CALLE HEREDIA TO PLAZA DOLORES
S COMPLEJO HISTÓRICO DE MUSEOS DEL SEGUNDO FRENTE
Reserva de la Biosfera Baconao
Santiago de Cuba Province is one of the most historically important regions in the country and claims to be the Cradle of the Revolution. The first charge of machete-wielding Mambí was at Baire in 1868. And in 1953 Fidel Castro’s attack on Batista’s barracks took place at Moncada, in the city of Santiago, initiating the Revolution that six years later brought him to power.
The namesake capital city, second only to Havana in size, is distinctive in mood and teems with sites of historical and cultural interest, from a castle and the 16th-century house where Diego Velázquez governed Cuba to a notable cathedral and the Moncada barracks. Nearby there are beaches, the holy shrine of El Cobre, Reserva Baconao, and Parque Nacional Gran Piedra, reached by a serpentine road that leads through cool pine forest to a splendid garden perched atop a peak at over 1,200 meters.
The Santiagüeros carry themselves with a certain lassitude and speak in a lilting tongue with a musical tone. French and African words appear, a legacy of the many French and Haitian families that settled here in the late 18th century. Santiago has the highest percentage of African blood in Cuba. Though the traditional architecture is mostly Spanish, the faces are mostly black. Such musical forms as son were birthed here, and the city remains Cuba’s most vital center of Afro-Cuban culture.
Most of the province is mountainous. The Sierra Maestra rises west of Santiago. East of the city, an elevated plateau extends for miles, slanting gradually to the sea, with the serrated Cordillera de la Gran Piedra behind. Behind these rise the Sierra de Baracoa and Sierra Cristal, extending into Holguín and Guantánamo Provinces.
The region was dealt a devastating blow on October 25, 2012, when Hurricane Sandy blasted ashore, causing immeasurable damage in and around the city of Santiago de Cuba, killing 11 people and destroying thousands of homes.
Look for S to find recommended sights, activities, dining, and lodging.
S Casa de Don Diego Velázquez: The house where Diego Velásquez ruled Cuba is the island’s oldest house. In superb condition, it houses a fine museum (click here).
S Museo Municipal Emilio Bacardí Moreau: The museum begun by a member of the famous rum family holds his eclectic and fascinating collection inside a beautiful neoclassical edifice (click here).
S Cuartel Moncada: This is where it all began: The scene of the attack by Castro and company that launched the Revolution is now a school and museum (click here).
S Parque Histórico El Morro: An enormous restored 17th-century castle with a dramatic clifftop setting holds a nightly cannon-firing ceremony (click here).
S Cementerio de Santa Ifigenia: Important figures in Cuban history, not least José Martí, are buried here (click here).
S Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Cobre: A pilgrimage here is de rigueur to see the Cubans praying and making offerings to the Virgen de la Caridad (click here).
S Complejo Histórico de Museos del Segundo Frente: A superb museum and mausoleum honoring the efforts of Raúl Castro and Vilma Espin and the martyrs of the Second Front (click here).
S Museo de la Guerra Hispano-Cubano-Americano: This small yet excellently arranged museum displays maps, artillery pieces, and other articles relating to the Spanish-American War (click here).
Santiago has enough to keep you intrigued and engaged for three or four days. Downtown, plan on walking the narrow, traffic-clogged streets. The list of must-sees includes the Casa de Don Diego Velázquez (reputedly the oldest building in Cuba); the excellent Museo Municipal Emilio Bacardí Moreau, which while honoring this member of the famous rum family is actually a broad-ranging museum spanning arts, history, and culture; the Cuartel Moncada, now the Museo de la Revolución; and the Plaza de la Revolución, with its humongous statue of General Antonio Maceo. A walk through the once-wealthy Reparto Vista Alegre district is rewarding for its eclectic albeit tatterdemalion buildings; a highlight is the Museo de las Religiones Populares, where you can learn about Afro-Cuban religions.
You’ll want wheels to reach sites of interest on the outskirts. These include the Cementerio de Santa Ifigenia, where José Martí heads a long list of illustrious figures buried here, and the Parque Histórico El Morro, the castle guarding the entrance to Santiago bay.
