Internal transportation is one of
the more difficult things to get used to in Cuba, especially so
if you don't speak the language well. Which buses go where? How
much do they cost? How about internal flights? We can't answer all
the questions, but here we will give you a general information and
some tips:
The information will be about Domestic flights,
car rental, tourists busses, taxis,trains and tips of any kind regarding
transportation in cuba. |
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DOMESTIC FLIGHTS :
Cubana Airlines offers domestic flights to major cities. Seat availability
is limited so you should reserve before traveling to Cuba or few days in
advance.
Here we give you the prices of the internal flights in Cuba from Havana.
| |
Baracoa |
(US$78) |
| |
Bayamo |
(US$59) |
| |
Camagüey |
(US$51) |
| |
Cayo Largo |
|
| |
Ciego de Avila |
(US$43) |
| |
Nueva Gerona |
(US$16) |
| |
Guantanamo |
(US$73) |
| |
Holguin |
(US$79) |
| |
Las Tunas |
(US$77) |
| |
Manzanillo |
(US$59) |
| |
Moa |
(US$73) |
| |
Santiago de Cuba |
(US$68) |
CAR RENTAL
Renting a car is the most practical way to discover the countryside and
gives you all the liberty you need to fully appreciate Cuba. Gas can easily
be found in major cities. Overall, roads are in good condition. We do
not recommend driving at night because many animals are loose along Cuban
roads. In order to avoid traveling with large amounts of cash and to ensure
car availability, it is recommended that you make reservations in advance.
BUS
There is a fairly good bus system that links major cities in Cuba called
"Via azul". Once again seats are limited and we suggest that
you book in advance at list 2 days.
Here comes the Schedule and prices of the busses
VIA AZUL.
HAVANA - VARADERO
| Departure Havana |
Arrival Varadero |
| 8:00 am |
11:00 am |
| 8:30 am |
11:30 am |
| 4:00 pm |
7:00 pm |
| Departure Varadero |
Arrival Havana |
| 8:00 am |
10:50 am |
| 4:00 pm |
6:50 pm |
| 6:00 pm |
8:50 pm |
The
Duration of the trip is 3 hours.Departures every day
All departures make a stop at Matanzas
and Varadero International Airport.
| One way |
Matanzas |
Varadero Airport |
Varadero |
| Havana |
$ 7.00 |
$ 10.00 |
$ 10.00 |
| Varadero |
$ 6.00 |
$ 6.00 |
|
HAVANA - PINAR DEL RIO - VIÑALES
| Departure
Havana |
Arrival
Pinar del Rio |
Arrival Viñales |
| 9:00 am |
11:20 am |
12:15 pm |
| Departure
Viñales |
Departure
Pinar del Rio |
Arrival
Havana |
| 1:30 pm |
2:15 pm |
4:45 pm |
The duration of the trip is
3:15 hours and Departures every day
|
One way |
Pinar del Río |
Viñales |
|
Havana |
$ 11.00 |
$ 12.00 |
|
Pinar del Río |
|
$ 6.00 |
HAVANA - CIENFUEGOS - TRINIDAD
Departure
Havana |
Entronque de Jagüey |
Aguada de pasajeros |
Yaguarama |
Rodas |
Cienfuegos |
Arrival
Trinidad |
| 8:15 am |
10:40 am |
11:05 am |
11:30 am |
11:45 am |
12:20 pm |
1:50 pm |
Departure
Trinidad |
Cienfuegos |
Rodas |
Yaguarama |
Aguada de pasajero |
Entronque de Jagüey |
Arrival
Havana |
| 3:00 pm |
4:35 pm |
5:15 pm |
5:30 pm |
5:55 pm |
6:20 pm |
8:35 pm |
The duration of the trip
is 5:35 hours and departures every day
| One way |
Ent. de Jagüey |
Aguada de pasajeros |
Yaguarama |
Rodas |
Cienfuegos |
Trinidad |
| Havana |
$12.00 |
$13.00 |
$14.00 |
$15.00 |
$20.00 |
$25.00 |
| Ent. de Jagüey |
|
$6.00 |
$6.00 |
$6.00 |
$6.00 |
$14.00 |
| Aguada de pasajero |
|
|
$6.00 |
$6.00 |
$6.00 |
$13.00 |
| Yaguarama |
|
|
|
$6.00 |
$6.00 |
$9.00 |
| Rodas |
|
|
|
|
$6.00 |
$8.00 |
| Cienfuegos |
|
|
|
|
|
$6.00 |
Varadero - Santa Clara - Sancti
Spiritus - Trinidad
Departure
Varadero |
Cárdenas |
Coliseo |
Jovellanos |
Ent. de Jagüey |
Santa Clara |
Sancti Spiritus |
Arrival
Trinidad |
| 7:30 am |
7:50 am |
8:10 am |
8:25 am |
9:00 am |
10:45 am |
12:10 pm |
1:25 pm |
Departure
Trinidad |
Sancti Spiritus |
Santa Clara |
Ent. de Jagüey |
Jovellanos |
Coliseo |
Cárdenas |
Arrival
Varadero |
| 2:30 pm |
3:40 pm |
5:05 pm |
6:40 pm |
7:30 pm |
7:45 pm |
8:05 pm |
8:25 pm |
The duration of the trip is
5:55 hours and departures every day
| One way |
Cárdenas |
Coliseo |
Jovellanos |
Jagüey |
Santa Clara |
Sancti
Spiritus |
Trinidad |
| Varadero |
$6.00 |
$6.00 |
$6.00 |
$6.00 |
$11.00 |
$16.00 |
$20.00 |
| Cárdenas |
|
$6.00 |
$6.00 |
$6.00 |
$10.00 |
$15.00 |
$18.00 |
| Coliseo |
|
|
$6.00 |
$6.00 |
$9.00 |
$14.00 |
$17.00 |
| Jovellanos |
|
|
|
$6.00 |
$8.00 |
$13.00 |
$16.00 |
| E. Jagüey |
|
|
|
|
$7.00 |
$11.00 |
$15.00 |
| S. Clara |
|
|
|
|
|
$6.00 |
$8.00 |
| S. Spiritus |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$6.00 |
Havana - S. Clara - S.
