Cuba – Wonders of Traveling

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If you’re thinking about traveling to Cuba but you’re not sure how to go about it, you have come to the right place. You can find all the answers to your questions here.

Disclaimer: this blogpost is based on my visit to Cuba in August 2018.

2 WEEKS IN CUBA ITINERARY

We spent 2 weeks in Cuba and frankly, we could’ve stayed at least another week, maybe two. Cuba is a very versatile country and it’s impossible to see everything in 2 weeks time.

In our 2 weeks in Cuba, we only managed to cover the north/west of the country. We didn’t go down south to Santiago or Holguin. The itinerary you can find here only focuses on the north/west of Cuba.

Havana (day 1 – 3)

Most likely you will arrive in Havana when you fly to Cuba. The capital city is vibrant, lively and very colourful. All the stereotypes you’ve seen on tv or on the internet are true: you will see colourful houses, you will spot tons of oldtimers cruising the streets and you will see old ladies smoking cigars in the streets.

Havana is a gorgeous city which deserves at least 3 days. We stayed a couple of days in Havana at the beginning and at the end of our trip to Cuba. Keep on reading to discover what to see and do in Havana.

Varadero (day 4-5)

After Havana, I’d recommend going to Varadero. Varadero is a beach town which boasts some of the most beautiful beaches you’ve ever seen. We had just come from Yucatan/Quintana Too, also known for gorgeous beaches, and we were still impressed with Varadero’s beach.

Here I’d suggest staying 2 days, which gives you enough time to relax on the beach and explore the small town of Varadero.

Santa Clara (day 6)

After Varadero, you can travel down south to Santa Clara. I would only recommend spending 1 day in Santa Clara since there isn’t really that much to do.

People usually travel to Santa Clara to see the Che Guevara memorial, which is definitely worth a stop. But other than that, there wasn’t that much happening. We also went to the “Che with child” statue, but to be honest, it wasn’t that impressive.

Trinidad (day 7 – 9)

The next stop is Trinidad. This gorgeous, colorful and cosy cobble-stoned town has to be on your Cuba itinerary.

I’d recommend spending 3 days in Trinidad, since I felt like I couldn’t get enough of this city!

Vinales (day 10 – 12)

After Trinidad, I’d recommend spending 3 days in Vinales. Vinales is known for its mogotes, hills composed of limestone, marble or dolomite. In Vinales you get a chance to do some gorgeous walks and enjoy the beautiful scenery and nature.

Havana (day 13-14)

After Vinales, it’s time to go back to Havana because your two weeks are almost over!

Like I said, two weeks in Cuba is actually not enough time. Before you know it, it’ll be time to go back home and you’ll leave Cuba wanting more.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO

After quickly going over the 2 week itinerary, I want to go a bit more into detail about what to see and do in every city/town.

Havana

Havana is such a nice city which screams exploring. We spent 5 days in Havana and couldn’t get enough. Here are some things you should definitely include in your Havana visit:

Old Havana

The main highlight of Havana is Old Havana. As the name suggests, this is the core of the original city of Havana. Old Havana is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Here you can find lots of amazing squares, cosy streets and vibrant bars and restaurants. It’s a great place to stay, but it’s a bit on the pricier side. Main attractions include Castello del Morro, La Cabaña fortress, San Salvador de la Punta Fortress, Castillo de la Real Fuerza, Catedral de San Cristobal, the Capitol, Plaza de Armas, Gran Teatro de la Havana, Museum of the Revolution and San Francisco de la Habana Basilica.

Exploring the cosy streets of Old Havana will probably take you at least a day, maybe even two.

Malécon

Another main highlight of Havana is Malécon. The Malécon is an 8-kilometre long promenade which stretches along the coastline. It goes from Havan Harbor all the way to the mouth of the Almendares River. It’s a lovely coastal walk which will take several hours of your day. Along the Malécon you will spot many oldtimers cruising the streets.

Cristo de la Habana

We also visited the Cristo de la Habana statue. To get there you need to take a ferry from Havan Harbor to Casa Blanca. When you hike up to the statue you will be treated to a gorgeous view over the city.

Plaza de la Revolución

Another highlight is the Plaza de la Revolución. This is where Fidel Castro (and other political figures) addressed the people of Cuba. The main attraction of the square is the monument for José Marti. Opposite of the José Marti memorial, you can see two buildings which steel memorials of the two most important figures of the Cuban Revolution: Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos

Varadero

The main attraction in Varadero is the beach. This isn’t really an adventurous destination. People go here to tan and to swim in the gorgeous azure blue water.

