Most Fun Ever…CUBA

Campus Vacations did their first ever trip to Cuba!

We had Joshua Seaton, one of their organizers, write a little behind the scenes advice for when you head off for Spring Break.

We stayed at Club Amigo in Guardalavaca, (Holguin) Cuba. My advice upon arrival to the resort is to pay a room upgrade fee of $10 (Cuban Convertible Pesos) to get a Poolside Villa which is much nicer than a standard suite. Also, right when you land in Cuba, make sure to exchange your CDN$, especially if you are arriving at night when the Bancos will be closed. The exchange rate will be much better than at the resort.

Don’t be shocked by the statue of Christopher Columbus on the private beach in the middle of the resort. He is highly praised and celebrated by the Cubans, so make sure to show your outmost respect.

Our villa keeper for the week was lovely. Each day I opted to give her a little gift; a shirt, bag of make-up, campus vacations promo shirt, tip in Cuban Convertible Pesos, etc. She was so appreciative of these items that are typically unavailable in Cuba. There was immediate respect and fondness that formed between us which in turn increased my trust in her. I often did not find it necessary to lock up my valuables and would leave my wallet in plain sight, returning to the room to find it untouched. My room was also always clean and in perfect condition, even after I would storm through it each night in a drunken-moronic rage!

TIP TIP TIP! – Bring extra Cuban Convertible Pesos with you everywhere, especially when you’re with a student group consuming countless drinks and raging hard. The people who received their “All-Inclusive” Rum & Colas the fastest (and strongest) were those who had tipped at the beginning of the week or at the start of each evening. The 24hr bar at our resort was key – always stocked with burgs and fries. (A little secret: they have cheese & ham behind the station if you want to spice things up and grab a sandwich instead).

THE DEALIO ON FOOD – make sure to book your A La Carte’s at the beginning of the week. You want to do this upon arrival to avoid eating at the buffets. Although the buffet is sometimes good for a morning snack or lunch feast, it gets old really quickly come dinner time. The quality at the A La Carte restaurants is much higher and they have a much nicer atmosphere for you and your buddies or romantic (one-week) significant other. ?

RED BULL – RED BULL – RED BULL
This is not an advertisement. It was a necessity some nights to wake up after a day of drinking in the sun, doing activities, and even squeezing in an afternoon “quickie” mixed with a nap. Drinking games (usually card games), or more specifically a round of “Kings/ Waterfalls/every card is a Rule Card” definitely gets things going too! Make sure to bring IPOD speakers (and a converter /adapter for the plugs).

The resort disco was open every night, except Mondays (for some reason) but overall it served as a place to harbor the drunk and reckless. Nonetheless, each and every one of us ended up here at one point in the night and did exactly this! Lol. Good times….well, at least from what I remember!

Finally, always make sure to meet a group of exchange students from Europe visiting Cuba. They are by far the hardest drinks, loudest chanters, and proud as hell of their “soccer” teams! *GREEN WHITE ARMY* (this gentlemen was the only Irish student in the bunch).

PHOTOG – Holguin, Cuba Feb 2010
By Joshua Seaton of Campus Vacations