Search Results for 'Trinidad'

[lizita]

#20180

Topic: is a trip to trinidad worth it for only a 5 day stay in cuba? in forum General |

hello, i am going to be in cuba for only 5 days and was thinking the best thing for me (not a big city person) is to get out of the city and explore one other place. i was thinking trinidad because it looks so lovely and has good beaches relatively close, but then realized 3.5 hours away might be wasting 7 hours on driving when I could be going somewhere closer!

is there anywhere that is closer to havana that will still feel like i am getting a different experience? beaches but not resort filled?  up to 2 hours away is fine.

is the 3.5 hour drive in the bus or taxi through enough beautiful scenery to make it worth the trip in and of itself? mil gracias!

[Mario]

#19157 In reply to: Taxi |

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 8 years, 6 months ago by Mario.

[faustino]

#19135 In reply to: Taxi |

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]

#18991 In reply to: Taxis |

Hi, your plan is ambitious. There will be a lot of driving around. Vinales is about 2 hours away from Havana (sometimes a bit more). Trinidad is over 4 hours from Havana in the opposite direction from Vinales. Cayo Santa Maria is 3 hours from Trinidad and 4.5 hours from Havana. Just make sure that you want to travel this far during your trip. But it would be a great trip and you would cover a lot of distance.

Anyway, everything you want to do can be done, exactly as you want it, but it will cost money. For example, a driver from Havana to Vinales costs about 80 to 90 cuc (equivalent to USD). So to go and return is about 180 cuc. A driver from Havana to Trinidad will be 160 cuc. A driver from Trinidad to Cayo Santa Maria will be about 100 cuc to 110 cuc. And driver from Cayo Santa Maria to Havana will be about 220 cuc. So all told, it will cost about 670 cuc (usd). That is hiring drivers by the trip. The taxis pick you up, drive you and drop you off.

If you want the drivers to hang around while you explore a particular area for a few hours, you have to factor more money. Sometimes considerably more. Drivers always want to do round trip. So if they bring you to Trinidad, they want to leave Havana in the morning, early, then bring you to Trinidad, and then find passengers in order to return to Havana (their home) on the same day. If you add extra hours to the trip, then many drivers will charge considerable overtime because they might not be able to find passengers for the return leg, and have to spend money on accommodations and food in a different city. Anyway, all that to say, if you want to stop for a few hours in Cienfuegos, the prices jump considerably.

Also note that in Cuba there is no car culture. No road trip culture. Infrastructure is a luxury reserved for large towns and cities. Most people do not stop along the road for cool things, because there are very few cool things along the road and even if there was something interesting, it would be hard to find and even the taxi drivers would not know about it. 99% of driving is from one destination to another. Exploring the open areas of Cuba is not done and taxis drivers are sometimes reluctant to do it, even for more money. If they get stuck in the backwoods, anything can happen.

On my website, all taxi prices are from destination to destination. Drivers charge more for stops. I should make clear that I don’t make any commissions from these drivers and have no control over the prices (my quotes will be accurate, but anything extra is between you and the driver). I just tell the drivers and you pay them when you are satisfied at the end of the trip. But usually drivers charge about 20cuc per hour for stops. But more if it really messes up their scheduling (if it happens in the afternoon or evening).

Again, your trip can be very easily arranged exactly how you want it, but you will have to throw some money around.

Concerning hiring a driver for several days, this is what I wrote to another person who asked a similar question. And I added some more info for your situation in particular.

–

Hiring a driver for the entire trip has been done before, but it can be expensive. Generally the best / cheapest approach is to use different drivers as you need them.

Individual trips outside the city are expensive but for about 100 to 150 cuc you can get to most places on the western side of the island. Going far east is a bit more expensive.

Hiring a personal driver who will be with you all day would likely cost about 100 cuc for days that you stay within the city and about 150 to 200cuc for days you leave the city. If you are going to do a lot of driving, then it is an OK value. But drivers will usually charge supplemental fees for long distance drives. Let’s say you decided to go from Havana on a 24 hour drive across the country… The driver would probably want a lot of extra money anyway. Plus you will have to cover his food and lodging. Hiring full times drivers is a luxury trip.

I get asked this question often. 99% of the time it is far better to just use different taxis as you need then. The only time that I remember a person using the full time driver for multiple days was because the guy had large camera equipment and was going to be taking photos all over Cuba over the course of a week. So he wanted to have one driver with him always to get him around and keep the cameras in the taxi. It cost a lot.