You can also take a hop on/hop off tour which takes you through all of Varadero. It’s not the most exciting hop on/hop off tour I’ve ever done, but by taking this bus we discovered the Beatles Bar. This place is full of Beatles memorabilia and is a very nice spot to go for a drink. They also have live music 3-4 times a week, which is very fun.

Santa Clara

To be honest, Santa Clara isn’t the most interesting stop. We stayed here for 2 days but both agreed 1 day would’ve been more than enough. The main (and frankly only) attraction of Santa Clara is the Che Guevara Mausoleum. This is the resting place of Che Guevara and 29 of his fellow combatants who died in 1967 in Bolivia.

Trinidad

Trinidad was one of my personal favourites in Cuba. It’s a relatively small city, but it’s so lovely. I loved the cobblestoned streets, the coloured houses and cosy streets. The city centre is such a delight. It’s one of those places where you can just get lost in the streets.

While we were in Trinidad we also went on a horse riding tour. The tour took half a day and took us through the gorgeous Cuban landscape and nature all the way to a beautiful waterfall. Despite the painful legs/butt, it’s definitely worth a try!

You can also choose to go to the beach, Playa Ancon, which is probably one of the most famous beaches in Cuba. It’s not as nice as the beach in Varadero but it’s still a nice way to kill some time.

Viñales

Viñales is also not the biggest town, but it boasts some amazing views on the mogotes. The best view is seen from Hotel Los Jazmines. Here you can go for a swim or enjoy a drink while taking in the gorgeous views.

Vinales Valley in Cuba — The view from Hotel Los Jazmines in Vinales

In Viñales you also have the option to take a hop on/hop off tour (5 CUC per person) which takes you past the biggest attractions of the area. The bus makes a 90 minute continuous loop throughout Viñales valley. It stops at Hotel Los Jazmines, a tobacco plantation, the Indio Cave (which you can visit), prehistoric mural and ziplining.

CURRENCY

CUP vs CUC

In Cuba, they use two types of currencies: CUP and CUC.

CUP is the currency used by locals and is worth 25 times less than CUC. 1 CUC equals 1 dollar, which makes it very easy to keep track of how much you spend.

The locals get paid in CUP while all consumer goods are priced in CUC. I know, it sounds very confusing. But actually, it wasn’t that confusing at all. We were a bit worried we’d get scammed out of our money. We imagined paying in CUC and getting CUP back (and who can keep track when it’s worth 25 times less?)

Luckily, whenever we paid in CUC, we always received CUC back. You’ll notice that the locals pay a lot less than foreigners. For example, the entrance to the zoo in Havana was 3 CUC for foreigners and 3 CUP for locals.

We didn’t have any issues withdrawing money and frankly, our worries were really unnecessary.

INTERNET

As you probably know, the internet situation in Cuba is a bit dodgy. You won’t find any wifi at your hotel or your casa particular.

The only option to get wifi is by going to the ETECSA store where you can buy cards which grant you access to the internet for 1 hour. These cards cost about 1-2 CUC and can be used close by the ETECSA tower. People usually gather at the main squares of the town you’re staying in and surf there for an hour.

You will notice that the queues for the ETECSA store will be almost never-ending. There actually is an alternative. There are people at the parks or squares who will sell them to you for a little markup.

HOW TO GET AROUND:

Bus

The most known company to use as a tourist is Viazul. This bus company drives between the major cities. However, I would advise you to take some precautions when travelling with Viazul.

Book in advance

Firstly, I would advise you to book your tickets in advance. Initially, we wanted to travel to Vinales from Havana, which is quite a popular route. When we asked at the bus station to get tickets for 4 days later, everything was fully booked already. We decided to switch our itinerary around and go to Varadero instead. We paid €5 per person for a 2 hour drive.

Be flexible and patient

Be flexible when travelling by bus through Cuba is the main thing to remember. We booked our tickets to Varadero, showed up at the bus station at 3.30 PM (our bus left at 4). By 8 PM we were still waiting for our bus to arrive. There was no information, no updates, no nothing. Plenty of people who were supposed to take the bus with us opted for a private driver to Varadero instead.

When we wanted to leave Varadero to go to Santa Clara, once again we had problems with Viazul. There were no more tickets available when we asked at the ticket counter in Varadero. Instead, we opted to go for a private taxi.

