Cuba Travel Network Reviews 327

I consider myself a frequent Cuba traveler. Since 1999, I must have made more than 15 trips to this great destination. The first two years I just got a flight, caught a Viazul (bus) to wherever I wanted to go and booked a hotel on the spot. That pretty much changed after a Dutch friend told me about Cuba Travel Network (CTN).

CTN has offices in both Amsterdam and Havana, which I find convenient and reassuring. They cater more to the independent traveler who want to see the real Cuba, not just the insides of an all-inclusive beach resort. Some of the places I love and would like to go back to are Cayo Saetia, Soroa, Cienfuegos and Topes de Collantes and Gibara (film festival). Using the personal one-on-one advice definitely made my trips more relaxed and divers at the same time. The few times I had a problem with a reservation (once I experienced a delay with a car rental), all it took was one call to the Cuba office to get the situation solved.

These days, I spend large parts of my Cuba holidays with local friends whom I met over the years. Last week however, I passed by the Havana office to see if they could get me a room on Cayo Levisa. Elio, who has worked at the Havana office for as long as I can remember made the reservation and showed me the new website. They now offer “casa particulares” too and I definitely will book at least one next year.

While I rarely leave my opinion on a review site, it is a pleasure for me to fully recommend Cuba Travel Network.

Enjoy Cuba and its wonderful people.

Two friends and I just got back from the 11 day self-drive adventure tour - incredible couple of weeks! We drove through Havana, Vinales, Cienfuegos, Trinidad and through to the Pinar del Rio province - if you actually want to immerse yourself in Cuban culture rather than sit by a hotel pool, this is the kind of trip you should book.

Having experienced a couple of disasters with tour operators in the past, we were really happy with Cuba Travel Network. After we booked we were given a personal contact, who took the time to speak to us about how we wanted to customise the trip - they helped us arrange an extra day hiking in Sierra Maestra and had some good advice on the best times of day to experience different parts of the cities, driving routes and logistics. Sorting out local phones for us with all the numbers we needed was a massive help (they meet you at the airport and give you these straight away, with a WiFi scratch card).

Vinales Valley (the first proper day on the road, after Havana) is a real highlight - it's pure rural simplicity, like a different planet to the centre of Havana. You then arrive at Maria la Gorda - if you're able to get up early, sunrise is the perfect time for diving and exploring some of the shipwrecks and caves.

We felt like we were getting to know the real Cuba rather than the holidaymaker scene. If you've got a genuine interest in the country and its culture, I can't recommend it enough. The operators are professional and communicative - they're there when you need them, and give plenty of space for you to be independent and discover things yourself.

CTN gave me the wrong hotel pick up location when I was in Varadero. I waited outside my hotel for over an hour and tried calling the driver/guide multiple times but could not get a hold of them. By the time I was able to speak to someone, they told me that the driver wrote me off as a "no show" because I was not at the pick up location. Turns out Cuba Travel Network gave me the wrong information. I asked for my money back as it was clearly not my fault but CTN has been ignoring my emails. This happened two months ago and still no word from them.

Booked a catamaran trip to Cayo Blanco from Havana via Cuba travel network. Cayo Blanco is a nice beach, soft powdery sand, beach was clean, long/spacious, and paradise-isque. However, I will NEVER book another trip through cuba travel network again. Getting in contact with them in regards to the tour wasn't easy. After I paid for the trip, they weren't interested in answering any questions I had for the tour. Countless emails went unanswered, I had to threaten to cancel to get an answers (meanwhile, I got direct answers before I paid for the tour).

We were picked up 6am (Varadero is 2 hours away), taken to the boat, and not fed for HOURS! Luckily, I always bring snack (but I felt horrible for those who boarded at 9am, only to be served food at 2pm, when we FINALLY got to Cayo Blanco). We sailed around for about an 1.5 - 2 hours, stopped for dolphins (which I was told not only do they charge you $25 US dollars more to swim with the dolphins, they charge you for the picture as well), then sailed another 1-1.5 hours before finally docking at Cayo Blanco. We had to walk through some trees (open path) , over a pond/swamp to the beach.

