Cuba – A Week in Viñales, Trinidad and Havana

When the U.S. “somewhat” opened travel to Cuba and when commercial airlines started offering cheap flights directly from the U.S. there, my friend and I decided to go.

Note: Previously, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) required U.S. citizens to have a special license to go to Cuba. They recently changed the requirements so that people can travel there under a general license (if they fall within one of twelve categories- listed here), making it easier for U.S. citizens to go to Cuba.

We were initially going to travel with an organized tour. However, many of the weeklong tours under $1,000 wouldn’t let U.S. citizens book with them since they couldn’t guarantee that their tours fell within one of the twelve categories. There were “legal” people-to-people tours for U.S. citizens, however, they were around $5,000. Therefore, we decided to create our own itinerary instead of traveling with a group. 

We classified our trip as “Support of the Cuban People.” We spent a total of 9 days in Cuba (including 2 travel days). We flew into Havana and headed straight to Viñales for 2 nights. We then travelled to Trinidad for 3 days. We ended the trip with 3 nights in Havana.

Day 1 - Flight to Havana and Transfer to Viñales

• Pre Departure from the U.S.
• Arrival in Havana
• Exchanging Money
• Transfer to Viñales

Day 2 - Viñales

• The Three Valleys Tour with Discover Viñales
• Lunch at Finca Agroecologica El Paraiso
• Hike to Cueva de la Vaca
• Traditional Cuban Dinner

Day 3 - Viñales to Trinidad

• 8 Hour Drive to Trinidad
• Dinner in Downtown Trinidad

Day 4 - Trinidad

• Valle de los Ingenios
• Playa Ancón
• Rooftop Dinner at Vista Gourmet

Day 5 - Trinidad

• Horseback Tour to El Cubano Waterfall
• Exploring Trinidad
• Clubbing: Cave Style

Day 6 - Trinidad to Havana

• 5 Hour Drive to Havana
• New Year’s Eve Party at the Habana Libre

Day 7 - Havana

• Playa Santa Maria del Mar
• Night Out at Fábrica de Arte Cubano

Day 8 - Havana

• El Malecón
• Exploring Habana Vieja
• Old Convertible Tour

Day 9 - Flight back to the U.S.

Since there are still restrictions on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba, not all hotels let U.S. citizens book a room unless they are in Cuba with a “legal” tour. However, a very popular option for lodging is casas particulares. Many people in Cuba have an extra bedroom and bathroom that they rent out (similar to a bed & breakfast). Many of these casas are listed on AirBnB (which is how we booked ours in advance). However, it is also possible to find a casa to stay in once arriving in Cuba. All certified casas have this symbol on them:

Rental Cars

Cuba has only a few options for rental cars, all of which fall under the state-owned company, Transtur. Havanautos and Cuba Car are the slightly cheaper brands, while Rex is more expensive but has higher end cars.

When researching our trip, we read mixed reviews about whether or not to rent a car. On the positive side, rental cars provide flexibility. However, there are several potential risks:

• Roads in Cuba (especially once off the main highways) are poorly maintained.
• It is easy to get lost as roads are not well marked. 
• It is suggested to not drive at night due to poor road conditions 
• It is common to share the road with bikers and horses. 
• If you happen to get in an accident while driving in Cuba, you could get held up in the country until everything is resolved.

Despite all of these risks, we initially decided to rent a car, which we booked through Cuba Car. When we arrived at the Havana airport, Cuba Car (nor any of the other companies) could find our reservation. They thought that the website we used to book it was a scam. As a result, we decided to use taxis as our main form of transportation. When we returned to the U.S. I discovered that the rental car company had issued a full refund the day before we left for Cuba.

Buses

A relatively cheap method of transport between cities (and around cities) is by bus. The main company for transport between major cities is Viazul. The one downside of traveling by bus is the limited bus timetables.

