2 months in Cuba my trip plans..any suggestions

Personally I think you are crazy to spend so little time in so many places. Have you worked out just how much time you will be travelling? BTW oyur schedule adds up to 66 days and you say you have only 60! No wonder you want to splurge on a luxuary hotel at the end - you will be exhausted. Why don't you look back over past postings of doable schedules?
However please do go to Moron and post a report afterwards. I have always wanted to know what it is like as I suspect several regular posters on this site were born there.

To be honest, I would recommend you to skip about half of the things on your list. A few years ago, I did the same kind of trip in a country with somewhat better infrastructure than Cuba and it was still frustrating in the end. Just like you, I wanted to see and experience as much as possible in the time I had, and the result was that I saw and experienced a lot of cars, busses and trains. If you do that trip, you will have seen most of Cuba but you will have experienced much less of the country than if you did just half of that but spend at least four or five days in each place.

I think the idea of spending no more than 2 days in some places is fine. Some towns are just not as interesting as others. If you start in Manzanillo it will be a good idea to go to Bayamo (they look very similar in every way) and then Santiago, since the trip from Bayamo to Baracoa may be very tiring.In havana I have a couple of very good Spanish teachers who may be able to help you. Also a place in Old Havana where you can get the salsa lessons for cheap. The bes way to learn salsa would be to find a good cuban who knows how to dance to practice and give him/her tips. It will be a win/win situation. I will there next week. If you want , when I come back I can write you the name and address of the salsa lessons.I will also be happy to give good recommended places where I have stayed in Cuba. I am cuban by the way. Just came to the USA 2 years ago.

If it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium

It was a movie from years ago that described a kind of a frenetic tour that, in my mind, mirrors your plan here.

Do we visit a foreign and exotic land to see how many stickers we can place on our luggage, or do we visit this place to experience and to carry away a new understanding of it?

Do we visit there to only photograph its famous places or do we go to experience its people and culture as well?

Do we want to see it from the outside-in or from the inside-out?

Cuba is a rare place where those who choose the latter of all the above options will find a life-transforming experience. If you try to conform Cuba to YOUR schedule and YOUR expectations and don't allow the country to move you instead, you will almost undoubtedly miss the whole point, the whole glory, that is Cuba.

Go to fewer places and spend more time in each.

Are you actually landing in Manzanillo. IF not, skip it as there is nothing there. It is a dirty industrial town.

From Bayamo, drive to Santo Domingo and do the hike to the Comandancia de la Plata (where the Rebel forces that there base in the SIerra Maestra). I think most people who have done this rank it as one of their best experiences in Cuba.

If you are counting on the train for any part of your trip, you will probably be delayed at least half a day, if not longer. Train travel in Cuba is not recommended because it is seldom reliably on time.

I think all the inland cities look more or less the same. Choose one of Holguin, Camaguey, Las Tunas or Ciego de Avila. Most people would probably recommend Camaguey of those four.

You cannot fly domestically within Cuba from Cienfuegos to anywhere else on the island, so you will have to take the bus. I'd go straight to Viñales and skip Varadero, Matanzas and Pinar del Rio.

Just my humble opinion....

Agree with all the above, you cant see the real cuba if youre popping around everywhere, mainly in the bus or collectivo. stop and hang around for a while. By the way Habana vieja, I would also like to know of about these salsa lessons in old habana, so i'll keep my eyes posted to see the addresses cheers!

OP, your program sounds terrific to me. You have a lot of days and it looks like you are spreading it nicely. I am one of those who get bored after the third night in the same place. Three days ina city is enough to socialize, walk around and get an idea of what life is like, the more cities you see the more interesting it gets. Getting a bus every 2 or 3 days is not too much of an issue in such a small country as Cuba, your plan seems logical and the distances between cities are very short.

I would be even taking days off Havana and add Gibara to the mix, which you seem to have left out. I would also skip the flight thing (it's expensive, not doable from Cienfuegos and since you need to be at the airport earlier and transport to/from airports is costly and time consuming, it's not worth it) and add Isla de la Juventud, too. It's a great place that warrants three days, if not more.

Hiring a car does have its advantages and you know better what you do with it, but for me it's a hassle and a constant worry. You can get just about anywhere you want in Cuba without it (rent a taxi, get a bus, ride a horse, ask the locals, hire a scooter) and unless you plan to drive all day around with it (in which case it is very useful) I would advise you against it. But then, I am a car hater and don't even know how to drive, so I am not really the most objective person on that.

I also think that trying the train at least once is fun, but as #5 comments, it is very unreliable, so don't bet on it. In general, plan as you want, but always have in the back of your mind that you may get bored, tired or fall in love with a place, so it's good to be flexible.

A trip report would be greatly appreciated.

Have a fantastic trip.

You might want to be much less structured so you can stay longer
in a place if you want, and proceed to the next stop when you get
bored. Plan your trip as you go.

cuba and this organised tour are just anathemas. The use of 69 in your handle makes the whole thing even more bloody ridiculous. One 69er and I can see you missing your first bus.