Yenchiong

Thanks Eaton, in Cuba you cannot find a visualization of those stops and I thought it could be useful these type of maps. The HabanaTourBus is an excellent way of transportation for cruise passengers.

HabanaBusTour T1
From: 9am to 6pm; Price: 10 CUC; Time: 3 hours; Frequency: 20 minutes
STOPS:
0. Capitol; 1. Central Park; 2. Riviera Hotel; 3. Presidente Hotel; 4. Jose Marti Square; 5. Colon Cemetery; 6. Almendares Park; 7. Copacabana Hotel; 8. Panorama Hotel; 9. Triton & Neptuno Hotels; 10. La Cecilia Restaurant; 11. Miramar Trade Center; 12. National Aquarium; 13. Kohly Hotel; 14. Almendares Park; 15. Colon Cemetery; 16. Jose Marti Square; 17. Habana Libre Hotel; 18. Deauville Hotel; 19. Cabaña Bar; 20. Central Park; 21. Cabaña Bar; 22. La Fuerza Fortress; 23. San José Artisans' Market; 24. La Fuerza Fortress

HabanaBusTour T3
From: 9am to 6pm; Price: 5 CUC; Time: 2 hours; Frequency: 30 minutes
STOPS:
0. Capitol; 1. Central Park; 2. Cabaña Fortress; 3. East Havana; 4. Panamerican Village; 5. Alamar town; 6. Bacuranao Beach; 7. Tarara Village; 8. Megano Beach; 9. Tropicoco Hotel (Santa Maria del Mar Beach); 10. Atlantico Hotel (Santa Maria del Mar Beach); 11. Arenal Hotel (LGTBQ Mi Cayito Beach)

More information about the East Beaches
 

HabanaBusTour (T1) MAPA.pdf HabanaBusTour (T3) MAPA.pdf

Walking Tours Maps (PDF files) with text in English.

TOUR 1 Map-Text.pdf TOUR 2 Map-Texts.pdf TOUR 3 Map-Texts.pdf OTROS Map-Texts.pdf

Maps with 3 walking tours and explanations.

https://goo.gl/UycQsz (Tour 1)

https://goo.gl/H6ufmd (Tour 2)

https://goo.gl/keHzFc (Tour 3)

HabanaBusTour: T1 (Havana city) https://goo.gl/x4kU3H and T3 (East Beaches) https://goo.gl/CYUhku

Playas del Este (Habana's East beaches) 20 Km of white sands, ask for Playa Santa Maria del Mar.

Take the HoHo bus for $5 (CUC) at Parque Central and the stops are: #8, #9 or #10.

HabanaBusTour T3 https://goo.gl/CYUhku

Habana East Beaches https://goo.gl/PYrT69

Habana West Beaches https://goo.gl/fHEDAX

Thank you!!!

Hi Cafabi, sorry for the late response, I barely check this forum.

We built this website with plenty of information regarding Havana city https://www.recorridosporlahabana.com it is in Spanish.

The tours are with hundred of images that complement the point of interests.

Thanks

Thanks so much for these great resources! I see that the Tour 2 link goes to Tour 3 (2&3) are the same. Is tour 2 available? Thanks again.

Sorry, this is the Tour 2 https://goo.gl/H6ufmd

The HabanaBusTour T3 brings you to East Beaches (22Km of white sands) for only 5CUC. Here is the route map with stops https://goo.gl/CYUhku the T1 gives you a 3 hours tour around Havana city https://goo.gl/x4kU3H the price is 10CUC. Tickets can be purchased at the bus and are valid the whole day from 9 to 6. They are not transferable.

Some opinions here https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g147271-d12204425-Reviews-Havana_Bus_Tour-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html

The HabanaBusTours map reaches the East Beaches (T3) https://goo.gl/CYUhku for only $5 (2 hours). You can buy the tickets at the bus and they will be valid from 9AM to 6PM.

These HabanaBusTours maps will hep you to browse the city (T1) https://goo.gl/x4kU3H for $10 (3 hours) and reach the East Beaches (T3) https://goo.gl/CYUhku for only $5 (2 hours) . You can buy the tickets at the bus and they will be valid from 9AM to 6PM, however they are not transferable.

Thanks

Hi

You can download these PDF maps in bad English here:

https://goo.gl/UycQsz (Tour 1)

https://goo.gl/keHzFc (Tour 2)

https://goo.gl/keHzFc (Tour 3)

https://goo.gl/ePg1QY (other sites)

Thanks

thank you very much for this. We will be going next february.

thanks

Oh I didn't even see that part, thanks. So excited to get to the "substance" of it I guess I skimmed over that!

Hi HRWI, usually the walking tour take you the whole day, but it is flexible.

The time reference has been calculated with a tour guide, but you can do it by yourself.