Taxis

Taxis are another method of transportation to get between and within cities. Since our rental car didn’t pan out, we opted for this method of transportation. Long distance taxis were fairly easy to find. We used the official ones from the airport (which were pricier) since we arrived after dark. For our other long distance taxi rides our AirBnB host’s helped us arrange them. It is also possible to arrange transport through the tourist offices in the various cities. We also used taxis locally to get around cities and to the beach.

Note: None of the taxis we rode in had seat belts, even the ones we took between cities.

Cuba has two different currencies: the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) and the Cuban Peso (CUP). The CUC is pegged to the dollar and is what tourists primarily use. Meanwhile, most locals use the CUP. 

A few important points about the currency:

• There is a 10% penalty to exchange dollars directly to CUC.
• There are approximately 25 CUP for every CUC. 
• Even when paying in CUC, it is possible to receive change in CUP. 
• Tourists are allowed to pay in CUP - there is no restriction. 
• Most places list prices in CUC, however, some local places list them in CUP.

Note: American credit and debit cards do NOT work in Cuba, so it is important to bring enough cash to pay for everything. Without the backup of a card, it is better to air on the side of caution and bring more cash than you think you might need. It is possible to exchange cash at one of the lines at the airport (two outside and one on the second floor) or in town.

• Wifi: Many restaurants, public squares and hotels have wifi. However, a wifi card is needed to use it. Wifi cards are around 2 CUC per hour. None of our casas had wifi available. 
• Visa Requirement: As a U.S. citizen, a tourist visa is required to enter Cuba (unless you have another type of visa). It is a little ironic and confusing, given that the U.S. technically doesn’t let U.S. citizens travel to Cuba for tourism. It is possible to purchase a visa at the departure gate in the U.S. or to apply in advance at the Cuban embassy. 
• Travel Insurance: Cuba requires that you have special travel insurance to enter the country. Most U.S. airlines include the cost of insurance in the price of the ticket to Cuba. Make sure to keep a copy of your boarding pass while you are in Cuba as proof of insurance.

DAY 1: FLIGHT TO HAVANA AND TRANSFER TO VIÑALES

Pre Departure from the U.S.

There are direct flights from several U.S. cities to Havana. However, I had to connect in Atlanta. Before boarding my first flight, the gate attendant checked my passport. When he saw that my final destination was Cuba, he asked if I had the required tourist visa. Since I was the first person he dealt with who was going to Cuba, I had to assure him that I could buy the visa at my gate in Atlanta. While I wasn’t able to physically receive the visa at my first departure gate, I was able to pay the $50 for it.

When I arrived at my gate in Atlanta, I had to fill out a form reconfirming which category of legal travel my trip to Cuba fell under (in my case “support of the Cuban people”). I then had to wait in a line (with everyone else on the flight) to actually get my tourist visa. When I finally made it to the front of the line, I turned in my form and was given a visa to fill out. Following a bit of a delay we finally took off for the short flight to Havana.

Note: It is also possible to apply for the visa ahead of time at the Cuban Embassy in D.C. However, it is not necessary.

Arrival in Havana

Travel usually never goes as planned and day 1 in Cuba was a great example. I was traveling with 3 friends all coming from different locations. We were all supposed to arrive by 2 PM at the latest, leaving us plenty of time to drive 3 hours to Viñales before dark (see note above about the recommendation to not drive after dark). Two of us were delayed 2 hours. We then found out that our one friend’s flight was delayed 6 hours, meaning we didn’t all arrive until 6:45 PM, well past sunset.

Once we finally arrived and deplaned, we had to go through customs. Our friend who arrived at 10 AM made it through quickly. However, we were not so lucky and had to wait in line for around 45 minutes. At customs they took one half of our tourist visas, took our picture and stamped our passport. Once passing through customs we went through a metal detector and scanned our carry ons (similar to going through the security line at the airport). We then continued past baggage claim (I avoid checking a bag whenever possible). Finally, we walked through the “nothing to declare” line before making it to the arrivals hall.

Note: Make sure to keep the other half of your tourist visa as they collect it when you pass through customs on your flight out.

