cuba advice

Hurricanes are possible...but Cuban public safety around hurricanes is the best (i.e. fewest people killed). At the risk of sounding redundant, I will repeat some of what I said to a poster about 10 days ago here. If you are not flying from Havana to the eastern end of the Island (either Holguin or Baracoa) then you might be pushing it. I don't know about the tours so I will restrict my opinion to independent travel.

One thing to remember about travel in Cuba (and other third world countries) is that things take much longer than you think. That said, Viazul is the most reliable mode of transportation and you should use it as much as possible. Excluding the day you arrive and leave, you probably want to give Havana a good 4 days. I would suggest forgoing the eastern part of Cuba and giving the western part a good look.
I would suggest Havana- Vinales/ Pinar Del Rio- back to Havana- then Cienfuegos (including Bay of Pigs)- Trinidad- Santa Clara then back to Havana.
I think that is a good itinerary for 15 days. My experience is that is is better to visit fewer places and see them well than spend a time of time on buses, just my thoughts.

Poster #1's suggestions are good ones. It is certainly not difficult to travel around Cuba by Viazul bus, which is reliable, comfortable, and reasonably-priced. It runs once or twice a day to and from all the places mentioned above except the Bay of Pigs. Because it doesn't run there, and getting around once you are there is not so easy without a bike or rental car, I would suggest a different place, not mentioned; that being Cayo Levisa. This offshore island, reached by a 20-minute boat ride, lies halfway between Havana and Vinales (two hours to either one). You would have to take a taxi to and from the boat dock, but that's easy enough to arrange, and not expensive.

For a first-time visitor to Cuba, travelling independently, I would suggest that you overnight in Havana (if that is where you are flying into), doing a walkabout in the old part of the city that evening if you get in early enough and are not too tired. Next morning, get up very early (6 AM!) and perhaps wander about a bit more--this being an hour when the city is exceptionally mellow, with little traffic, no hustlers about, and great light for photography. Catch the 9 AM (or thereabouts) Viazul bus to Vinales and spend a couple of nights there. In both Havana and Vinales you might want to stay in hotels; Havana just to be sure you have a room waiting even if you get in late, and in Vinales because it just happens to have three very nice places to choose from--my personal favorite being Villa Rancho San Vicente, which consists of individual cottages scattered across lovely grounds shaded by large, bird-filled trees; pool, thermal baths, masseuse on duty, and modest restaurant. Next door is a the popular Cuevo del Indio, and within walking distance is the El Palenque disco, also in a cave, frequented by Cubans and tourists alike. Otherwise, the thing to do around Vinales is hiking and horseback riding in scenery the likes of which you will not have seen before, in Cuba or anywhere else.

When you've had your couple of nights in Vinales, take a taxi or mini-bus to where you'd catch the boat to Cayo Levisa, and plan to overnight there at Villa Levisa (the only place on the island to stay), which also consists of individual cottages, these on a lovely beach. Despite the beauty of the beach, you may not want to stay too many days there because the only place to eat is at the villa restaurant, which is not all that good; merely tolerable, for a day or two. Then return to the mainland and taxi two hours back to Havana and spend another night there.

Then catch the Viazul bus to Cienfuegos (4 hours from Havana), then, a day or two later, on to Trinidad (one our beyond Cienfuegos). In both Cienfuegos and Trinidad you would probably want to stay in licenced casas where you'd have easy access to all those towns have to offer. I am not so familiar with Cienfuegos, but in Trinidad, it's nice to be right in the middle of things, just a few blocks from parks, museums, street crafts market, music venues, etc--and only a 10-km, 3-CUC taxi ride from the beach. Or a 20 km taxi ride from the Escambray Mountains where you can hike in the cloud forest; transportation in both cases super-easy to arrange, and your casa host will gladly arrange it for you. You're also likely to find meals at your casa much better than any you will have gotten in hotels along the way.

After Trinidad, you can take the Viazul bus back to Havana and spend however many days you have left in the city. By this time you will have a good sense of how things work in Cuba, and will probably want to stay in a licenced casa rather than a hotel--not just because the cost of a room is only half as much, and the food is better, but also because casa hosts tend to be very helpful in arranging transportation, ensuring that you get to see/do whatever it is you want to see/do in their area, and helping you line up a casa in the next town on your itinerary.