As you can tell from our personal experience, travelling with Viazul is always a bit of an adventure. Will you be able to get tickets? If so, will the bus show up? It might not be the ideal way to get around if you’re short on time.

Private driver

Another way to get around Cuba is by private driver. This driver will take you everywhere you want to go and will essentially travel with you for the duration of your trip. As you can imagine, this option is way more expensive than taking the bus everywhere. Prices are around €80 per day.

You can either book a private driver before leaving for Cuba or you can get one when you arrive in Cuba. There are plenty of Cubans offering their driving services. Most likely, if you wait until you get to Cuba, you will be able to find someone who is willing to drive you around for less money.

If you choose to get a private driver, be aware that you will also have to pay for the driver’s food and accommodation for the duration of your trip.

As you can see, it’s definitely not the cheapest option to get around Cuba. But, it’s a very comfortable way and you get to travel in luxury and style.

Private taxi

When we wanted to travel from Varadero to Santa Clara, there were no more spots on the bus so we decided to get a private taxi. The owner of the casa particular we were staying in, booked the trip for us and we paid around €27 each for the 4-hour drive.

It’s definitely also one of the more expensive ways to get around, but you have the comfort of getting the car to yourself. It might not always be the faster way since our taxi only arrived 2 hours after the scheduled time. They have a very special way of timekeeping in Cuba…

Shared taxi

A last way to get around Cuba is to share a taxi or a collectivo. We shared a taxi on the way back from Vinales to Havana. We paid around €18 per person.

We didn’t know it at the time of booking, but we were going to share the taxi with 7 other people. We were among the first four to be picked up and we assumed maybe 1 or 2 more people would join. However, we stopped another 3 times and the driver kept on adding people to the car.

It was very irresponsible and everyone in the taxi complained. No one was told we were going to be sharing the taxi with this many people. Some people were even told they were going by private taxi…

The whole ride to Havana (about 4 hours), was very uncomfortable. Especially for Simen who is almost 1.90, it was incredibly uncomfortable. The driver was also driving way too fast, we didn’t have any seatbelts, to summarize: I thought I was going to die.

What is the best option?

As you can see, there is no ideal option when it gets to travelling around Cuba.

You either skimp on comfort or on price.

For me personally, I think the option of renting a private taxi was the best one. It still gave us the comfort of having our own car without having to pay crazy prices.

WHERE TO STAY:

When staying in Cuba, you have two options when it comes to accommodation: Casas Particulares and hotels.

Casas Particulares

One of the most popular accommodations in Cuba is casas particulares. This means that you’re staying in the house of local people. The majority of locals rent out a room with bathroom in their house.

The price for a room in a casa particular usually ranges between €22-€27 per night. It’s a very traditional way of staying in Cuba.

You get to meet the locals, who love to talk to you and love to know more about your country. They will be more than happy to tell you about their country and customs.

No need to book in advance

Almost every family in Cuba has at least one extra room they rent out. In Vinales about 85% of the houses are casas particulares.

We didn’t book any room in advance and had absolutely no problem getting a place on the spot.

Sometimes the owner of your casa particular will call ahead and book you a room in the next place you’re going to.

Hotels

Of course you can also choose to stay in hotels in Cuba. I do have to warn you about something though. All hotels have star ratings, and so do Cuban hotels. But their star rating isn’t really based on anything. Apparently, Cuban hotels get to choose themselves how many stars their hotel is, or so we were told by a local.

You can basically compare a 3-star hotel in Cuba with a 1 or 2-star hotel in another country. You won’t get that much luxury in a 3-star hotel in Cuba. If you’re looking for a hotel with lots of amenities and luxury, I would advise to go for at least a 4-star hotel.

2 WEEKS IN CUBA COSTS

We spent 2 weeks travelling through Cuba, we visited Havana, Varadero, Santa Clara, Trinidad and Vinales. I kept meticulous track of how much we spent every day (in dollars) and I divided the costs into the following categories:

Accommodation

During our whole stay in Cuba, we only stayed in Casas Particulares. If you’re planning on staying in a hotel, your costs for accommodation will probably be more expensive.

For 14 nights in casas particulares we spent $329 for 2 people. This comes down to $23.50 per night per room, or $11.75 per person per night.

Transport

As I mentioned before, we travelled a bit with all means of transportation in Cuba. We started by taking the bus, then chose a private taxi and returned to Havana in a shared taxi.

In 14 days we spent $391 on transportation. This includes taxis to and from the airport and transport between cities.