Exchanging Money

Our first step once arriving was to exchange money. Since Cuba doesn’t accept American credit/debit cards, we brought all the cash we would need. We had to exchange it into Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUC). There were three money exchange lines at the airport, one on the second floor (that wouldn’t take American dollars when we were there) and two right outside of the airport. There were long lines when we got there that took around 30-40 minutes.

While one friend was exchanging money, another friend and I tried to get our rental car from Cuba Car. The Cuba Car and Havanautos kiosks were located right outside the arrivals hall, while Rex was located inside on the first floor. Cuba Car couldn’t find my reservation and sent me to the other companies’ kiosks. When none of them could find the reservation, we finally circled back to another Cuba Car kiosk across the street. The worker there informed us that he thought we had been scammed. After the fact, I found out that the company refunded my payment the day before we left. Still unsure whether or not it was a scam.

Given that it was starting to get dark, we threw out our original plans of driving around Cuba and decided to take taxis instead.

Transfer to Viñales

Once we had all arrived in Cuba, we went to the information desk on the first floor to ask about getting a taxi to Viñales. Since it was dark and in a peak travel season, we paid around double what we should have to get to Viñales. Normally a taxi there would be 100-150 CUC. Since it was dark and there were four of us, the official taxi service from the airport would only let us take a van (since the driver had to switch half way through the drive and there would not have been room for all of us and multiple drivers in a normal car). Given that we had just arrived, it was dark and we didn’t know what other options we had, we agreed to a van for 250 CUC.

Note: It probably would have been ok to take one of the taxis waiting outside the airport instead of one of the official yellow airport taxis.

It was a bumpy 2.5-3 hour drive before we finally made it to Viñales. Our casa particular was at the end of dirt road a little bit out of town. Even our driver had trouble finding it, so we were ultimately glad we hadn’t driven ourselves. When we arrived at the casa our hosts, Minerva and Pedro, were waiting for us. They showed us to the adorable little one-bedroom, one-bathroom hut we had. After a mentally and physically exhausting day we called it a night.

DAY 2: VIÑALES

The Three Valleys Tour with Discover Viñales

Our host made us a beautiful breakfast spread at 7:15 AM (for 5 CUC each, which is what all of the casas we stayed in charged). The breakfast area was outside and overlooked the beautiful Viñales landscape.

View from Breakfast in Viñales

Following breakfast we walked 15 minutes into town to meet our guide for our 8 AM The Three Valleys Tour with Discover Viñales. The tour was a 4-5 hour walking tour across 6 miles of the valleys of Viñales. We took a taxi (that was a car from the 50’s!) to our starting point. Throughout the tour, our guide explained the farming industry in Cuba and how it operates under a Communist government.

During the tour, we stopped at a vantage point that had beautiful views of the valley. While there we bought Coco Locos (a drink made with coconut water, rum, honey and lime served in the coconut) for 3 CUC and drank them while enjoying the view.

The Three Valleys Tours with Discover Viñales

We then continued our tour to a tobacco farm. The farmer explained how to grow tobacco and demonstrated how to make a cigar. He explained that farmers are required to sell 90% of their tobacco to the government. The last 10% they dry and use for their own cigars. They concentrate the nicotine in the stem of the leaves and then remove that part before rolling the cigars. Local farmers don’t use any chemicals in their cigars. After the demo, we had the opportunity to try one and to buy bundles (they were 40 CUC for 10, 60 CUC for 15 or 80 CUC for 20).

Trying a Cuban Cigar

Note: That price was a little steep. Our hosts offered to sell us some for 20 CUC for a pack of 10. It was also possible to buy them in Havana for 1 CUC each. However, the cigars in Havana may not be the organic ones made by the farmers in Viñales.

