Vinales Valley - Havana Port

[Wyoming2010]

Anyone who has been to Cuba -- have you done this excursion or visited this site?  The first day we have a private tour for Havana; the second day we were torn between the Hemingway tour and this one.  Would love some opinions.  

[lais]

31 minutes ago, Wyoming2010 said:

Anyone who has been to Cuba -- have you done this excursion or visited this site?  The first day we have a private tour for Havana; the second day we were torn between the Hemingway tour and this one.  Would love some opinions.  

We went to Vinales.  It’s a long drive (a couple of hours) and we had a nice day with our friend who is a Cuban tour guide.  If you don’t mind the long drive it’s ok.  There is nothing to see along the drive between Havana and Vinales.  Just flat land.  If I were to go again I’d choose the Hemingway tour.  Only because of the long drive.  

[studebhawk]

We went on the Hemmingway tour. The house is well preserved, however, due to its size and condition, you are somewhat limited to looking in the windows from the porch surrounding the house. This leads me to my only complaint. We were there in January. The site was just overrun with multiple tour bus and independent tours. The crowds were very very heavy for such a small attraction. It was very hot and it was hard at times finding a window to take more than a quick glance, the crowding was that thick. It's a shame, with good Disneyworld type crowd management of this historic site, tourists would get a better picture of Ernest Hemmingway and the importance of his story to Cuba.

Note: This site is not for the mobility challenged. There are steep steps, a grade from the parking lot and a lack of guardrails everywhere. The on-site bathroom facilities would be a challenge. 

 

Link to my pictures:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/s48MwQbqk1yLWLoo8

 

 

[Paulchili]

This makes me appreciate our good fortune as we visited this place some years ago before the crowds of large cruise ships.

We were a group of 10 or 12 people and were essentially the only ones there AND we went inside the house (I just looked at my pictures to confirm).

It is a shame and it should be managed better.

[Wyoming2010]

1 hour ago, Paulchili said:

This makes me appreciate our good fortune as we visited this place some years ago before the crowds of large cruise ships.

We were a group of 10 or 12 people and were essentially the only ones there AND we went inside the house (I just looked at my pictures to confirm).

It is a shame and it should be managed better.

 

Yes, just finding out that we don't get to go in the house on this one.  I think we're going to do a walking tour maybe of Havana.

[Paulchili]

7 minutes ago, Wyoming2010 said:

 

Yes, just finding out that we don't get to go in the house on this one.  I think we're going to do a walking tour maybe of Havana.

I think that is a wise choice - lots of unique sights and experiences to be had there.

[RJB]

1 hour ago, Wyoming2010 said:

 

Yes, just finding out that we don't get to go in the house on this one.  I think we're going to do a walking tour maybe of Havana.

We were there in in Oct. and not very crowded. Well worth the time to visit.   Maybe try to find what the off hours and go then.  Would be a shame not to see such a good part of Cuban history. 

[Wyoming2010]

3 minutes ago, RJB said:

We were there in in Oct. and not very crowded. Well worth the time to visit.   Maybe try to find what the off hours and go then.  Would be a shame not to see such a good part of Cuban history. 

We booked a private tour for our first day and they are taking us to Hemingway's house.  We lose the walking tour part that the ship offers, but that's fine.  We'll see the area and the house.  

[lais]

5 hours ago, Wyoming2010 said:

 

Yes, just finding out that we don't get to go in the house on this one.  I think we're going to do a walking tour maybe of Havana.

Havana is easy to navigate.  You don’t need a tour but just outside the port terminal if you turn left to the corner you can pick up the hop on hop off bus    I think it’s 10 cuc. A few others on the cruise did this and they were  happy with their choice.    My husband and I walked to the Hotel National and had a Mojito  then took a taxi back. 

Beware of old car taxis passing by. They told us 10 cuc to the port and when we got there he wanted 10 cuc each.   

We went to Plaza Viejas at night.  It’s about 3 blocks from the port 

listened to some great music and drank Cuba libras.  we had 2 nights there so went back the second night too.  So fun!

I felt very safe there at night. 

[Wyoming2010]

13 hours ago, lais said:

Havana is easy to navigate.  You don’t need a tour but just outside the port terminal if you turn left to the corner you can pick up the hop on hop off bus    I think it’s 10 cuc. A few others on the cruise did this and they were  happy with their choice.    My husband and I walked to the Hotel National and had a Mojito  then took a taxi back. 

