Favourite Cuban Cities
 

This would only be people well travelled in Cuba or citizens of Cuba.

Can you name your top 5 cities in Cuba (not resort area but a Cuban city or town that you have spent some real time in!)

I will go first.

1 Holguin
2 Havana
3 Santiago
4 Trinidad
5 Bayamo

Is this a contest? :)

We always book into a resort but we have always visited nearby cities usually for overnight stays.

I talked it over with the wife and this what we came up with. Take into account that there are some important Cuban cities that we have never been to!

1 - Havana

2 - Holguin

3 - Trinidad

4 - Mantanzas

5 - Guanabo

As someone who appreciates Cuba's cities more than it's beaches, I will glad;y have a go at this. My all-time favourites.....

1) Havana
2) Santiago
3) Cienfuegos
4) Camagüey
5) Holguin

dalemartindale, how could you rate Holguin over Havana?

Some other places I enjoy, not listed above include: Pinar Del Rio (and Vinales), Santa Clara and Las Tunas.

Simon, do you have a personal top 5 list like us?

I ranked Holguin top because I know it better than any Cuba city and know some people there. Havana is great especially old Havana but the city is confusing.

Havana used to be my favourite place in Cuba. Slowly over the years, my regular hang outs have either closed or tried to up market themselves. I haven't been there since 2017. Thinking about going back again soon and maybe seeing it through "fresh eyes" will rekindle my passion for Havana. Not sure what my top 5 would be now. I generally prefer the larger cities, but have also lived in, and enjoyed, smaller towns like: Caibarien, Moron and Banes.

HA! Well, Dale, if anyone knows anything about us, Camaguey city will always be at the top of our list. But here's my top 5:

Camaguey
Trinidad
Holguin
Playa Santa Lucia
Florida (not what you're thinking - just outside Cam city - pronounced Flor-eee-da)
Terru

Great to see you on here Terry. This forum will definitely benefit from your knowledge of all rhings Cuba. And specifically about tourism in Camaguey.

Thanks, Simon! It's good to be here too, and once again, thanks so much for the heads-up about the Fodor's Cuba forum. I promise to bring my passion for painting pictures with my words here as well to help both inform and entertain those who are able to appreciate me and my same passion for Cuba too. Terry :cool:

Jumping mojitos!!! Looks like Simon already started a thread ***favourite-cuban-cities-towns*** quite a while back that I totally forgot about.

https://www.fodors.com/community/car...towns-1718406/

Welcome aboard CCO. Can you give us a little about Florida, Cuba? Not much info about it on the internet.
I would really like to get back to Camagüey city. I went there at the end of 2014 and really liked it. I remember getting advice from You, Dontomas and Johnabbottsford about it. We met up with John's wife there and I remember that little restaurant where the guy displayed photos of his customers on a TV.

Thanks very much, CW. It's good to have found a new home. To answer your question, there's not much to say about Florida - it's not really a city, but more of a small town - there wouldn't be anything about Florida that would be a standout for most visitors. It just holds some special personal memories for me and my gang there in Cam city. Aaaaa! YES! The good old days with you, DonTomas, JohnAbbottsford, and several others... let's not forget "Cheers Terry" - martian24 too. It was actually Tomas and Terry who both took me under their wings to help educate me about all things Cuba. The thing is... much of what they taught me has now all changed over time. And whatever I had shared with you about Camaguey city years ago (can't remember now) has mostly all changed as well. But if anyone is again looking for current information on traveling to Camaguey city soon, I suppose I'm your guy! Terry

In terms of holidays besides Havana (where I live) nothing like Viñales and Trinidad IMHO. I have family in Viñales and good friends in Trinidad. Every time I go I find something new to enjoy and learn about.

LestGoCuba, we've been to Trinidad a couple of times - I loved it of course, but my wife couldn't stand it for all of the hordes of tourists there from all over the world. Viñales has always been on my bucket list... Havana too, as I've never been to either of those places. Just too far away from Camaguey. Hopefully I'll get up to the west end of Cuba sometime before I kick it.

