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Go
There!!! feel this country!
Cuba
is a spectacular country, with beautiful and very
warm loving people. Most tourists will go to areas
such as Varadero, Jardines del Rey (Cayo Coco, Cayo
Guillermo) or Holguin and stay in an all inclusive
hotel resort, but my best advice to you is to travel
around the country, stay one day in a hotel and the
other in a Casa Particulare, where you will be a guest
in a Cuban family's home.
Have
dinner in the Paladares, a paladar is a small private
restaurant, and talk to the Cuban people, mingle with
the locals and see how it is they live ... La
Vida Cubana
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Cuba-Junky
is a place on the web with a collection of all kind
of Cuba Travel information and to help people
understand the Cuban culture.
Our first target with this website is to help the
local people of- and IN Cuba. Second to get as many
travelers as possible TO Cuba and addicted to this
very special Island. Third ... I the owner AM a Cuba-Junky,
addicted to Cuba in every way.
Cuba-Junky
is working hard to keep this website up and running.
Besides giving you as much information as possible,
we are here to create work for ordinairy Cubans, the
people of Cuba! We give Cubans the chance to build
up their own "business" such
as paladars and casa particulares, and with success.
Many Cubans already make some extra money besides
their peso salary of average 12 USD per month. |
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I've
heard somebody say ...
"Unbelievable!
In this country there is no gasoline, but cars are all over
the road...
There`s no food, but everybody is cooking dinner ...
They have no money, but everybody is dancing and drinking
rum ...
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| First
timers to Cuba
Popular
Pages:
Below are some very usefull links when you've decided
to go to Cuba, read these pages and all your questions
about how to do Cuba are answered. |
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General Info and Weather >>
At this page you will find all basic information about
Cuba, just good to know |
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FAQ >>
Handy! Frequently Answered Questions, or in other words,
questions we've got in our mailbox daily before we had
this page ;) |
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Traveler's Info >>
All
answers to questions like: How to go there, visa, information
for US citizens, customs, electricity, money, crime,
clothing etc |
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Transportation >>
All
about renting cars, going by bus, train schedues, maps,
domestic flights and public transportation |
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Itineraries >>
Where
to go, how many days, and from which airport ... your
route |
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What to Bring >>
What
to bring for the people of Cuba? You can get an idea
when reading this page |
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Crime >>
Explanation and tips about crime in Cuba and what you
can expect, or better; what not to expect |
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Currency >>
Important, all about the convertible peso (CUC) and
the nacional Cuban currency (CUP) |
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Guide
Books >>
You can order your guide book here at Cuba-Junky through
Amazon.com |
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More
info about Cuba, its all in here ...
Besides
all the info we collected in this website about cities, provinces,
you will also find the most important matters on what to know
before you go there; the Traveler's information and of course
a FAQ Page (frequently asked questions). To know how to go around
Cuba you must visit our Transportation Page, it will tell you
all about distances, busses, trains, rental car and much more.
And
of course, what is Cuba without its history? This info you will
find on top of this page by clicking the word history in the blue
bar. Short and longer info about Che Guevara, Ernest Hemingway,
the Missile Crisis and even a long explanation about the colorfull
people of Cuba; Black Cuba, and much more.
All
this info you can find in the link areas at the left and on top
of the pages
The
Cuba-Junky website offers you hundreds of pages full of information
about Cuba and all related to this fabulous country, to read for
days!
Be my guest and enjoy!
The
ideal first timer trip / itinerary
If
you want to see Havana, and most people do on their first trip
to Cuba, then definitely fly into Havana, because two weeks is
not adequate time to see both ends of the island. And there's
great snorkelling and diving
at both ends. Reserve
the car before you go. Most visitors are reporting that
rental cars, which are not cheap in Cuba, are less expensive if
rented in advance since on location you have to pay 11% commission
for your creditcard transaction.
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What
you want to do about lodging is make a reservation for your
first few nights only, and after that, play it by ear, or
when feeling more comfertable reserve there where you like
through our hotel
page. Reserve the first night because it is necessary
to write on your tourist card where you are staying the first
three nights (although you don't really have to stay there
even one night, since they don't check, but you DO have to
write something in). Also, while many people recommend, for
all kinds of reasons, staying in private homes (casa
particulares) licenced to rent rooms to foreigners,
this is not necessarily the best option for your first night,
for the simple reason that since the homeowner has no way
of collecting a deposit from you in advance, therefore doesn't
know if you will show up, you can't be certain they won't
have given the room to someone else who got there before you.
Obviously that would not be a real problem if you had arranged
to spend your first night in a hotel.
