[Mario]

in reply to: Beaches near Havana #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

[Mario]

in reply to: Taxis #19793

Hi, I am happy you are enjoying the book. Here is my advice.

In Havana, the area near the cruise dock has limited traffic. There is no large parking area near the cruise area. You might be able to find a passing taxi to take you on a tour, but due to the amount of tourists hopping off the cruise ship at that time, the cost will likely be higher than normal if you take one of these taxis.

Also know that most drivers in Havana do not speak English very well. I would say the vast majority speak almost no English at all.

• The yellow car taxis will have state drivers. Some speak English, most don’t. These cars all take only 4 passengers plus a driver. They have air conditioning and they are hard top (they are modern cards). There are also some yellow minivan taxis. This would be a good option for you since you are going in a group of 6. But it can be difficult to find a minivan taxi, and even harder to find one with an English speaking driver.

• There will also be old car taxis on the street. These are cars from the 50s and 60s. These cars are hard tops. They are in very poor condition and are mostly used as communal taxis (similar to buses) where people hop on and off. These cars are mostly used by local cubans but tourists can use them too. The drivers don’t speak english and won’t give you a guided tour.

• The final option is an old convertible car. The convertible cars from the 50s and 60s were all bought up by the Cuban government and they were restored and they are used to give guided city tours. The drivers generally speak ok English. The base price for a tour with one of these cars is 25cuc per hour. Usually the drivers will try to get a bit more. But the base price is 25cuc per hour. These cars fit 5 passengers plus the driver.

Conclusion –

If you can find somebody online offering a minivan tour with an english driver, I would take it. This way your whole group can fit into one vehicle and the minivans also have air conditioning, and it would be comfortable for a 2 hour tour.

The other option is to get an old car convertible taxi. This is fun because you get to ride in an old car with a convertible roof. You will likely need 2 taxis. Still, it is not very expensive and you can check it off your list. If you can book these online for cheap, then book online. If not, you can find these cars in Old Havana and negotiate directly with the drivers. You might not find these cars at the cruise terminal, but there will be dozens of these old cars beside the Capitolio building.  I have included a map here – You can see just under the blue map market, there are a line of old cars waiting beside the Parque Central. Just go there and hire a taxi for a tour. Negotiate the price and you are all set to go. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1OBwf9m3h7Dh82pAFOoSE0KO2uqA&usp=sharing

I hope this helps,

Mario

• This reply was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by Mario.

[Mario]

in reply to: Havana guides #19535

Hi, well, you can still take the tour. You can go solo. It costs cheaper if you divide the cost between a few people, but or else a solo tour is still good.

Or else you can walk around Old Havana without a guide. It’s not bad either.

take care,

Mario

[Mario]

in reply to: Havana guides #19510

Hi, are you looking for a walking guide or a taxi tour? If you want to organize something with a guide you can check here:

Old Havana Walking Tours

and here

Havana Taxi Guided Tour

[Mario]

in reply to: booking at a casa #19450

Hi Pearl, it’s Sunday so my assistants have not been able to get back to you yet with the confirmation of your bookings. You sent the emails from the website and I received a copy of them. I will send you an email tomorrow morning with some available options for your stay. Don’t worry about it at all. We will get you a great casa in Havana.

take care,

mario

[Mario]

in reply to: Looking for Casa Particulares in Guanabo and Varadero #19396

Hi Brian,

Beach front casas are almost impossible to find. There are a few in guanabo but when I checked them out, they were not in very good condition so I opted not to list them on the site. Varadero has a few beachfront casas, but those are very expensive to rent. Honestly for varadero I would suggest a hotel since the resorts are pretty reasonably priced and they are all inclusive. If you get a beachfront casa, once you factor in food and drinks, it will be more expensive than an all inclusive hotel.

In guanabo, the issue is flooding. The area is flooded each year and the houses along the beach are usually a mess. Even the beach front hotels used to get flooded all the time and were finally mostly torn down. Any good casa will be at least a few blocks from the beach. Its really not bad. Just a short walk and there are bars and restaurants all around.

I hope this helps

Mario

[Mario]

in reply to: Taxi #19218

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

[Mario]

in reply to: Taxi #19157

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, 10 months ago by Mario.