Once docked, and we got the where lunch was served, the line to get food was LONG! One person in my group got on on the line when we got there, and came back 30 minutes later. My brother and I decided to wait until the line had died down. Once it did (about an hour later) we went to get food, and was told what we wanted (burgers, lobster, anything) was gone, and they could not help us. So I basically just paid $150 to be driven two hours to a boat, ferry around and island, and not be fed. REALLY? I'm now angry!

We make our way back to the boat, sail around for another maybe 30-45 minutes, and the boat stops about 5 minutes from back at the Varadero marina port. They ask everyone to get up, dance clap, and entertain for about 5 minutes, THEN they ask for tips, and literally came around to everyone on the boat to shake hands/ask for tip. UM, this is the first time you've actually interacted with me on this boat, get out my face :-(! We get back to the marina, and driven back to Havana. Couple of other things happened that I'll mention, but let's be clear wasn't bothersome, and isn't the prime reason I'm ranting such as : driver was late picking us up at the hotel, and at the marina. I get it, traffic happens. No safety precautions were discussed before embarking on the cruise (my dude, where are the life jackets?!) I've been on a number of cruises, in different countries, and this was by far THE WORST! No entertainment, whatsoever (again, not a big deal, typically can make my own, but worth mentioning), no food, staff didn't greet us AT ALL (until the end when they were looking for a tip), it was honestly, just an 8 hour ferry on a speed boat. They can keep it, and I have half a mind to call my credit company and call fraud, because this was a disgrace, and we definitely were taken for our money! >:-(

Well organized tour, professional and reliable people guiding us through the trip. Highly recommend.

Everyone from Cuba Travel Network was lovely, but the tour guides left much to be desired. We were underwhelmed to put it mildly, and the hotel was filthy with plumbing that broke multiple times. The tour to Vinales was especially disappointing, but all of the guides we had were lackluster, ill-informed, and had issues communicating in English. I would absolutely not recommend anyone travel to Cuba with Cuba Travel Network. It was a waste of a trip and an opportunity to learn about an incredible country. We were left with frustration and more questions than answers about Cuba.

Sorry for the confusion. I got my E-ticket.

Excellent and reliable tour company with knowledgeable and friendly guides! The attention of our guides and the attractions made our trip to Cuba so memorable. I highly recommend visiting the vintage car restoration enterprise and its proprietor. You will learn so much about Cuba through the personal experience.

We had a wonderful time in Cuba. The trip was very good organized with friendly, helpfull and knowledgeable staff. Every driver was in time, the arrival and departure were good organized and the hotels were authentic. Which gave us a good feeling. Even when there was only one miscommunication, the local representative listened and used our input, so we felt taken seriously. Thanks and keep up the good work

Whether you are just booking a car or you need to find a place to stay in Cuba, Cuba Travel Network's agents are there for you. Prompt responses, availability during working hours, decent recommendations. CTN house in Havana is also well equipped and is offering a cool stay, which comes at hand at humid and hot weather; if you need some advice or maybe just some internet connection, visit them.

Working with the Cuba Travel Network was top notch. Javier in the NY office easily came up with a trip that worked for my needs. Once un Cuba, all the representatives, tour guides, drivers, etc. were knowledgeable, spoke English perfectly and just a joy to be around. In Havana ask for Jorge as your guide (part of Eco Tours). He was terrific!

At a time when traveling to Cuba was questionable for Americans, CTN made sure we were comfortable before and during our trip. They checked in with us several times during our stay making sure we felt safe. They went above and beyond!

Thanks for a great trip!

Everything was handled perfectly from the tour arranging, professional guides, safe drivers, tours, delicious meals, and all down to the transfers. Together, we were able to design a very private and authentic experience, including a home stay. We met many wonderful people who generously shared their beautiful country!

