Earlier this month, I took my first-ever trip to Cuba 🇨🇺 with a small tour group organised by Surrey Cigars. I still can’t believe it happened! Visiting this country has been a dream of mine ever since I developed a passion for cigars—definitely bucket list stuff!

I have a lot to share from my trip, so I’ve decided to break it down into a series of blog posts. This is Part 2, where I will describe my journey from London to Cuba. If you’re considering a similar trip, I hope my experiences will be helpful to you. I’ll also touch on Cuba’s political history and its impact on the cigar industry, as well as share my first impressions of my first night in Havana.

If you missed the first part, catch up here: My Cigar Adventure to Cuba – 1 – Before the trip

Future posts will cover my visits to the tobacco plantations, cigar factories, and shops—we explored the entire journey from seed to store!

Departure

So, after weeks of anticipation and preparation, it was finally time to head to the airport. In the lead-up to our trip, James, the owner of Surrey Cigars, introduced us to our fellow travellers through the Surrey Cigars Cuba Trip Whats App group—this was vital for coordinating plans before, during and after the trip.

It was announced on the chat that we needed to meet our tour group at 5 AM for a 7 AM departure. To make the early morning schedule more manageable, I booked a hotel near the airport, opting for the more affordable Thistle Heathrow Hotel. If you need to do the same – I’d recommend this hotel for the cost – but it isn’t the fanciest of hotels from the outside – think concrete buildings from the 1980’s 🥴 – the interior is fine though.

You can also have fun getting back and forth from the hotel to the airport on their Heathrow Pods (driverless cars) – £8 each way!

My cigar buddy Alistair opted for the Sofitel Hotel at Heathrow, which is located right at the airport. While it was pricier, it was also much nicer. Both hotels were conveniently located, making our airport transfer a breeze.

The itinerary included a flight from London Heathrow to Madrid (2 hours and 30 minutes), followed by a short stopover, and then a connecting flight from Madrid to Havana (9 hours and 30 minutes) with British Airways and Iberia. I was bracing myself for a long journey—14 hours of travel in total—yikes!

Currently, there are no direct flights from London to Havana. Virgin Atlantic used to operate direct flights from London Gatwick Airport (LGW) to José Martí International Airport (HAV) in Havana, running twice weekly, but these services were discontinued in March 2024. As a result, anyone traveling from London to Havana must book connecting flights with at least one layover. Airlines like Iberia, Air France, and Air Europa provide options with stops in cities such as Madrid or Paris.

Meeting our fellow cigar enthusiasts in person was awesome, and we seemed to gel straightaway! 😄 After checking in and dropping off our luggage—I took a 23 kg suitcase for the hold, a cabin bag, and a backpack—we quickly passed through security. We then made our way to the departure lounge and boarded our flight. The journey to Madrid felt very quick, and the first leg was complete!

Layover in Madrid: Duty-Free temptations

While passing through the Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, we couldn’t resist checking out the cigars in duty free, even though we opted to save our purchases for Cuba. The selection was impressive, featuring brands like Davidoff, Zino, and Casa 1910 (which I recently reviewed). Some prices included Zino Davidoff Gordo x 25 – €166 and Davidoff Nicaragua Toro x 12 – €245. I don’t recall many Cuban cigars there.

The excitement grew as we approached the departure gate for our flight to Cuba. The sight of ‘Havana’ or ‘La Habana,’ as it’s known in Spanish, on the departure board made everything feel more real.

Then, it was time for the long haul: Madrid to Havana.

The Iberia Flight: Not exactly first-class comfort

Truth be told, I wasn’t too impressed with the Iberia (Spanish) flight. The announcements were often hard to catch, and it felt like the English translations were sometimes skipped altogether. The seating was cramped, and I found myself quite uncomfortably wedged in the middle of the plane – I am a fatty though, so I probably have to share some responsibility for that! 😅 For the return journey, I made sure to request an aisle seat, which made a significant difference.

As for the in-flight entertainment, it left much to be desired. The selection of films and TV shows was pretty lackluster.

My Own In-Flight Entertainment: Cuba’s Political History & Its Impact on Cigars

Luckily I made sure to download enough content on my iPhone to keep myself entertained – including the cigar documentary Hand Rolled on Amazon Prime (which you can watch in full here) – thankfully there was a USB socket to keep my phone charged on the flight.

It was great to see so many familiar faces of people I’ve met on my own cigar journey. I was especially excited to see Hirochi Robaina of Robaina Cigars featured in the documentary, especially since we would be visiting his late grandfather’s tobacco plantation the very next day!

This documentary delves into Cuba’s political history and its significant impact on the tobacco industry. Although I own several books on cigars, I never fully grasped Cuba’s political landscape and how it shaped tobacco farms. This film provided valuable insights into how Cuba’s history influenced what we now recognise as New World cigars in the UK.

While Cigar Aficionado‘s The Exodus offers a more thorough overview of this topic, here’s my take (and I’m no historian, so feel free to point out any inaccuracies in the comments!).

In 1960, following the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro’s government nationalised the cigar industry, taking control of both tobacco farms and cigar factories. Private ownership of the tobacco industry was abolished, and the government became the sole purchaser and producer of Cuban tobacco. As a result, many well-known cigar brands, such as Partagás, Montecristo, and H. Upmann, were absorbed into Cubatabaco, the state-run tobacco company. This shift meant that these brands, once independently owned and operated by family businesses, were now part of a state-controlled portfolio, which changed the character and management of the brands.