Oceania Cruise "7 Night Timeless Cuba Miami To Miami"

Schedule for Oct 2018:

Miami, Florida (03 Oct d1700); Havana, Cuba (04 Oct 0900(+1)1900); Cienfuegos, Cuba (07 Oct 0700-1500); Santiago de Cuba, Cuba (08 Oct 1100-1800); Miami, Florida (10 Oct a0800)

Teach 'em YUMA.

YUMA = USA (the country) lately for Americans and now for any foreigners.

Cubans are very creative and assign slang to people from other countries. Most popular terms are: GALLEGOS for any Spaniards, although they do not come from Galicia (Spain's province). Cuban slang NARRA is used for Asians (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc) that's how Abakua-Ñañigos (Afro-Cuban men's fraternity or secret society) call them. Since the 60's, Cubans have one for Russians, they named BOLOS (rough, bold, unfinished).

In a polite form Cubans call AMERICANOS to USA citizens.

SO basically, you are advertising, posting with the implication of eventually soliciting clients.

Clients?, no really.

This is a cruise forum, so I guess, they don't really need an extra accommodation.

Even the ones with departures from Havana, their cruise Line already have hotels offers as a package.

My main goal is to share useful information for a better visit preparation. No business in this case.

Learning some colloquial words and phrases always is a wise idea in order to establish communication with locals.

How many do you know?

Here two of them:

On the eve of his first official state visit to Cuba, U.S. President Barack Obama received a highly important phone call from Panfilo, one of the Cuba’s most popular comedian.

After exchanging salutations Obama asked Panfilo in Spanish "QUE VOLA"? which means "WHAT'S UP"?

Did you know that Cubans call the BUS, la "GUAGUA"?

One origin hypothesis is the "Wa & Wa Co. Inc." logo, which stands for (Washington, Walton, and Company Incorporated), the first American company that exported buses to the Caribbean: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and later Canary's Islands (Spain) where they also use this word to identify this transportation media.

WA is phonetically translated in Spanish as GUA and in the logo you have two of these syllables, then GUAGUA :)

But since you brought up my background here, what brought you here (as an alternative to half a dozen other more general Cuba travel forums)? Cuban-Chinese origins? Frequent cruiser? Lots of time spent in Cuba?.

100% Chinese 100% Cuban. Yenchiong is my Chinese name.

A friend of my is running a successful B&B at Havana and beside the accommodation he gives information, a lot of information about Cuban culture, history, architecture, music, books, arts in general, Cuban Idiosyncrasy, etc, etc. His guests love this service. TripAdvisor Excellence since 2016. We are extending his idea to others, visitors from everywhere and they found the information very useful for their trip preparation.

This is an interesting forum about Cuba and I like to read its posts and opinions, the language barrier is a challenge, but we try. The long confrontation between USA and CUBA, make this exchange unique. I agree with you, 100%, that meeting the Cuban people is the best way to know this island. Hope one day Americans and Cubans can travel freely without any restrictions and keep knowing each others in a natural way.

Make sure to ask for "papaya" for breakfast.

 

 

...mostly known for her ideas for how to make do during the Special Period deprivations.

 

-------------------

receipt=recibo

recipe=receta

Hi VidaNaPraia

I really respect you and your posts are plenty of details and facts.

You are unbelievable, being here, I mean, in this forum, for so many years and contributing almost in every front, every day.

I disagree with some of your points of views, but it is your opinion and right.

Thanks for correct me one more time, I try my best with this language that is not my first.

Please, don’t use the word PAPAYA to ask for that fruit in Havana city because it means the female sex part and it is really a rough word. They will understand you anyway, but you will notice a suspicious smile and a different look in their eyes :p.

In Oriente, the East of the island, yes, they use this word without the previous meaning. The Cuban natives, the Tainos, called this fruit PAPAIA and the Spaniards modified it as PAPAYA. Some Caribbean countries and even Australia use PAWPAW instead.

Therefore when you are at Havana, use FRUTABOMBA and you will be fine.

This is another one. Do you know the meaning of RABO ENCENDIDO? :halo:

Have a good day!

Hi Yenchiong,

 

My friend of 44 years who nicknamed me Snit still lives in Miami. We spoke on phone yesterday. She lives in a Cuban neighborhood and her best neighbors are Cuban. I will have to ask her if she has ever eaten at the restaurant you posted. We have not been back to Miami for years but certainly would love to enjoy a meal at the place your recommended.

 

When we were in Tokyo years ago we ordered most of our meals from pictures as there was no way we could understand the language. We had guides when we were in China and they spoke English. In most areas of the world where we have traveled a Berlitz for travelers served us well. Mater of fact I dug my Spanish version out to take with me to Cuba. Fortunately the couple we will be traveling with is able to converse in Spanish.

 

 

I enjoyed seeing your pictures of Cuban food choices, and thank you for sharing. Both my husband and I have been craving Mexican food as of late. Not really into TexMex but have at least 1 authentic Mexican restuarant in our county.

