Beaches near Havana

[apa619]

#16903

Hi,

Could you please tell me the closest beach to Havana, and how to get there? I’m staying in Vedado next week.

Thanks

[Mario]

#16930

Hi, there are 2 beaches that are OK. They will be a bit cool this time of the year, but it is fun to check it out for a day. Both beaches are beside eachother.

The info to get to guanabo beach is here: https://bestcubaguide.com/portfolio-items/go-playas-del-este-guanabo/

The info to get to playa Santa maria is here: https://youtu.be/H199wCzPg2Y

Have fun,

Mario

[faustino]

#18578

Hi Mario, new to the forum, our first ever Cuba trip coming up in Febuay. Regarding your instructions to getting a Taxi particular from Mision to Plays Santa Maria. My Spanish is limited to un poco, should I ask for Cafeteria el Trebol as in your Video (I believe La Playa at Guanabo is no longer worth going to due to storm damage) also do I agree on the price first. Are we guaranteed to be able to get one of these Taxis, although we don’t try to look like Tourists, we are from The UK, and will hardly pass as locals !, any advice will be appreciated, thanks.

[Mario]

#18595

Hi, here is my advice:

Most of the drivers actually speak some English. They will deny it. They will play dumb. But they have been watching american television since they were in diapers and they have been dealing with English speakers for years, so they can speak enough to get by. The issue is that if they can pretend to speak only Spanish, they can more easily trick you into paying a bit more. Don’t fall for it.

I would not ask for cafeteria Trebol. The drivers have likely seen it in passing, but generally nobody would ask for that specific location. It could throw them off. Just say Playa Santa Maria. (If pressed you can say Hotel Atlantico, but generally when you start dropping hotel names they think about driving you right to the door with valet service and then charging you more.) And then, while you are on the road, you can look out the window and see the signs to Santa Maria, and then Hotel Atlantico. and you will probably see the Trebol cafeteria too. Just ask the driver to stop (Parate aqui!) And he will pull to the side and let you out. You just cross the highway and walk down the hill (it’s super easy and everybody does it).

Always agree on the price first. Either 50 Moneda Nacional or 2 cuc (same thing). Try to have exact change (more or less) to pay the driver at the end of the ride. You don’t need exact change, but if you hand him a 20cuc bill he might have trouble making change.

The drivers typically do not drive you all the way down to the beach area or hotel unless you pay them a bit more. It’s a 2 minute ride but that’s typically how it is. If you have lots of bags or just don’t want to walk, you can offer the driver like 1 or 2 cuc more and he will drive you down. But it’s not usually done.

The taxis are always there. You might have to wait 20 minutes for one to fill up with enough people to do the trip, but usually, if you are going at a normal time they leave every 10 or 15 minutes. Weekends it is more busy. At night it is less busy. There is another depot too at the corner of Zanja and Aguila (https://www.google.ca/maps/place/%C3%81guila,+La+Habana,+Cuba/@23.1332025,-82.3630086,299m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x88cd79b964209d1d:0x874e25c7949c922e!8m2!3d23.1337171!4d-82.3618737). In Parque El Curita you can see cars parked all around the park (look on the google maps link.) Those cars are taxis going to various locations around Havana. Many are going to the eastern beaches. The prices are the same.

In these depots, the taxis are there for tourists and locals. Being a tourist is not a problem at all. Just be aware that sometimes the drivers will try to charge tourists more. You might ask how much it is and the driver or taxi organizer will look at you flatly and say 5cuc per person, or 20cuc… He is a professional and he needs cash. But ultimately, the real price is 2cuc (50mn) per person. And actually many locals can negotiate the price even a bit lower, but the price for 90% of people is 2cuc. If anybody tries to play around with the price, just say 2cuc per person. You might have to repeat it 2 or 3 times, but they will never turn that price down. They will just tell you to get into a car and wait until it is filled.  (The cars get hot, so I personally would just stand beside the car and wait). A few minutes later you will be on the road. You pay the drivers once you arrive. And that’s it.

Getting back to Havana… just hang around at the little park area beside the beach, in front of the hotels. You will see the old car taxis passing by every few minutes. Many will already be full with passengers but you will eventually find one that you can fit in. It usually doesn’t take more than 15 minutes to find a ride. Just tell the driver 2cuc each to Havana.. and he will take you and drop you off usually in front of the capitolio building. If he asks you, just say Capitolio. If you want the driver to take you all the way to your casa, if you have a casa in Vedado for example, just offer him and extra 2 or 3cuc and he should do it. (It’s usually most convenient this way).

If you are returning to Havana late at night it will be more difficult to find a taxi. Either try to find a communal taxi (they are still around but harder to catch. They also sometimes ask for more money if it is late at night.. this is normal. You can pay up to 5cuc per person..) There are also yellow taxis which will be around but those will charge about 20cuc to make the trip (not per person, just per car load). Or else there is the bus option..There is a city bus (#400) that can take you from Havana to Guanabo for only one peso. I don’t know exactly where you would catch the bus. Beside the highway, near El Trebol there is a stop. Almost any bus going along that highway will be going to Havana. So if a bus stops, just tell the driver “Havana” and if he lets you enter, then you know you will be getting to the city.

It will be a fun trip. As far as I know Guanabo is still not great. Santa Maria will be a far better beach. Have a great trip!