This means we spent on average $28 per day (or $14 per person) on transport.

Food

If you’re expecting to indulge in some tasty Cuban food, I’m afraid I have to disappoint you. Cuban food is actually pretty bland… Good meals were very far and few between, and could mainly be found in Trinidad.

Breakfast is usually included when you’re staying in Casas Particulares. So for 14 lunches and 14 dinners, we spent $500. This comes down to $35 per day for 2 people.

Excursions

Cuba is a country of lots of nice activities. We opted for horse riding in Trinidad, cave exploring in Vinales, visiting the Che Guevara Mausoleum in Santa Clara.

For those activities, we paid $67 in 14 days. This means that we paid $33.5 per person.

TOTAL COST

If we add up all the costs I’ve mentioned above, we spent $639 per person on accommodation, food, transport and excursions.

Of course, this isn’t the exact cost of everything we spent in Cuba. I didn’t account for any drinks, grocery shopping or unexpected expenses. When including those costs as well, we spent on average $854 per person for 2 weeks in Cuba.

This means we spent on average $61 per day.

LEAVE A MESSAGE

If you would like to know more or feel like I didn’t touch a certain topic, please feel free to leave a message or get in touch via email!

]]> 2 weeks in Cuba: part II https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/20/cuba-part-2/ https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/20/cuba-part-2/#comments Mon, 20 Aug 2018 03:05:37 +0000 http://www.wondersoftraveling.com/?p=1402 Trying to summarise 2 weeks of travelling in 1 blog post is a bit difficult, so here comes part 2! Read part 1 of our trip to Cuba here.

Colourful and cosy Trinidad

From the minute we entered Trinidad city centre we both fell in love. Its cobble-stoned streets (which are car free!) and colourful houses give it an extremely cosy vibe. Plaza Major is especially beautiful. The first day we mainly strolled around the city and explored the streets. To get a better view of the city we visited the San Francisco convent (1 dollar). Here you have access to the tower which takes about 5-10 min to climb and gives you beautiful views over Trinidad’s surroundings. You get to see the hills and the sea at the same time. In the afternoon we went to Playa Ancon, known as the most beautiful beach in the area (8 dollars one way).

Trinidad Cuba

The next day we went on a horse riding tour to the Salto de Cubano waterfalls (20 dollars per person for a 6h trip). Since it was the first time for both of us, we were a bit nervous but mainly excited. It turns out we enjoyed it more than we expected, until my horse started to kick Simen’s horse and both horses started rearing! For a minute I thought my horse was going to throw me off her back, but we managed to calm her down a bit. Although, the guide made sure to keep her close to him for the rest of the tour…

Trinidad Cuba

On the way to the waterfalls we stopped at a sugar cane plantation where we got to taste pure sugar cane juice (2 dollars for a natural juice or 3 for juice with rum). The second stop was a coffee and tobacco farm where we got to try some very strong coffee and got some cigars for free. Afterwards we hiked for about 10 min to the waterfalls where lots of people were swimming. It was a pretty nice tour which gave us amazing views over the Valle de los Ingenios. However, after 6h of riding a horse, we both agreed that we won’t do it again for quite some time!

Exploring Vinales Valley

The day after our horse riding adventure, we took a collectivo to Vinales. The whole journey there (7h) was extremely uncomfortable not only because we were 5 people in a very small car, but also because our whole bodies were hurting from the horse riding. I never realised how painful it would actually be! It took us almost 5 days to recover…

Vinales Valley Cuba

Vinales is mainly known for its tobacco production. Since we didn’t really feel the need to visit a tobacco farm, we decided to explore the Vinales Valley. On our first day we went to a nearby lake. Even though the walk was only 6km both ways, we both couldn’t handle the Cuban heat anymore and had to call it a day at only 3 PM. Just like in Mexico, the heat in August is relentless. Luckily for us, we had made the right call because after 3 PM it started to rain like crazy (this happened every day in both Vinales and Havana).

Vinales Valley Cuba

The next day we took the hop on – hop off bus to see a bit more of Vinales Valley. Our first stop was the Indio Cave (entrance: 5 dollars). The whole tour inside the cave takes about 20-30 minutes and includes a boat ride. Afterwards we took the bus back to the Hotel Los Jazmines from where you get an amazing view over the valley. For only 3 dollars we could make use of the pool, which we of course did. Unfortunately, we couldn’t swim and tan for that long because at around 3 PM we got caught in a tropical thunderstorm and arrived soaking wet at our casa particular.

