friendliest people on Earth.

So, please, be friendly, contact Que Bolaa Cuba Travel, but don’t ask “how are you going to have fun?” Instead, ask “how am I going to have fun?” Que Bolaa Cuba Travel will plan it all and take you there.

Travel Packages

Que Bolaa Cuba Travel offers cuba roundtrips & tours and top tours excursions homestays, both of which visit Habana’s Historical Center. Or, you can book your own private tour.

Contact Que Bolaa Cuba Travel today and experience Cuba.

Cuba’s Nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a location designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as having special cultural or physical significance.

There are currently nineteen UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Caribbean. Nine, almost half, are in Cuba. 

Cuba’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites are:

1. Trinidad and nearby Valle de los Ingenios: these areas prospered during the 18th and 19th centuries from the sugar trade. Features the Museo Nacional de la Lucha Contra Bandidos, sugar mills, and plantations.

2. Old Havana: packed with stunning baroque architecture and neoclassical monuments, plazas, fortresses, and ancient structures that have withstood centuries.

3. San Pedro de la Roca Castle: constructed atop a two hundred foot high peninsula in Santiago de Cuba Bay four centuries ago in order to guard Santiago from piracy due to struggles between England and England. Two hundred years later, it was transformed into a prison.

4. Parque Nacional Desembarco del Granma: featuring unspoiled coastal cliffs, stunning verandas, and glorious waterfalls. Named after the yacht that transported Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, along with the rest of his supporters, from Mexico to the Cuban shoreline in 1956.

5. The First Coffee Plantation in Southeast Cuba: in the late Eighteenth Century, after the Haitian Slave Revolt, French Immigrants started defecting to Santiago de Cuba. They then set-up coffee plantations and constructed exquisite stone mansions on the land.

6. The Urban Historic Center of Cienfuegos: showcasing the finest examples of Nineteenth Century, Spanish city planning. The streets were designed to be symmetric and straight, with monumental structures on each side, including the former City Hall.

7. Valle de Vinales: full of spectacular scenery and gorgeous limestone rock, which can be climbed and hiked. Also has some of the world’s best tobacco plantations.

8. Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt : UNESCO regards the park as one of the most biologically varied tropical areas on the planet. It is home to indigenous Cuban plants and animals and is one of the world’s best preserved parks.

9. The Historic Center of Camaguey: featuring all kinds of art and architecture built throughout the centuries, ranging form art deco to art nouveau to neoclassical and neocolonial. Also known for its many churches. 

Qué Bolaa Cuba Travel Agency

Qué Bolaa Cuba Travel, as the name suggests, is a Cuban private travel agency specializing in Cuba travel. Its agents are trained, skilled professionals with a wide range of travel experience. They want to bring people to Cuba and show them its exceptional beauty and fun in a totally different way.

Many of its Cuba roundtrips & tours and top tours excursions homestays, including excursion two days habana, take you through several; UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Old Havana, Trinidad and Valle de los Ingenios, Cienfuegos, and Valle de Vinales. And, many of these packages include a visit to Habana’s Historical Center. You’ll certainly see the great tourist sites, but you’ll also see the wonderful, exciting sites only the native travel agents know.

“Que Bolaa” is the friendly Cuban way of asking “how are you going to have fun?” Well, how are you going to have fun? Contact Que Bolaa Cuba Travel today and let them show you.

Hemingway’s Cuba

He looked at the sky and saw the white cumulus built like friendly piles of ice cream and high above were the thin feathers of the cirrus against the high September sky.”

That’s a line from Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. One can actually see the wispy the clouds in the sky while reading it.

In 1928, “Papa” Hemingway and his family set sail from their Florida home toward Spain. Along the way, they stopped in Havana, Cuba and stayed for three days. Well, it was more than enough for Hemingway. He had fallen madly in love with Cuba.

Four years later, in 1932, Hemingway came back and brought along a few friends, one of which was a master fisherman who showed him how to catch fish. He loved it so much, he purchased a fishing boat and returned the next year. He even wrote an article entitled, “Marlin off the Morro: A Cuban Letter.” It was published in Esquire Magazine in 1933. You can read it at: www.esquire.com/sports/a49248/marlin-off-the-morro/

In 1940, Hemingway and his new wife purchased a home in Havana and named the property “Finca Vigia,” which means or “lookout house.” The two lived there along with their many cats for the next twenty years. While living at Finca Vigia, he wrote his most acclaimed works, The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bells Toll.

Hemingway went on to become a renownedCuban regular, even after relations with the United States crumbled. He fished nearly every day, mingled with residents at local bars, and reported on goings on. He even asked the Cuban government to let him turn one of his boats into a fighting ship so he could defend the shores against German submarines.

In 1961, after Hemingway’s death, his possessions sadly ruined. Fortunately, however, the Cubans recently restored his home and the public can now see all his beloved souvenirs, hunting awards, personal artifacts, and majestic library. Hishome is now listed on both the World Monuments Fund list of the 100 Most Endangered Sites, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Places list.

Qué Bolaa Cuba Travel

Qué Bolaa Cuba Travel is a newly formed Cuban private travel agency. Its highly skilled professionals have extensive travel experience and are specifically trained on the latest travel techniques, practices, and procedures. It will show you Cuba in the best, possible manner.

The people of Cuba often say “Que Bolaa” to ask “what are you doing?” and “how are you going to have fun?” It means they are treating you like a close friend. And, that’s how Qué Bolaa Cuba Travel will treat you – as a friend.

The Hemingway Excursion

Experience Habana (Spanish for Havana) just as Papa Hemingway did during the twenty years he was most happy and productive. You’ll see the places he cherished, visit Habana’s historical center (World Heritage), and simply come to love, as he did, Cuba’s beauty, sounds, sights, and people.