—

Now, I will give you just a tiny bit of unsolicited advice.

Vinales – If you leave Havana in the morning, get to Vinales and want to only spend 1 day exploring the valley, you can do it, but it won’y likely be the best experience. You cannot really drive in the valley. There are no roads. There are roads that go around the valley, but not inside the valley. It would be like going to take a taxi tour of the Grand Canyon. The taxi would only go around the area, but nowhere close to inside. Basically, if you are going to Vinales to see the valley, you would not see much in a taxi. The taxi can take you to the “Prehistoric Wall”, but note that there is nothing prehistoric about the wall. It’s just a painted mural on a rock. Just want to make sure you know that before you go.

The best thing is to take a walking tour of the valley or a horseback tour. You cannot really organize these things if you are only arriving for 1 day. Usually these tours are organized the night before and then the guide meets you in the morning at your casa and you go for the tour. If you will only be in Vinales for 1 day, you can just go hiking in the valley for a few hours. You will see beautiful things, but you likely will not get very far or see the things such as the caves or waterfalls. There are no signs for tourists in the valley (and very few foreigners go on independent hikes). And the valley is pretty huge. If you decided to stay 2 days (sleep 1 night at least) your casa owner would be able to organize a walking or horseback tour). These are not expensive.

Trinidad – 1 day in Trinidad is not much. If you stop in Cienfuegos (which I think is a bit of a waste) you will really not have much time in Trinidad. You can see the town in a few hours, but you won’t see much and you certainly will not have enough time to see anything around the town.

My best advice in general would be either to see fewer places (see either Trinidad or Vinales, spending a few nights in either, but not both) or if you really want to see both towns, then cut back on your Havana or Cayo Santa Maria days in order to fit more days in for the small towns.

If you have more questions, just ask me.

But – I will say, have you booked any of your accommodations in Havana or Trinidad or Vinales from my website? If yes, then we can arrange the taxis as you want and you just have to communicate with my assistant at casas.bestcubaguide@gmail.com. If you have not booked accommodations with us, then i would suggest that you book your taxis with http://www.taxivinalescuba.com/ They are a specialized taxi service company and we generally use them to fulfill all our taxi services anyway (I just send them the details of your trip and they do it). If you are just looking for the taxi services, you can contact them directly and they can give you the latest quotes for all your taxi needs. If you have already booked your accommodations on my website, then we can take care of the taxis, no problem.

take care man,

Mario

 

[kiwicgn]

#18980

Topic: Taxis in forum General |

Hi Mario,

I am in the middle of planning a 2 week holiday to Cuba in mid-March this year for my partner and myself. I have bought your book Real Havana and read and found many good tips which I plan on using when in Cuba. I have also read a lot of your website.

We plan on spending the 1st 7 days in Havana, travel down to Trinidad and stay the night there. The following morning travel to Cayo Santa Maria and stay in a resort for 6 nights and then travel back to Havana and fly back home.

When in Havana we would like to travel to Vinales for a day and of course stop along the way and spend some time having a look around at the valley, the prehistoric wall etc. etc. We would like to hire a taxi for the full day to take us there, see some sights there and drive us back to Havana. Is this possible and what would this cost? At what location do we get the taxi from?

A plan is to hire a taxi for 2 full days. The taxi driver would pick us up from our hotel in Havana and then stop along the way (most likely in Cienfugos for a couple of hours) and travel to Trinidad. The following day use the same taxi to drive us over to Cayo Santa Maria. I have done some research and there doesn’t seem to be too much worth seeing from Trinidad to Cayo Santa Maria, am I right in my research?

If we were to use a taxi for 2 days (as above) what would it cost? At what location do we get the taxi from?

If we hired the taxi to drive us down to Trinidad with the option of stopping at Cienfugos for a couple of hours what would this cost?

If we were to hire a different taxi to take us to Cayo Santa Maria and if there were any points of interest to see along the way we would want to stop. What would that cost?

I have read on your website that you can book a taxi e.g. Havana to Trinidad for CUC160. What does this exactly include? Is it just the drive from your hotel in Havana to your hotel in Trinidad? OR can you ask the taxi driver to stop along the way? OR are you hiring the taxi for a full day?

Thanking you in advance for your response.