Use the city as a base for excursions elsewhere in the province. A visit to the basilica and pilgrimage site of El Cobre is de rigueur and might be combined with the rugged drive to El Saltón, a mountain resort that is a good base for bird-watching and hiking. For a scenic drive, head west from Santiago to Chivírico, beyond which lies the trailhead to Pico Turquino, Cuba’s highest mountain.
The Reserva de la Biosfera Baconao, a short distance east of Santiago, is an eco-reserve only in name. Here, the highlight not to miss is the Museo de la Guerra Hispano-Cubano-Americano, with superb displays recalling the Spanish-American War. Most other sites are rather hokey, but the drive is scenic enough.
Santiago’s entertainment scene is robust. The city’s world-famous Casa de la Trova is still the heartbeat of son in the nation. The yang to the Casa de la Trova’s yin is the open-air Tropicana, second only to Havana’s Tropicana for its sexy Las Vegas-style cabaret. If you’re planning a mid-year visit, consider July, when the city erupts for Carnaval, a marvelous expression of Afro-Cuban rhythms and of Santiagüeros’ let-loose sense of fun.
Santiago is served by trains and buses from elsewhere in Cuba. Options elsewhere in the province are limited.
Santiago sits within a bowl surrounded by mountains, and in summer it can feel like an oven. The rainiest season is May-October. Relief may be found in the mountains and at beaches where breezes ease the heat.
Santiago (pop. 375,000), home of rum and revolution, has a unique, enigmatic appeal. Older than Havana, the historic center is a potpourri of rustic, tile-roofed dwellings graced by forged-iron railings, weathered timbers, Moorish balustrades, and cacti growing from red-tile roofs, fulfilling an Oriente superstition that a cactus will keep away the evil eye. If a Santiagüero lets his or her cactus die, a year of bad luck will follow.
It is sometimes referred to as “Cuba’s most Caribbean city.” The majority of the 30,000 or so French planters and merchants who fled Haiti following the Revolution in 1791 settled in and around Santiago, stitching their habits and customs onto the cultural quilt of the city. Eventually black Haitians and Jamaicans came also, as workers. The rich racial mixture has produced some of the most exciting music, art, and architecture in the Caribbean.
Proud Santiagüeros tout their city as the “Hero City,” or the capital moral de la Revolución.
Diego Velázquez founded the city in 1514 and named it for the king of Spain’s patron saint, St. James. The city, built on hills on the east side of the Bahía de Santiago, was named the Cuban capital and grew rapidly thanks to its splendid harbor and wealth from nearby copper mines at El Cobre. Its first capitán-general was none other than Hernán Cortés, soon to be conqueror of Mexico. Other famous conquistadores resided here, too, including Francisco Pizarro (conqueror of Peru), Don Pedro de Alvarado (founder of Guatemala), and Juan Ponce de León (colonizer of Puerto Rico). Many of the original buildings still stand, including Velázquez’s own sturdy home.
Santiago remained capital of Cuba only until February 1553, when the governor transferred his residence to Havana. Santiago had lost its advantage and the El Cobre mines closed shortly thereafter. It was subsequently damaged by earthquakes and razed by pirates, including the French buccaneer Jacques de Sores and Welsh pirate Henry Morgan.
Spanish settlers from Jamaica boosted Santiago’s numbers when that island was seized by the English in 1655. At the close of the century, when Santiago’s population approached 10,000, a massive influx of French émigrés from Haiti doubled the city population and added new vitality. Another boost in fortunes came in 1793, when Spanish authorities granted Santiago an asamiento (unlimited license) to import slaves. Countless West African slaves gained their first look at the New World as they stepped shackled and confused into the harsh light on Santiago’s wharves.
Santiago has had a reputation as a liberal city dating to 1836, when city fathers proclaimed local elections in defiance of the governor in Havana. Governor Tacón won the battle, but Santiago had asserted an autonomy that propelled it to the forefront in the quest for independence. During the wars for independence, the city became a concentration camp held by Spanish troops and enclosed by barbed wire. On July 1, 1898, after the United States entered the fray, U.S. troops reached the outskirts of Santiago and the defenses atop San Juan Hill that protected the city. Throughout the morning, the U.S. artillery softened up the Spanish defenders before 3,000 U.S. Rough Riders stormed the hill under cover of punishing fire. Though Teddy Roosevelt’s part has been vastly overblown by U.S. history texts, the victory sealed the war. The Spanish navy, meanwhile, had sheltered in Santiago harbor. On July 3, it attempted to escape. A battle ensued and the Spanish fleet was destroyed.
