A little fine tuning for our intinerary?

Spent the last couple of weeks doing a lot of research on here and elsewhere and have finally come up with what I think is a workable itinerary for a first visit to Cuba in August. I wish we had far more time - a few weeks at least - but with my wife working in the corporate sector it's all she can manage to even get a 6th day off from work to try and make the itinerary a bit more workable. The one thing we have in our favor is that we live in Orlando, Fl. so it won't be too hard for us to go back again and fill in the gaps. So first time out we're just going to go the more or less standard first time route of Havana, Vinales and Trinidad, though in our case we're doing it in reverse by flying into Santa Clara and exiting via Havana.

Here's out 10 day stay -

Fri - Depart Orlando – Arrive Santa Clara mid afternoon (head straight to Trinidad by taxi?)
Sat - Trinidad
Sun - Trinidad
Mon - Trinidad (Day in Cienfuegos) – alternatively overnight in Cienfuegos.
Tue - Drive to Vinales as early as possible
Wed - Vinales – mid afternoon drive to Havana
Thu - Havana
Fri - Havana
Sat - Havana
Sun - Depart in the morning for Orlando

A few questions.

Firstly, as we'll be arriving in Santa Clara around 3:15pm and will hopefully clear customs around 4 is there a possibility we could get a taxi/collectivo at that time of day for the trip to Trinidad, perhaps with someone still hanging about looking for a return fare? If not I guess we'll be visiting Che's memorial for the afternoon and staying overnight!

Secondly, because we're so pressed for time I'm essentially trying to squeeze a 24 hour stay in Vinales over two days by leaving as early as possible from perhaps Cienfuegos (5 hour road trip to Vinales according to one of the taxi sites) and hopefully getting to Vinales around midday, then staying overnight and leaving for Havana in late afternoon. I'm hoping that's enough for a quick overview of the area. One issue is that Vinales seems to be a place that's obviously geared to exploring by simply just getting 'out there', but we have a problem in that my wife's knees are pretty well shot and she can't take too much rough terrain or going up and down hills. Nor does she like horse-riding, which seems to be a popular means of exploring the area. The best for her situation would be some kind of driving tour of the area, but every time I put in a search for tours by vehicle of the region, all I seem to get are tours exiting out of Havana, rather than anything local. Any suggestions?

As far as Trinidad is concerned, I'd like us to be able to spend a half day perhaps exploring some of the natural highlights of the area - are any of the waterfalls easily accessible for my wife?

Finally, though I've traveled extensively in my life, Cuba will be just about the first country I'll be visiting where a lot of the standard measures for financial security aren't going to work in that it seems we'll have to take a wad of cash with us and hope all will be well, because we won't be able to use our American credit cards at any place other than the airports in an emergency (that's if what I recently read on here is correct). It seems kind of weird to think that every time you see a tourist or traveler wandering about they've probably got a hefty sum of cash hidden on their person - especially if they're American - because there's no other option. Thankfully Cuba seems to be a relatively safe place, because when you think of the fact that the average tourist is undoubtedly carrying at least a year's worth of income for the average Cuban on their person it would seem a recipe for disaster. With that said, I'm tempted to minimize the risks by paying for as much as possible beforehand by booking things like accommodation through Airbnb, but it kind of rankles taking that option as I'd much rather go the direct route and see the money go to the local people and casa networks. We could do the same for taxis to out various destinations with companies like taxivinalescuba.com, though I'm assuming it would be substantially cheaper to do it all locally. Guess I'll have to trundle out my old money belt! :)

One last point. If we were to use a company like taxivinalescuba.com to book our drives between Santa Clara-Trinidad, Trinidad-Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos-Vinales, and Vinales-Havana are there any protocols in place as far as trying to find other people along the way to split the costs of the rides - will the company kick up a stink if we try? I've thought about simply hiring a car but all I keep reading is what a nightmare it is simply trying to get one unless you book months in advance, plus all the standard concerns about insurance in the event of an accident. I typically do hire cars when possible, and if you can survive driving in the chaos of downtown Athens or some parts of Asia you can survive anywhere else, but in this case it just seems simply to taxi around - or use a collectivo.