Lunch at Finca Agroecologica El Paraiso

Following the tour, our guide asked us if we wanted to go to lunch at Finca Agroecologica El Paraiso (which took us a few tries to pronounce). It is a restaurant on the outskirts of Viñales that grows its own produce and overlooks the valleys. It was 13 CUC a person (including the cost of our guide’s lunch). They brought a lovely selection of fresh cooked vegetables, rice & beans, taro chips, squash soup, meat and fish. We spent a few minutes after lunch sipping coffee and enjoying the view before heading back to our casa.

View from Finca Agroecologica El Paraiso

On the way back we asked our guide the best way to get from Viñales to Trinidad without a rental car. He said that Ernesto (our taxi driver from the restaurant back to our casa) could take us in 4.5 hours instead of the 5 hours it would take by bus. Excited for that little bit of time savings, we agreed.

Hike to Cueva de la Vaca

After a few minutes of relaxation we decided to make the most of our time in Viñales and explore. We walked 15 minutes “downtown” to the main street, Salvador Cisneros. Along the main street we saw a couple of restaurants and quite a few tourist shops. We stopped in Plaza José Martí, the main square, which had a dance center and an old church. We then walked a few blocks further to a tiny outdoor tourist market.

Following our mini stint around town, we walked back in the direction of our casa to hike to a cave, Cueva de la Vaca, that we saw on the maps.me Viñales map. We walked along Calle Adela Azcuy until the end and then turned right. At the first left we turned down another road. From there the signs for the cave were obvious. Along the way we walked by a few farmers who tried to convince us to take a horseback tour of the valley. The walk to the cave took around 20 minutes and ended with a steep flight of stairs (great for burning off the mojitos we knew we were going to have later). We saw a group of rock climbers near the cave. We explored for a few minutes before heading back to our casa for dinner.

Cueva de la Vaca

Traditional Cuban Dinner 

We had heard (or rather read in the guest book) that our host made an amazing Cuban dinner. In the morning we asked her if we could eat dinner at the casa that night (for 10 CUC each) to try it for ourselves. At the agreed upon time, our host set out a spread of food for us to eat in the same cute outdoor nook where we ate breakfast.

She made a spread of salad, vegetables, fruit, chicken, rice, bean soup and homemade chips. While it was all delicious, I have to say that Cuban food was a little bland for my taste.

Traditional Cuban Dinner

After dinner we went to La Casa Del Mojito, a bar that we had seen on our walk into town. We sipped on flavored mojitos under a table covered by a palm leave umbrella. It was a relaxing end to an eventful day of exploration.

DAY 3: VIÑALES TO TRINDAD

8 Hour Drive to Trinidad - Part I

Once again travel day got the best of us. We woke up early to wait for Ernesto (the taxi driver from yesterday) to come pick us up for a nice leisurely 4.5 hour drive to Trinidad. 8:30 AM (the agreed upon time) rolled around and we still saw no sign of him. At 8:45 a different man (who spoke almost no English) came over and asked if we were going to Trinidad. We responded yes but asked where Ernesto was. He told us that Ernesto sent him to drive us there. Given that we didn’t seem to have much of a choice and that he at least knew Ernesto, we followed him to a white van that had one other person in it. He told the four of us to all squeeze into the back seat and collected the 30 CUC from each of us for the journey.

The driver picked up 6 more people and then finally headed out from Viñales. After about 3.5 hours we pulled into a rest stop where there were a lot of other taxis and tourists. Once we arrived our driver informed us that we had to switch cars and pointed us towards another van (which was much smaller).

8 Hour Drive to Trinidad - Part II

The new driver tied down everyone’s luggage to the top of the van (while we all sat there hoping that it won’t be blown off later). After a 15-20 minute break we loaded into the van. The van had four rows of “seats” (more like benches with some padding) that fit two people each and a vertical row for a few more. It also happened to have low roof clearance and windows that you had to duck down to see through. After some grumbling, we started off with 18 people packed into this van from the 50’s. Not exactly what we imagined when we started off the day.

Car from Viñales to Trinidad

We drove for another 4-4.5 hours and then finally arrived in Trinidad, where the driver slowly dropped off each group of people. We checked into our casa and then headed out to explore the town.

