Have a cigar!

Most people who haven’t yet made it to Cuba for holidays are the same – they’ve always meant to take vacation there, it’s just never worked out for them. The thing is – if you’re gonna visit Cuba, take your trip as soon as possible. Fidel Castro stepped down as president of Cuba and even though it’s his brother who took over, Cuba’s going to change.
Mass Tourism in Cuba
Cuba has already undergone a significant change and whoever took holidays at the island before that first change got the best out of it. That change came in 1994. After the fall of Berlin Wall and end of communism in Eastern Europe, Cuba’s main business partner – Russia was on the brink of bankruptcy and had to deal with its own crumbling economy so Cuba lost its foreign supportive hand and 80% of international trade. Fidel Castro – to day recognized as world’s greatest leader (recognized as such by everyone except from Americans) did the only thing he could to save his country from complete financial collapse: opened Cuba to mass tourism.

Still Same Old Cuba
Everything about Cuban way of life, its crumbling continental architecture, saloon cars from the 50′s, tobacco fields, cigar factories and some of the world’s best medical care and education remained the same. The difference was most noticeable in areas known for world’s finest beaches. Varadero is basically a tourist resort. It’s not even a Cuban town. It’s a location with high density of hotels and crap loads of tourists.
Similarly, while streets of Cuba are still not too busy and still dominated by those old American vintage gas-guzzling monsters, it is not unusual to see a shiny modern car in the mix. That would be a foreigner on a rental.

Havana
Havana has the best hospitals and schools in the Caribbean. The colonial architecture will remind you of Spaniards who conquered the island. The mass tourism has not affected Cuba’s capital much. Old hotels built in the 30′s are still in operation. Most give funky smell, but from the window you can see it all – national monuments, street performers, incredibly beautiful Cuban girls, coco-taxis, old men sitting on a street smoking cigars, little traffic mostly consisting of those old two tone saloon cars and palm trees.

found on lonelyplanet.com