The Spanish surrender was signed on San Juan Hill on July 17. The Spanish flag came down and up went the Stars and Stripes.
The city became a hotbed of revolutionary activity during the decades before 1950. The opening shots in Castro’s revolution were fired here on July 26, 1953, when the 26-year-old lawyer and his followers attacked the Moncada barracks at dawn in an attempt to inspire a general uprising.
Assassinations by Batista’s thugs were common. The terror and turmoil reached a crescendo on November 30, 1956, when a 22-year-old Santiago teacher named Frank País led a group of Castro’s 26th of July Movement (M-26-7) rebels in a daring attack on the police headquarters in Santiago, timed to coincide with the landing of the Granma bringing Castro and other revolutionaries from exile in Mexico. País’s attack was ill-fated, and Batista’s henchmen initiated a campaign of indiscriminate murders. Frank País was shot on the street on July 30, 1958. His funeral erupted into a massive protest led by Santiago’s mothers, inspiring similar protests throughout Cuba.
On January 2, 1959, two days after Batista fled the island, Fidel Castro and his rebel army arrived in Santiago to accept the surrender of Batista’s general. Castro gave his victory speech in Parque Céspedes before setting off on a victory parade for Havana.
The Carretera Central from Bayamo enters Santiago from the north, descends to Plaza de la Revolución, and runs into the heart of the city as Avenida de los Libertadores. The coast road from Marea del Portillo enters the city from the west as Paseo de Martí, which rises to Avenida de los Libertadores.
The historic core (casco histórico) is roughly arranged in a grid. At its heart is Parque Céspedes, bounded by Félix Pena and Lacret (north-south) and Aguilera and Heredia (east-west). Most sights of interest are within a few blocks of the park. Aguilera leads east from Parque Céspedes uphill to Plaza de Marte, a major hub on the eastern edge of the historic quarter. From here, Avenida 24 de Febrero leads south to the airport and Parque Histórico El Morro. Avenida Victoriano Garzón leads east from Plaza de Marte to the Reparto Sueño and Vista Alegre districts, also accessed from Plaza de la Revolución via Avenida de las Américas.
The Autopista Nacional begins in Vista Alegre and extends only 45 kilometers before petering out near Palma Soriano. A circunvalación circles the east and south sides of the city.
Formerly known as Plaza de Armas, this square at the heart of the city is ringed with gas lamps and shade trees. At its heart is a statue of the square’s namesake hero.
The beautiful building on the north side is the Ayuntamiento (Aguilera, e/ General Lacret y Félix Pena; not open to the public), or town hall. The original building was first occupied by Hernán Cortés; the current structure dates from the 1950s and is based on a design from 1783. Its antecedent, built in 1855, was toppled by an earthquake and housed the U.S. military during its occupation of Cuba. It was from the overhanging balcony that Fidel Castro gave the victory speech on January 2, 1959, after he entered town following Batista’s flight.
Ayuntamiento and Parque Céspedes
Raised on a pedestal on the southern side of the plaza, which it dominates, is the Basílica Metropolitana Santa Ifigenia (entrance on Félix Pena, tel. 022/62-8502, daily 5pm-6:30pm for Mass, plus Tues.-Sat. 8am-noon, Sun. 8am-10am), otherwise known as the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. The cathedral, dating from 1922, is the fourth building to occupy the site (the original was begun in 1528). The interior includes exquisitely hand-carved choir stalls and a fabulous organ (circa 1874) with both horizontal and vertical pipes. The remains of Diego Velázquez are entombed within. Between the church’s twin towers is a statue of an angel holding a trumpet.
The cathedral was badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012; a five-year restoration was initiated in 2013.
organ in Basílica Metropolitana Santa Ifigenia
The east side of the cathedral contains the Museo Arquidiocesano (tel. 022/65-4586, Mon.-Sat. 9:30am-5:30pm, entrance CUC1, cameras CUC1), a cramped space full of religious antiques.