Kind regards

 

Bruce

[Mario]

#18910 In reply to: Taxi To Trinidad |

Hi, the address that you gave above “Plaza de la Revolucion, 10400, Cuba” is just a generic way to refer to the whole city of Havana. It’s not a real apartment address. If you already have an apartment booked then you should get the exact street address so that when you arrive you can find it.

But in any case, for the first night you can stay in any apartment. Just make reservations so you don’t have to go hunting for an apartment right when you land. Then the taxi can pick you up wherever you are. Just give us the address and we will send the driver to get you and bring you to Trinidad.

If it was me, I would probably want to spend the Saturday night in the same apartment as I would be spending the rest of my stay in Havana. This way, if I have extra luggage that I did not want to bring to Trinidad, I could ask the landlord to leave some of it with him in Havana. It just makes travelling easier if you have less stuff to bring around. That would be the best advantage of staying at the same apartment. But if you don’t anticipate doing that, then you can stay at any apartment for the first night. It really just depends on your preference. But as mentioned, get the exact street address, or it will be impossible to find once you are in Havana.

take care,

Mario

[Mario]

#18662 In reply to: Taxi To Trinidad |

Hi, the best way to get from the Havana airport to Trinidad is by taxi. Also, I think this is the only way. The last bus from Havana to Trinidad is at like 2pm. So you will miss that. Really, your only way is to take a taxi. It would cost about $160. You can book the taxi here: https://bestcubaguide.com/havana-taxi-tours-cuba-excursions/

or just tell me and I can take care of it.

It’s not cheap. The taxi back from Trinidad to Havana would cost about the same. Although in Trinidad you can find deals if you ask around. You would get better deals if you leave in the morning. For example, you can negotiate with drivers in Trinidad and probably get a taxi leaving Trinidad headed to Havana for about $120 cuc if you leave at 8am in the morning. This gives the driver enough time to get to Havana, find passengers and then do the return trip back to Trinidad. Leaving later makes it impossible to find travelers for a return trip in a single day, so the drivers charge more.

Also, the Viazul bus (www.viazul.com) will take you from Trinidad to Havana for 25$ per person. It’s much cheaper, but the bus only leaves 2 times per day. You must book your ticket in advance online because this route almost always is full.

If you have more questions, just tell me.

take care,

Mario

[vanessa]

#18648

Topic: Taxi To Trinidad in forum General |

Hi Mario,

I will be travelling to Cuba in April.  When I arrive I thought I would go to Trinidad first and then return to Havana for the rest of the vacation.  I arrive at 16:00 on a Saturday.  What is the best way to get to Trinidad?

There are 3 of us travelling together.

From Trinidad back to Havana I will use a taxi.

Thanks, Vanessa

[Pawel]

#17753 In reply to: Recommend casa particular with family |

Hi Mario,

Thanks a lot for your advice. Casa particulares in Playa Larga looks great – could you book it for us? We would like to stay there between 31.01 and 04.02.

We are also looking for a place in :

-Vinales area, 21.01-26.01
-Cienfuegos, 27-28.01
-Trinidad 29-30.01

We need two beds as we are traveling with a 2-years old child.

Do you have contacts to taxi colectivos in these locations?

Best Regards,

 

Pawel

 

 

 

 

[Mario]

#17730 In reply to: Recommend casa particular with family |

Hi, there are many good beach towns near Havana.

Guanabo is about 30 minutes driving from Havana and is a beachside community. It’s not bad. There are lots of bars and restaurants and many casas to rent. I have listed 2 of my favorite casas here: https://bestcubaguide.com/casas-particulares-in-guanabo-cuba/ . Both casas are fantastic.

If you want to get further away from Havana, you can go to Trinidad. It is about 4 hours driving from Havana. It is a beautiful town and very popular. There is a lot to do in the town and many places to explore. It is rich in history. There is also a beach (Playa Ancon) just near the town. Here are some casas in Trinidad https://bestcubaguide.com/casas-particulares-in-trinidad-cuba/ Most of the casas are in the town. The beach is about 10 minutes away by taxi.

If you want a more secluded experience, then consider going to Playa Larga. It is on the south side of Cuba. It is 3 hours from Havana. The houses there are directly on the beach. There are some stores and restaurants in the town, but not many. It is more secluded, but it is very nice. Here is a beautiful house that I have stayed in many times in Playa Larga: http://imgur.com/gallery/ad8RL

I hope this helps. If you need help to book the any houses, just tell me.

