There are certain things that come to mind when you think about Cuba. Fidel Castro, his Revolution and the countries continuing isolation from America are probably the most famous images. Somehow over the last fifty years, while the rest of the world has changed, Cuba has been caught in a virtual time warp since Fidel, Che and fifty other revolutionaries crossed the sea from Mexico in the ‘Granma’ yacht to liberate Cuba from the Batista regime in 1959.

Ever since a youthful President Fidel formally declared himself a Marxist-Leninist at a public speech in 1961, relations between the US and Cuba have been strained to say the least. The most dramatic division between the two countries came the following year, when in 1962 the US imposed an economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba, which is still in place to this day. This embargo was a direct consequence of a failed attempt by the US to overthrow Castro by launching an invasion led by Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs in late 1961. Following this disastrously unsuccessful attempt America’s policy on Cuba has been to isolate the country at its leader.

This situation was met by Fidel with characteristic contempt for America and disregard for its power and influence. For almost half a century he kept control of his country, running it the way he wanted, without interference from America. However, now at the age of 81, Fidel’s health is ailing significantly, culminating with the transfer of his power and eventual Presidency to his brother Raul, in February 2008. This event symbolised the end of an era in Cuban history.

However, this change really began about twenty years ago with the downfall of the USSR. Having made allegiances with the Communist Superpower in the 1960’s, when the country collapsed in 1991 Cuba had to find new ways to support its economy. Today, tourism has become one of the country’s most important revenue streams. In the late 1990’s it even surpassed Cuba’s export of sugar as the largest contributor to the economy. Having been isolated from the rest of the world for so many years, when Cuba essentially ‘opened its doors’ to the world millions of tourists wanted to sample its exotic and mysterious shores.

With the US embargo restricting travel by US citizens to Cuba, visitors primarily come from Europe and Canada. Cheap flights to the capital, Havana, and package holidays to Varadero can be found all over the web and with some of the package travel deals being so inexpensive it might be cheaper to book a package and use the inclusive hotel as a base from which to travel across the island (at the time of writing Monarch were offering one week all-inclusive Caribbean holidays to Cuba from £503 in July whereas the cheapest standard flight fare for the same time was £419 with Air France).

These offers are bringing two types of tourist to the country. The first is the package tourist who sits on radero beach for two weeks, perhaps taking a daytrip to Havana to buy Cohiba cigars. The second is the backpacker who arrives wearing a Che T-shirt to seek out the country’s revolutionary past. This type of traveller often doesn’t stay in hotels at all but favours a room in a guest house run by a Cuban family. This is the best way to get to know the real Cuba.