Dinner in Downtown Trinidad

We checked out Plaza Major before finding a place to eat. Just off of the main square we passed a free open air dance center that was playing lively Cuban music. Right next to that we saw a restaurant called Casa de los Conspiradores. The food looked good and reasonable priced so we stopped in for dinner. We were seated outside in a beautiful courtyardesque area. We ordered mojitos and piña coladas (because when in Cuba) and I ordered a pasta and shrimp dish.

After a relaxing dinner we headed back to our casa to unwind and get some sleep.

DAY 4: TRINIDAD

Valle de los Ingenios

We started our day at 7:30 with another wonderful breakfast spread from our host (again it was 5 CUC each). She set it up in the courtyard, so we enjoyed some fresh air while eating. At 8:15 we headed to the train “station” to buy tickets for the tourist train to the Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills). It was a roundtrip ticket that made two hour-long stops (at Fenata and Iznaga) for sightseeing. We thought the train was going to leave at 9, but it really left at 9:30. Tickets sales opened at 9:15 (for 15 CUC) and there were quite a number of tourists waiting. To pass the time we walked a few minutes down the train tracks.

Valle de los Ingenios

When the train arrived we snagged seats in the train car with the bar. There were 3 train cars and a lot of people, so not everyone got a seat. It was a leisurely hour and 20 minute ride through the valley to the first stop of Fenata. At the hour long stop we casually sipped on sugar cane juice (1 CUC) and walked through the Sugar Mill Museum (also 1 CUC). We paid the 1 CUC for the “museum,” mainly because that’s where the bathrooms were located. The museum was a bunch of rundown buildings from the old sugar mill. It also had a history room that had several unmarked artifacts on the ground.

Sugar Mill Museum in Fenata

Following the break, we had a 20 minute ride back to Iznaga, which has the famous Iznaga Tower that was once used to look for runaway slaves. The walk from the train to the tower was lined with locals selling souvenirs. It was a 1 CUC fee to go to the top of the tower, which had beautiful views of the valley.

Once we got our fill of the views and returned to the train, it was an hour ride back to Trinidad. We walked back to our casa and then decided to hit the beach.

View from Iznaga Tower

Playa Ancón

We walked to Plaza Carillo and caught a taxi (for 8 CUC total) to the beach, Playa Ancón, 15 minutes away. It is also possible to bike there (around 9-12km). We walked along the beach for 1-1.5 hours (it is about 2 miles long) and then grabbed piña coladas to drink while watching a beautiful sunset.

Once the sun set, we walked back to the street where there were a ton of taxis waiting. It was 10 CUC to get back.

Playa Ancón

Note: Although Playa Ancón is beautiful, it is a fairly touristy beach. Playa La Boca supposedly is right next to it but has more locals.

Rooftop Dinner at Vista Gourmet

We headed straight from the beach to the center of Trinidad. We ate at Vista Gourmet, a restaurant we found on Trip Advisor. It didn’t open until 7 but they sat us at our table, on the roof, while we waited for the kitchen to open. It would have had amazing views during the day, but it was too dark to see when we were there. They had the option to eat from an “appetizer and dessert” buffet, to order an entree or to select both. I opted for the buffet, which was more than enough food. It was 16-17 CUC for the buffet and an entree and 11-13 CUC for either just an entree or just the buffet.

After dinner we went back to the hotel. At 10:30 we headed back to the main square and paid the 1 CUC cover to stop into the music and dance show on the steps there.

Note: A cool city to check out close to Trinidad (about an hour drive away) is Cienfuegos. We didn’t have time to go, but it seems like a beautiful costal town with European charm.

DAY 5: TRINIDAD

Horseback Tour to El Cubano Waterfall

Our final day in Trinidad was an eventful one. It started out with a 5-6 hour horseback tour to El Cubano Waterfall. Our host recommended the tour and set it up for us. At 8:30 AM our guide, Jorge, arrived at the casa. We walked 10 minutes through Trinidad to where the horses were waiting. There was a Turkish couple that was also part of our tour.