Actually, prior to the pandemic, I had a group of Dominican friends here in Canada who were interested in coming to Havana with me to stay in a penthouse apartment on the Malecon - my wife, Yudith, coming via guagua from Camaguey city with our watches synced to meet us there. That penthouse had 4 bedrooms for 4 couples. We were going to tour Havana together for a week, and then fly onward together internally to Camaguey city to show our friends around our digs for a second week before flying back to Toronto from there. Only days away from firming up all of the reservations for everything, the pandemic hit. So much for that idea. But that dream is still alive. Terry

I've never been to Baracoa and doubt I ever will visit there even though I meant to visit there a few times.

From the list of the 10 Biggest Cities in Cuba below. I can say that I visited 9 of them and slept in 8 of them

Biggest Cities in Cuba

I think that I could actually do a top 15 of Cuban cites/towns that I stayed in but I will save everyone from the pain of me bragging about such things

CubanWaters :)

We would like to visit some of the bigger cities in Cuba such as Santiago and Camaguey but as someone already clarified there are no flights again this winter to either city from Canada. Also we are not sure about the electricity situation in each place. From what I read Havana is the only city to rely on that for now.

Wessislander, it's true that the electricity situation in Camaguey city is rather dire at present, but that's sure to improve as we head into the winter months. I'll be there in Cam city from Dec. 18th through Jan. 10th, and although we're not likely to have electricity 24/7 at that time, it'll be a heck of a lot cooler and dryer, so much less of a problem. Camaguey city is only a 3 1/2 hour taxi ride away from the Cayo Coco airport too. We could likely do it in 3 hours flat, but with a cooler full of beer on ice in the car, the "one in / one out" law of physics takes over and certainly slows us down with roadside pit-stops every 20 to 30 minutes

You mentioned that Havana is the only city to rely on having electricity for now. Not so, Wessislander. Even Havana is suffering through rotating blackouts each day, although not as long in duration as is happening elsewhere in Cuba. Terry

Lots of good answers even if not more top 5 lists. Gibara is a place I would like to visit again. I will extend my list to six.


6. Gibara

Let me extend my list to six as well...

I have to chose between Ciego de Avila, Gibara, Bayamo, Manzanillo, Las Tunas, Trinidad, Santa Clara, Mantanzas.

Cities on the ocean inblue. Each have their own good/not so good qualities about them for me personally.

... but I can not decide...

6. ???

Jjjjjjj :)

I'd be ALL IN on Trinidad, CubanWaters. I absolutely loved it there when staying in a casa particular for a week - Casa Los Mangos run by a British Expat woman who WAS then married to a very handsome young Cuban dude - they've now since split. You mentioned the water - that young cubano even took us fishing down at the ocean in his Willys jeep for the day. My Cuban wife Yudith loved that casa too... but couldn't get into the hordes of tourists bumping into us everywhere we explored within the downtown of Trinidad - it really WAS a ZOO at that time! But those throngs of tourists from all over the world wouldn't be a problem for anyone now that the numbers to Cuba as a whole are way down. Some great high-end private restaurants there too - we ate like kings and queens for a pittance of what the same would cost here in Canada. Wicked good! Anyway, this is where we stayed. The place is absolutely stellar - in my opinion, the best that Trinidad has to offer. No complaints. I highly recommend the place. ;) Terry

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Rev...ince_Cuba.html

Trinidad has a lot of good things going for it. It is practically on the ocean, some good beaches about, it is close to mountains, the small city has many fine restaurants... but I am similar to your wife Yudith. For the same reason that I am not a fan of the Cuban Cayos and Varadero... Trinidad has hordes of tourists. When the tourists outnumber the locals it's a turnoff for me. Still, I would like to visita that small city and its environs again one day.

Es posible I am Cuba-well-travelled. There is not a city in Cuba that I haven't been to that I would really like to visit.
Well now that I think about it, maybe Remedios.

Back in the day Trinidad was brutal during the day. Tourists swarming the area around the main plaza and lots of locals using various methods to relieve them of cash. At night it was much more relaxed and very pleasent. I'm sure it's a lot quieter these days.