Final days in Havana

Two days before our flight to Quito, we decided to go back to Havana because we both felt like we hadn’t seen enough of the city yet. We had booked 2 seats in a shared taxi, assuming we’d be sharing it with 2 more people. Once we hop in the taxi, we realise there’s room for 7 more people. The taxi was old and not very comfortable, especially for Simen who had 0 leg space and whose head was bumping against the roof of the car constantly. It was a very long 2 hour drive…

Havana Cuba

The last days we spent wandering the cosy streets of Old Havana (so charming!). We also went to the Hotel National to admire the view over the Malecon, and took a ferry to Casa Blanca (located on the other side of Havana). From here we got a spectacular view over the skyline of Havana, which was well worth the 2 dollar ferry and 8 dollar taxi. We also got to see a half eaten, dead tarantula, which was enough for me to constantly keep an eye out in case I’d see a live one…

Havana Cuba

In conclusion: two amazing weeks in Cuba

We both really loved Cuba! The landscape is extremely varied. Varadero offers tropical beaches, Trinidad is an amazingly beautiful Colonial town, Vinales has beautiful mountains, Havana has tons and tons of charm. We would recommend Cuba to anyone! The only downsides for us were, as Simen already pointed out, the public transport and the food.

In the meantime we’ve arrived in Quito, Ecuador. We’ve already noticed it’s much colder here and Simen needs to adapt his wardrobe once again! We’ll keep you posted about our adventures in Ecuador!

]]> https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/20/cuba-part-2/feed/ 1 2 weeks in Cuba: part I https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/20/cuba-part-1/ https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/20/cuba-part-1/#comments Mon, 20 Aug 2018 03:02:23 +0000 http://www.wondersoftraveling.com/?p=1398 On Friday 03/08 we flew from Cancun to Havana. The trip leading up to the flight was, once again, quite eventful.

How we almost missed our flight…

The day before leaving Mexico we had arranged a taxi to pick us up at 6 AM sharp from our hostel. All goes well until we want to leave the hostel and both gates seem to be locked (even though we told the owner we would be leaving at 6 AM). After trying to open the gates for about 10 minutes and figuring out a way to wake up the owner, Simen finally managed to unlock it. By now the taxi was about 5 minutes late, which was not much of a problem. However, 5 minutes turned into 10 and 10 into 15… Our flight was scheduled to leave at 8.10.

In the meantime one of the employees of the hostel came to our rescue. I was on the phone with the official taxi service of the airport (which, by the way, didn’t speak any English), and the man was so kind to explain in Spanish that our taxi wasn’t here. After 20 minutes of waiting the driver finally shows up and we’re on our way to the airport. I finally started to relax a bit more.

But it still wasn’t over…

The driver drove us to terminal 3 and we got out with about 1.5h to spare. Once we entered the terminal, we couldn’t see our flight on the screen. When we went to the check in, it was also nowhere to be found. I started to think the driver dropped us off at the wrong terminal… We headed over to the Interjet counter where they told us that only domestic flights leave from terminal 3. Great. We were closing in on about 1h before our flight left and we were in the wrong terminal. The shuttle bus also wasn’t an option because it would arrive too late. The only option left was to fork out another 10 dollars each for a 3 minute taxi ride to terminal 2. Good start!

We were getting dangerously close to the 1 hour mark when an employee told us we have to buy our tourist visa to Cuba before boarding. We realised we didn’t have enough pesos or dollars left. The first ATM I went to was, of course, out of service. The second one was all the way at the other side of the terminal and charged me 11 dollars fee, which I reluctantly paid because I was afraid we were going to miss our flight. After checking in and going through security, we arrived at the gate about 10 minutes before boarding starts. Luckily we made it just in time!

Charming and colourful Havana

The rest of the flight passed by quickly and we arrived in Havana at 10.30 local time. The first 3 days we stayed in Havana. On our first day we mainly explored the beautiful and colourful streets. Since our casa particular was located in the Vedado neighbourhood, we had to walk down the Malecon promenade for about an hour until we reached Old Havana (where the main attractions are). Hundreds of old cars constantly cruise the streets of Havana which makes it extremely charming.

