Explore Havana with a Guided Taxi Tour

Our Havana taxi tour is the complete package. You get to explore areas of the city which most foreigners do not even know existed. The goal of our Havana taxi tour is to give tourists a well rounded image of what Havana and the surrounding suburbs are really like.

Note: For American Tourists

 

 

 

Havana Taxi Tour Route Summary

Starting in Vedado:

1. Malecon – Drive along the Havana Malecon and see the major waterfront hotels in the area, as well as the newly reopened United States Embassy. Further down the route, you will pass the Riviera hotel built by Meyer Lansky and the Melia Cohiba hotel.
2. Take the 5th Avenue Tunnel into the Miramar and Playa neighborhoods of the city (Western Havana) where many large hotels, houses and foreign embassies are located. Fidel Castro himself actually lives in this part of the city. You will go all the way to the Russian embassy, the largest embassy in Cuba, and then start along 5th avenue, passing the embassies of Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and the future US embassy. You will also see the Park of 24th and 5th avenue with the big ficus trees, more than 100 years old.
3. The tour now takes you to the Parque Josefina nature reserve located along the Almendares River. If you want, you can stop to take some photos of this scenic area.
4. The tour continues, back into Havana, through the Nuevo Vedado neighborhood and passing the Colon Cemetery.
5. The taxi will pass the famous Tulipan outdoor market. If you want, you can stop at the market for a bite to eat (the Cuban sandwiches are amazing and very inexpensive). The fresh juice at the market is also a “must try” item.
6. The taxi continues driving through Revolution Square.
7. Soon you will be in Central Havana. The taxi will take you along Carlos Tercero street, past China Town.
8. The taxi arrives at the Capitolio building and you can take a quick photo break. You will see the Central Park and also the Prado Promenade. Taxis are not permitted into the main parts of Old Havana, so if you want to explore this area more, you should come back on foot.
9. The taxi continues east, and you take the Tunnel under the Bay of Havana, into the neighborhood of Habana del Este. Here you can see the El Morro castle and the massive El Cristo statue which overlooks the bay.
10. The taxi then takes you back to Havana, through the tunnel, and into the interior of the city. You will pass the derelict “4 Caminos” market and see the El Cerro neighborhood, one of the most populated in the city.
11. At the end of the tour, you can choose to be let off wherever you want, or the driver can take you to your hotel of casa particular.

You can stop at any time to take photos or to browse any areas. Just tell the driver and he will be happy to oblige.

Drivers speak Spanish and English.

Cost and Duration

A tour like this lasts about 2 hours.

The cost is 50 CUC (25 CUC per hour) if you take a yellow taxi (air conditioned, 4 passenger max) or a classic car taxi (no air conditioning, 5 passengers max).  

If you are a larger group, you might want to use a minivan taxi, (air conditioned, 7 passengers max) in which case the tour will cost 60 CUC (30 CUC per hour)

Customization

The tour is 100% customizable. Just tell the driver what you are particularly interested in and he will tailor the tour to those specific themes. For example: history, architecture, art, the Revolution, markets, poverty, etc. Whatever subjects are of special interest to you, we can customize the tour to profile those aspects of Havana. Feel free to ask the driver to take you anywhere in Havana that you might want to go.

The duration of the tour is flexible too. The standard tour takes 2 hours, but if you want the driver for longer, there is no problem. You do not have to establish this in advance. If you want an extra hour to see more things, just tell the driver to show you more, and the hourly cost is only 25 CUC per hour.

If you have a list of things you want to see in Havana, just hand the list to the driver and tell him to take you to all the location. This is no problem at all. The driver will take you whatever you want within the general Havana area.

Meeting Your Tour Guide

If you are staying in Havana the guide will come pick you up at your apartment or hotel, free of charge. If you would prefer to meet your guide at another location, please tell us a location which works for you, and we will have the guide waiting for you with a sign that says your name.

If you are arriving by cruise ship: The area around the cruise ship dock is very congested with foot and vehicle traffic so we pick up customers for the tours at the Havana Rum Museum. It’s about 3 blocks north of the main cruise terminal. It’s a very easy walk. Here is a  map with the exact location. The guide will be waiting for you in front of the Havana Rum Museum (262 Avenida del Puerto, at the corner of Sol Street) with a sign that says your name.

 

To book a guided taxi tour, simply fill out the form below