Trip to Cuba

[JeromeFr]

Hi everyone,

I'm visiting Cuba during two weeks in October with my girlfriend. We plan to move a bit and we were advised to visit Havana,Trinidad,Santiago, Barbacoa, Pinar del río, Viñales and Cienfuegos.

The thing is that we need to have an address there to apply for a visa in Belgium. So we are looking for suggestions for an hotel in Havana for the first few days.

We were also told different things about transportation. It looks like traveling by car is the easiest but we heard about a lot of scams targeting tourists (flat tire, renting companies charging for scratches that were already there, official asking money to pass, ...). Is it just legends or would you recommend to use buses instead? Or a car with a driver?

Any other tips or suggestions are welcome :).

Thanks in advance for your help!

Best Regards,
Jerome

[MikeW]

Hi,

i don't recommend booking in hotels in Cuba..  Always bad food and no personal service. 

 I recommend casas particular insisted, it´s personal and fantastic.

Don't try to rent a car......

get to the buses and now the ticket price for the buss ride, you almost guaranteed to get a cab for less then than the ticket price....

Had´Det

Mike West

 Links Below + Fotos....

http://cubaparticular.com

http://www.cubaparticular.com/viewproperty.asp?code=HAV124   Havanna TerrassMy Room

http://cubaparticular.com/viewproperty.asp?Code=VIN022&Lang=0

[şahins]

Thanks for the post i am planning to visit Cuba this year specially for the photography. 

[Pau]

I think the best way to travel around Cuba is renting a car, it's fascinating to travel by your own car, although sometimes difficult because of the lack of signs or the poor conditions of some roads.

For Havana I don't recommend you to book a hotel, specially if you have a Cuban girlfriend that is applying for visa in Belgium.

I recommend you the option to book and apartment or casa particular in Vedado, better than in Havana Vieja, you can find more information on different options in Havana here. You can also find my personal recommendations of restaurants, nightlife and amazing attractions in Havana in my Havana Local Guide.