A great experience from beginning to end. Despite all the controversy regarding travel to Cuba, they provided us with a fun "tailored to us" tour. We are not fussy people, we wanted to experience more than another island destination. History, culture, and art, almost every restaurant and hotel had live music- feels luxurious after too much Muzak. Yes this was a rustic tour, staying in a country B & B was not Rittz Carlton but it was the best breakfast (coffee especially) it was sweet to sit on the rockers on her porch- authentic Cuban hospitality :)

We traveled to Cuba using Cuba Travel Network. We were very impressed with super fast response to any of the questions, requests we had. Visas were received in a record short time. This trip was easiest compared to our travels to other countries thanks to work of Cuba Travel Network team. This company practices proactive communication, and we received instant information on developing situations such as hurricane Irma. The company was very transparent/trustworthy regarding US Cuban embassy announcements. The team met us in the airport and made sure we had a smoothest experience going through customs, money exchange, getting taxi, etc. Every step is thought through carefully and well-planned, so tourists do not have any hustles in a complex country like Cuba. We did our own hotel selections. However, all the recommended restaurants and concerts venues were excellent. Assigned tour guides from Ecoturs co. are experts at what they do, and we tremendously enjoyed traveling with such great people. We are looking forward to come back in the nearest future to explore further this picturesque country with great people. Ignore political games of governments and enjoy this great country and its amazing people, US close neighbors.

This company did a great job in handling a trip for a small group travel. Very helpful, both ahead of the trip and on the ground in Cuba. Having that personal touch meant a lot. Greeter at the airport, transfers arranged to and from the airport and daily check ins when we were there. The tour guides and drivers that they arranged for us were top notch as were the hotels. We loved the tours, got to see a lot within a week, both in and out of Havana. There are some great restaurants in Havana, and I am glad that we had the opportunity to get to them on our own. The food on "meals included" tours were OK, but definitely more touristy than foodie.

My friends and I have all been singing the praises of Cuba Travel Network to everyone we can! It was such a well organized and professionally run trip, from the first time I asked for a quote to now receiving your email asking how it all went. We are very highly satisfied and think CTN did an outstanding job from beginning to end. I really appreciated that the CTN staff was in touch with us throughout our time in Cuba, asking if everything was alright and making sure we were set. The company you are using as guides and drivers was also top notch. We were very happy with them as well. It was really an excellent experience! We found very good restaurants, enjoyed the Buena Vista Social Club, had a ride in a couple classic cars, and took in a lot of history.

The Saratoga hotel was very nice and at a beautiful location. We had to walk a little bit to get into Old Havana, but it was not a problem and there were lots of taxis. The Santa Isabel was also nice and at a better location for walking around Old Havana. We all agreed that we thought the Saratoga was the nicer hotel and the Santa Isabel had the best location. So both were a success in our minds, and both had excellent hotel staff.

Due to Hurricane Irma, we were unable to go to the Hemingway house. However CTN offered us choices for a substitute tour and we enjoyed seeing more of the countryside that day. It worked out fine.

We found the Cubans to be friendly and we were very welcomed. Cuba Travel Network had us well prepared for the trip, and we were satisfied with them all the way. The gift box of cigars, the wi-fi cards, and little bottle of rum was especially nice to receive upon landing in Cuba!

Again, I can’t thank the Cuba Travel Network team enough for the great time we all had in Cuba. GREAT job!

I have a very positive experience with Cuba Travel Network. In brief, I did a car reservation in Cuba just few days before of the pass by Cuba of the terrible hurricane Irma
My original flight was canceled, but the agents of Cuba Travel Network kindly help me to modified the car reservation without extra cost. They were always kind and very efficient during the whole process.

Highly recommended! CTN made our trip smooth and effortless. Extremely professional, friendly and attentive. Thank you for an amazing trip to Cuba!

Excellent advice by Daniel from Amsterdam office. With knowledge of the country and customer, proposed a program which worked out perfectly.
Recommend to anyone who visits Cuba and planning a round trip.

We were very happy with the level of assistance that Cuba Travel Network gave us on our first Cuba trip. From whisking us through the airport and security and into a VIP area, to having someone at our hotel every morning to introduce us to our tour guides and get us started. It was a quality operation all the way.