Transportation In Cuba
I’ve already touched upon part of this when I wrote about the Jose Martin Airport. The key thing to remember about taking a taxi to and from the airport is to keep 25 CUC on hand for each trip. But there’s so much more to taxis than trips to the airport.
First, let me say that I have a love hate relationship with taxis. Even in Seoul, the land of cheap taxi fare, the drives sometimes make themselves so detestable that I’d rather walk than deal with them. I’m speaking about tactics like rolling down the window to ask your destination instead of just opening the door for you to get in or just driving by leaving you behind instead of picking you up or speeding by you to pick up a local instead. You never know what you’re going to get with a Cuban driver. You could get all of the above for a disastrous experience or things could go perfectly smooth.
As a tourist getting the attention of a taxi is pretty easy. Those taxi drivers want your Cuban Convertible dollars. They will try to charge you a fare that a Cuban local would have an epileptic attack over. For example, asking about a trip from Hotel Nationale to Old Havana a driver quoted us 20 CUC. My brother countered with 5 CUC. The driver balked, but dropped to 15. My brother insisted on 5. We danced around those numbers until I lost patience and agreed to 10 CUC. I felt that was too high, but I just wanted to get where we were going. To put it in perspective locals will wave down a taxi and, if there’s room, climb inside with other passengers going their direction. Everyone will pay their share of the fare which is much lower being in CUP Pesos. So essentially tourists pay ten to twenty times more for the same ride. Not a good feeling. And you’re at a disadvantage because you really don’t know what the Cuban locals are paying to get from place to place.
A much more fun way to get see the city by car is to take a tour. Here you can buy a one hour or more tour of the city in one of the many old American cars. Find one that looks appropriately stylish and pile in for a wild ride though the streets of Havana. We choose a cherry red Ford. Be sure to negotiate a fare before hand. We make a deal for 10 CUC each for the three of us. Not bad. The drives already have set routes so all you have do is have your camera ready or just lay back and enjoy the sights. The most impressive part of the drive for me is zipping through Vedado marveling at all the old crumbling mansions that begin to look grander and newer as the street progresses and you realize that these are owned by various Embassies. We drive seaside down the Malecon spotting the couples out for a walk or just sitting on the wall.
To get a firm lay of the land I suggest the Havana city Tourist bus. It’s a hop on hop off double-Decker bus that travels throughout the city taking you to key destination points. These bus tours can be found in almost every major city around the world. I try to do it in each city. It’s touristy, yes, but it gives you a great understanding of how close all the tourist spots are to one another. In Havana it’s Ten CUC for route one that travels through the city. If you want some fun in the sun then another 5 CUC for route three takes you to Playa Santa Maria just on the outskirts of Havana. That’s not a bad deal to check out major attractions without having to deal with pushy taxi drivers.
If you don’t mind a bus with less frills then try the local city bus. Its one of the few ways to get around that you can use Pesos instead of the expected Convertibles. For essentially pennies you can get where you need to go if you know the right bus. Also be ready to cram inside the bus body to body so close that I can’t believe someone didn’t walk off impregnated. I only last a block before I jump off the bus and go back to a much more convenient way to get around: walking
Walking around Havana brings everything into focus. Why bother with buses, taxis, old fords, or anything else when your own two feet will do just fine. This is especially true if you have an ideal spot with your casa particular. The distances may seem daunting on a map but we manage to walk around Vedado to old Havana as well as the port and the surrounding area without much trouble. Sure we get lost a few times but it’s not much trouble to ask someone for directions. Just be sure to know the major landmarks so you can get back to where you need to be. For us that happens to be the Hotel Nationale. It makes for a convenient location to find our way back to our casa particular. Walking opens up all kinds of opportunities to meet locals, see sights that would otherwise go unnoticed and discover hidden restaurants, stores, street food vendors and shops that the locals use. It’s the perfect chance to use those Pesos instead of Convertibles.
When it comes to travel between cities the bus is the way to go. The main two options are between Viazul and Transtur. The Viazul tickets can be bought at one of the many ticket offices in the city. Your best bet is to go the day before to purchase your ticket for the following day. Don’t wait to late in the day because there’s a possibility that the tickets will sell out. Tickets on Viazul should be around 25 to 27 CUC. Operating in much the same way is Transtur. However, you can buy your Transtur tickets from tour companies that operate in most big sized hotels. My brother and I buy ours from Capri Hotel near the Hotel Nationale. It comes to 27 CUC each with a departure time of 8:20 AM the next morning. We discover the following day that bus times in Cuba are relative not exact. Our bus didn’t arrive at the Capri until 9:00 AM. Still it’s best to be on time just in case the bus happens to be running on time that particular day.
Our bus from Havana to Trinidad takes about five hours which includes a brief twenty minute break at a rest stop. You can buy snacks, drinks and souvenirs. On the return trip we make a brief stop at the city Cinefeugos. From our short drive through I determine its a place I would love to come back to. The marina is lovely with a long promenade to walk along. The city streets well laid out and the buildings possess a colorful quaint beauty. It’s a definite stop for a return trip.
