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Taxi2018-01-10T17:24:46+00:00

Best Cuba Guide Forums General Taxi

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  • Katie
    Guest
    Post count: 195

    When I see prices for taxis I would like to know if that is per person or for two in a vehicle

    Mario
    Keymaster
    Post count: 211

    Hi, all the prices are per vehicle load. The standard taxis can take 4 passengers plus the driver. If you can find more passengers to share the ride with you then the drivers can take everybody together and the price per person would work out cheap.

    Take care,

    Mario

    faustino
    Participant
    Post count: 3

    Hi Mario, thought I would merge my questions in to this thred! First one is ,we fly in to Varadero on the 10th February for Two nights before we go to Havana. On a couple of transfer sites they are quoting 45 CUCs from the Airport to Varadero, the Casa we are staying in between Calle 16 and 17 off Avenida 1, so looking on the map not that far in to Varadero. Our plan now is to take an Airport Taxi, but after a 10 hour flight, I could be a bit jaded and not have by best haggling head on !!, but I would have thought anything over 30 would be a bit pricey. We are due to land at 15-30, and I think the last Bus in to Varadero will have left. Also I noticed in another thread you mentioned a Taxi that you use in Havana this was from 2015, we need to get from  Centro Havana to Trinidad, the prices seem to be around 150 CUCs, we are definitely not taking the Bus option. I guess we can ask the Casa owner in Havana if he has any connections, but any advice or contacts would be greatly appreciated. Best regards Faustino , ps my username is from one of my favourite Wine bodegas in northern Spain !!

    Mario
    Keymaster
    Post count: 211

    Hi man, Ok, here are some answers.

    1. I think 40 to 45 cuc for a taxi from the Varadero airport to Varadero is a complete rip off. I have never seen prices that high before, but I just looked online and I noticed a few guys charging that much. It is crazy. I will tell you that with the influx of tourists to Cuba, people are putting all sorts of crazy prices online and in effect, they are tricking tourists to believe these high prices. The standard price for a taxi from the airport to Varadero town is 30cuc. I have negotiated them down to 20cuc. If there is a large plane landing and the taxis know that everybody will need a ride, then they ask for more. If the airport is dead, you can get a deal. My best advice – Do not try to organize this taxi online ahead of time. 90% of taxis in Cuba are organized on the ground. When you arrive at the airport, the drivers will all huddle around the arrivals door and be yelling “taxi, taxi”. Just walk right through the crowd. Then watch as other people get hustled by the taxi drivers. There is sure to be at least a dozen people who take a taxi. They might pay 40cuc or whatever. Just approach the people and ask to share the taxi ride with them and to split the cost. It’s the easiest way. You won’t have to directly negotiate prices with the drivers, which can be hell. You can get your ride for 20cuc. The other way is to walk into the parking lot and just chat with a bus driver. There will be dozens of blue buses all going to town. The tourists who have booked their stays at resorts will get these rides for free. Just offer to pay the driver 10cuc (this is the standard price) per person (if you are traveling with another person). The driver will drop you off close to your destination, but probably along the highway. It would probably be no more than 5 minutes from your casa, since Varadero town is very small and the highway is not really a highway, it’s just a large road beside the town.
    2. To get from Centro Habana to Trinidad – Ok, here you have several options. I always recommend leaving early in the morning as this is when you will get the best prices (because drivers go from Havana to Trinidad in the morning and then Trinidad to Havana in the afternoon). Taking a private yellow taxi will cost about 150cuc to 160cuc. It’s expensive. The bus sucks, so forget about that. The cheapest and best option in my opinion is to take a communal taxi. In Central Havana, just beside the Plaza de la Revolucion, you go to the corner of Ave de la independencia and 19 de mayo. Its the Omnibus terminal in Havana. Check this map (https://www.google.ca/maps/place/23%C2%B007’35.7%22N+82%C2%B022’59.5%22W/@23.126571,-82.3839793,362m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d23.126571!4d-82.383203)   Just below the terminal you see a park and you can see there are cars lined up beside the park, all along 19 de Mayo street. You can just see them a bit in the map. All these cars are taxis going to distant towns and cities in Cuba. I would suggest you go there the day before you plan on leaving for Trinidad. Tell the drivers you want to go to Trinidad the next day and you can negotiate a price. They will probably tell you it will cost like 120cuc or something. My advice would be to speak to the taxi organizer. Ask the drivers to point him out. One organizer is called Morito and the other is called Angel. They are black and usually wear red baseball caps. They organize the taxis (they have an official permit for this). They basically group people together so that the taxis can take full loads of people when they travel. If you don’t mind traveling with other people (tourists and locals) then you can tell the organizer that you want to go to Trinidad and he will probably give you a really good price (probably about 30cuc per person or less). Then, the next morning you arrive at the place and he puts you on a taxi. Or sometimes he can organize that the taxi comes to your casa to pick you up. It’s very good and 95% of the time there are no problems at all.  5% of the time the taxis might not show up or they run late. Call Morito (54 26 86 77) and he will fix any problems. You usually pay at the end of the trip. But that might have changed. Never pay the day before. But honestly, these guys are professionals and you won’t be scammed. But you will be traveling with a few other people and the cars do not have air conditioning, but it is fun and the trip is not bad. If you are a couple, try to sit in the front, beside the driver, and there is good ventilation and you can take photos as you go through the countryside.
    3. I guess you speak Spanish, but if there is ever any confusion your landlord can help you with the phone calls or whatever. People in Cuba are always eager to help.
    4. I was in Spain again in December. I had a wonderful time. I was a few weeks in Barcelona. It was very low tourist season. The city was so peaceful. I really enjoyed it.
    5. I looked on Revolico.com (Cuban classified website) and found another driver who has some good rates. You can always contact him and try to get a deal for the trinidad trip. (https://www.revolico.com/autos/alquiler/servicio-de-taxi-en-cuba-17784622.html) I use this website a lot to get taxis… and actually I think I used this guy before.

    Good luck man and have fun!

    Mario

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by Mario.
    faustino
    Participant
    Post count: 3

    Thanks Mario for your informative reply, this will be really helpful. We bought your book in November, it will be our Bible while in Cuba, so much great information. Really looking forward to riding the Taxi Particulars around Havana. Shame you won’t be in Cuba in a couple of weeks, we could have hooked up and shared stories of Barcelona, my wife and I have had the good fortune to have visited there 5 times over the last 20 years, awesome city. Take care and Best regards Steve.

    Mario
    Keymaster
    Post count: 211

    Hey Steve. I will be in Cuba starting Feb 18th for about a month. If you’re only staying about a week then I guess we won’t cross paths. I will give you the number of my assistant in Havana. If you have any trouble or need advice or anything, just contact her and she can help you. Her name is Claudia and her number is +53 5 389 5036. She speaks perfect English. I doubt you’ll have any trouble, but it’s always good to have a local contact. Take care and have a great time. Mario

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