When going to Cuba with the intention of traveling the whole or a part of the Island on your own; prepare yourself with a good map, a good guidebook and visit good discussion boards on the Internet like the Lonely Planet Thorntree, where people can give you advice on how to plan your vacation.
Remember Cuba is a HUGE island of 1200 km (745 miles) long
Renting a car
You have to overthink a few things before you decide driving in Cuba.
Be in time if you want to make a reservation on forehand. Cuba does not have enough cars during high season (Dec/Jan/Feb and July/August) besides this, most car rental agencies have to ask availability in Cuba by email which takes time, sometimes even weeks.
Renting a car in Cuba is expensive but the other side is you can stop where you wanna stop and have all the time for your own, its well worth the money.
Astro bus
The regular National public transportation Cubans will pay with CUP, foreigners in CUC
This bus drives all over the island, a bit cheaper than the Viazul Bus but less comfertable and reliable. The Astro bus has a few places for tourists per bus!
Travel in Cuba
Unless you have your own (quite expensive)car, the most common way to travel in Cuba is by Viazul long distance (and long travel time!) buses.
Tips:
- usually freezing temperatures in the bus;
- buses stop usually every 1,5-2 hours (at main bus stations)with additional 45min stops at restaurants if travelling at lunch/dinner time; not essential to bring own food during travel
- strongly recommended to pre-organize bus station pick up by Casa particular, to avoid the assault by jineteros
- not easy or, in some stations not feasible at all, to prebook locally or to be sure of place, in particular if getting the bus at intermediate stations; if feasible, strongly recommended, particularly during busy holiday periods, to buy in advance the tickets via internet (better from home country; note that internet is not simply accessible in cuba)
Since the last years the Cuban railways bought French first class airconditioned trains. Train schedules in Cuba are not reliable, you have to have some patience. I must say it is a real Cuban experience to go through Cuba by train, in specific for train fans, back-packers, and people who love to mingle with locals.
The nr 1 and 2 trains from Havana to Santiago de Cuba v.v is 4 hours faster than the Viazul Bus!
Remind that all other trains besides the number 1 and number 2 are never on time
Taking a domestic flight saves you a lot of time to go p.a. from Havana to Santiago de Cuba. Besides this, if you would like to go to Cayo Largo you have no choice and have to take a domestic flight simply because there is no ferry transfer to this part of Cuba
As for a foreigner there is alot of local transportation not possible for the simple reason that it is forbidden for Cubans to take you with them in their car without an official piece of paper.
Since February 2011 it has become a bit more flexible as it comes to local taxi's in Havana, but that's it.
You can hitchike in Cuba but remember you risk being in trouble
More about public transport in Cuba among Cubans at our La Vida Cubana page.
Boat?
Does there exists a ferry from ... to Cuba ??? ... NO!
There is no such thing as a ferry service from Cancun or whatever country to Cuba.
Yes, there is a company who has daytrips from Jamaica to Cuba by boat, but this company does not take passengers for just a transport to Cuba. One of the ferries that do exist is the ferry in Havana to Regla neigborhood, see the picture.
Cuban cruise terminals
Punta Francés
Isla de la Juventud
Terminal de Cruceros
Avenida Jesús Menéndez
Santiago de Cuba
Tel: +53 651763
Terminal de Cruceros de Cienfuegos
Calle La Mar
Cienfuegos
Muelle Olimpia Medina
Terminal de Cruceros de La Habana
Ave. del Puerto
Ciudad de La Habana
Cuban marinas
Gran Caribe Marina Cayo Largo
Cayo Largo del Sur, Archipiélago de los Canarreos
Isla Juventud
Tel: (53 45) 24 8213/8133/8214
Marina Gaviota Varadero
Autopista Sur final
Varadero
Tel: (5345) 996205
Marina Puerto de Vita
Puerto de Vita
Tel: (5324) 430475
Gaviota SA
Marlin Marina Hemingway
5ta. Ave. y calle 248
Santa Fé
Tel: (537) 2045088
Marlin Marina Santiago de Cuba
calle 1ra. s/n, Rpto. Punta Gorda
Tel: (5322) 691446/686326
Marlin Marina Tarará
calle 7ma. Casa no. 25 e/ 2 y 11
Ciudad Tarará
Habana del Este
Havana
Tel: (53 7) 796 0240 / 796 0242
Marlin Marina Trinidad
Península de Ancón
Trinidad
Tel: (5341) 996205
Cuban numberplates
Cuban cars have different colored numberplates, these numberplates tell who is the owner of the car, where he comes from. Handy for you foreigner to know that yours will be red and starts with a T so people can see you are a tourist.
Yellow
Private Car
Dark Red
Beginning with a "T" (tourismo) is a rented Car
Orange
Second letter a K is a car of a foreigner working in Cuba
Light Orange
Managers and important people, free gasoline
Light Red
State own, have to return after working hours
Blue
State own, can go home after working hours
White
Officials / ministery
Black
Embassy
Green
Army
Light Green
Interior ministery
Bicycle
Bike rent
I
only know of one address where you can rent a bike in Cuba ...
Edificio
Metropolitano, San Juan de Dios
esq. Aguacate, Habana Vieja
Tel: +53 7 860 8532
Costs about 12 cuc a day
I recommend, if you want to bike around Cuba, bring your own bike.