We got on our horses and rode a few minutes to the edge of town. There we saw a ton of other groups who were all going to the same place. It was an hour long ride to our first stop. The ride was pleasant until our guide had our horses trot. Since none of us were horseback riders, we did not know the proper trotting technique and all felt like we were holding on for dear life.

Horseback Tour to El Cubano Waterfall

At the rest stop we tried sugar cane juice and rested for a few minutes. The guide switched me to another horse, called Diablo, for the rest of the time. After a 15-20 minute break we continued another 30-40 minutes partially through the woods to another stopping point. Here we left the horses with our guide and walked 10 minutes to the waterfall.

The waterfall was right next to caves that you could swim to from the pool beneath the waterfall. The water was very refreshing after a hot horseback ride. I swam a little bit and amusingly watched people attempt to climb the waterfall and dive (or in some cases bellyflop) into the pool.

Note: It was relatively crowded there.

El Cubano Waterfall

After 30ish minutes enjoying the waterfall we started the journey back. Finally by the end I got the hang of trotting, but I was sore for the next few days.

Note: Vegas Grande is another beautiful waterfall that is a little farther from Trinidad in Topes de Collantes.

Exploring Trinidad

We got back to our casa around 2. We then wandered around Trinidad and grabbed lunch. On our way to a lunch spot we made dinner reservations at La Redaccion for later that night. We ate lunch at El Dorado, where I got a pizza for dirt cheap (2.75 CUC). We took pictures by a “Cuba” mural in town and then headed back to relax before dinner.

At 7 we went back to La Redaccion for dinner. The restaurant was newspaper themed and had delicious food. The placemats were pages from the national newspaper the day before.

Clubbing: Cave Style

One of my friends had gone back to la playa instead of exploring Trinidad in the afternoon. On her shared cab ride back, she met a few Americans who recommended going to a club in a cave on the edge of Trinidad, called Disco Ayala.

After dinner we went to check it out. It didn’t open until 10, so we stopped at a pop up bar close by for mojitos. At 10:15 we got in line and were close to the front. It soon became apparent that the club didn’t really open at 10. As time passed the line turned into a mob with people getting more antsy as time when on. Around 11 they started slowly letting people in 2 at a time every few minutes. Finally at 12:15 we were able to push our way to the front and make it into the club. We paid the 5 CUC cover and then headed to the dance floor.

The club was quite literally in a cave. It had two levels both of which had a bar. The upper level had the main dance floor, which was a little too intense for us. We instead stayed on the lower level. The music was mostly popular Cuban music and Cuban reggeton with some American top 40 mixed in.

Disco Ayala

While at the club we met a few Americans and enjoyed the 3 CUC mojitos. At 3 AM they kicked everyone out because the club was closing. We walked out with the group of Americans (plus an Italian and a German they had met while in Cuba). We stopped at a street pizza stand, where we met a few guys from Michigan who were also headed to Havana the next day. They said they were going to spend New Year’s Eve at the Habana Libre hotel. Finally around 4 AM we went to bed.

Note: The club may have been more crowded since we were there on a weekend the day before New Year’s Eve.

DAY 6: TRINIDAD TO HAVANA

5 Hour Drive to Havana

After two hours of sleep we woke up for breakfast at 6:30. The day before our host had arranged a taxi to come for us at 7 AM. Unsurprisingly the cab ended up actually showing up at 8. Luckily this time it was only us in the cab and he took us directly to our next casa. It took 4 hours and was 35 CUC each.

Our casa was a 40 minutes walk from Old Habana, but was beautiful with 4 guest rooms and a lovely and helpful host. After settling in, we went to find lunch. Unfortunately most restaurants were closed until January 3rd for New Year’s, so we ended up getting 1 CUC ham & cheese sandwiches from a convenience store.