On the park’s west side is the former home of Cuba’s first colonizer. It dates from 1516 and is the oldest house in Cuba. The somber Spanish mansion is fronted by dark wooden Moorish window grills and shutters. Velázquez lived upstairs. A gold foundry was maintained downstairs (it is still there, in the rear). The house today contains the Museo de Ambiente Histórico Cubano (Félix Pena #602, tel. 022/65-2652, Mon.-Thurs. and Sat. 9am-5pm, Fri. 1pm-4:45pm, Sun. 9am-1pm, entrance CUC2, cameras CUC1, videos CUC5), with rooms full of period furnishings and artwork. Magnificent!
This museum (Pío Rosado, e/ Aguilera and Heredia, tel. 022/62-8402, Mon. 1pm-4:30pm, Tues.-Sat. 9am-4:30pm, Sun. 9am-noon, CUC2 entrance, CUC5 camera) was founded by Emilio Bacardí Moreau (1844-1922) in 1899 and contains his astounding collection. A member of the Bacardí rum family (after the Revolution, the family had to flee Cuba), Emilio, patriot writer and mayor of Santiago, is in good graces; he was imprisoned in the Castillo del Morro for revolutionary activities. The museum is housed in a huge neoclassical edifice with Corinthian columns.
The first floor contains colonial artifacts, from slave shackles and stocks to antique weapons. A small but impressive display of pre-Columbian artifacts from throughout the Americas includes a shrunken head (cabeza reducida) and Peruvian mummies. The second floor art gallery includes 19th-century and contemporary works.
On the museum’s north side rises the 1920s neoclassical Palacio Provincial, seat of local government.
Calle Heredia leads east from Parque Céspedes and is the city’s most intriguing street.
First stop should be the Casa de la Trova (Heredia #208, tel. 022/65-2689, daily noon-1am), formerly the home of revered composer Rafael Salcedo (1844-1917). Most afternoons and evenings the haunting melodies and plaintive boleros of the trova reverberate down the street.
Casa Natal José María Heredia (Heredia #260, tel. 022/62-5350, Tues.-Sat. 9am-7pm, Sun. 9am-1pm, CUC1) is the birthplace of the 19th-century nationalist poet José María Heredia (1803-1839). The house is furnished in colonial fashion. It hosts cultural events.
Break out your camera at La Librería La Escalera (Heredia #265), a tiny bookstore festooned with intriguing bric-a-brac. The Galería de Arte UNEAC (Heredia, e/ Hartmann y Pio Rosada, tel. 022/65-3465, ext. 106, www.uneac.com) is worth a peek for its superb art. Take the stairs to the Museo El Carnaval (Heredia #304, tel. 022/62-6955, Mon. 2pm-5pm, Tues.-Sat. 9am-5:15pm, Sun. 9am-1pm, entrance CUC1, cameras CUC5), which tells the history of Santiago’s colorful carnival. Some of the outlandish costumes are on display. Folkloric shows are held at 4pm.
At the junction of Heredia and Valiente, turn north and walk one block into Plaza Dolores, a delightful little plaza with wrought-iron seats surrounding a larger-than-life bronze statue of Francisco Vicente Aguilera (1821-1877), a revolutionary leader in the Ten Years War. The Iglesia Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, on the east side, is now a concert hall and adjoins the Colegio Jesuita Dolores, where Fidel Castro was educated as a youth.
Bartolomé Masó parallels Calle Heredia, one block south; at the junction of Masó and Pio Rosado is the Museo del Ron (tel. 022/62-08884, Mon.-Sat. 9am-5pm, CUC1), with basic displays on rum-making plus a huge collection of bottled rums.
The hilly 17th-century Tivoli district southwest of Parque Céspedes is full of sites associated with figures in the revolutionary pantheon.