Mario

• This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by Mario.

[Mario]

#17140 In reply to: Help with 9 nights itinerary |

Hi,

Cienfuegos can be arranged as a day trip. You simply ask any taxi driver in Trinidad to take you there. I think the price is about 40cuc for a standard, modern taxi. You can use a communal taxi and it will be cheaper. The communal taxis can be found near the Viazul bus stop in Trinidad. But there will be lots of taxis everywhere. Just ask the price and negotiate until you are happy.

But if you only have 2 nights in Trinidad, I don’t think you will want to spend much time in Cienfuegos. Anyway, you can decide when you get there.

For New Years Eve there are no public celebrations. There will be private parties and some restaurants will offer 20cuc or 30cuc meals which included drinks and dancing etc, until midnight, but mostly there are just family gatherings. Some nightclubs will have small shows and events. But there is nothing major.

Honestly, Cuba does not celebrate the major holidays at all. Maybe your casa landlord will invite your family to their little family party. Or you can simply relax on the Malecon and enjoy some rum and beer. That’s the way it is in Havana. There will be other people just relaxing outside. Lots of young people just chatting along the waterfront. Playing some music and maybe dancing a bit. It’s fun. It’s simple. It’s Cuba.

As for the kids getting into Tropicana –  It’s a nightclub and cabaret. Kids are not permitted. The legal drinking age in Cuba is 16. As one of your kids is 15, it is possible that the doorman will not notice and might let him/her inside. But there is a good chance that the doorman will not allow the 13 year old inside. There is a dress code too. Perhaps if the kids look mature and are dressed up and look older than 16 there will be no issue. But in all my experience, the door man has stopped all children from entering the Tropicana.

Last year there was a family from Italy. They tried to bring in a little boy. The door man would not allow it. They argued… They tried to offer him money. But he would not allow the kid in. Because it is a nightclub and cabaret, and the door man would lose his job if he allowed the kid inside, since it is illegal to allow a minor into a drinking establishment. Maybe you have different luck, but that is the rule, and it seems to be applied.

I hope this info helps,

take care,

Mario

[joanc]

#17126 In reply to: Help with 9 nights itinerary |

Thank you, Mario for the advices.

Is it better to visit Cienfuegos as a day trip from Trinidad?

Do you have recommendations for how to spend the new year’s eve? Is there public celebration in town?

One last question. My children are 13 and 15. Will they be allowed admission to Club Tropicana?

Joan

[Mario]

#17095 In reply to: Help with 9 nights itinerary |

Hi, the itinerary is good. The only things that I dont think you will be able to do are the stops in Cienfuegos and Santa Clara. From Trinidad to Havana, the bus might not pass by Santa Clara. You would have to take a taxi and it will be a waste of time and money. You can do it in theory, but there is not much in Santa Clara.

Cienfuegos is OK, but on the way to Trinidad the bus will only stop in Cienfuegos for 10 minutes. You won’t even have time to get off the bus. If you take a taxi, the driver can stop for longer but you have to pay him. And the more time you spend in Cienfuegos the less time you have in Trinidad. Under certain circumstances (depending what time it is) drivers will not stop in Cienfuegos, since they will want to get to Trinidad as early as possible in order to find new passengers and then return to Havana all in the same day.

I say skip both towns.

Now, very important. You are traveling during the highest season. And this year tourism will be the highest in cuba that it has ever been in history. Last year in vinales (check it on google) tourists had to sleep on park benches in vinales during the holiday because there were no rooms left in town. My advice is definitely make all your accommodation arrangements ahead of time. And even if you have all your arrangements, know that in cuba things can quickly go wrong and you might have to make last minute changes to keep up with the situations. Honestly, I think if you do not already have reservations for your trip, it might be already too late. So start looking.

Transportation will be hard too. The major bus routes are serviced by like 4 buses per day. 80 people per bus. Basically they can move about 320 people per day from Havana to Trinidad. And there will be probably 3000 people wanting to take that bus… Go on Viazul.com and try to prebook your seat. As I said, even if you have a prebooking things can go wrong and it can get changed but at least it gives you a chance. Taxis are harder to book in advance during the holidays. And prices shoot up a lot. If all other options fail, you will have to ask your landlord to try to organize a taxi ride for you. It might be expensive, but at least it gets you to where you want to go.