Spiritus - Camagüey - Holguin - Santiago de Cuba
Departure
Havana |
Ent. de
Jagüey |
Santa
Clara |
Sancti
Spiritus |
Ciego
de Avila |
Camagüey |
Las
Tunas |
Holguin |
Bayamo |
Arrival
Santiago |
| 3:00 pm |
5:25 pm |
7:25 pm |
8:45 pm |
10:05 pm |
11:55 pm |
2:05 am |
3:20 am |
4:40 am |
6:50 am |
Departure
Santiago |
Bayamo |
Holguin |
Las
Tunas |
Camagüey |
Ciego
de Avila |
Sancti
Spiritus |
Santa
Clara |
Ent. de
Jagüey |
Arrival
Havana |
| 8:00 pm |
10:05 pm |
11:25 pm |
12:40 am |
2:40 am |
4:40 am |
6:00 am |
7:20 am |
9:05 am |
11:30 am |
Departures every day
| One way |
Ent. de Jagüey |
Sta
Clara |
Sancti
Spiritus |
C. de
Ávila |
camagüey |
Tunas |
Holguín |
Bayamo |
Santiago de Cuba |
| Habana |
$12.00 |
$18.00 |
$23.00 |
$27.00 |
$33.00 |
$39.00 |
$44.00 |
$44.00 |
$51.00 |
Ent. de
Jagüey |
|
$7.00 |
$11.00 |
$15.00 |
$21.00 |
$27.00 |
$32.00 |
$32.00 |
$39.00 |
Santa
Clara |
|
|
$6.00 |
$9.00 |
$15.00 |
$22.00 |
$26.00 |
$26.00 |
$33.00 |
Sancti
Spiritus |
|
|
|
$6.00 |
$10.00 |
$17.00 |
$21.00 |
$21.00 |
$28.00 |
Ciego
de
Avila |
|
|
|
|
$6.00 |
$13.00 |
$17.00 |
$17.00 |
$24.00 |
| Camagüey |
|
|
|
|
|
$7.00 |
$11.00 |
$11.00 |
$18.00 |
| Las Tunas |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$6.00 |
$6.00 |
$11.00 |
| Holguín |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$6.00 |
$11.00 |
| Bayamo |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$7.00 |
Bus Stations (Via Azul)
- Bayamo:
Carretera Central to Santiago de Cuba,
- Camagüey:
Carretera Central Oeste, on the corner of Perú,
- Ciego
de Ávila:
Carretera Central Extremo Este,
- Cienfuegos: Gloria
Street between 56 & 58,
- Havana:
26th Ave. & Zoológico, Nuevo Vedado,
- Holguín:
Carretera Central # 19 between 20 de Mayo & Independencia,
- Las
Tunas:
Francisco Varona # 240,
- Matanzas:
Calzada Esteban, on the corner of Terry,
- Pinar
del Río:
Colón # 14,
- Santa
Clara:
Carretera Central 483 km, between Independencia & Oquendo,
- Santiago
de Cuba:
Libertadores Ave, on the corner of Yarayo,
- Sancti
Spiritus:
Carretera Central 388 km between Circunvalación & Carretera de Jíbaro,
- Varadero:
36th Street & Autopista,
- Viñales:
Salvador Cisnero # 63;
- Trinidad:
Viro Guirnart, between A. Maceo & G. Izquierdo # 224,
TAXI
The taxi is the easiest way to move around in Havana. The cheapest ones
are Panataxi 55-5555,Micar 24-2444 or 24-2715, and taxi Havana
TRAIN
A fun way to travel about Cuba is by train. However we must caution you
that the train system in not reliable. If you are traveling for 10 or
fewer days, avoid using the train.
SOME TIPS
City of Havana
Buy a good city map. Try the Hotel shops
TurisTaxis (and other names) are the more expensive, but newer and cleaner
taxis. A trip from the Jose Martí International Airport into Vedado
district of the city of Havana will run you around $20 USD.
PanaTaxis are a medium-cost option. for example a trip
from Nuevo Vedado district to Vedado (2,5 km) runs around $2 USD
The Owner of the house can provide some information
about "maquinas particulares" or "maquinas de 10 pesos",
which are the cars of everyday Cubans who have a license to carry passengers.
These cost 10 Pesos (Oct.'2001 equivalent of 50 cents USD). When else
would you have an opportunity to ride in a 1958 Chev Bel-Aire?
The "guagua". Pronounced "waa-waa", these are the
public buses which run with no apparent schedule. They are also packed
with people, since they run infrequently. Fare is twenty centavos (Oct.'2001
equivalent of one cent USD). It is advisable that you take precautions
against pickpockets in such close quarters.
Beyond Havana
Adjustments to flights (external or internal) can be
made/purchased in the row of agency offices just down the hill from the
Havana Libre hotel on Calle 23 (aka Paseo)
Car rentals should be arranged before arriving in Cuba,
although you can make arrangements at the airport when you land (if it's
not the 3:30am Cubana flight!).
Driving? Be very sure you are appropriately covered
with insurance and prepared for emergencies (medical kit, money, etc.)
No travel restrictions apply to tourists in Cuba. However,
transportation is difficult to organize. | 