The second day we decided to go to the Plaza de la Revolucion. Here you can find a memorial for José Marti, who fought hard for Cuba’s independence from Spain in the 19th century. On the opposite side of the plaza, you can see 2 massive murals of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. After only a short period of time in Cuba, we realised these 3 men are depicted everywhere. After going to the bus terminal to book tickets to Varadero, we decided to go to the nearby zoo where they had hippo’s, rhino’s, tigers, lions, etc. It was pretty sad to see these animals locked up in cages which were way too small for them…

Havana Cuba

Afterwards we hopped in a taxi and made our way back to Old Havana. We stopped at the Capitol and wandered the streets. This part of Havana is particularly nice! At times it reminded me a bit of a European city, full of amazing architecture and beautiful monuments and churches. We both really loved Havana and decided we’d spend the last 2 days of our trip to Cuba here as well. On the third day we decided to stay close to our casa particular because we had to take a bus to Varadero in the afternoon. Here you can read more about our experience with the “most reliable” Cuban bus company.

Uploading a picture in Cuba is a true test for my patience ? but I finally managed! The first couple days we stayed in Havana, which really lives up to the expectations! It’s full of beautiful and colourful houses and old cars ? #cuba #havana #visitcuba #exploretheworld #travelgirl #wanderers #notallwhowanderarelost #travelblogger #traveltheglobe #wanderlust #travellover

A post shared by Jolene Follens (@wondersoftraveling) on Aug 10, 2018 at 6:31am PDT

Tropical beaches in Varadero

We decided to only stay 1 day in Varadero because I had read that it’s basically just a resort town. We both felt like going for a swim, so the first thing we did was go to the beach. Once we laid eyes on the beach, I understood why so many people come to Varadero for their beach holidays. The white sandy beach is 20 km long, flanked by tons of palm trees and the water is crystal clear. Plus, there weren’t that many tourists. It was amazing!

Varadero Cuba

The rest of the day we spent by taking a “hop on – hop off” bus, to get a better idea of what the Varadero peninsula looks like. To be honest, the peninsula itself doesn’t have that much to offer. It’s mainly just resorts. The city centre, however, is much nicer. Here you have plenty of restaurants and bars, such as the Beatles bar! Every night this bar offers live music, so we decided to spend our evening there listening to covers of the Beatles (obviously), Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc. It was a lot of fun!

Following in Che’s footsteps in Santa Clara

After Varadero, we travelled to Santa Clara, also known as “Che Guevara City”. We mainly decided to add this stop because of the Che Guevara monuments and memorials. On our first day in Santa Clara we visited the Che Guevara mausoleum and museum. The massive statue of “El Che” is very impressive, and best of all is that you get to visit the mausoleum and museum for free!

Afterwards we went to another monument dedicated to Che Guevara, “Che con nino”. This was a much smaller, more life size, monument of Che Guevara carrying a child on his arm. This child is supposed to represent the future generations of Cuba. Other than that, there wasn’t that much happening in Santa Clara, so the day after we took the bus to Trinidad.

Santa Clara Cuba

Read more about what we did in Cuba in part II!

]]> https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/20/cuba-part-1/feed/ 3 Thoughts on Cuba (and their bus system) https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/19/cuba-bus-system/ https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/19/cuba-bus-system/#comments Sun, 19 Aug 2018 03:45:13 +0000 http://www.wondersoftraveling.com/?p=1374 Cuba. The land of communism, Castro and Che. Cigars, classic cars and cool cats.

Unlike Mexico, you get warned about plenty of things before you go to Cuba. (And unlike Mexico, you can actually flush the toilet). You get warned about their crazy two-currency system, which is actually very straightforward.

You get warned about the lack of English. And it’s true they barely speak English. If Jolene wasn’t speaking Spanish I’d have una cerveza for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But it’s hard to fault a country for not speaking my language.

You get warned about the lack of internet, but that’s Cuba’s biggest strength and probably the main reason why everyone is so damn happy. And my Fantasy team has never done better, so I’m not complaining.

I like Cuba. In fact, I’d go as far as saying I love Cuba. It’s a great country full of great people. Cuba is a happy place. It’s laidback. It’s effortless.

But even the cool guys got flaws. Some are hard to find, some are blatantly obvious. One of the obvious ones is the bus system. In Cuba they get around on anything that moves: bikes, cars, horses, bulls and goats. Yes, goats. Goats and carriage. That’s probably more efficient than their bus system anyway. But let’s focus on the bus system for now.

A waiting game

In some countries a bus schedule is just a ballpark figure, a rough estimate of when the bus normally shows up. It can be 5, 10 or 25 minutes late, but at least you’re not that far off if you show up to the scheduled time.