There will be plenty of taxis at the Santa Clara airport at 4 when you arrive. Find one willing to go for the price you want and make sure it is a modern car in decent shape.

FORGET about Vinales, you simply do not have enough time to do it justice and spend a night in Cienfuegos or Santa Clara instead.

Cuba can be quite safe but not for petty crime. Be very alert when carrying a load of cash around on you.

Pre-booking taxis and accommodations will surely ease some of your worries but you are right, doing it there will prove to be cheaper.

if you pre book with Taxi Vinales no you can't solicit additional riders all the way. you tell them up front how many you are ...they are not a ride share operation.

Don't know about any waterfalls near Trinidad but there is a small very nice beach called Playa Ancon in the vicinity, a cab ride away.

@Cuban waters. Well, how about this. We could stay the whole day in Vinales on Wednesday and simply go to Havana early the next morning by taxi, which essentially would still give us three days in Havana as I'm not usually the earliest of risers anyway! :) So this way we'd also get a day and a half in Vinales.

As for the cost of taxis, Taxi Vinales quotes 75 CUC between Santa Clara and Trinidad for a standard vehicle, 50 CUC between Trinidad and Cienfuegos, 160 between Ciefuego and Vinales, and 80 CUC for the drive to Havana from Vinales. How does that compare with what's available locally, roughly speaking? The two hour drives I wouldn't mind simply going with a collectivo, but for the long drive to Vinales I'm sure we'd like to splurge and just have the taxi to ourselves. One point - as far as tipping is concerned, what's expected in Cuba?

@Turaj. Thanks for that clarification. So they won't do the reverse either, right, and try and tack a few extra bodies into the cab like a collectivo - it's exclusively ours for the ride?

@YanqiBoy. Yes, I'd read up on that beach at Playa Ancon and I know my wife will want to spend a little time there. Still waiting on the guidebooks for Cuba that I've ordered in to get some more information - the Lonely Planet guidebook and the DK version.

One other point. I'm picking up here and elsewhere that the best way to change over US currency is to work something through the Casa owners. So I was going to change some money over at the airport to give me some going around money on arrival and then wait till we got to our first point of call in Trinidad to make the first major exchange. I've noted the point about bills in good condition - is the point about bringing $50 or $100 bills for exchange also correct? I'm also getting mixed signals on the other CUP currency. Some say don't bother, others say it's an imperative if you want to save by buying things as a local would. Opinion?

Bring nice new crispy C notes,they're prefererred. Try your casa owners for the black market rate of.95 CUC for $1.00 USD Change enough money to last for a day or so at the airport.Worst case scenario is your casa owner can't change to the black market rate and you get stuck with the government rip off rate reserved for Americans,there are government Cadecas and banks in every province in the main town/city where you can change money. It's not worth time and money running around here stateside exchanging dollars for foreign money,just adds to unnecessary vacation stress,coming and going.

Waterfalls in/near Trinidad - yes, there are, but possibly not suitable for your wife.
Many years ago, I went to Salto de Caburni. It was part of a guided trip in the national park Topes de Collantes - which is a short drive from Trinidad. You then do a mini hike/walk (we just wore normal trainers) and if your guide is good you'll learn a lot about the flora and fauna and hopefully have a fair few birds pointed out to you. Then you do a bit of a climb down to the salto. I don't remember it being far, but can't give an estimate.
It's no Iguacu, it is quite small but it's still a pretty spot with a nice pool. Beware of the slippery rocks.
There's at least another one which is higher/bigger but I think it's harder to get to.

Taxi prices - johnabbotsford's rule of thumb is that you should be able to get a taxi for about half to two thirds of those prices, on the ground. I think half is ambitious, but maybe two thirds/a bit more?

