Captivating Cuba Reviews 252

Well organised holiday- enjoyed the whole experience. Hope to go back next year all being well. Thank you

Its not that easy travelling to cuba, visa and health declaration are needed. Special importance is applied to the correct completion of the visa no mistake or correction are accepted. Needless to say I promptly made a mistake and a new form was needed in a very short time. Captivating Cuba's manager drove personally up to the Midlands over the weekend to provide a fresh form - what a service!! Apart from that mishap all was well organised transport wise and at the resort, which we can highly recommend

We had 2 weeks travelling around Cuba plus 1 week after that at the beach in Varadero. We stayed at 8 different Casas/Hotels during our trip - with the Casas easily being our favourite. We had private transfers between cities. The arrangements made by Captivating Cuba worked well, both for private transfers and for the hotel booking. Nikki at CC was very responsive in answering our questions and we thoroughly enjoyed our travels around Cuba. The information supplied pre-trip was extremely useful and we would recommend making sure you read it all - worth the effort.

The trip was so interesting.. the places we stayed in were all really good choices, with exceptional guides to tell us about the areas and the history. All went above and beyond to give a remarkable experience of real Cuba. Everything was organized impeccably. This was one of the most memorable holidays we have ever had.. to a unique destination with a fascinating history and very friendly people.

The whole booking procedure was easy. We were bombarded with lots of useful information as soon as we had booked, and although it was a lot of reading, it was well worth it. We knew exactly what we were expecting and had no nasty surprises. The captivating Cuba staff were all very knowledgeable which made it possible to tailor your holiday to your exact requirements. If we went to Cuba again, we would definitely use them again.

Really helpful and quick replying company with detailed responses!

Captivating Cuba made our holiday so memorable. From the reps in the different locations to the incredibly knowledgeable tour guides, they all helped to create a wonderful experience we'll never forget.

I just wanted to say what an amazing holiday my family and I have just had in Cuba. The team out there were excellent - thanks to Adrian for welcoming us in Havana, our lovely tour guide that took us to Cienfuegos via the Bay of Pigs, Juan Carlos who met us in Trinidad, the incredible and knowledgeable Jose who was our tour guide on the long journey up to Varedaro and to Maria who welcomed us there. Thank you so much for showing us your incredible country.



All of the accommodation was excellent but I want to give a special mention to Casa Madero. This Casa was perfectly situated for exploring Havana, the rooms were excellent and the team were so welcoming - we could not have asked for more.



A truly memorable holiday, thank you.



The Graham's

WOW, If you want to see the real Cuba, can't fault this companies organisation. Thanks for an amazing trip.

We had the most amazing trip to Cuba thankyou. This was our 3rd visit to Cuba and the first time we had booked a tour of the north of the island starting in Havana. We had 7 days of suburb touring with an informative, enthusiastic guide who ensured we got everything we possibly could out of our experience (thank you Shaula Ferrals). We truly appreciated the great driver we had as well...so courteous and proud of his lovely country, and an expert pothole avoider! (thank you Rafeal Fernandez). We know so much more about Cuba now. The tour content was a good mix of history, contrasting locations and great local food, drink and music. Finally,
the well earned chill on the beautiful beach at Varadero was a perfect way to round off our trip.

Jo and Nikki were brilliant from start to finish. We had quite a tricky schedule to fit in because of a congress we were attending in Cuba, and they worked hard to fit everything in for us. They even managed to accommodate us at the actual congress hotel in Varadero, which made my life that much easier in Cuba (I am disabled). If ever I go back to Cuba in the future (and i am already planing my next trip), I will definitely use Captivating Cuba again! Full marks!!

If you need help organising a trip to Cuba, you can’t do better than Captivating Cuba. Their service was first class in every way as was their expertise. Helped us put together the perfect bespoke trip to suit our needs and interests, answered all questions promptly and thoroughly and even arranged back up alternatives just in case. Their reps on the ground were welcoming, warm and very helpful. The excursions, guides and accommodation was all excellent. Can’t recommend them highly enough!

Great team of lovely people. Created the perfect bespoke, three centre, Cuba package for us. Kept us informed with change options as COVID19 tried to spoil the plans. Delivered a superb holiday once we were allowed to travel again. Everything went like clockwork in Cuba and we had a fabulous time. Thank you guys!

We had a wonderful holiday to Cuba booked with Gemma. Everything went smoothly and we would have no hesitation in recommending Captivating Cuba

1 star for not booking our taxi in havana to club tropicana which i then had to pay 50 Euro myself. Missed the begining of the show. Was promised my 50 Euro money back by them but never saw it.

