Cuba, Goa, Barbados??? romantic but interesting holiday

[Lostlily]

I am booking a holiday for early next year with my (relatively new)partner.
He wants to take me away somewhere 'different', he has travelled a lot with work and wants to go somewhere new.
we are thinking about Cuba or Barbados but I've heard mixed reviews about Cube and not sure if Barbados will just be a big resort and not much else?
Always fancied Goa because of the wildlife and rivers and cheap when you get there.... you can live like king and queen apparently??

Any experiences, or recommendations. I want it to be a really romantic memorable holiday

I would say Cuba...it's amazing and I would say the right time to go is now before it becomes too americanised. Varadero have amazing beaches and it's roughly 2 hours from Havana. Would recommend the catamaran trip to a little island I think was called cayo Blanco it's literally got a bar/restaurant there and that's it. Hope that's some help

I'm watching with interest as I'm looking for a similar holiday for myself.

Safari in Africa? Have you done anything in the east- Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka? Friend of mine is in Sri Lanka now and having an amazing time.

I've been to Cuba and Goa and both are beautiful places. I think whichever destination you pick you'll have an amazing time.

We also stayed in Varradero and did a trip to Havana which was brilliant, we loved it.

Enjoy!

Vietnam? Gorgeous country, fabulous food (not the case in Cuba!), and masses of cultural/ history/ outdoorsy stuff to do.

that's two votes for Varradero
something attracts me to Goa but would want to be somewhere somebody can recommend, I also seem to get eaten alive by mosquitos wherever I go so that's another thing on my mind

No votes for Barbados yet?

falaffels yes I had heard that the food in Cuba was rubbish and that worries me, its a long old flight and I enjoy nice meals on my holidays !!

I’ve been to Cuba, Goa and Barbados.
Liked all three: I loved Havana - really interesting place. Barbados has the most beaches. In Goa I liked the contrast of beaches and culture.

I loved Cuba. The beaches were amazing, the people are so friendly but the food is dull - lots of beans! It's also quite a poor country so there's not a lot of choice to eat out so if food is important to you, Cuba is not really the place for you.

• Barbados has the most beautiful beaches is what I meant to say!

And yes, the food in Cuba generally is rubbish. However, in Havana we ate in a few paladares where the food was amazing!

Sri Lanka.

Went to Cuba with DH 10 years ago. Beautiful amazing country. Stayed in Holguin for 10 nights with 3 nights in Havana. Havana is fascinating and we really got into the history of the place and the revolution. Also visited Santiago which was very old fashioned and poor with lots of people begging which was a little bit intimidating. We stayed in a nice hotel in Holguin and Havana so the food was good from what I remember. The Cuban people were very friendly.

DH and I went to Barbados as our first 'real' holiday together. It was amazing. We stayed in a resort but we were able to book some really nice tours which were really small, one was to tour the island and the guides took us around places that were more local than tourist. There's a cave that was amazing to visit, if you go I would suggest the walking tour (half day) as you get to go into lots of nooks and crannies and see a lot more than on the tram tour. Our resort also included a couple of activities, we went out on a catamaran to go snorkelling and went up and down the west coast which was beautiful.

Cuba is fascinating. Food not amazing but in the fancy hotels will be fine.

I found Barbados dull.

St Lucia on the other hand was stunningly beautiful but one of the poorest places I've ever been. Cuba is obviously poor too but less "in your face" than St Lucia.

I've been to Goa many times - there are very few mosquitoes. The Alila Diwa South Goa is amazing.

Not been to Barbados (unless one hour airport transit counts?!) but I’ve been to both Cuba & Goa. Cuba is great - it does feel like you’re seeing it at an end of an era in time. Havana was brilliant - lively, lots of history, great music and crumbling Spanish colonial architecture. The food is pretty horrible though! We stayed at the Hotel Nacional which was built by Al Capone & while a bit past its best, was an interesting place to stay. A couple of people have recommended Varadero - if you like AI & beach resorts then it’s fine - personally didn’t float my boat as it felt very very dull in comparison to Havana & could have been anywhere in the Caribbean. Just my opinion though! I didn’t see much wildlife in Goa other than monkeys in one of the National Parks & cows wandering on the beach! I didn’t see many rivers either (are you thinking of Kerala?). Still, great beaches, good food & felt safe. Still has a bit of a hippyish vibe to it. If you’re open to other places - we went to Costa Rica 2 years ago & it was great - lots of wildlife! Have fun choosing.

Ps - food was cheap in Goa but we didn’t live like royalty! Tours were very reasonably priced too.

I have been to Barbados dozens of times die to my ex's work. Beaches are main attraction. Not much other interesting scenery. You need lots of spending money to really enjoy it. I won't go again.

Goa - I took my first trip to Goa last December. To the south. Stayed Alila Diwa. Had an amazing trip. Friendly people, gorgeous beach, fantastic food. Good value for money

I found Barbados a bit dull too, lovely beaches but not much else. How about St Lucia or Grenada if you fancy the Caribbean? I find them both much more interesting than Barbados and much cheaper when you’re there. Or Costa Rica for the amazing wildlife then some beach time?

It completely depends what kind of travellers you are. Intrepid and willing to rough it? Or like to lie on a beach in luxury? I loathe the second so I'd be happier in Cuba, Laos or Zanzibar. But lounging around? Barbados is fine.

I am thinkng Barbados isn't for us.
I am liking the look of Goa, I really want to do an elephant safari and experiment with food and some culture. a day or ate on some nice beaches is enough for me.
So..... Those of you who have been to Goa. Recommended resorts? Is Spring any good time of year to go.... I think we have to go from Manchester as live in the Midlands 🤔

Hi Lostlily - sorry if any of the below is preachy & of course, you may know all this already. My DH works for an international animal welfare organisation & they do a lot of work with elephant sanctuaries. As a quick google will show you, the process of training elephants to give rides & the conditions they are kept in are very cruel. They are trained using bull hooks which are pressed into their skulls & usually kept chained at nights. Most animal welfare charities advise completely against taking part in safari’s that offer rides. Elephant welfare across Asia usually isn’t great at all & is propped up by the tourist dollar. If you want an ethical elephant experience, there are a number of sanctuaries where you can stay across Asia where you can some (limited ) interaction with elephants. If you didn’t know any of this then sorry to rain on your parade - it’s a cruel nasty trade. If you did know this all already then apologies! Some info for you - www.worldanimalprotection.org.uk/news/taken-ride-thousands-elephants-exploited-tourism-are-held-cruel-conditions

Another vote for Alila Diwa Goa but you should not do an elephant safari there (elephants are mainly in the spice plantations and there are huge welfare issues)

I'll put the Barbados vote in... Been about 6 times!

1 - it's beautiful
2 - people are great
3 - lots to do - Bridgetown, Concorde, Rum Tours, catamarans, Caribbean stage shows, island safari, Harrison's caves, botanical gardens, plantation houses, food from street food at Oistins to fine dining at The Cliff, west coast, south coast wave jumping at The Crane, easy to get around, drive on the left, safe.

I'm actually getting withdrawal symptoms thinking about it.

I much preferred Kerala to Goa tbh. Kerala has beautiful backwaters, you can stay on a houseboat etc. It's also much more interesting culturally In Goa you could have been anywhere hot. Our winter time is best to visit South India, I was there Jan - March time a few years ago. I was in India for 4 months so travelled around a lot!

I loved Barbados, we got out and about, used road taxis and buses instead of taxis. Fabulous beaches and lovely people.

I'd also recommend St Lucia more dramatic than Barbados but really friendly people.