Sorry for the sombre outlook. Start working on finding casas and maybe you get lucky and the trip works out as you would like. I hope it does.

Good luck,

Mario

[joanc]

#17088

Topic: Help with 9 nights itinerary in forum General |

Hi,

My family of four will fly to Havana on 12/23 and leave from Havana on 1/1. We would like to visit Havana, Valle del Vinales, Cienfuegos/Trinidad, Santa Clara.  I’ve come up the following itinerary. What do you think?

• 12/23 Arrive at Havana airport at 12 noon. Taxi to casa particulare in Old Havana for three nights.
• 12/24 Havana (Christmas Eve)
• 12/25 Havana
• 12/26 Havana -> Valle del Vinales, either by bus or private taxi
• 12/27 Valle del Vinales (horse riding or biking, tobacco plantation, cave etc)
• 12/28 Valle del Vinales -> Trinidad via Cienfuegos
• 12/29 Trinidad
• 12/30 Back to Havana, with a few hours stop in Santa Clara
• 12/31 Havana (New year’s eve)
• 1/1   Half day in Havana. Fly out of Havana at 4:55pm.

So far I have only booked a casa for the first three nights in Havana, staying in Old Havana.

Should I book casa for the other towns (Vinales, Trinidad) in advance, or can I just ask my landlord in Havana to book the casa at the next stop, or just find one upon arrival?

Should I pre-book the last two nights in Havana in advance? Since we will spend New Year Eve in Havana, where would you recommend staying in specific area in Havana for any special activities (e.g Vedado)?  – One reason I have not booked a casa in Havana for the last two days is because I want to keep the plan flexible and open, so that we can make changes on the way.

Should I pre-book bus tickets between towns (Havana -> Vinales, Vinales -> Trinidad, Trinidad -> Havana) or can I easily arrange a private or collectual taxi on the spot? I guess I am a little bit concerned about the high season and shortage of transportation choices.

 

Thank you for help!

Joan

[Mario]

#15205 In reply to: Accommodation on arrival in December |

Hi, the quick answer to your question is, yes, it will be difficult for you to get accommodations during these busy times.

1. These are busy times and the best apartments will be snapped up quickly.
2. You are staying 3 weeks. It’s relatively easy to find an apartment for a few days, but to take one for a week or more at a time it is more difficult.

My advice to you is to start trying to book a place now. And be aware that even if you do book a place and everything seems to be confirmed and set, sometimes problems still come up and your reservation can be moved to another apartment or changed in some way. This is Cuba and it happens often. It happens to me and I have a deep web of contacts and have friends there. You will never find yourself without shelter. But it can happen sometimes that the dream place that you reserved for 5 nights will only take you for 3 nights, and the landlords have independently made arrangements for you to say at a neighbor for the balance. It happens often. In Cuba it’s just a thing you must be willing to deal with.

Now, to summarize. If you are staying in Havana 1 week, start looking for your place and if you can, book one. If you arrive without a place to stay, yes, you can always find shelter, but you might end up staying at a sub par place. Or, if you find a nice place, maybe it is only available for 2 days, so they you have to switch places a few times during your stay. Some people like that. Some people don’t.

For Vinales, the casa supply is tight. Tourism is high there and you should definitely book ahead. It is very common for your reservations to get switched up a bit (as described above) but it is usually not a major issue. You won’t be spending much time in your room anyway. If you just arrive there and start looking for a place you might waste half a day looking.. dragging your luggage all around Vinales. It won’t be fun. Book ahead, and save time and energy.

Trinidad.. same as Vinales. There are more places for rent, but tourism is even higher.

Bay of Pigs – The casa supply is tight. Book ahead. Also, read up on bay of pigs and look at some photos. Honestly, it’s probably not as good as you think. You might want to reconsider spending too much time in this destination, unless you are going for a specific reason.

Cienfuegos. Similar to Bay of Pigs. But there is a high housing supply. I don’t think you will have much problems getting a place here even if you don’t book ahead.

The main rule is, you can always find a place for a night or two. Even during peak season you can find a good place if you look hard enough. But it is much more difficult to find a casa that is available for 5 or 6 or 7 days. The landlords lose money when they are vacant, so they try to book long stays far in advance, and if they can’t, they take many shorter stays and try to fill the schedule, leaving only 1 or 2 day vacancies in between.

 

Anyway, I am sure you will have a great trip,

 

take care,

Mario