The excursion includes:

• A visit to the restored Finca Vigia.
• Room 511 in “Ambos Mundos Hotel,” where he wrote.
• The local bars in which he shared drinks with Cuban friends.
 • A walk around Old Havana, which includes visits to the colonial squares, Central Park, the Catholic Cathedral, and Prado’s Drive.
• A visit to either a cigar or rum factory.
• An evening with either the “Buena Vista Social Club” or a concert at the Tropicana.

The Hemingway Excursion is only one of Qué Bolaa Cuba Travel’s ten top tours excursions.

Homestays

Homestays are rooms and/or homes that private citizens rent out to the public. They are a unique and cost-effective alternative to hotels, much like a Bread and Breakfast. In 1997, the Cuban government permitted citizens to rent out their properties.

Most people have a very positive experience with a Homestay. The homes were neat and clean and their host family treated them very well and provided inside information about Cuba. Some provided delicious food, as well. Accommodations vary. Some simply offered a small room and shared bathroom, kitchen, and everything else, while others offered entire homes with private pools. It simply depends. And, costs are determined by the owner and room size and length of stay. Accommodations were arranged through the Internet and such is where you can read reviews and learn about potential homes.

Homestays can be identified by a symbol - a white square with two blue triangles. Such indicates that the home is registered with the government.

Qué Bolaa Cuba Travel can also arrange private roundtrips Cuba, cubaroundtrips, and tours, and excursion two days Habana.

Where to Stay and What to See in Cuba

So, you’re going to travel Cuba. That’s fantastic! A Cuban vacation is very exciting. There’s so much to see and do. The white sand beaches are beautiful and the turquoise water is clear and warm. Don’t forget to swim in the water and look for starfish and see the stunning coral reefs. Don’t forget to stroll the cobblestone streets and listen to the wonderful Afro-Cuban and Latin music and enjoy the antique cars. Don’t forget to dine on the delicious cuisine and sip the homegrown coffee.

If you haven’t already, it’s wise to contact a cuban private travel agency and have them arrange your lodging.

Where are you staying? There are many hotels, lodges, and all-inclusive resorts in Cuba that offer fantastic accommodations. There is, however, an interesting, cost-saving alternative you might want to consider.

But, don’t forget, should you still want luxury, your Cuban Private Travel Agent can still arrange for you to stay in that resort penthouse!

“Qué Bolaa”

The friendly people of Cuba often say “Que Bolaa” to ask “what are you doing?” “how are you going to have fun?” and “what are you going to do?” When a visitor is asked “Que Bolaa,” they are no longer a visitor, but a native – a resident – one who belongs. It’s as Cuban as rum and cigars (“Puros”).

When United States President Barack Obama arrived on the island, he said “Que Bolaa” in order to connect with the people. Such is why “Que Bolaa” Cuba Travel chose the expression for their agency.

“Que Bolaa” Cuba Travel

“Que Bolaa” Cuba Travel, as the expression naturally suggests, treats the Cuban traveler as a Cuban native. It aims to show the traveler Cuba just as the residents know and love it. While “Que Bolaa” Cuba Travel will show you tourist sites, it will also show you the sites only the residents know and love.

Private Homestays /Casa Particular

A top tours excursions homestays or “Casa Particular”, in simple terms, is a Cuban bed and breakfast. Local families provide lodgings to vacationers in their homes. No two Homestays are alike and each offers vacationers something fun and unique. Staying with a local family, for many travelers, often results in the nicest way for them to enjoy the country. Many hosts speak English, are gourmet cooks, and know exactly where you should go to enjoy Cuba – not just the usual “tourist” sites. Best of all, a Cuban Homestay / Casa Particular is extremely affordable – many are a mere percent of the cost of a hotel. 

There are a few some downsides. Meals are served at certain times and if you miss them, that’s it (but, you can always eat out). Bathrooms may be limited and you might have to share them. And, they’re not as luxurious as a fancy hotel and lack the amenities hotels and inclusive resorts offer. That’s it, however, and the extreme costs savings benefit for some may outweigh these mere negatives.

Cuba Top Tours Excursions

There are also tours and excursions to enjoy. “Que Bolaa” Cuba Travel can plan ahead of time for you and such is recommended in order to make things easier and also avoid carrying cash. As well, if you don’t speak Spanish, having the agency arrange round trip tours and excursions is very helpful as most of the locals only speak that language. Some of the top tours and excursions include:

• a two day excursion in Habana (Havana), where you can see the glorious baroque architecture, tour visit habana’s historical center, see the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, Plaza de Armas, La Bodeguita del Medio, and a host of other fascinating places. To be in touch with the Cuban reality.

• an excursion to Varadero Viñales, one of Cuba’s most stunning areas. A tour of Varadero Viñales includes a visit to a Habana Cigar Factory and a tobacco farmhouse, a stop at Los Jasmines viewpoint, and horseback riding through Viñales.

• an excursion to Santa Clara, Trinidad, and Cienfuegos. In Santa Clara, there’s a visit to the hero Che Guevara’s mausoleum. Then, it’s onto Cienfuegos - the Pearl of the South, which is a World Heritage Site. Then, it’s onto Trinidad, which lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Escambray Mountains. Charming Trinidad is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And, then there’s an overnight excursion to Nicho Trinidad, which includes the waterfalls in the El Nicho mountain range.

These types of excursions or round trips are the best way to get to know Cuba. They are just a few examples of the round trips you can take. Contact “Que Bolaa” Cuba for more information.