Beginning at the park’s southwest corner, follow Félix Pena south one block to Masó. Turn left. One block along, at the corner of Calle Corona, you’ll pass the Balcón de Velázquez (daily 9am-9pm, free, camera CUC1), a small plaza atop an old Spanish fort. On the next block south, La Maqueta de la Ciudad (Mariano Corona e/ Masó y Duany, tel. 022/65-2095, Tues.-Sun. 9am-9pm, CUC1 including guide) displays a huge 3-D scale-model of the city showing every single building in detail and covering the entire bay from the Castillo del Morro. Various maps edify on the city’s evolution, geography, and future development.
Continue west 100 meters to Calle Padre Pico. Turn left. The broad steps ahead are known as La Escalanita. Here, three members of the 26th of July Movement were killed on November 30, 1956, while attacking a nearby police station. To learn more, ascend the steps to the former station, now the Museo Lucha Clandestina (Jesús Rabi #1, tel. 022/62-4689, Tues.-Sun. 9am-4:45pm, CUC1, camera CUC5), which tells the tale of Castro’s 26th of July Movement (M-26-7). Fidel Castro lived across the street (Jesús Rabi #6) as a youth and, following the attack on Moncada, was imprisoned in the Antiguo Carcel Provincial (Aguilera #131), two blocks north.
Three blocks south of the museum is La Casa de los Tradiciones (Rabí #154, e/ Princesa y San Fernando, tel. 022/65-3892, daily 9am-midnight), an old wooden home and traditional music forum festooned with photos of famous musicians.
The Los Hoyos district north of Parque Céspedes is known for its 18th-century churches: Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Félix Pena #505, esq. Tamayo Freites), known for its statuary; Iglesia de San Francisco (Sagarra #121, esq. Mariana Corona), with its triple nave; Iglesia de Santo Tomás (Félix Pena #308, esq. General Portuondo); and Iglesia de la Santísima Trinidad (General Portuondo, esq. General Moncada), overlooking a tiny plaza dedicated to Guillermo Moncada (1840-1895), a Liberation Army general who was born nearby.
Avenida Sánchez Hechavarría, three blocks north of Parque Céspedes, is lined with houses used by revolutionaries during the effort to topple Batista; concentrated between Hartmann and Valiente, they’re marked by bronze plaques. The former home of Vilma Espin, an M-26-7 member who later married Raúl Castro and led the Women’s Federation of Cuba, today is Museo Memorial Vilma Espin (Hechavarría #473, e/ Porfirio Valiente y Pio Rosada, tel. 022/62-2295, Mon.-Sat. 9am-5pm, free), with six rooms dedicated to the life of this revolutionary heroine.
The Museo Hermanos País (Banderas #266, e/ General Portuondo y Habana, tel. 022/65-2710, Mon.-Sat. 9am-4:45pm, CUC1, cameras CUC5) is the birthplace of brothers Frank and José País, who headed the Santiago M-26-7 organization and were killed by Batista’s police. The Museo Casa Natal de Antonio Maceo (Maceo #207, e/ Corona y Rastro, tel. 022/62-3750, Mon.-Sat. 9am-5pm, closed during rains, CUC1, camera CUC5) occupies the birthplace of Antonio Maceo Grajales, who rose to second in command of the Liberation Army during the War of Independence.
Four blocks west is the waterfront Avenida Jesús Menéndez. Follow the boulevard north to the warehouse of Fábrica de Ron Caney (Av. Peralejo, e/ Gonzalo de Quesada y Padre Callejas). The oldest rum factory in Cuba, it was built in 1868 by the Bacardí family and nationalized in 1959, after which the Cuban government continued to make rum while Bacardí set up shop in Puerto Rico. It is not open to view, but you can sample the goods in the tasting room (Av. Peralejo #103, tel. 022/62-5575, Mon.-Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. 9am-noon). The main rum factory of the Bacardí corporation is four blocks north, on Carretera Bacardí esq. Crombet).
This 19th-century district lies northeast of the old city and Plaza de Marte, a small plaza built in 1860 as the Spanish parade ground and execution spot for Cuban patriots. Busts of Cuban patriots speckle the square.
The district is framed by Avenida Victoriano Garzón, Avenida de las Américas, and Avenida de los Libertadores, a broad boulevard lined with bronze busts of revolutionary heroes.