We then tried to figure out plans for New Year’s Eve, which was tricky since most places were already booked. We tried to make dinner reservations at the Habana Libre, but it was also booked. However, they said we could show up at 10:30 PM for the party.

Note: New Year’s Eve tends to be a family oriented holiday for Cubans. We later found out that a few other people staying at our casa ended up going out with our host and hanging out with the next door neighbors for New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s Eve Party at Habana Libre

Around 5:30 we left to find dinner and stop by the hotel to confirm if we could attend the NYE party. Along the way we walked by the José Miguel Gómez Monument. We then ate dinner at Presidente Cafe since it was on our way and had open tables. At 8:30 we finished dinner and headed to the Habana Libre.

When we asked about the party the front desk attendant said that it was sold out, but that we could come by at 10:30 to see if there were any open spots. Since we were at the hotel, we figured we would try to buy wifi cards since we had 1.5 hours to kill. We went to the place to buy wifi cards but they informed us that the “wifi was closed” for the day. We think they meant that they weren’t selling any more wifi cards.

We walked around until the party started and ended up getting mediocre, overpriced mojitos from a sketchy street bar. At 10 we headed back to the Habana Libre. After a surprisingly short wait the guy let us upstairs. The party was at El Turquino on the top floor of the hotel. We paid a 20 CUC cover and were handed champagne on our way in. The room had floor to ceiling windows all the way around and overlooked Havana. They had a Cuban dance show for a few minutes. At midnight everyone cheered and the roof over the dance floor opened up. At 12:45 we were exhausted and took a cab back to our casa (it is a 10 CUC flat rate anywhere in Havana).

NYE at Habana Libre

DAY 7: HAVANA

Playa Santa Maria del Mar

We woke up around 9 and had breakfast at our casa (again 5 CUC). We then decided to spend the day at the beach since we figured a lot of shops and museums would be closed today. Our original plan was to go to Varadero, a famous beach and resort town. However, we found out it was 2 hours away. Instead we decided to go to Playa Santa Maria del Mar, which was 30 minutes away. We weren’t able to catch a cab close to our casa so we ended up walking 30 minutes to the edge of Habana Vieja. There we were in a car with two other people.

This beach was long and had clear, blue water. We found a spot to settle down under some palm trees, since we didn’t want to pay for an umbrella. One friend and I then went to find lunch. Our host recommended that we not eat any seafood since the food sits out in the heat. We passed by two sit down places that had run out of chicken. We then came upon a hut crowded with locals that had first glance seemed to have expensive prices. We soon realized that the prices were listed in CUP not CUC. We got pork, rice and salad for 1.5 CUC.

Playa Santa Maria del Mar

After lunch we went swimming. However, it is recommended not to swim out too far our since there is a strong current. Even close to shore we could feel the pull of the waves. At 4:30 we headed back. We were able to find a taxi fairly easily and picked on that had a vintage look. It was 20 CUC total to get back.

Note: There is also a tourist bus to the beach for 5 CUC. However, we heard that it is a nightmare to get back to the city and some people end up waiting for a long time.

Night Out at Fábrica de Arte Cubano

We asked our host for a dinner recommendations. At 7 she drove us to a restaurant that had a cool vibe but was nothing to write home about. Later that night we wanted to go to Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC), a cool, old warehouse turned into a gallery/bar. It was still early so we asked the host at the restaurant what bars were near by. He called a cab to take us to a bar, Espacios. The taxi dropped us off a few blocks away, so we had to walk the rest of the way there. We then found out that Espacios was closed. We were a 15 minute walk from FAC so we headed there earlier than planned.

There was a short 25 minute line (which was nothing compared to the cave club). Although, apparently some nights people may not make it in since there are limited spots. We paid a 2 CUC cover and were then given a drink card. The bartenders tallied what we ordered on the card and we paid on our way out (drinks were 3-5 CUC each). It was a really cool space with two floors and many different rooms. There was a big open room that was placing old music videos on a giant screen. There was also a DJ in one room. He was playing EDM when we first arrived but later switched to Top 40.

