2 Days in Cuba Car Questions

[Wakepatrol]

Hi- We are on the Empress Of The Seas In June. We arrive at 8am and leave at 5pm the following day. We are going to the Tropicana show the fist night. We want to book our own excursions. My question is do we need a car for the two days were there to see everything? 

‘If yes any advice on how you spent your first day with the car and the second day. 

 

Thanks in advance

 

[princeton123211]

The taxi drivers usually have a sort of "best hits" tour that will take you anywhere between 2-4 hours. Some speak English well, some not so well and most in the middle. You can do things further afield like visit Hemingway's home outside the city which you need a driver for and will add some time onto that. 

 

If you want something more formal it might be worth prearraging a taxi tour with an english speaking guide. Both the taxi hire and guide are generally very reasonable by US standards and will cost you a couple hundred dollars at most for an entire day of sightseeing-- dont bother with the wildly overpriced ship excursions. 

 

Taxi to the Tropicana will be 20-25 CUC each way or less expensive if you arrange a round trip with a driver ahead of time and they'll just be waiting for you outside when its over. 

[cpayne]

We arrived at 2 pm Day 1 and left at midnight Day 2.   Day 1 we did a private 3 hr walking tour with Strawberry Walking Tours.  They offer “free” tours where you tip the guide what you feel the tour is worth (standard is $10/person), but they will also do private tours for $90 for up to 9 or 10 people.  We had 8 in our group so the private tour allowed us to choose the date/time of our tour, customize the itinerary, guarantee the size of the group did not get too large and allowed us to set the pace/flow of the tour.  Was perfect for us!   

 

After the walking tour we went to Hotel Ambos Mundos Hotel for our first round of Mojitos and to watch the sunset from the rooftop bar.   

 

Returned to the ship for a refresh after being in the hot sun.  Then back out to enjoy the nightlife.  A quick and easy stroll from the ship was Obispo Street which is the Havana equivalent of New Orleans Bourbon Street or Austin 6th Street.  Numerous bars, restaurants and cafes with live music and dancing.  We stopped at several different places for dancing and local beverages.  Felt very safe at all times.  Do not get talked in to an expensive cab or CoCo ride.  It truly is an easy, quick and safe stroll to this area.   

 

The next morning I was off the ship at 7:30.  I’m a runner and headed to the Malecon to run.  Was neat to see the locals out already for fishing and strolling. Great morning walk for those who also walk daily.  Take a right as you exit the ship terminal and just follow the street. You will eventually end up at the Malecon. Can’t get lost.  

 

We then had a 4 hr classic convertible tour arranged.  This tour ended at a paledor for a late lunch.  Some of our group returned to the ship and others walked approx 10 min from the ship to the Craft Market. Take a left out of the ship terminal and follow the sidewalk along the water.  Can’t miss the market!  There are tons of CoCo cabs at the market waiting to bring you back to the ship for a few cuc’s. 

 

For our 2nd evening in Havana we took a CoCo cab down the Malecon at sunset.  Was even cooler this time of day than when I ran it that morning. Lots of locals loitering about.  Dropped us at the Hotel Nacional for drinks and to watch the sunset.  When you exit the Hotel if you walk about a block there will be a group of classic cars waiting for business. Hired a convertible for a moonlit stroll back to the ship via the Malecon once again.  

 

Thoroughly enjoyed our 2 days in Havana. Hope this gives you some ideas!