Tips for traveling in Cuba...

Stay away from resorts and places the tour buses stop, and you'll find yourself in the heart of "real Cuba" (by which we realize that you mean where Cubans are doing ordinary Cuban-type things not geared to tourists. Here's an example of what Terry means when he says, "Walk five minutes in any direction..." On a recent trip to Cuba my two travel companions wanted to visit the Plaza de Armas in Habana Vieja--a lovely area that just happens to be Tour Bus Central. So fine. I leave them to wander about there, and myself walk five minutes down a side street and sit down with some working-class, un-tourist-connected Cubans for pizza, for which I paid the equivalent of about 40 cents US.

The other best way to experience "real Cuba" is to stay in private homes that are licensed to rent rooms to foreigners. Some of these are on the "whatever-will-please-the-visitor" side in style and atmosphere, but many, maybe even most, are quite Cuban, with a host family that , if you ask, will be happy to show you the beaten track to THEIIR bars, restaurants, shops, beaches, etc; thereby helping you get off the one followed by the tour buses.