Fábrica de Arte Cubano

While there we ran into the same Americans that we met at the club in Trinidad. Towards the end of the night we met two Mexicans, one of whom was in Cuban studying music. At 2:30 they started ushering people out. It officially closed at 3 AM, but everyone had to pay for their drinks on the way out.

Note: Many of the bars at FAC ran out of alcohol by the end of the night.

The one Mexican we met who lives in Havana invited us all to come hang out at his place, which was a 40 minute walk away. We headed there with the other Americans and a few of the Mexican guy’s friends. It was a pretty chill and very international group. At 4:30 the Americans found a taxi (which was an amazing feat given that we ended up in a very residential neighborhood). We convinced the cab driver to take 9 of us back towards old Havana. 3 people had to sit on the floor and duck anytime we passed a cop, so that the driver wouldn’t get fined.

There was a parade for the revolution at 8 AM the next morning, so many streets were already blocked off. We had to get out a half a mile from our casa and walk since the street was closed. We also saw a line of buses that had brought people into the city for the parade. Finally at 5:15 AM we went to bed.

DAY 8: HAVANA

El Malecón

We didn’t want to waste our last full day in Havana so we woke up at 9:30 to eat breakfast. At 11 we headed out to explore Habana Vieja. At breakfast we talked to a couple that stayed in Havana for a week. We got the feeling that Havana has a lot of really cool, unique restaurants, coffee shops and bars if you know where to find them.

We walked the 40 minutes to the old part of the city passing by El Capitolio and then down an avenue that led to El Malecón, the main walk along the water that spans for a few miles. It had a beautiful view of the Havana skyline.

El Malecón

Exploring Habana Vieja

After watching the waves crash into the wall at El Malecón, we explored more of Habana Vieja. We first walked to Plaza de Catedral. For lunch we wanted to eat at Dandy, a restaurant people in our casa recommended. Unfortunately it wasn’t open for lunch. Instead we ate at a restaurant along one of the main streets. We ordered traditional Cuban food (chicken, rice, beans and vegetables) and listened to live music while we waited (which felt like forever since we were very hungry at that point).

Plaza de la Catedral

Following lunch we stopped by Plaza Vieja. We then walked to Parque Central near el Capitolio to find an old convertible to do a city tour.

Havana is a very intriguing city made up of many contrasts. It has beautiful old buildings that are surprisingly tall and wide. There are many grand buildings but also many that have fallen into ruin, which provides a unique contrast. It was also cool to see that a lot of people keep their doors open and socialize with their neighbors (especially in Trinidad and Viñales).

Habana Vieja

Old Convertible Tour

There many old convertibles lined up in the park, so we were able to choose which one we wanted. We opted for a fun pink one. It was 50 CUC for an hour ride. There were also longer tours available for a little bit more. We drove through Habana Vieja to the Plaza de la Revolución where our driver stopped and let us take pictures pretending to drive the car. We then stopped at Parque Lennon to take pictures with the John Lennon Statue. Finally, we drove along El Malecón before heading back to el Parque Central.

Old Convertible Tour

We walked back to El Malecón to watch the sunset, attempting to avoid the skateboarders and roller bladers along the avenue. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a great sunset view since the sun set behind buildings in the Havana skyline.

Following the sunset, we found a dinner place, La Makina, by the Museo de la Revolución. We were able to sit on the roof to enjoy a final Cuban dinner. We then headed back to our casa to pack and get some much needed sleep.

DAY 9: FLIGHT BACK HOME

Our host graciously offered to drive us to the airport (for a fee). We stared at the huge propaganda signs along the highway on the way there. Two of us didn’t have flights until the afternoon. It was too early to check into our flights, so we exchanged our remaining money. When we were finally able to check in, we waited in a 30 minute line and then headed through emigration. We turned in the other half of our tourist visa, went through security and then made it to our gate.

There were a few shops on the other side but not many options, especially for food. We waited at our gate until our flight back at 2:40 PM.