Manzanillo De Cuba, Cuba

Manzanillo is a good place to start if you’re looking for an all-inclusive Cuban vacation that offers a chance to see a different side of Cuban life.

The area has a reputation as a budget destination for people who want something different and off the beaten track. It offers rest and relaxation in relative seclusion and is known for attracting seniors who return over and over again.

The city itself is a thriving port town of 110,000 and reputation as a centre of music. But that’s not what draws most of the tourists; they’re usually headed for Marea del Portillo, approximately 100 km away. The black sands of the volcanic beaches there offer two all-inclusive resorts that give real value for dollar and the 1 1/2-hour drive from the airport to reach them is picture-postcard stuff, with the Sierra Maestra mountains on one side of the road and the turquoise Caribbean on the other.

Marea del Portillo, where the two resorts are located, is part of the Great Sierra Maestra National Park and activities for visitors include Jeep safaris through the mountains, horseback riding tours to El Salton, a waterfall, and boating excursions to Cayo Blanco, with its white sand beach and underwater beauty.

The area has lots of sunken vessels to attract divers, including the Cristobal Colon, which belonged to the Spanish fleet defeated by the Americans in the 1898 naval battle of Santiago de Cuba.

A day trip to Manzanillo can be fun too. You can see the city by horse-drawn carriage and keep eyes and ears open for the organ grinders, who are a local tradition.

But for the most part, vacationers must be satisfied with relative isolation and gravitate toward a pool area, rather than the beach. Food and nightlife are limited to the resorts, and if expectations are low, these properties will satisfy the need for a well-priced sun vacation.