CUBA- Itinerary HELP Please!!!
Replies: 10 - Last Post: Nov 1, 2012 10:56 AM Last Post By: ttjpdo
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CUBA- Itinerary HELP Please!!!
Hi Everyone,I need some help as Ive never been to Cuba in my life. Me and my BF are travelling to Cuba this December 4th for 10 nights. 7nights will be spend in resort in Varadero (Memories) Hope its good as Ive read alot fo about cuban resorts. ie. VERY bad food, No culture in Varadero. My main reason for needing help is planning our 3 nights/ 4 days backpacking. Ive read abit and narrowed it down to Havana, Cienfuegos, Trindad. Do you think this feastable for such a short time? I know Havana is amazing and worth the time but are the other two? How much our time should we dedicate to each of these locations? I dont want to spend to much time in one place when I should of spend that time the place.LOL
Second Part.- Which direction should we head from Varadero? Towards Cienfuegos or towards Havana?? We are flying out of Varadero at 10:30pm on the Friday Dec 14. Ive been trying to look up the Vizual bus scheudule. Which can be confusing, as people write on the internet of other times which is not on the Vizual Website. Super confused of the real deal :S
Quick question- I never go to a developing country without donations, any tips or particular areas I should save stuff for.
Also, any recommondations on Casa Particulars in these locations would be greatly appreicated :) Also any hidden jews or tips too. Thank you everyone!!!! :)))) Cant wait to get down there and experience some real Cuban Life
1
Cuban food is not very bad - but the better food is usually found in private places (paladares). I sometimes suspect that resorts are trying to do what they think foreigners want and it ends up being neither Cuban nor foreign. But also many people complain because the food is not what they are used to.How are you travelling - by coach ? Each leg will involve finding the place, buying the ticket, waiting, the journey then getting oriented the new place.
With only four days, including an out and a back, I would say you only have time for one place.
Look at the recent link of a casa in Marianao - an outlying town that got absorbed by Havana. That would be somewhere different that does not involve a lot of travelling.
2
I agree with #2 above - keep it simple.Take a day tour to Havana with a taxi during your Varadero leg -the LP walking tour is a great start.
Then take the reminder for Ceinfuegos/Trinidad and enjoy the music, the ambience and the steets.
If you try to put too much in your short time, it really will be rushed.
M
6
Thanks everyone for the great input.BeardoUK- Im glad to hear the food is good bc so many bitch in the resort reviews about the food. Yes we be traveling by bus, either vizual or this other cheap company or even maybe a train. We were just talking and maybe we take off one night earlier from the resort. That should allow us to do two places in 4 nights. True?
Murman- Thanks for the tip on the walking tour
Bobmichaels? Very true, we def dont want to spend our trip on a bus. Do you in four nights it possible to do Trinidad and Havana? Also train or Bus??
7
#6 Unfortunately, you don't find the good food in resorts (Maybe except those expensive 5 stars). Like he says, paladars are usually the place to go for great food. But don't worry, the food will be ok. You won't have to force it down.Just don't expect anything interesting, you will get your meat, pizza and pasta every day ;).
Like some of the others i recommend you just spend the 4 days in Havana. Trinidad is around 5 hours away with bus, do you really want to spend over 10 hours of the 4 days you have on this ?
"Also any hidden jews"
Try to see if you can find alan gross.
8
I add my weight to the above, you should spend your 4 days in Havana as there is so much to see there. If you want to do anything extra, take a day trip out of Havana to Vinales. Most itineraries that you read in guidebooks will suggest that you spend a week in Havana so trust them and don't try to go too far to Cienfuegos/Trinidad.10
I think Trinidad is too far from Varadero for a day trip. Do Havana as a day trip, and as recommended above, take the walking tour around Old Havana. Or if you want to see more of the city, take the hop-on-hop-off bus which will do a loop that will take in more neighborhoods than you can get to on foot in a short period of time.If you want to see Trinidad, there will be tours from your hotel, or you can take the Viazul bus. It's about a 5-hour trip, and really not worth doing unless you overnight there. So if you're willing to "throw away" one night at your hotel, and pay an estimated 25 or 30 CUC for a night in a casa in Trinidad, then that might be worth doing. But basically I agree with Poster #8, that 10 hours is a lot of time to spend on the bus to get there and back, when you have so little time. An overnight in Havana might be a lot more fun--and much closer to Varadero.
