Travelling in Cuba

Today’s post is another one of my Travel Route Series, and it’s about Cuba! Cuba is the biggest and the most populated island in Caribbean. It is one of the communist countries in the world. About Cuba; Havana Club Ron, Mojito, Daiquiri, Cuban Cigars, Salsa, Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, the Bueno Vista Social Club, the Guantanamo Camp, the Bay of Pigs and more things come to your mind for sure. Before USA abolished the embargo to Cuba and American tourists started to invade the island, we wanted to visit this beautiful island and country. We only spent 5 days in Havana and around. And briefly I would like to give some information about my route.

Jose Marti Airport – Havana

First thing you need to know about Cuba is CUC which is only used by tourists. 1 CUC is equal to 1 USD. The airport is located South of Havana and 20 km far from the city center. By taxi and of course with a hard bargaining, one-way taxi is 15 CUC. The normal price is 25 CUC. Actually there is a tariff but none of the taxi drivers use it.

There are many places in Havana, at least 2 to 3 days will be enough to visit all places. I suggest you to visit the house of Ernst Hemingway where he lived for 21 years.

Route	Distance (Km)	Duration (Taxi)	Price (CUC=USD)	Places To See
Jose Marti Airport – Havana	19	20 Min.	15	Habana Viejas, Malecon, Nacional Hotel, Museo Bellas Artes, Museo Revolucion, Museo Hemingway, Capitolio Nacional, Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana

Havana – Vinales

The valley of Vinales is 85 km far from Havana. A taxi journey takes 2.5 hours and a bus ride takes 4 hours. Buses go there twice a day; one in the morning and the other one in the afternoon. The bus ticket is 12 CUC. The round trip price with taxi is between 85 to 100 USD but we did bargain and got 70 CUC. If you are more than 2 people, it is cheaper and more convenient to travel by taxi.

Vinales is the land of tobacco plantations. There are many outdoor and nature activities in and around Vinales. I suggest you to visit the caves of Santo Tomas and Indio.

Route	Distance (Km)	Duration (Taxi)	Duration(Autobus)	Price (CUC) Taxi	Price (CUC) Autobus	Places To See
Habana – Vinales	190	2 Hour 30 Min.	4 Hours	70	12	Cuevas de Santo Tomas, Cueva del Indio, Vinales Valley, Tobacco Plantations, Mural de la Prehistoria

Habana – Mi Cayito / Playa del Este

Cuba is full of beautiful beaches. We chose Mi Cayito beach in Playa Del Este which is 30 km far from Habana. There is no public transportation to most of the beaches. We had 10 CUC price for round trip taxi ride. It was really good bargain price for a tourist.