This plaza (General Portuondo, esq. Av. de los Libertadores) features a huge granite cube carved with the faces of Abel Santamaría and José Martí. A fountain seems to hold the cube aloft. To its north, the Museo Abel Santamaría (tel. 022/62-4119, Mon.-Thurs. and Sun. 9am-5pm, Fri. 1pm-5pm, CUC1, camera CUC5) occupies the former hospital where Abel Santamaría and 22 fellow rebels fired at the Moncada barracks and where they were later captured, tortured, and killed. Here, too, Fidel Castro gave his famous “History Will Absolve Me” speech while being judged by an emergency tribunal. Nine rooms house exhibits relating to the event and to the life of Abel Santamaría.
Immediately south is the Palacio de Justicia, still functioning as a courthouse. It was attacked by Raúl Castro’s contingent.
This former military barracks (General Portuondo, e/ Av. de los Libertadores y Carlos Aponte), with castellated walls and turrets, is renowned for the fateful day on July 26, 1953, when Fidel Castro and his poorly armed cohorts stormed the barracks. After the Revolution, Moncada was turned into a school, the Ciudad Escolar 26 de Julio. A portion of the building near the entrance gate is riddled with bullet holes. They’re not the originals; Batista’s troops filled those in. Castro had the holes redone using photographs. This section houses the Museo Histórico 26 de Julio (also known as the Museo de la Revolución, tel. 022/66-1157, Tues.-Sat. 9am-4:30pm, Sun. 9am-12:30pm, entrance CUC2, cameras CUC5), which tells the tale of the attack and subsequent revolutionary history. Prolific weaponry includes Castro’s personal sharpshooter rifle.
This once posh plaza at the junction of Avenida de las Américas and Avenida de los Libertadores is dominated by the massive Monumento Antonio Maceo, dedicated to the homegrown son of a local merchant who rose to become the hero-general of the War of Independence as second-in-command of the rebel forces. Maceo was nicknamed the “Bronze Titan”—the mammoth statue of the general on a rearing horse is cast in bronze. On the north side, an eternal flame flickers in a marble-lined bowl cut into the base by the entrance to the Sala Deposición Hológrafía (tel. 022/64-3053, Mon.-Sat. 8am-4pm, free), with holograms telling of Maceo’s life and of the War of Independence.
The Teatro Heredia on the plaza’s east side is fronted by a giant steel mural of revolutionary comandante Juan Almeida Bosque (1927-2009).
This leafy residential district is bounded on the west by Avenida de las Américas and on the south by Avenida Pujol (Carretera Siboney). Avenida Manduley runs east-west through the center of Vista Alegre and is lined with once sumptuous villas of Santiago’s long-departed upper class.
The Museo de la Imagen (Calle 8 #106, esq. 5, tel. 022/64-2234, Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm, Sat.-Sun. 2pm-5pm, CUC1) was established by cameraman Bernabé Muñiz, who filmed Fulgencio Batista’s coup d’état in 1952, the surrender of the Moncada barracks to the revolutionaries in 1959, and Fidel’s victory parade from Santiago to Havana. The museum features almost 500 photographic, film, and TV cameras—from CIA espionage cameras to a stereoscopic viewfinder from 1872—plus a library of feature films and documentaries dating back to 1926.
Every U.S. schoolchild knows that Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders defeated the Spanish at San Juan Hill, which rises on the south side of Avenida Pujol to a palm-shaded park containing a replica fort, plus monuments and cannons, including a Tomb of the Unknown Mambí, Cuba’s independence fighters. One memorial is dedicated to “the generous American soldiers who sealed a covenant of liberty and fraternity between the two nations.” The Cuban liberationists who helped storm the hill weren’t even invited to the surrender ceremony on July 16, 1898, beneath a huge ceiba tree. The Monumento Arbol de Paz, in its own little park off Avenida Pujol 100 meters west of San Juan Hill, occupies the site of the original “peace tree.” Cannons and howitzers surround giant bronze plaques (shaped as open books) inscribed with the names of all the U.S. and Cuban soldiers killed in the war.