In 1962, the United States imposed an embargo on Cuba, prohibiting American companies from purchasing Cuban tobacco and cigars. This significantly impacted the global cigar market, especially for American cigar manufacturers who had relied on Cuban tobacco. Many prominent cigar families, including the Padróns, Fuentes, and Olivas, left Cuba and established new cigar businesses outside the country, primarily in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They helped develop these countries into major cigar-producing regions, continuing the legacy of Cuban craftsmanship.

While many cigar families left Cuba, some, such as Alejandro Robaina, remained on the island. Robaina continued to grow tobacco on his family’s farm, maintaining a reputation for producing high-quality leaves. In 1997, the Cuban government honoured his contribution to the industry by launching Vegas Robaina, one of the few Cuban cigar brands to carry a family name after the revolution.

Castro’s control of the industry remains debated—some say it lowered quality by prioritising mass production over craftsmanship. Many Cuban exiles still oppose his regime, with some even celebrating his passing. While there is hope for change, many believe that today’s Cuban cigars no longer meet the high standards they once had under family ownership.

Well, that was pretty deep and quite political! Definitely not something I usually discuss here, and certainly not a common topic in cigar lounges as folk don’t normally talk about politics! It definitely helped pass the time on my flight. But more importantly set the scene for the trip ahead.

Every time I glanced at the screen on the back of the seat in front of me, my excitement kept building as we got closer and closer to Cuba. Landing there was going to finally become a reality.

Arrival in Havana

Upon arriving at José Martí International Airport (HAV), we made our way through passport control. A heads-up: we found ourselves pulling out our visas multiple times during our journey from the London to Havana, so it’s important to keep them handy throughout your travels.

Luggage: A test of patience

As for luggage, the wait was quite the experience—I ended up standing there for around an hour and a half waiting for my hold luggage to appear on the conveyor belt. Fortunately, the tour group remained patient and stuck together, which I truly appreciated. It was my first real taste of Cuba’s laid-back pace, a stark contrast to London’s fast-paced living 😀.

SIM Cards & Internet

Once we cleared passport control and navigated through the luggage area in Havana’s Terminal 3, we quickly picked up some SIM cards for our phones and internet use. Sadly, our UK SIM cards didn’t work, so we made a beeline for the Etecsa booth in Concourse C, conveniently located just past baggage claim. Here, we purchased Cubacel Tur SIM cards for about $40.

The airport staff were incredibly helpful and spoke English, making it easy to switch SIM cards. We opted for the Cubacel Tur Plus package, which offered 10GB of data, 100 minutes of talk time, and unlimited access to WhatsApp and Facebook for 30 days after activation.

Internet connectivity in Cuba can be a bit hit or miss, but we found that connections tended to be more reliable at the hotel than when we ventured out exploring.

Vintage Ride to the Hotel

When we stepped outside the airport, our arranged transportation was already waiting. Imagine my delight when I spotted a vintage Dodge from the 1950s!

It instantly reminded me of the A-Team van, which brought a smile to my face. And the best part? We could smoke cigars inside! Within moments of arriving in Cuba, I was already puffing away on a cigar as we climbed into our ride and cruised toward the hotel—what an incredible start.

There were plenty of taxis available outside the airport as well.

First Impressions of Havana

As we made our way to the hotel through the streets of Havana, it felt like we had time-traveled back to the 1950s with classic cars zipping by, making me feel like Sam Beckett in Quantum Leap, jumping into a different era where the past came to life in vivid detail. Experiencing the world as it once was, trying to understand the present while surrounded by history.

The hotel

We stayed at the Iberostar Parque Central Hotel which was about a 30-minute drive from the airport.

I had already watched a YouTube video about it prior to my trip, so I had a good idea of what to expect. It’s in Spanish, but you get the drift!

Though it claims to be a 5-star hotel online, it has a bit of a dated vibe—think 1990s nostalgia. Still, it perfectly suited our needs. The hotel offered a full buffet breakfast each morning (coffee was a bit meh!), a bar that was open most of the day, and a cigar shop with a sampling lounge – result! We ended up enjoying the cigar lounge quite a bit after our outings.

Don’t miss the incredible views from the rooftop pool!

As for check-in, we all arrived at the same time, and many of us shared twin rooms. After dropping off our bags in our rooms, we regrouped at the reception area to head out for dinner.

Dinner at Los Nardos

For our first dinner, we strolled over to the Capitol building, which had recently hosted the H Upmann Habanos Festival dinner. You could still catch a whiff of cigar smoke lingering in the air! 😃

James booked us in at Los Nardos, a traditional Cuban restaurant just a 10-minute walk from the hotel.

Location 👉 P.º de Martí, Havana Cuba

Here’s a tip: try to pay for meals in pesos, as it can save you a significant amount compared to using US dollars. Just be ready for the exchange rate—you’ll feel like a billionaire!

Before heading to bed, we set a meeting time for the next morning in our WhatsApp group.

Next Up: Visiting the Alejandro Robaina Tobacco Plantation

In my next post, I’ll share our adventures visiting the tobacco farms and plantations! 🇨🇺