Tour information

[Stefano]

#13001

Hi Mario,

can you please let me know if the tour written below makes sense or it is too tough?

• Sabato 9: Arrivo a L’Havana;

• Domenica 10: da L’Havana verso Vinales: con tappa a cayo Levisa (spiaggia spettacolare vicino a Vinales raggiungibile con traghetto, dovete arrivare alla spiaggia in mattinata senno non ci sono più traghetti). Notte a Vinales;

• Lunedi 11: giornata a Vinales; si possono fare belle escursioni a cavallo;

• Martedi 12: Eventuali tappe intermedie, 2 notti a Cienfuegos (da lì si può andare a Playa Giron/Playa Larga o Rancho Luna al mare);

• Giovedi 14: Trinidad. 2 notti a Trinidad;

• Sabato 16: direzione Moron con sosta intermedia a Sancti Spiritus e pernottamento a Moron;

• Domenica 17: da Moron direzione mare in zona dei Cayos (ad es. Cayo Guillermo o Cayo Coco) e farvi 3 giorni di mare;

• Martedi 19: Remedios con pernottamento;

• Mercoledi 20: ritorno a L’Havana con Santa Clara (museo Che Guevara) come tappa intermedia

• Giovedi 21: L’Havana;

• Venerdi 22: L’Havana;

• Sabato 23: partenza.

[Mario Rizzi]

#13074

Hi,

Domenica 10: da L’Havana verso Vinales: con tappa a cayo Levisa – As you mention, you have to get to the beach early (by 10am) in order to take the ferry to the island. You might have trouble finding a taxi which will leave Havana and make it in time to get to the ferry dock before it leaves. The trip from Havana to Cayo Levisa will take about 2 hours.  But the highway to the cayo is not good. There might be delays. You can do it, but if there is any delay, you will miss the ferry. Also, are you sure you want to plan a day at the beach so far in advance? What if it rains that day? I recommend going to Vinales first, spending a day there and then, if the weather is good, plan a trip to Cayo Levisa or cayo Jutias, which is also nice.

Martedi 12: Eventuali tappe intermedie, 2 notti a Cienfuegos (da lì si può andare a Playa Giron/Playa Larga o Rancho Luna al mare); – Most people do not stay 2 nights in Cienfuegos. There is not much to see there. 1 night is enough. Playa Giron is not so good. You are better off going to Playa Larga and maybe visiting Caleta Buena for a day. It’s a beautiful area where you can swim with fish.

Giovedi 14: Trinidad. 2 notti a Trinidad; – Ok

Sabato 16: direzione Moron con sosta intermedia a Sancti Spiritus e pernottamento a Moron; – Ok, but what do you plan to do in Moron or Sancti Spiritus? These are small towns and there is not much action there. And Moron is very far from Trinidad.

Domenica 17: da Moron direzione mare in zona dei Cayos (ad es. Cayo Guillermo o Cayo Coco) e farvi 3 giorni di mare; – The cayos are nice, but these places are distant and there are no casas to rent on these beaches. There are only a few state hotels and they are expensive. Do you already have your reservations? You should only plan to visit these areas if you already have a reservation.

Martedi 19: Remedios con pernottamento; – Remedios is a very small town. There are many tourists who go because they read about it on Cuba-Junky and it was recently put in the Lonely Planet travel guide. But honestly, there is nothing in Remedios. Many people who visit Remedios are surprised and disappointed.

Mercoledi 20: ritorno a L’Havana con Santa Clara (museo Che Guevara) come tappa intermedia – There is not so much to see in Santa Clara either. It’s a nice place. There are some museums and the people are nice, but what is your goal for the trip? Do you just want to visit small towns in Cuba to take photos?

—-

Your trip is ok. It is possible to do everything you want. My only main change would be to visit Vinales first and then go to Cayo Levisa or Jutias.

——

But, my main concern is, will you be happy with a trip like this? In my opinion, you will be spending a very long time in taxis and buses, driving all around Cuba, for no reason. In my opinion, you should only visit these small towns if you have a real reason to go there. Or else you will just be walking around trying to find something to do, and there is not much.

Is this your first time in Cuba? If your goal is to have fun, meet some locals, make friends, see the Cuban countryside, cities and the beaches, then I would recommend a different itinerary.

 

April 9 – Havana -Walk around the city during the day. It will be Saturday, so there will clubs and bars to go to at night.

April 10 – You stay in Havana. Explore Vedado and Centro Havana. There is lots to see and do.

April 11 – Go to Vinales. If you leave Havana in the morning you can arrive there by about noon. Relax on your first day. Walk on the farms or climb a hill (mogote). And tell your casa landlord to book a horseback tour for you for the next morning (cost is about 5cuc per person per hour.) I recommend you tell your landlord to call Juan Mayito. He is a horse guide and charges about 4 to 5 cuc per hour – 53364542. He is good because if you feel comfortable on a horse, then he will allow you to run in the fields. You don’t always have to go slowly with the horse.

April 12 – You go on your horseback tour. It will be very fun. Visit Cueva de Silencio too and you can swim in an underground lake. Bring a bathing suit or go in your underwear, or naked. The cost to go to the cave is only about 2cuc. You should go.

April 13 – You can go to Cayo Jutias or Cayo Levisa. Cayo Jutias is more popular and it only costs 15cuc per person to take a taxi there. Cayo Levisa costs 30cuc per person, but that also includes the ferry to get to the island.

April 14 – You leave Vinales and go to Playa Larga. The beach where you have to stay is called Caleton. There are casas there. The first day you can walk around the town (it is very small) or stay on the beach, or take a taxi to Playa Giron just to see the museum for a few hours. (Playa Giron is not very good…)

April 15 – You can go to Caleta Buena. It will cost about 25 to 30$ to get there. It’s a very nice place. You have to pay extra to enter the Caleta Buena place, but you get unlimited drinks and a good lunch.

April 16 – You can go to Trinidad. Personally, I find Trinidad is expensive and very touristy. But it is a popular destination and it is beautiful. The first day you are there you can ask the taxi driver to bring you to El Mirador to see the valley, and you can also go to the Manaca Iznaga estate. It will be Saturday night, so you can go to a disco… there is a nice disco in a cave which is interesting and popular (Disco Ayala)

April 17 – You can explore the town of Trinidad and relax. There is also a beach near the city (Playa Ancon) or you can go to the port area of Trinidad, which is called Casilda. You can also hike in the mountain or the valley.

April 18 – You can go to the Topes de Collante natural reserve. Your casas landlord can help you plan this. It is a very nice place to visit, high up in the mountains. You will see nature and many beautiful things.

April 19 – You have 2 options – Either you go east (to the cayos – cayo Coco or Guillermo) or you go west, to Varadero, with maybe a short stop at Cienfuegos as you are along the way. Either way, you can spend April 19, 20, and 21 at a beach. Honestly, the cayos are a bit more beautiful, but there are not many hotels there and they are more expensive. Also, they are far away from Havana and Trinidad, so you will waste a lot of time in taxis. If it was me, I would just go to Varadero. The beach is almost as nice, and there are many hotels to choose from and they are much cheaper. Also there are many bars and clubs and restaurants. And it is only 2 hours away from Havana, so I can relax more, rather than being always in a taxi.

April 22 – Return to Havana

April 23 – Leave Cuba

 

Tell me what you think.

Have a great day,

Mario

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