I must say that if you reserve the first night in a casa and
the owner gave away your room, he/she shall always have another
reasonable alternative casa particular for you, you won't
sleep in the streets. |
That
said, that's not how I personally would do it. What I would do,
this assuming your arrival is in the morning, is pick up my reserved
car in the airport of Havana, plus my maps n my hand
(see the advertisement above). Then I would drive not into Havana
city, but right away west on the Havana-Pinar
freeway to the Soroa
exit (less than 2 hours), and overnight either in Soroa,
which is 7 km off the freeway, or in the Las
Terrazas biosphere reserve, which is 17 km from the freeway.
In Soroa
you'd have the option of staying in a licenced casa or the villa
("villa" in Cuba means tourist lodgings made up of individual
cottages rather than hotel-type rooms). In Las
Terrazas you'd have the option of staying in the upscale Hotel
La Moka, in a lovely green setting, or at the ultra-basic
Campismo Rio San Juan, 1 km away. The campismo consists of teepee-type
huts scattered across a meadow which overlooks a river which falls
into a series of lovely pools that are great for swimming.
Next
day continue your trip to Vinales,
just two hours from Las Terrazas. It is in a valley in the Rosario
Mountains and consists of some of the loveliest and most unusual
scenery in Cuba. Great for hiking, horseback riding, cycling,
and caving. While there, you might choose to drive to Cayo Jutias,
an offshore island connected to the mainland by a 2 km long causeway.
There are no hotels or villages
there, just an open air restaurant, restroom and change rooms.
Plus a long beautiful beach where you can snorkle.
Then
(when you get tired of the peacefullness in Vinales)
drive back to Havana,
entering the city not on the Pinar Havana freeway, but on the
Mariel Havana freeway, which follows the coast, as the Mariel
freeway will run into Avenida 5 which will take you through the
Almendres River tunnel and right onto the Malecon.
In short, you won't need road signs, which do not exist anyway,
just be sure the ocean is always there on your left, and you'll
easily find your way into Havana Vedado, Centro Habana, or Habana
Vieja, wherever you want to stay. But be aware this road is not
that great in condition, so take your time that day. With a car
you're better off picking a hotel or casa
in Vedado, where there's a chance of finding parking
for the rental
car. But for the real Havana experience Centro Habana
or Habana Vieja is a more exciting area to stay.
And
because you've got a rental
car and be economic, don't stay in Havana more than one
night. Next morning head for the Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs)
for snorkelling and diving
if you like. It's about a 3 hour drive from Havana.
There are many nice little cove beaches along the east shore of
the bay, and also along the open-ocean beach that runs east from
Playa Giron. In Playa
Giron, for lodging, you will find both Hotel
Playa Giron, with cottages facing the beach and open
ocean, and also, in the village 1 km away, lots of licenced casas.
When
you've done all the snorkelling/beaching you want there in the
Bay of Pigs area (which is within the Zapata Swamp National Park),
and visited and maybe eaten some crocodiles at the crocodile farm
cafetaria, then you would likely want to drive on to Trinidad,
which is another two hours.
15 km from Trinidad is the long Playa
Ancon, it's more dived out than the Bay of Pigs, and
very convenient to Trinidad.
Or you can stay on the waterfront, in either one of the three
big hotels,
or else in a licenced casa in the village of La
Boca.
When
you've done with Trinidad,
you might want to drive over the Escambray
Mountains (for the scenery) to Santa
Clara, and back to Havana on the freeway from there (Trinidad
- Santa Clara
takes about 2 hours, but maybe 2 more if you want to stop in Topes
de Collantes for a hike in the cloud forest. Santa Clara
to Havana takes about 3 hours. However you schedule that drive
back, just be sure you are back in the city before dark, because
driving Cuba's highways after dark is not recommended. Lots of
slow traffic, even on the freeway (slow traffic in the Cuban context
meaning, bicycles, horse-drawn conveyances, tractors, etc), and
most of it will not have lights. Also many pedestrians, most of
them hitching. Picking up hitchhikers in Cuba is recommended,
as they can be a great help in providing directions in a country
where signage is sparce to non existant. (Although the exits I've
mentioned, to Sorora/Las Terrazas and also to Playa Giron/Bahia
de Cochinos are both well-marked). When taking hitchhikers put
away all your belongings since in a poor country ... don't give
the Cuban the opportunity to steel something from you.
How
many days you stay in each place only needs to depend on how long
it holds your interest (and how much time you have). I have recommended
going first to rural and small town areas where it's easiest to
get a hang of how things work than in a city like Havana. But
you will want to at least touch down in Havana
early in your trip, so you will have an idea of how much time
you want to take for the city at the end of your trip. Another
advantage of leaving it to the end of your trip is that you can
drop off your rental car when you get there, as it will be economic
and more convenient to get around the city by taxi. Unless, of
course, you want to keep the car for getting Playa Jibacoa, which
is about an hour's drive east of Havana.
Varadero,
Cuba's number 1 tourist destination, is a little further, like
two hours from Havana, and has beautiful beaches to relax
More
Itineraries at our Itinerary
pages >>
