Eastern Cuba

Introducing Eastern Cuba

You can’t claim to have really seen Cuba without a visit to ‘El Oriente’, as the eastern half of the island is known. Here, things move more slowly (the motorway peters out somewhere around Ciego de Ávila, as if to make a point) and a more simple yet exotic way of life prevails. This is Cuba’s Caribbean heart – dramatic, steamy and moving to its very own unpredictable rhythm.

At the end of the island, of course, cultural heavyweight and second city Santiago de Cuba is the center of its own world, providing relief from Havana’s domination of everything else in the country. The region also includes the infamous Guantánamo Bay US Naval Base, as well as one of the country’s most stunning drives – between Guantánamo and Baracoa, the charming town right on the eastern tip of the island, which is a great place to chill out off the beaten track.

Last updated: Oct 20, 2009