Lots of nice beaches in Cuba but not so many where you can stay in a private home. From the description you give, I would suggest Playa Larga, at the head of the Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs.) It is about a 4-hr trip from Habana on the Viazul bus, which runs daily.
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3091 results for +playa+cacao
mattbart1987
Hi,
I'm keen to head from Cancun/Playa Del Carmen through to Belize and then through Guatemala ending in Guatemala City.
I am keen to at both the beach and in the jungle and will see ruins if they are nearby but not going massively out of my way to do so. I'm keen to stay mainly in hostels but not on a tight budget - rather take a more comfortable/quicker form of transport than save a few dollars here and there.
I was thinking along the lines of
Mexico
Cancun/Playa Del Carmen >
Belize
Caye Caulker, Placencia, San Ignacio (is this the best spot to experience the jungle/wildlife?)
Guatemala
Flores/Tikal - do people only go to Flores on their way to Tikal > happy to skip this if I'm rushed
Lanquin + Semuc Champey (will likely meet a friend here and stay a week)
Guatemala City
Antiugua
Any suggestions, things that are nearby that I may have missed or tips on the best ways to travel between these points would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Matt
2
bobmichaels
You will find that tourist enclaves are quite clustered in Cuba leaving the majority of the country alone. While the Cuban government did pick the choicest locations for these tourist hubs, there is a lot of the country left. Playa del Etes and Baracoa being prime examples close to Havana.
5
mstep
I wouldn't stay near Moyagalpa on Ometepe. Not unless I wanted to be positioned for a climb up Volcan Concepcion the next day, or I've done it if I needed to catch an early morning ferry. Moyagalpa has 3-4x as much development as any other place on the island. The other side of Ometepe is better, anywhere from Playa Santo Domingo down to Baigue.
If you mean public transport between Matagalpa in the highlands, and Leon, no you won't have any problems. Likely you'll need to change bus in Esteli, but that will be easy enough.
lgrafton60.961537
During the last of our 6 days in La Paz, we did the usual tourist things. Swam with the Whale Sharks and went out to Isla Espiritu Santo. The Whale Sharks were close to La Paz and we got a tour off of the street that departed from the Malecon. The tours seems to be very regulated. Someone was at the dock making sure the pangas were not overloaded and the number of boats out with the whales/sharks were restricted and our captain seem to have some kind of licence he wore around his neck. It was a pretty amazing experience and well worth it. Visibility in the water was not the best as it was windy. This is something that we had not learned yet (see previous trip reports).
The other tour company we took to Espiritu was recommended by the Tourist office on the Malecon. The lady there was very helpful. She gave us a useful brochure about dealing with the La Paz traffic police that turned out to be very useful a few days later when we where leaving La Paz to drive to Loreto (see La Paz and traffic tickets or "The Morder".)
This tour company picked us up at the hotel and delivered us to Playa Pichilingue. This seems to be a halfway point to the island. Some tours seem to leave from the Malecon and some from Playa El Tecolote. I would think the Malecon would be a long boat ride and the one from El Tecolate is supposed to be only 15 minutes. Ours was somewhere in the middle. Most of the time was spent snorkeling around an area trying to entice juvenile sea lions to swim with us. One did swim around us but he was more interested in biting the flippers of the divers below us. There was lots of fish to see there as well. We then went to a lovely cove for lunch (several other tours were there at the same time) and you could swim and snorkel there as well. Our tour company seemed to be well trained and professional. Next day it was off to Loreto.
Have to say something about the Allende Book store in La Paz. Great store and information. I picked up the Moon book on the Baja that was very useful (sorry LP).
10
info.211856
Rosa, thanks agaiin! What will i ever do once i'm on the ground iin Cuba and perhaps can't easily consult you for any road or trail condition or casa recommendation? So i will add your warning against the road to Pinares del Mayari to my files.
I see your point about staying on the Cayo itself. But for a solo traveler it's also nice to be in some town (of sorts) and not in a very remote place (i.e. Villa Cayo Saetía) that's more used to (and perhaps overrun by) tour groups (including those approaching overland).
On the Gavviota website, that Villa sells for 61 USD/night, and they still have a few vacancies for the dates i might go there. It would be doable, if not with a wide smile. But then i just love to have a real town pub at night, live music very welcome, not a "safari lodge". I don't mind leaving my town room at 6.00 a.m. to get into remote nature. Btw, on Cayo Saetía, i'd happily not see any zebras, giiraffes and their imported ilk (though i 'd eat them with a shrug at the resto there, just as in similar real African lodges). I'd go there for hopefully idyllic natural beaches.
As an alternative to Mayari and Cayo Saetía i had also looked into Banes and nearby Playas de Morales, Puerto Rico etc. Banes seems slightly more promising on the live music front at least on Sundays, as well as on inviting casas. I just love nature and rural idyls by day and some town pubs + perhaps live music at night. (Fully aware that SCU is live music hq in those parts, and i will indulge in Hoguín right after landing, and hope to see the unique scene in Bayamo and/or Niquero etc. too.).
2
misterbee
I know you asked about a door-to-door service, but what about a bus & taxi?
ADO buses (excellent buses & service) run every 30 minutes from the airport to Playa del Carmen -- 178 pesos and about 1 hour. After arriving at Playa, get a taxi outside the bus terminal and go directly to your hostel. Typical taxi fares are 30 to 50 pesos, but taxis outside the bus terminal now ask 90 pesos. This is a lot cheaper than a private shuttle.
ADO buses also run from the airport to Tulum but less frequently. Check the ADO schedule to see if a bus runs after you land (sometimes there's a bus at 9:30 pm). Two hours and 228 pesos. Get a taxi from the bus termianl at Tulum.
Here's the ADO website...
https://www.ado.com.mx/ado2/#/
I do this all the time -- very safe.
liliann
Hi everyone,
please allow me to ask a few questions about travelling to Cuba, as it's my first time there:
-
Our Airplane will arrive in the evening at Jose Marti Int. Airport. Is ist possible to change money at the Airport in the evening (Euro to CUC) upon arrival, to be able to pay for a Taxi to Havanna? Or is there an ATM to withdraw cash with VISA?
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Is it recommended to book Viazul Buses far ahead? (Travelling in May). As the Viazul Website only allows to book buses more than one week in advance - I was wondering if buses are usually sold out when you try to book the ticket two or three days ahead at the bus station? If I always have to book the buses more than a week in advance, I have to plan the whole journey in advance - but I would like to be a little more spontaneous and be able to change plans while travelling. If Viazul is always sold out - are there other possibillities for getting around, apart from rental cars? (Only talking about the main tourist spots - Havana-Vinales-Cienfuegos-Trinidad etc.;)
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At the end of my trip I would love to stay at a beach where there is easy acces for snorkeling. Any recommendations? I heard, there are some beaches where you can go snorkeling right from the beach - without having to take a boat to a snorkel spot? I love snorkeling, but I am sadly not able to travel by boat because I get seasick immediately.
Is Playa Jibacoa recommended? Any recommendation for nice Hotels/Casas there?
Thank you so much, if you can help me with one or more of my questions (and sorry for the english language mistakes).