Also none of the reps had any idea what trips and excursions we had booked until we told them

And it would have been nice for someone to tell us about the money used in Cuba before we left. Small denomination Euro was the way to go but sadly we didn't know

And the reps could have known what currency was used in the airport. Why tell us euro when most shops wanted dollar or peso in the airport.

update 13-2-23 never recieved my refund

Just returned from an amazing trip to Cuba. From beginning to end, Captivating Cuba provided a fantastic service.
Adrian (our rep in Havana) was so helpful and friendly and went out of his way to accommodate all our requests. (He even got personally involved when we had a delayed taxi on a transfer in Vinales due to a problem on the roads) definitely above and beyond.
Anye our guide on walking tour of Havana old town and then in classic car to newer part of Havana and harbour, was knowledgeable and such easy company - it was like being out with a friend.
Our Casa in Vinales was great and hike into the valley to Finca with a guide was absolutely brilliant.
Casa Camilla in Cienfuegos was perfect, great location, good food.
Saving the best of the Casas until last - Casa Maria in Trinidad was gorgeous- Maria & Oddrey were wonderful hosts, food was great and the cocktails went down extremely well.
We wish we’d known earlier that hardly anyone anywhere wants pesos as we’d have just kept Euros and Stirling for all transactions.
So glad that we went with one suitcase almost full of toiletries, medicines, crayons etc to give as gifts during our trip - it was all really welcomed by the people we met and we felt that at least we could help in a very small way.

Also can’t finish without mentioning Luarki (and driver Delvis) on our sightseeing tour of the El Nicho National park in the Escambray mountains- he accompanied us again the next day to the Che Guevara mausoleum and Santa Clara, we can’t mention everything but again, felt like he was a friend by the end of our time with him, knowledgeable about the geography of the area, history, wildlife … a perfect guide and good fun to be with too.

Oh and lunch with Noraida Horta Diaz (and Raoul) in Caleton, Playa Larga was superb. Raoul was just gorgeous!

Haven’t mentioned Moka in Las Terrazas or Varadero but could just go on and on. Staff at Blau Varadero were fantastic and incredibly welcoming.

Please do not book your holiday with this company during Covid 19, despite full travel insurance if you book all your holiday with them including flights, accommodation it comes under the package travel regulations and the insurance company won’t pay as the company is liable. I’m still waiting for over 4K refund and keep getting the same response standard email response, they won’t speak to you. Flight only refunded as TUI them but everything else is apparently in Cuba. It’s not worth the risk! I booked well before the pandemic occurred so don’t even risk it, despite.

Edited update. The holiday was booked directly with you as the travel agent, long response for the director after I’ve posted publicly, yet will not respond to emails or phone calls! Happy to post all my emails publicly to and from this company, I’ve waited patiently for a refund and this has not transpired, I did not enter a sales agreement with Cuba but with Captivating Cuba, who the insurance company says are liable.

The real test of any organisation and its people is what they do when things go wrong.

Lee-Ann and her colleagues managed to obtain a refund on our Cuba holiday which had to be cancelled due to COVID-19.

Without being pushed by us, a refund has arrived in our account, for which we are most grateful.

The holiday they arranged for us looked superb and we'll be sure to ask Captivating Cuba to do the same again whenever the opportunity arises again.

Most highly recommended

Great service and support from teams in Uk and Havana! Couldn’t have coped with the recent stresses of being in Cuba when Covid19 hit without them. Nothing was too much trouble to make sure I was safe and sorted. So efficient and caring - my second family both before and whilst I am in Cuba. Cannot recommend highly enough the personal touch you get when you book with Captivating Cuba. Muchas gracias a todos

I’d like to give a rating of 3.5 stars as some parts of the tour were very good but the overall rating was pulled down by the following factors:
1) The tour guide for the first few days was only so-so, not really helpful. When I lost something in a restaurant and asked him to help, he told me to talk to the staff instead of offering his help.
2) The Casa in Trinidad was below our expectation as our room looked very old (and not very clean). More importantly the stairs were narrow and extremely steep, especially bearing in mind that you had to carry the luggage by yourselves. Anyone less physically capable than us would not have been able to manage this feat. There was no assistance offered by the Casa.
3) Finally, the worst part was the no-show of the transfer from the last Casa (which was very good) to the airport when we were leaving Havana. Fortunately the Casa staff saved the day by helping us to call the travel agent (several times) and we were told that the agent was checking with the driver ...... Eventually, we were forced to leave the Casa in a taxi found by the Casa (after 50 minutes delay and a great deal of distress in case we missed our flight!). Luckily, we managed to catch the the flight back home.
Having said that, the Casa “La Posada de Chacon” in Havana deserves a special mention (we stayed there in first 2 nights of the tour) it was excellent. Excellent service from the staff, excellent cocktails, nice room and breakfast.