CUP - handy for buying street food and drinks, fruit, peso coffee... If you think you'd do that, change 5CUC and see how you get on.

Edited to add... although my husband and I do frequently hire cars if we're going inter province, it is quite expensive and can be a hassle. I think you could get one for August, reserving now. We didn't reserve in advance for April and managed to get one after a couple of days. That said, you're only going to be there a few days and you could spend half of one, picking the car you'd reserved up. Then another half day looking for a ponchera in between towns etc...

I agree with Yinkx that there are no hikes leading to waterfalls around Trinidad that would be suitable for someone requiring a relatively smooth path. It would be easier to find something like that around Vinales--an easy path, that is, not a waterfall.

I do agree with CubaWaters that you are rushing yourself too much trying to do four places in six days (Trinidad, Cienfuegos, Vinales, and Havana.) What you're going to end up with is a fine view of the tourist-saturated main square and surrounding architecture of each place--not much more. However, if you consider this a reconnaissance trip--that is, to get a sense of which area you might like to return to in the future for a longer stay, well, it could be that. But honestly, your present itinerary does not give you enough time to see much of anything in the surrounding area of any of those places.

The most logical itinerary would be this:

Santa Clara to Trinidad on day of arrival. Get settled in, do an early evening walkabout, and maybe hit a music venue in the evening if that's your sort of thing. There are a zillion casa particulares in or with easy walking distance of town center so, even given the cobblestone streets, this shouldn't be too hard on your wife.

Next day: take a taxi the 10 miles out to Playa Ancon; Cuban beaches are always nicest in the morning. Then, if you don't want to spend any more time in Trinidad, take the afternoon Viazul bus or a taxi to Cienfuegos, only about an hour away, and overnight there.

Next day: Not sure what you'd want to do in such a short time in Cienfuegos, but I'm sure you've got a guidebook and already have an idea. Staying somewhere out on Punta Gorda would probably be nice, and if you wanted, you could take the harbor ferry around the harbor as an easy, walk-free way of seeing the scenery.

CubaWaters is right to suggest that it's a little crazy for you to rush from there to Vinales (a 7-hr trip), but if you are set on seeing Vinales, I think Conectando Cuba has a bus that runs daily from Cienfuegos to Vinales. But you have to book it 24 hrs in advance (at the Cubanacan office in any major hotel), so you'd need to book it in Trinidad. (Or you could take it directly from Trinidad to Vinales, in which it's about an 8-hour trip. (I don't have the schedule--am just guessing at the travel time, but am pretty sure it's not less than this.)

The main point is that to spend seven or eight hours to get to Vinales from Cienfuegos (or Trinidad) seems like an awful waste for the little time you have. You will cover a fair chunk of western Cuba, but having seen it only from the window of your bus or taxi, what will you really have seen? A better alternative would be forget Vinales and go directly to Havana for the four days you have left. Incidentally, I notice that you haven't allowed for a trip back to Santa Clara, so assume you are flying out of Havana.

Tipping isn't really expected in Cuba, For example, if I have a set price of 50 to take a taxi somewhere, then I just pay 50 . In a restaurant, I usually tip between 0 and 15% depending on what I received. Any padded bill gets no tip!

You could probably get taxis on-ground in Cuba for 25% less of those prices quoted but at least by pre-booking, you are paid for and I am sure guaranteed a decent vehicle to ride in.

Thanks to everyone for their replies - very much appreciated.

Just to clarify, yes, we will be exiting from Havana. I did some homework and found that the best thing to try and maximize our time in Cuba is to fly into Santa Clara and exit via Havana - saves us the cost and time of the return drive. Even better, there's no financial penalty booking two one-way flights with different airlines. It's about $300 for each of us - I could have got it down closer to $250 if we could have changed our our arrival/departure days.

