Havana Travel Forum

Hey guys/gals :) Just bought a ticket to Havana, Cuba for mid-august, and now I need to figure out some minor details.. My idea was to spend a couple days in Havana, see the city, then hop in an old american car (preferably a convertible!) and drive around the island. Some thoughts on the towns/places I wanted to visit with my trustworthy camera are (besides Havana, obviously)
- Santa Cruz
- Matanzas
- Drive up to see Varadero (don't plan on staying there)
- Cardenas
- Guama, then playa Larga
- Cienfuegos
- Trinidad
- Santa Clara
(time permitting - Sancti Spiritus)
- Camaguey (and I've heard about Anabanea (sp?) lakes somewhere on the way to Camaguey - can someone tell me where that is? I hear it's beautiful
- Back to Havana

The questions are -
1) if my total trip is 10 days, giving me 3 days in Havana, do I have enough time to do this trip and come back to Havana?
2) should I book a hotel in Havana at least for the first day (budget isn't an issue, really, but I would like to make this trip a bit more authentic and stay at casa particulares)
3) speaking of casa particulares - irrespectively of my wishes to make this an authentic trip, I would like air conditioning :) Do most/some CP have that?
4) how feasible is it to get an old US convertible in Havana for a week or so? How much should I expect to pay for car hire/gas? (Just don't want to take much more money with me than I would realistically need)
5) Better idea to look up casa particulares in the towns I intend to visit (since I will need to stay somewhere :) or just solve this issue on the spot?
6) data/gprs connection in Cuba - probably a right-off-the bat "NO" question, but will my blackberry work in Cuba? Havana and major cities? Anywhere at all?
7) probably some more questions will follow, but already would like to thank anyone offering any useful info

Rod
P.S. My spanish is kinda-sorta limited :) I can probably get by with a dictionary, but Russian and English are fluent. i'm NOT an american, btw.

quick addition -- if i want to hire a convertible, am I better off staying away from the old cars? I don't want my engine to boil every 30 minutes of driving... I saw some website that offered an audi a4 convertible, for about $400 per day, any cheaper options? I'm not planning to be impressing the chics with my ride, so no real need for something fancy...

Check my forum postings on my home page for good casa's. no problem with the AC. Contact them before you arrive in Cuba.
From Havana you could go to Vinales, this is a good trip on it's own. Havana to Cienfugoes, Trinidad, Sancti Spiritus,Camaguey,Santa Clara and back to Havana would run it too tight.
Skip Varadero unless you are into tourists!
I had no spanish on my first trip and had no problems and a lot of fun.

Disregard the other dude as there are alot of people who just won't admit the US failed in their take over plans for Cuba. Give it a rest!!

My friend, I'm Cuban and I want give a advice to you. In 10 days is impossible to visit are many places, between one place to other you need 4 or 5 hours driving because state of the highways in very bad, and you need go very slow !!! contact with me for more advice on fernandez83@gmail.com

best regards .. Ariel !!

Check out this article that tells you all you need to know about Backpacking through Cuba, staying at Casa Particulares,

http://tripatlas.com/articles/386/Ditch_the_Resorts_in_Cuba,_Discover_Cuba_by_Backpack

Let's not get into a pis...ng contest about who knows more about life in a developing country under communism bro :) Just asking for some friendly advice about my trip, what I get here and on lonelyplanet is that the itenerary is too packed, I will definitely skip some places I've mentioned here.

The reason I mentioned that I'm not an american, is because I ain't one :) Hope that suffices :)

Disregard that doof and his preaching - some people on here get their panties in a bunch real quick for no good reason, it's almost like they're searching the post's, looking for something to nit-pick about("why is "NOT" in capitals, the "a" in American not") - what a goof! I literally laffed out loud at this guy itching for an arguement!)

Go to Cuba, good luck and hey, have a blast man!

I'd agree with the advice to slim down your plans a bit as the roads are not great. If the car breaks down Cubans are great for stopping to help and almost everyone of them seems to be a tallented mechanic! Road signs aren't good but give Cubans lifts along the way and they will help you.

Some of the casas do have AC or at least they have fans and even without this I found casas are more comfortable to stay in than hotels, but I was very lucky with the casas I stayed in. Sorry I can't help with how much it will cost to hire a car and I don't even know how to work a Blackberry in this country, so can't help on that one either. I understand that things have improved dramatically on the internet front now though, even since I was there last November.

Have a good trip. I am certain you will wish that you had more than 10 days to spend there.