[Mario]

in reply to: Taxi #19123

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

[Mario]

in reply to: Visiting Cuba from Dec 28, 2016 – Jan 3, 2017 #19122

Thank you too A.A. for the vote of confidence! We are so happy you enjoyed your stay and that we could be a part of the wonderful experience. If you come back, be sure to send us a note, and if I am in Havana I would love to come meet you for a drink.

take care,

Mario

[Mario]

in reply to: Exchange Rates #19053

Hi, the cuban exchange rates are posted here http://www.banco-metropolitano.com.cu

It can be difficult to understand the chart. Basically, as of today, 1.35289 CAD will get you 1 CUC.

For euros, they didnt write it properly, i think. It will be like .98 euros for 1cuc.

The ratea at the airport and at hotels will be about 2 to 5% worse for exchanges. The best rates are at banks or Cadeca exchange offices anywhere in the towns or cities.

There are no other fees. Always bring your passport to the exchange office.

Hope this helps,
Mario

• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Mario.

[Mario]

in reply to: Taxis #18991

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

 

[Mario]

in reply to: Taxi To Trinidad #18910

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]

in reply to: Jardines de la tropical #18768

Hi, I have never been there, but I know that it’s a cool place to see (although the gardens are not very large). I don’t think it would be open during the day. (I might be wrong). Usually these places have workers inside during the day and the doors are open, but they don’t let regular people inside, but if you ask nicely or give the door guy a few dollars, they let you inside to look around quick.

The place is at the corner of Ave. 41 y 46, Playa, Havana, Cuba. From Vedado you could take a yellow taxi. The taxi should cost about 5 to 10cuc. I wouldn’t pay much more than that to get there. You can also just walk or bike. It’s just outside of Vedado. You take 23rd all the way west, over the bridge, and then keep on it (it becomes 41) and it’s not particularly far. Any communal taxi going west on 23rd would also pass by this place. The cost would be about 20mn (less than 1cuc) from downtown vedado. Just get off at the intersection of 41 and 42 and then walk to the place.

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Havana,+Cuba/@23.1088959,-82.4145705,476m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x88cd773444d93a17:0xd9bc0a3d0e7e009d!8m2!3d23.1084963!4d-82.4138341

Locals just call it “Disco La Tropical”

Good luck!

Mario

[Mario]

in reply to: Questions about Havana #18767

Hi, renting a car and driving it yourself is not for everybody. There are certain risks involved. I personally have never rented a vehicle in Cuba and would never do it. First, the road system is not good. Not only are the roads badly maintained, but street/highway signage is terrible. GPS is not allowed. Then you have the threat of animals and cattle on the roads (very common to hit dogs and cows.. this has happened 2 times when I have been in a taxi). Most importantly, if you have an accident while in Cuba you are usually required to stay in the country until a trial has taken place. Even if you did not cause the accident. If somebody hits your car and gets injured, you will likely be stuck in Cuba for months. Look this up on google (https://www.google.ca/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=8hGCWJCzAqeC8QezmISgCg&gws_rd=ssl#q=stuck+in+cuba+after+accident) There was one australian woman how has been stuck there for already 1 month after having a crash over the holidays (https://www.reddit.com/r/cuba/comments/5l44ot/dear_reddit_im_stuck_in_cuba_indefinitely_please/)

As for hiring a car and driver, 99% of people will use simple taxis for one way trip. Hiring 1 driver for the whole trip can be very expensive… At least 100$ per day and more if you want him to drive a lot. In addition you would pay for his lodging and food. It adds up. The only clients that have used that option were photographers who had a good budget and needed to bring around a lot of equipment, so 1 driver for the whole journey made sense.

There are cars and tourists all over Cuba and no place is as remote as it seems. If the locations are really remote, then it’s probably not worth going to. (If you go to a really far place it might be beautiful, but there might be not accommodations or food in the area… or drinking water or police of medical services…)

I recommend just taking taxis to the destinations. If it is really far, ask the driver to wait for you while you look around. It will cost, but still be cheaper than hiring a full time driver for a week.

I hope this helps.

Mario

[Author]

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