Yes, it is a bit of a hectic pace, but it is something of a reconnaissance, and given how close we live to Cuba it's easy enough to return another time and pad out the places. Non-Americans have to bear in mind that for most in the States a maximum of only two weeks vacation each year is the norm and if you work in the corporate sector, as my wife does, they even frown on you trying to take more than one week at a time. It sucks big time, but there's not much we can do about it. It was all my wife could do a few years back (with a different employer) to get three weeks off - one of which was unpaid) so that I could take my American-born wife and kids to visit my Australian homeland. Down under four weeks vacation is the norm of course, and if you work in the mining industry as I did you normally get 5 - 6 weeks vacation time. That or you just save up a pile of money in a short time, quit, go off for 6 - 12 months at a time overseas, then go back to the mining industry and start again! :)

Also bear in mind that this is also one of the reasons I'm leaning to the extravagance of getting around in a taxi, rather than collectivos or buses, as it will speed up the process of getting from point A to point B. According to Taxi Vinales, the trip from Cienfuegos to Vinales is only 5 hours, rather than the 7 or 8 it would take with a bus, so if we were able to get on the road early enough we'd get there (at least in theory) around midday.

Cienfuegos is the problem child for me. Part of me wants to skip it and tack the day on either our stays in Trinidad, Vinales, or Havana. That would either give us three whole days in Trinidad, 2.5 days in Vinales, or four days in Havana. It's just that I see it so highly recommended, and being that it's going to be on our path to Vinales I almost feel the obligation to at least stop for a day.

With that said though, I'm still not sure on exactly what we can do in Vinales where my wife is concerned because I'm not finding much that can accommodate her situation. Don't get me wrong, she can happily hoof it for a few miles if the ground is fairly flat and even, but if hills or rough terrain factor into the equation her knees bring her down fast. So as things stand the day and a half in Vinales may well be enough if all we're confined to is to take in the scenery from easily accessible viewpoints, a drive round perhaps on a local tour to visit tobacco fields, caves, mural and so on.

@ttjpdo. One point on the trip to Vinales. Yes, it is a long drive to get there, but bear in mind that we're not really going terribly out of our way to get there as our ultimate destination is Havana as our exit point, after all. Remember, we're arriving in Santa Clara? So even if we skipped Vinales we still have a 3 hour drive or so from Ceinfuegos to Havana to deal with. All we're adding in is the two hours extra to get to Vinales from Cienfuegos, then the drive from Vinales to Havana afterwards.

@Cubanwaters. Thanks for the tip - on tips! I had read elsewhere to factor in tipping, so I'm guessing from what you're saying that it's more confined to food and drinks. That's helpful to know. I have also read that it's a nice touch to take along some small tokens as gifts for people - is that right? Someone wrote that items such as American baseball caps are highly valued, and given that we live in Disneyville I thought about bringing along a bunch of small associated items for kids.

One other point. As far as prepaying is concerned, we're cool with that as far as Taxi Vinales is concerned if we go that route? Seem reputable enough from the bits and pieces I can find online.

Small token gifts are nice for people who do special favors for you, as Cubans frequently do--the casa host who calls ahead to reconfirm your lodging in the next place on your itinerary, the taxi driver who makes extra stops for you along the way, the kid who takes the trouble to help you find an address. But not a good idea, ever, to hand out things at random, and never EVER to children on the street, as it just encourages them to beg from tourists. Yes, baseball caps are good gifties, as well as being a useful clothing item in such a hot, sunny climate. Incidentally, guides in national parks earn tiny, tiny salaries, and most of them do enhance a walk with the information they can offer on flora, fauna, history, etc. so a tip in money is appropriate for them.

The mogotes (mountains) around Vinales are weird--they stick up out of flat terrain--tobacco fields and the like--like the hump on a camel, so it is possible to hike in that area on relatively flat terrain. I don't know the trails in detail, but know there are some on level ground. Your casa host should be able to find a guide for you who can tell you how smooth they are. Generally speaking, I expect they're not as well maintained and smooth as what you would find in a US national park. Cuban parks just aren't like that.

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.