Cuba Itinerary advice
Hi all. Just looking for a small bit of advice in regards to a trip for two first time visitors to Cuba. We plan to stay 18nights before leaving for Costa Rica. We think it is best to concentrate on the west side of Cuba as we will be using public transport and do not wish to be on the road all the time. We have come up with the following itinerary but are open to changeHavana - 6 nights
Vinales - 4 nights
Cienfuegos - 2 nights
Trinidad - 3 nights
Santa Clara - 2 nights
We would be interested in a bit of everything i.e scenic and cultural things to do as well as some time on the beach and sampling the nightlife.
As I said we are open to change and if there is anything on that route that we might be missing out on we would like to hear.
Thanks
Anthony
1
Anthony, congratulations. You got the important point of not trying to visit too many places and therefore spending too much time in transit. You can keep a very flexible schedule and make changes with no notice as you find you like or exhaust certain locations.Do not shortchange Havana with too little time. It is a large, diverse and very interesting city with much to offer. In addition to being the capital, 20% of Cuba's population lives there. You could easily spend your entire trip there and leave wishing for more time. Consider cutting a day out of each of the other locations and spending that time in Havana.
2
Be sure to guarantee overnighting your last night in Havana if departing from Havana airport.3
Excellent advice from above. And yes, by all means, save some or most of your time in Havana till the end.4
Thanks for the advise folks. Yes we plan to split our stay in Havana in two and maybe actually extend it to 7 or 8 nights doing 4 at the start of the trip and 3/4 at the end before we depart. Just another couple questions.1. Am I better off bringing cash with me as opposed to using my bank card and should I order CUC(if possible?) at home in Ireland or just carry Euros? Id be reluctant to carry enough cash to cover the whole trip for obvious reasons but after speaking with the bank they seem unsure as to whether the ATM's are reliable and also mentioned a lot of cards get swallowed?
2. For the nightlife what is the dress code? Can shorts and t-shirts be worn or does it have to be jeans,shoes etc?
Anthony
5
1/. provided your bank card is Visa or Mastercard PLUS not related in any way to a bank from the USA then you can use the Visa in ATM's and Visa or Mastercard inside the bank.Also Euros or Pounds are fine.
It is impossible to buy CUC in Ireland or anywhere else outside Cuba!
ATM's swallowing cards is an urban myth - we have made 200+ withdrawals over 6 or so years with not a single hitch. But if worried and liking queues then take your cards inside the bank.
Note not all cities have ATM's either.
2/. Generally anything goes - Cubans themselves are not big on shorts.
8
Personally I would lessen the stay in Sta Clara to 1 night or less. The Che memorial-museo-masoleum is worth visiting, imo.Fwiw, Cienfuegos is a $50 CUC private car ride from quiet little Playa Giron, where there is some great diving and the Bay of Pigs museo. A day and night in Cienfuegos was enough for me, but I could have missed something worthwhile.
I had no trouble with the ATMs eating my card; they didn't even take the card "inside," you just quickly push it in and pull it out. (Playa Giron has no ATM or bank- closest is Playa Largo.)
Enjoy your trip!
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