Cuba is nothing like that. The bus schedule isn’t even a guideline. It’s just a number they have to put on the wall to justify calling themselves a bus company.

To be fair we were warned about the slow-moving transport system, but the same blogs always mention how Viazul, the “fancy”, “tourist friendly” bus is usually “pretty reliable”. I guess fancy doesn’t mean much in a country where goats are seen in traffic.

We figured we’d take our chances and take the bus to Vinales. Since there’s not really an online booking option, you have to go there in person and book yourself like some sort of Amish.

“Sorry, it’s full for tomorrow. And the day after. And the next three days after that”. Fair enough, we just flip the whole itinerary then. We’re easy. We got our ticket for another city the following day.

Our Spanish housekeeper spoke twice as many English words as I speak Spanish, and since neither of those six words involves anything about clocks and/or taxis we arrived at the bus station 90 minutes before scheduled departure. No problem, I’ll just boss Candy Crush while I wait. I don’t even mind if the bus is a little late.

Was it 10 minutes late? Nope. 25 minutes? I wish. 50 minutes? Go fish. Surely not more than an hour? Oh yes. An hour and 20? Go long. One hour 45? Just give up. The bus was a solid two hours and seven minutes late. TWO HOURS. On top of the 90 minutes we arrived early. Happy days.

You think there was any information and/or apologies while we waited? None at all, just business as usual in Cuba. Had we known it was gonna be that long we could’ve gone and sampled some local food. Instead we had water and biscuits while waiting. Here in this culinary wasteland that kind of amounts to the same thing anyway.

Me with Cuba’s most efficient means of transport

Reserve, not book…

So the first day in Varadero we go straight to the bus station to book our tickets to the next town. “Sorry, reservations are closed for tomorrow. If you show up one hour early there’s probably some tickets left”.

One hour early would mean 06:25. “How about the day after then?”. Same thing. Reservations are full, but if you show up an hour early you’d “probably get on the bus”. So you’re telling me there’s probably tickets left, your system just don’t allow for a sale? Alrighty then.

Are we gonna get up at 5.30 and get a taxi to the bus station for a “there might be tickets” in Cuba? No, of course we’re not. Instead we organise a taxi with our landlady. Obviously a bit pricier, but needs must if we want to get through our entire itinerary.

At least it’s a convenient way to get there. Right? Well, the taxi was a solid 90 minutes late. NINETY MINUTES. For a pre-booked taxi. I’m used to careless timekeeping in Malta, but that is outrageous. Not even a slight “sorry for keeping you waiting for a whole football match”. At least we got a high-speed road trip across Cuba.

We said: reserve, not book

As soon as we touch down in Santa Clara we’re rushing to the bus station. We’re gonna get those fucking tickets, yo. We arrive at 16:15, only to be told reservations closed at 16:00. “Come back tomorrow”. Of course. At this point I’m only a tiny bit annoyed. But we come back the next day.

-We’d like two tickets to Trinidad, please
Sure. You can put your names on the reservation sheet here
– Sweet. How much is it?
You can pay when you get the tickets on the day of departure
– Hmm. We’d like to buy the tickets now?
Just write your name down and show up here tomorrow 40 minutes early
– And then we get on the bus, right?
You should, yeah. Just come early

Are you fucking kidding me? Why can’t you just fucking sell me the ticket right now, then? I get that your country isn’t that developed, but this system is just deliberately dumb. Instead of selling tickets to customers willing to pay and ensuring the bus is sold out, you let people occupy spaces with a no-payments-needed reservation system they might not show up for? How do you not realise how fucking retarded that is?

Cubans ride horses and bulls, their statues ride roosters

We show up the next morning, way early of course, only to see a queue as long as a bad year.
All expats/tourists, all in the same situation. People shaking their heads, flabbergasted at the inefficiency of this insane system. It’s like they do it just to piss people off. But at least we got on.

First thing we did in the new town was to reserve bus tickets for four days later. Back at the house we stayed the owner told us we’d go crazy if we wanted to do that stretch by public transport.

He probably just wanted to make commission on the taxi we booked, but he made a convincing argument. So here we are, occupying two bus seats without paying, that we didn’t use. Gee, if only there was a better system to prevent these kind of situations…

Once we got into the taxi we learned that we’re picking up another couple on the way. And oh, it wasn’t four hours. It was six (plus stops). Seven hours in a small car with strangers. Hearthands. I love confined spaces and smalltalk with people I don’t know.