It's funny how things change. The first time that I visited Trinidad was almost 20 years ago - I did that with my then second Canadian wife at the time in a former life. We did that in late September and it was super quiet there in Trinidad, even in the middle of the afternoons - very few other tourists milling about in the main plaza square and elsewhere. It was so quiet in fact that when we went into an outdoor bar very close to the main plaza that had grapevines growing overhead of the courtyard for shade cover, it was just the 2 of us in that place alone... well, and the young super cute Cuban barmaid who sat down with us to talk and kept grabbing my inner thigh under the table too. I think that's when I completely fell in love with Cuba. Terry

A new Havana Times article featuring my home away from home - Camagüey city - complete with some photos. Makes me home sick. I miss it terribly. Terry

https://havanatimes.org/photo-featur...comment-334274

I thought that Trinidad was busy too. We went during the winter season and stayed atvthe bulky Ancon hotel. The city is not big but fun enough. It is number 4 on mu list.

Nice photos of Camaguey
R the santa Lucia beach resorts even operating? Which airport would be for them if there are no Canadian flights to Camaguey?

Dale, for stays at the resorts on Playa Santa Lucia, you would need to book through HolaSun and then fly into Cayo Coco to take the 3.5 hour transfer bus from the airport to get there. Apparently all of the resorts on Playa Santa Lucia are open. I've stayed at all of them before in the past. The Brisas is our favourite. The worst? Hotel Tararaco... followed closely by the Mayanabo. But we don't stay at the resorts at Playa Santa Lucia anymore... although we do occasionally take a taxi to get out there from Camaguey city just to use the beach and eat at the cozy Luna Mar restaurant right on the beachfront, or go onward down the dirt road to La Boca to both eat and drink at the Bucanero restaurant right on the water too. If we go to a resort now, we go to Cayo Cruz and stay at the 5 star Iberostar Selection Esmerelda resort to hang with all of the Russians staying there. jaja It's not difficult for us to make friends with anyone no matter where we are though - just add rum and stir! ;) Pero! Nyet! Nyet! Soviet! Y nyet Putin tambien! :p Terry

Why would anybody go all to Santa Lucia from cayo Coco airport 3.5 hours when there are resorts right in Cayo coco by the airport?? The bus ride can be fun but not 3.5 hours!!

I have been to 3 of the 4 biggest cities in Cuba. Just not Camaguey. Good thread!!!

HA! I agree with you, Dale! But it's still 3.5 hours for me to get from the Cayo Coco airport all the way to Camaguey city too, but via my wife's hired taxi that costs me $200 USD - each way! Brutal! At least the transfer bus is included, and beers on the bus quicken the pace. My Cuban best friend is also in the taxi with my wife when they come to the airport to collect me... and always with a cooler full of cans of cerveza on ice on board as well. The beers seems to always make that 3.5 hours go by quicker! My first fiesta in Cuba starts in that carro! Of course our driver stays dry the whole way, but he's good with the jokes too just the same. Terry

Well, I have another Havana trip coming up and you know that Havana is like a bunch of small cities rolled into one. This time I hope to discover more about the city other than Centro, Vedado, Old Havana, the eastern beaches and across the harbour.

Yeah Havana is my #1 alright and so much of it I am looking forward to getting more familiar with.

Speaking of different parts of Havana, have you ever visited Fusterlandia? It’s a Havana neighbourhood along the coast full of mosaic art. We quite enjoyed it and have a couple of painted tiles at home that we bought from there.

A link would help…

FUSTERLANDIA

I have always meant to visit Fusterlandia but in all the time I have spent in Havana over the years, I ashamedly admit that I have never been there but have it on my list of things to do in Havana next month.
I had been in Barcelona earlier this year and enjoyed the Gaudi stuff.
Thanks for the reminder and great link.

Fusterlandia looks so cool!!! On the map it does not seem too far from old Havana. Whenever our next trip to Havana it is in the list.

Matanzas is another of my Cuban favs. I think my last time there was 2017. Maybe I will combine it with my next Havana trip.