What's on in Havana (La Habana), Cuba through the year

Peak crowds — Dry season, Christmas and New Year

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Dry season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)), Christmas and New Year (18 Dec – 2 Jan)

Peak crowds — Habanos Festival, Dry season

• Festival

  Habanos Festival

  18 Feb – 2 Mar · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  The cigar trade's week: factory visits, plantation trips out to Pinar del Rio and a humidor auction at the closing dinner. It takes the Nacional and most of the good casas in Vedado with it. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — Habanos Festival, Dry season

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Habanos Festival (18 Feb – 2 Mar (usually)), Dry season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — Dry season, April recess (Playa Girón) in Cuba

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Dry season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — May Day

• Holiday

  May Day

  1 MayNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  The march across the Plaza de la Revolucion starts around dawn and the city is closed to traffic for the morning. Shops, museums and most state restaurants do not open that day. Source ↗

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Hazard

  Hurricane season

  1 Jun – 30 Nov

  Havana's weak point is the Malecon: a system passing well offshore pushes the sea over the wall and floods Centro Habana for a day or two. September and October are the months that do it. Source ↗

Busy — Summer holidays in Cuba, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Busy — Summer holidays in Cuba, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Busy — Dry season

• Season

  Dry season

  15 Nov – 15 Apr · usuallyCrowded

  The driest half of the year is also the fullest: charter flights from Canada and Europe, casas booked weeks out, and evenings on the Malecon without a soaking from the sea wall.

Still on: Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Peak crowds — Dry season, Havana Film Festival

• Festival

  Havana Film Festival

  3–13 DecCrowded

  Ten days of Latin American cinema in the old Vedado picture houses. Tickets are sold in pesos to whoever queues, and the line outside the Yara on 23rd is part of the festival. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Christmas and New Year

  18 Dec – 2 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  Christmas was only restored as a holiday in 1997 and is still a quiet family day, but the 31st is also the anniversary of the revolution and every paladar and casa in the old city is taken. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))