ems101

Hi all

Myself and a friend plan on travelling to Cuba in March for approx.2 weeks. We are trying to plan an itinerary and wonder with the distances involved if we should focus on the places within a few hours of Havana - or if we should go as far as Santiago and Baracoa?

Our main interest is culture and just getting a feel for the country. We travel a lot, and really enjoy spending time experiencing cities and countryside and getting to know a country. Ideally, we don't want a whistle stop tour but are not spend the days sitting around drinking coffee kind of people either! We are not bothered about the beach holiday side of Cuba - a couple of days would be nice, but not at the expense of somewhere that would offer a different side to the culture of Cuba.

We plan to get taxi transfers if possible (one of us suffers from travel sickness) and this does not seem prohibitively expensive. We will stay mostly in casas.

Any tips or advice as to how best to use our time very much appreciated!

annhig

ok, ems, you raise exactly the same issue that we had. in the end even with 3 weeks we didn't manage to make it down to Santiago and really I regret not going there.

The way to do it would be to fly there from Havana and then work your way back, using taxis or the buses; we found the Transtur ones were the best, but you had to work hard to find out about them. there are a number of different tourist offices in each town and it's a bit hit or miss whether you find one that can/wants to help you!

if you were prepared to forgo Vinales, I think that you could do it, but it would be tight.

Where else were you thinking of seeing?

Jeff_Costa_Rica

If motion sickness is an issue, then forget Baracoa. It's a long slog over twisting, turning roads to get there. Wonderful place, though. I love Santiago. The problem is that it's a long trip to get there, but over decent roads.

There's sure enough within a few hours' distance of Havana to keep you busy for two weeks if you can't get that far east.

ems101

Thanks for the advice, that is really helpful...though it does make the decision harder!!

Annhig - we would like to visit Havana, Vinales, Trinidad, Camaguey, Santiago de Cuba and Baracoa. If we had time, a day or two on the beach would be nice, but not if it meant a sacrifice on culture/countryside.


Jeff - Motion sickness is fine in the front seat of a car where we can stop as need to, but back of a bus would not be ideal!

We did look at flying but I am concerned by the safety record of Cubana Airways. We have travelled extensively, and always avoid airlines with poor safety records - Cubana seems particularly poor. Is this the only flight option do you know?

We really want to see as much as Cuba as we can properly see in 2 weeks - from what you have said it sounds like we would be missing out by omitting Baracoa and Santiago...

annhig

your problem is trying to get so far by car - you are in for some long days. it seems to me that if you won't fly [I understand this but still wish we'd done it] you have a choice between doing it in several long hops, or going for broke and driving the whole way in one go - with a stop somewhere - then working your way back, which would be my choice.

ok, I would suggest doing this:

4 nights Havana, 2 Camaguey, 2 Baracoa, 2 Santiago, 2 Trinidad, 2 Vinales [which is an easy 2-3 hour drive back for what I am assuming is an evening flight out of Havana]

That is 14 nights but a hell of a lot of travelling; some days e.g. Santiago to Trinidad and Trinidad to Vinales will be 6 hours or even more. It will also be expensive by taxi, but it's probably your only option. [Have you thought of hiring a car and driver for the whole trip? - that might be the best option].

if you were prepared to forgo Vinales and /or Santiago you could have a much more relaxed trip:

4 nights Havana - 3 Trinidad- 2 Cienfuegos [which we really liked] - 3 Vinales - 2 Havana.

OR

4 Havana - 3 Vinales - 3 Trinidad - 3 Remedios [a lovely little town from which you can do excursions to the gorgeous Cayo Santa Maria and Santa Clara] - 1 Havana.

OR [the same places moved round with Cienfuegos added in]

4 Havana - 1 Santa Clara - 2 Remedios - 3 Trinidad - 1 Cienfuegos - 3 Vinales

[I like that one the best - none of the journeys are too long, it would give you a good taste of a lot of varied places and put you in a convenient place for flying home]

why not have a look at some tours offered by travel agencies - not to buy one but to see how they organise trips and how far they think you can get in 14 days?

