THE TRIP: Cuba via Toronto, Canada

THE ITINERARY:  Sydney to Toronto, Canada, direct for five days of sightseeing before departing for Havana, Cuba, for 10 days. Our visit to Toronto includes a day trip to the spectacular Niagara Falls where we do a boat tour and a helicopter flight. In Toronto we make use of the Toronto Greeter website and enjoy a city walking tour with local Stan, who gives us an insider's knowledge of the city.

We take a direct 3½-hour flight from Toronto to Havana and join our tour of Cuba. The first two days we spend in Hotel Meson Flota in old Havana. Our large room overlooking the narrow cobbled streets is thronged with tourists and Cubans alike. We sample Cuban music, old-world restaurants with great food and much of the local rum in the form of mojitos, all within a reasonable budget. We marvel at the history and architecture and enjoy a cigar degustation where we watch one being made, before accepting a tot of rum and a puff on a cigar. We love the 1940s and 50s Chevrolets, Buicks and Oldsmobiles that are everywhere.

Touring the countryside, we visit Vinales, Playa Larga, Trinidad, Sancti Spiritus and Santa Clara. The accommodation is all homestays run by local families. The standard of accommodation is excellent and we love the chance to learn more about Cuba from the locals. The families serve us plentiful home-cooked meals with an abundance of seasonal fruit.

BEST BITS: Toronto is a friendly city and Niagara Falls within easy reach is a must. Cuba is a mixture of the old and new. Five-century-old Sancti Spiritus with its small cobblestone lanes and Santa Clara with Che Guevara mausoleum and monument with country road traffic from horse-drawn vehicles to modern buses.

WORST BIT:  Cuba is a struggling economy, looking to tourism for improvement. Just chill and work on Cuban time.

BEST TIP: Cuba via Canada suited our plans. The direct flight from Toronto to Havana made it an easy travel destination.