Other than that I’ve learned that there’s barely any convenience stores in the entire country, that Cubans don’t close their front door and that Castro is bigger than Jesus.

Cuba with taxi as main mean of transportation: 9/10
Cubas bus system: 1/10

]]> https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/08/19/cuba-bus-system/feed/ 2 Wonders of Traveling is going on a trip around the world! https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/04/12/wonders-of-traveling-rtw-trip/ https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2018/04/12/wonders-of-traveling-rtw-trip/#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2018 06:00:36 +0000 http://www.wondersoftraveling.com/?p=955 After months of keeping it a secret, I can finally announce that I will be leaving soon to go on a trip around the world! Together with my boyfriend Simen I’m going to leave Malta in July to go traveling for a year. Curious about the countries we will be visiting during our RTW trip? Then definitely continue reading because I will tell you all about our plans.

Traveling the world has always been a dream of mine. I figured now was the best time to do it, before I officially settle down somewhere. I spent the last 3 years saving up for this once in a lifetime trip, and I’m so excited that in only 3 months I will finally be able to make my dream come true. It took me a little while to get Simen on board, but ever since he said yes, we’ve both been super excited and are really looking forward to July 12th.

Our travel style

Since Simen had only about half the amount of time to save up for this trip (compared to me), we decided to backpack. Our aim is not to sleep in fancy hotels. We’re going to try to not spend too much money, which means we might be spending some nights in hostels or even tents. We’ve also opted to go to cheaper countries because of this reason. However, we are going to go to some more expensive countries as well (they were high up my list), which is why we might have to resort to camping. I personally love sleeping in a tent, but Simen isn’t such a big fan, so we’ll see how this is going to go!

RTW trip

From Central America

The first stop of our RTW trip will be Mexico. For a long time, Mexico wasn’t even on our list. We were thinking more about Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. However, after hearing a lot of people talk about how beautiful Mexico was, we started considering adding it to our trip. After doing some more research and looking at pictures on Instagram and Pinterest, we were both completely convinced. Now it’s even the country Simen is looking forward to the most!

After Mexico, we will be heading to Cuba! To be honest, going to Cuba hadn’t been on my list for a very long time. However, it would be cool to see the country as it is today, before it starts changing. I feel like we will be traveling back in time when visiting Cuba, and I’m now super excited about exploring this beautiful and mysterious country.

RTW trip

To South America

I have been dreaming of going to South America for years, so after Cuba we will be flying to Ecuador. Here we’re planning on going to Banos, Vilcabamba, Cotopaxi, Cajas National Park, and many other highlights. After Ecuador, we will be traveling down towards Peru, of course to see Machu Picchu. However, there are so many more things I’m looking forward to in Peru: Nazca Lines, Colca Canyon, Lake Titicaca, Cordillera Blanca, etc. We will be crossing the border with Bolivia and stay here to check out La Paz, Salar de Uyuni, Potosi, and tons of other highlights. After Bolivia we will go to Argentina and Chile (Patagonia!), including Easter Island.

RTW trip

Next stop: Oceania

After 6 months in South America we will be flying to New Zealand. Here, my parents will join us for a little bit. Our initial plans were to only stay in NZ for 3 weeks, but we quickly adapted those plans. We will most likely get a working holiday visa so we can stay in NZ a bit longer without breaking the bank too much. This is also the reason why we won’t make a stop in Australia. If we do NZ and Australia, this will cost us too much money (and to be honest, I’m too scared of the huge spiders they have down there!).

RTW trip

Last stop: South East Asia

The last continent we want to explore on our RTW trip is South East Asia. After NZ we will be flying to Indonesia (Bali), where we will be staying for about 2 weeks. Here we will also meet up with Simen’s family who will be celebrating Easter with us. After Bali we will make our way to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. We might visit some more countries (I’m also very curious about Myanmar), but that will depend on time and money. The aim is to fly back to Europe some time June/July 2019.

Preparations for our RTW trip

Since we’re only 3 months away from our departure date, this means the preparations are in full swing. We’ve booked our first 4 flights, scheduled appointments to get all the necessary vaccinations, ordered new bank cards, etc. There is still a lot that needs to be organized, but I feel like we’re right on schedule. If you’re curious about the practicalities of going on a RTW trip, make sure to check this site regularly because I will share all those things with you!

If you have any tips for traveling as a couple or RTW traveling, please feel free to leave a comment below. Also, if you have already been to one of the countries we’re going to and have recommendations I would love to hear them, so please don’t be shy!

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