Jeff_Costa_Rica

Honest. That sounds like way too much ground to cover in two weeks. Cuba is one of those places where things never work out quite as you planned and you have to roll with the punches, especially if you're traveling on your own. Delays are inevitable. I think the trip you describe sounds exhausting if you try to include Santiago and Baracoa. Even in a car, the drive to Baracoa is still going to be rough. You have a decent four-lane highway from Santiago to Guantanamo, and then the rest of the way to Baracoa, the road deteriorates markedly.

Central Cuba is wonderful and has so much to see and do. I think that, combined with Havana, is manageable in two weeks.

annhig

in case you were wondering, I agree with Jeff.

ems101

Thanks Jeff and Annhig - that is really useful advice! I will have a chat with my friend and see what she thinks.

We actually did base our itinerary on one of the tours (15 days) but they fly back.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

This fall, scheduled flights will begin between the U.S. and domestic airports in Cuba. The Havana slots have not been awarded yet. Frontier Airlines got the route to Santiago and will fly from Chicago. That seems an odd city pairing, but, okay. It still won't help in getting around Cuba, but it'll be possible to fly directly to eastern Cuba if that's where someone wants to spend their time and not connect in Havana at all.

annhig

well Jeff - you could fly into Santiago and out of Havana, if you could find a convenient flight out I suppose.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

Sure. It's still a long distance to cover by land, even one way. I did essentially that, but in reverse. I flew to Havana, made my way little by little to Baracoa, and flew back to Havana from Santiago. But that had to be with Cubana.

annhig

I saw a link today to cheap flights from many US airports to a number of Cuban cities - http://www.secretflying.com/2016/06/...ights-to-cuba/

this might help with putting together an itinerary - I see that you can fly into Cameguey for example.

ems101

Thanks so much all - I am travelling from Ireland but it may be an option to go through the States...

annhig

hi ems - I hadn't realised that. I don't think you'd necessarily want to go from the US unless you have to; though the regs are due to be relaxed soon, it's likely that there will be high demand for flights from the US when they become available. Apart from flying from the UK [we flew with Virgin from LGW which was great] or elsewhere in Europe [i think you can fly direct from Paris or Madrid] you might like to look at Canada and Mexico as entry points. you might well then be able to fly into Baracoa or Santiago and out of Havana.

Have you tried Kayak to look at possible flights?

trumps

Bookmarking thanks for the info.

cogana

Hi
We're planning a similar trip. Flying in and out of Havana and have 2 weeks. We're considering flying to Santiago de Cuba and making our way back to Havana via Camaguey, Trinidad etc...Would it be too much to try make it to Baracoa? Will it be feasible to travel back using buses? Are taxis expensive for journeys between destinations? Thanks Anne

janisj

Welcome to Fodors cogana. It is usually better to start a new thread w/ your own questions rather than tacking on to an old thread.

SambaChula

cogana/Anne, do you want to see Cuba from the window of a taxi and airport waiting room, or actually have time to meet Cubans? IMO Cuba is not a must-see-sights type of destination, but an "experience living among the people" opportunity.
Cut your itinerary way back. If you want to see Santiago, fly directly there and stay on that end of the island, including Baracoa. Or stay more at the western end (Vinales, Matanzas for its African culture, Trinidad). Havana takes several days to start to get to know, beyond the touristy stuff.
I would say your original plan would comfortably take 4-6 weeks.
And to me, the buses were more comfortable than most taxis.
Also realize that some things in Cuba run on 'tropical time'.

annhig

I agree Cogana - it would be better to start your own thread.

In general I would have to agree with SC to this extent - it would be difficult to see Santiago, Baracoa, Camaguey, Trinidad, and Havana, and do them all justice in the space of 2 weeks. Travel can take a lot longer than you anticipate and there is a lot to see in all of these places.