Good morning Snit

You will love the food at Palacios de los Jugos, they is not a fancy ones, but cheap and authentic Cuban dishes. That's why I said the Cubans in Miami and other cities with Cubans, are keeping this cuisine heritage.

You cannot find this service in Cuba, of course, but at paladares and casas particulares, some of them. Cuba has lack of a lot of resources, specially beef. It is not easy to find them. You can go to jail if the police capture you selling/buying beef. Cuba cannot import this meat from USA ... hope one day. The minimum amount of beef go to the tourism sector, for visitors like you, mainly. Cuban people cannot afford it, generally speaking, it is a luxury.

The list show pictures with some local names, authentic slang. People who speak Spanish from Latin America and Spain cannot understand it. So, instead of wasting your time explaining to a Cuban how it looks like and the ingredients of the dish you want to taste, just show the picture, they will get it immediately.

I know that for American tourists traveling with the current cruises, have not time to use this method of communication, just a few hours in port, it is not enough, I understand it. I was thinking mainly on tourists that will have more time at Havana, like the MSC Opera/Armonia ones which depart form the city and stay few days before and after the cruise tour or not Americans that can travel without restrictions and rent bed & breakfast (casas). I know a lot of B&B that can give you a customized service, they call CANTINA, a kind of room service. They will be delighted to please you with one of their local receipts, it is a national pride. If they have not the right ingredients, then the creativity will take place and be prepared with some "changes". There was a famous TV show cook named Nitza Villapol, a Cuban version of Julia Child, that wrote a lot of kitchen books keeping those receipts alive with almost nothing.

Anyway, my intention with my post was to help a little with in the communication field.

Again, no intention whatsoever to use irony and my apologies if someone was hurt with it.

Have a wonderful day

 

... I am wondering if I could find many of these dishes on restaurants in Miami. Maybe the 26+ years I lived in Miami I visited the wrong Cuban restaurants.

 

 

Hi Snit13

 

 

You visited the smart Cuban restaurants because they sale to American customers not Cubans.

Next time you return to Miami, please, visit Palacio de los Jugos, they have 9 restaurants in town, where Cubans eat.

 

I just received these pictures taken yesterday from there.

They match 100% my list and have even more typical Cuban Cuisine displayed.

 

Yenchiong, it appears you have done extensive research and posted some lovely pictures. I am confused as to your reason. Are you suggesting we print these photos and take them with us when we go to Havana and then try to order some of the items? As has been posted most likely these items will not be available for purchase in the private/home restaurants.

 

I commend you for posting the beautiful pictures of food. I am wondering if I could find many of these dishes on restaurants in Miami. Maybe the 26+ years I lived in Miami I visited the wrong Cuban restaurants. Food looks yummy.

Hi Snit13

I read some posts that mark Cuban cuisine as a bad cousine.

The main purpose of this message is give you a visual reference of the Cuban Cuisin, that has been recognized internationally and has a heritage. I just selected 6 samples of each courses or categories. Also, I included some street food samples. Because most of visitors don't speak Spanish, it could be a good idea to have a pic in your cellphone for a better communication with locals. As an art, you cannot stereotype a cuisine because you don't like it.

When we talk about Cuban issues, it is almost impossible to do not associate it with politics. It was not my intention to be sarcastic with this post, sorry for the ones that have been or will be offended, including you.

If you lived in Miami, you probably have tested all of them, the most popular ones, for sure. I think, Cubans in Miami and other cities in the world are keeping alive this heritage. After almost 60 years of gastronomy transformation in the island, due to all point of views, internals and externals, we can not expect to find the original receipts, but I am pretty sure they still alive, mainly at Paladares.

Have a good day

The World Association of Chef Societies (WorldChefs) declared Cuban cuisine an Intangible Heritage at a planetary level, for having safeguarded the identity and continuity of a gastronomy with deep national roots and contributed to promote respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.

I have collected 6 samples of each categories in order to give you a visual reference of how they looks like. I left intentionally the local names and let you find the translation and meaning. Paladares are the best places for ordering them, sometimes there are not in the menu. I have tested all of them and they are really good.

PART 2

SIDES DISHES

SALADS

DESSERTS

SANDWICHES

DRINKS

COCKTAILS

PLATOS CUBANOS.pdf

The World Association of Chef Societies (WorldChefs) declared Cuban cuisine an Intangible Heritage at a planetary level, for having safeguarded the identity and continuity of a gastronomy with deep national roots and contributed to promote respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.

I have collected 6 samples of each categories in order to give you a visual reference of how they looks like. I left intentionally the local names and let you find the translation and meaning. Paladares are the best places for ordering them, sometimes there are not in the menu. I have tested all of them and they are really good.

(PART 1)

APPETIZERS

SOUPS

MEATS

CHICKEN

SEAFOOD

RICES

PLATOS CUBANOS.pdf