One can hardly run out of things to do in Havana, but if you do find that you have too much in-city time on your hands at the end, you could always take an early morning Viazul to the resort of Varadero (2 hours by bus from Havana), spend several hours on the beach, have lunch, and bus back to the city. There are also nice beaches in Santa Maria, only a 15-minute taxi ride from Havana.

Doing Havana at the end of the trip rather than the beginning means you are near the airport where your home-bound flight departs from, which will prevent last-minute anxieties about getting back to Havana in time.

Hi Chris, if this is your first trip and your knowledge of Cuban custom, culture and Spanish is limited I would suggest a guided tour with transportation, accommodations and some meals included to get the most and an overview of the country in a short time. The next time you can go solo staying in rental casa and hoping from town to town and dining locally with Cubans.

I have crossed path with lots of travelers exploring the island in a group with a local tour guide and they seen pretty satisfied because they don’t have to waste time looking for a restaurant or rooms while in town and transportation to their next destination. For example if it’s Monday the bus arrives at the front door of Hotel La Union in the heart of Cienfuegos. Your luggage is unloaded for you and placed in your room. The tour guide is outside getting everyone together for a walking tour of the city and an explanation of the local highlights and history. Later you can freshen up or relax by the pool. Dinner is in the dining room and afterward you can relax over a drink and cigar by the patio bar or roof top bar or go for a walk down the Malecon. The next morning you have breakfast in the dining room while the staff loads your luggage on the bus and you are off to Varadero for half a day or to Havana, no fuss, no mess, no stress.

If you are young and more adventures you could get a copy of the itinerary of the places you are visiting and you can do the same trip on your own provide you speak Spanish or have a good local guide because Sept is off season and a local guide will enchant your understand of the country otherwise the writing on the buildings which I find interesting will just be writing without meaning or why it was written there.

All the group tours I met in Cuba are from UK or Ireland and according to their tour leaders they are easy to work with and generous without say how. I also bumped into tours from Asia and all they want to eat is Chinese food lol. There weren’t too interested in salsa, sun and son.

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<hr>I also bumped into tours from Asia and all they want to eat is Chinese food lol<hr></blockquote>
That's not entirely accurate, Rickie... they are VERY interested in cigars. Visiting a factory shop on the same day as a group of Chinese is impossible; they shop everything and takes hours in doing so. Several bus drivers come up with excuses so as not to take Chinese groups because
a) tipping is next to zero
b) they bring their own food from home, which they consume in the bus and according to Cubans (who are hypohondriachs when it comes to cleanliness) "they make the bus a mess within minutes" and "no matter how badly you scrub it will smell spices afterwards".

Naturally, Chinese are not the only Asians visiting Cuba in big groups, nor do they all behave like that. They have certainly acquired a strange fame among tourist bus drivers and local guides, though. One Cuban travel agency offered several positions for its guides to go abroad and learn a language. There was an overdemand for every single placement, except for the ones in Beijing...

I can't offer any useful info to the OP, as the previous posters seem to have provided very good advice. I am impressed with ttjpdo's patience to make elaborate plans for every single poster. You deserve a medal from Infotur, girl.

yorgos, are you hounding me? Don’t even think to compete against ttjpdo because she is a trained professional travel writer and can out-write us anytime. Well, the Chinese and Japanese I met in Cfgos were all wearing funny hats with camera dangling from their neck following the person ahead of them. God forbid if he walked into the baño the whole group would be just behind him lol. Chinese are not big fans of cigars and only buy them if they think they can make a buck re-selling them. I seen bus drivers sit in the Palatino Bar waiting and waiting and waiting …. I guess after spending 2 days to fly to Cuba they are not in a hurry to leave. Like New Zealand it’s not in their culture to tip and I been to China where the waitress ran after me to returned my tip a few years ago. Now is different and they run after me if I forget to tip lol. I am aware Cubans are not interested in learning Chinese and there are a few Chinese in Cuba learning Spanish. As for food on the bus I always bring something along and if I meet a pretty girl I usually offer her some. Same with kids.