Spanish and snorkelling in Trinidad, Cuba!

Thank god that I travelled to Trinidad!!! Most visitors to Cuba simply visit Havana or Varadero and do not include small cities like Trinidad… I decided not to do this, and I can confidently say that they don’t know what they are missing!!

Trinidad is absolutely charming. It is a colonial city, 4.5 hrs from Havana by bus. The school helped me with the arrangements and I travelled with 2 friends in a private car we rented.

In general, trips to Trinidad include a stop in Cienfuegos –another fantastic town by the way- but I chose to stop in Ciénaga de Zapata for a my first diving experience. The whole area is amazing. There are a lot of animals, birds and even a crocodile farm!

Our diving instructor Felix and his family were waiting for us and we had a short but excellent training session. Then we took all the equipment and drove to Playa Larga, just 5 minutes away.

Once we were under water, I immediately fell in love of diving! I couldn’t believe that I had not tried it before! The corals and fish are so beautiful and the feeling of breathing under water was very relaxing. We dived for 50 minutes; down to 15mts depth… I did not want to go back to the surface!

As this was my first time diving, the instructor gave me the most attention and my friends then made jokes of me simulating my movements under water; we laughed a lot again every time we remembered that day!

Back to the instructor’s home, we had lunch and continued our trip to Trinidad. When we arrived, Carlos – from the school – welcomed us and invited us to a delicious dinner. The next day, we had a walk around the town; the architecture is colonial and well preserved. I was told that Trinidad is called a “museum city” and I definitely agree with that.

After enjoying the art and warming talks with locals, we spent the whole afternoon at Playa Ancon, the most beautiful beach of the Cuban south coast. White sand, sun and turquoise blue water; simply perfect!

It was fantastic to find that Trinidad itself had such an amazing beach – even better than the one I’d had my first scuba diving lesson on! – I spent many of my afternoons going to the beach with friends and snorkelling, after my morning Spanish lessons.

At night, we went to Casa de la Música, where a lot of artists performed; it seems that the whole town meets there every night; the environment was cheerful and we had a great time!

Trinidad was for me the best combination of culture, nature and fun and I would recommend it as a must in Cuba.

Don’t just go to Havana – Why not try Trinidad as well, or instead!

It’s a different side of Cuba, small town, and ‘off the beaten track’, fun and interesting, with beautiful architecture, friendly locals, great weather and the most incredible beach!

I can’t wait to go back!

Katherine (UK)