Mario

[panther44]

#19842

Hi Mario:

Can you please identify on the Google Map you posted above, the corner where I can get a private taxi to Guanabo?  Does it matter that I will have a suitcase with me to bring? Where in Guanabo will they drop me off?

Great Ebook by the way. I’ve found it very helpful and look forward to employing some of your ideas and tips into my next trip.

Thanks.

Jim

[Mario]

#19845

Hi Jim,

Ok, so there are 2 taxi depot areas. Please note that these are not for private taxis… These depots serve communal taxis. You will be in a car with 5 or 6 other people and the cost is 2cuc (50 pesos MN).

1 – (Google Map Link) When you click on the link a red pin should show up on the map. This is the most popular taxi depot for people going to Guanabo. There will be 5 or 6 taxis at this little park waiting to bring people to Guanabo.

2- (Google Map Link) When you click on the link, a red pin should show up on the map. This is where the taxis going to Guanabo usually stay. But there are like 20 to 30 taxis in this area, so you might have to ask around a bit. But I guarantee you, many of the taxis in this park are going to Guanabo.

From either depot, the taxis will bring you to Guanabo. They will go out of Havana and take the tunnel (under the bay) and go along the highway east of Havana, going almost along the sea coast. They will pass all the popular beaches in Havana del Este. The final destination is the town of Guanabo.

Here is a map of the route. Some taxis routes might be slightly different, but in 99% of cases, this is the exact route that the taxis take (They will only take different routes if somebody pays a bit more and wants to be dropped off at a specific location. But then the taxis will get back on this route as it is the easiest.) Havana to Guanabo taxi route. The taxis start in Havana (A) and end in Guanabo (B).

You can get off anywhere along the route. The route goes through a dozen little towns (Cojimar, Alamar, Bacuranao, Tarrara, Santa Maria, Guanabo.) If you want to get off at any place, just tell the driver and he pulls over and lets you out (or can bring you closer to your end destination if you pay him a bit more). Usually, the drivers will ask you where you want to go before you get in the taxi and if you have a really specific place (Like Hotel Tropicoco in Santa Maria Beach) they will group you with people going to the same place. This saves time so the drivers don’t have to stop at 5 different places along the way. But it doesn’t really matter. The drivers don’t care much anyway. They just stop when you tell them to stop.

In Guanabo, the drivers will go all the way to the town limits (the road stops) and then turn around and pick up more passengers for the way back to Havana. If you have a destination in Guanabo, tell the driver and he will drop you off close to it. If you have never been to Guanabo and just want to check it out, I recommend that you tell the driver to drop you off at the town park (Tell the driver “Dejame en frente el Parque” which means  “leave me in front of the park.”) This is the main park (Link here) It’s basically in the middle of the town and you can walk to anywhere in a few minutes. There are some bars and restaurants and hotels and casas all nearby.

All drivers know where the park is (the park has a little concrete train in it and despite it being pretty unremarkable, it’s like the main focus of the town). If the driver pretends that he doesn’t know where the park is (sometimes they do this in order to run a scam on you – for example… “Oh, I have no idea where that park is, but I can take you to my friends house and you can stay there for very cheap….”)  just tell the driver to let you off at “Disco Tokio” which is in front of the park and everybody knows where that is, so don’t take no for an answer.

The suitcase should be fine. The driver will either put it in the car trunk or on the luggage rack up top, or if it’s small, you just carry it between your knees (the cars are massive and have tons of space inside and in the trunk.)

Finally… let’s say you want a private taxi to go from Havana to Guanabo, and not a communal taxi.. Basically you just stop any yellow taxi on the road in Havana and tell them to bring you to Guanabo. It will cost much more (at least 20cuc), but you get to go in privacy and with air conditioning and door to door service. There are no depots for yellow taxis. They are swarming around all over Havana and you can get one to take you anywhere you like, for the right amount of money.

take care and have fun,

Mario

[panther44]

#19848

This is fantastic! Thanks Mario!

I will be staying at a casa a 10 minute walk from the park in Guanabo.

What’s the best way to arrange to get back to Vedado?

[Mario]

#19972

Hi, sorry for the late reply. I thought I had replied, but it seems that it never posted. Anyway, here is the answer:

In Guanabo, almost all the taxis going west along the main road (5th ave) will be going to Havana. So to get a taxi, just stand on the side of the street closes to the water (the west bound lane) and hail a taxi. It might take you a few tries, but eventually you will hit a taxi that is going to Havana. Just make sure they are collectivo taxis. If they have other passengers in them, confirm that the price is 2cuc (50mn) and then get on. The taxi will take you to Havana and the drop off point is beside the Capitolio. If you want to go directly to your end destination, offer to give he taxi a couple bucks more and he will drop you off wherever you need to go.

There are no taxi depot areas in Guanabo, so you just have to hail a taxi. But it won’t be hard at all. Always confirm the price because is the taxi is empty and the driver sees you are a tourist, he might just take you to Havana alone and then say the price is 12cuc.

There are also yellow car taxis in Guanabo and they will do the trip to Havana for about 15cuc. If you leave late at night, this might be your only option.

Also there are buses. Most of the buses on the road (the modern ones) will be going to Havana. The trip costs 0.4 mn, but if you dont have the change just give the driver 1 peso MN. But the bus is slow and often crowded. Taxi is better.

take care and have a great time,

Mario

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