Beware of old car taxis passing by. They told us 10 cuc to the port and when we got there he wanted 10 cuc each.   

We went to Plaza Viejas at night.  It’s about 3 blocks from the port 

listened to some great music and drank Cuba libras.  we had 2 nights there so went back the second night too.  So fun!

I felt very safe there at night. 

 

We're doing the evening walking tour, which includes drinks and a show at Sloppy Joe's and it was one of our free options.  The private tour during the day is so reasonably priced and we save hundreds from the ship prices.  And he is taking us to the specific sites we are most interested in seeing. 

 

Anyone with suggestions for Cienfuegos or Santiago private tours? 

[JPR]

You must have a private tour in Santiago. That area is particularly ridden with extreme poverty and you will be constantly accosted for money/“guide” services if you do not have a private guide and particularly take a tour away from the town. The harbor itself is quite lively (a major naval battle was fought just outside the harbor between the U.S. and Spain during the Spanish-American War) but this was our least favorite stop, particularly because we decided to do it on our own.

[Wyoming2010]

19 hours ago, JPR said:

You must have a private tour in Santiago. That area is particularly ridden with extreme poverty and you will be constantly accosted for money/“guide” services if you do not have a private guide and particularly take a tour away from the town. The harbor itself is quite lively (a major naval battle was fought just outside the harbor between the U.S. and Spain during the Spanish-American War) but this was our least favorite stop, particularly because we decided to do it on our own.

 

Thank you for the tip.  We felt that way at the Tower of Pisa (which really took us off guard) and in Rome. 

 

I'm waiting for Out of the Box to get back to me with our final destination.  The second day at port we are doing a ship excursion to El Cobre.  Anyone done that one? 

Edited February 22, 2019 by Wyoming2010

[studebhawk]

On 2/20/2019 at 1:47 PM, Paulchili said:

I think that is a wise choice - lots of unique sights and experiences to be had there.

Do the walking tour in the AM with a guide to get your bearings, if you can, and, then go out on your own walking tour in the afternoon. We did just that, it was a memorable day.

Look out for the street performers. Way worth it.

Go to the Plaza de las Armas.

 

 

[socagirl1]

Wyoming 2010 -

My husband and I were on the Insignia Cuba cruise over Christmas last year and did all of the cuban ports on our own.   The first day in Santiago we just walked "up" to the center of town, stumbled on this bar with music -  "El Traguito"   https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/life-culture/deep-in-the-birthplace-of-cuban-rum-and-the-daiquiri   and hung out for the afternoon.  The second day we hired a taxi from inside the port who took us to see the changing of the guards at Fidel's gravesite along with various stops (including a cigar/rum shop stop).  Yes, the "accosting" was intense in Santiago, but only those first few streets outside of the port.  Once you got past those first couple of streets and with being persistent with "no thank you!" (and keep walking, act like you know where you are going), you will be able to navigate the town on your own.  Be prepared, town is "up hill"!

In Cienfuegos, our first day we hired a private tour to take us to Trinidad (a UNESCO World Heritage City).  Gio was our tour guide (#2 in Trip Advisor).  We hired him for the whole day which included a private car.  We went to Casa del Alfarero for pottery gifts, a new brewery in Trinidad for a couple of beers, a cafe for a nice cuban coffee (with ice cream) and did lots of walking with great photo opportunities within Trinidad.  The streets in Trinidad are cobblestone, so if you have mobility problems, it will be a challenge getting around.  Gio also gave us a quick tour of Cienfuegos on our way back to the ship so that we could have an idea on what to explore the next day (on our own). 

The second day in Cienfuegos, we started to walk into the center of town to "Parque Jose Marti" (not really far).  Along the way, we were approached by a bicycle rickshaw driver for a ride to the "Parque" and back to the ship for $20 for an hour.  Basically, he rode us into town, gave us a quick tour, showed us where to shop and where to find him in the "parque" after our "adventures".   We were able to walk into the main shopping district  which was quite lively for Christmas day, check out the Hotel La Union (for great photos from the rooftop) then walk back to the "Parque" to visit a store for last minute coffee and cigars for folks back home and caught part of Christmas mass at the Church.  Our rickshaw rider took us right back to the port.  

We did not go to any restaurants while we were on any tours in Cuba, only because we had excellent food on the ship and really needed to cut back a little during our land visits.  

Tess

https://www.flickr.com/gp/gtnorton/jt9Thx - photos from our cruise