For an escape from the frenetic bustle, head to the Jardín de los Helechos (Carretera de la Caney #129, tel. 022/64-8335, manolito@bioeco.siess.info.cu, Mon.-Sat. 9am-3pm, Sun. 9am-noon, CUC1), a fern garden in the colonial village of Caney, three kilometers northeast of Reparto Vista Alegre. What began as a private collection in the mansion of Manuel G. Caloff now boasts more than 360 fern species plus orchids and about 1,000 other plant species divided into zones and specialties, such as miniatures and medicinal plants. It’s best visited in winter, when the orchid blooms are profuse. Take bus #129 from Parque Abel Santamaría.
The Castillo de San Pedro del Morro (tel. 022/69-1569, daily 8:30am-7:30pm, entrance CUC4, cameras CUC5) is an enormous piece of military architecture poised atop the cliffs at the entrance to Santiago Bay, about 14 kilometers south of the city. Begun in 1638, the castle was rebuilt in 1664 after Henry Morgan’s pirates reduced it to rubble. Cannons are everywhere, and the views from the battlements are spectacular! Exhibits include old muskets, cutlasses, and more. A cañonazo ceremony is usually held at 6pm (CUC4), when soldiers in period costume put a torch to a cannon in a time-honored tradition that once announced the nightly sealing of the harbor.
A choral group—Vocal Vidas—performs each Thursday, 3pm-5pm.
Castillo de San Pedro del Morro
The cliff is pinned by the Faro del Morro, a lighthouse built in 1920 and still using the original hand-wound Fresnel lens. Adjoining a military complex, it’s now open to the public (CUC1); climb the stairs for sensational views.
Do call in at the clifftop Restaurante El Morro (tel. 022/69-1576, daily noon-10pm), where the excellent criolla dishes are excelled by fabulous views. Hopefully there’ll be space between the tour groups.
Bus #212 runs from downtown to Embarcadero Cayo Granma, from where you can hike up to the castle. If driving, follow Avenida 12 de Agosto south from Plaza de Marte; this leads to Carretera del Morro. Alternatively, you can drive the Carretera Turística, which begins at the southern end of Avenida Jesús Menéndez, following the bayshore to emerge atop the cliffs by the castle. En route, you’ll pass Punta Gorda, a slender peninsula once fashionable with Santiago’s upper class. A large statue of revolutionary hero Frank País looms over the point overlooking Marina Marlin.
This small island sits in the bay offshore of Punta Gorda. The small fishing colony looks as if it has been magically transferred from the Mediterranean, with its rowboats berthed beneath the eaves of waterfront houses. Narrow streets lead up to a hilltop church, Iglesia de San Rafael. The Restaurante El Cayo (tel. 022/69-0109, daily noon-5pm), on the northeast side of the cay, serves seafood and criolla dishes.
A passenger ferry (20 centavos) serves the cay four times daily from Embarcadero Cayo Granma and continues to Playa Socapa, a beach with a cannon battery on the headland facing El Morro. An excursion boat runs from Marina Marlin (daily 8:30am-4:30pm, CUC3).
This cemetery (Calzada Crombet, tel. 022/63-3522, 6am-5pm, entrance CUC1, cameras CUC1, videos CUC5) is the final resting place of key figures in Cuban history: Carlos Manuel Céspedes, Emilio Bacardí, Tomás Estrada Palma (Cuba’s first president), heroes of the attack on the Moncada barracks (look for the red and black flags on their graves), and heroes of the War of Independence, who are entombed in a tiny castle. The grand gateway is dedicated to Cuban soldiers who died fighting in Angola.
The main draw is the Mausoleo de Martí, the tomb of José Martí, beneath a crenellated hexagonal tower (each side represents one of the six original provinces of Cuba). Marble steps lead down to a circular mausoleum, designed so that the sun would always shine on his coffin, draped with the Cuban flag. Military guards stand duty 24/7 and change shifts with a goose-stepping march every 30 minutes.
To get here, you’ll pass Fuerte de Yarayó (Carretera Bacardí, esq. Paseo de Martí), a small fort built in the late 19th century.
changing of the guard, Cementerio de Santa Ifigenia
The dark and moody Club 300 (Aguilera, e/ Hartmann y General Lacret, tel. 022/65-3532, nightly 8:30pm-2am, CUC2) is a hot spot for foreign boy meets local gal. Music videos are screened.
Serving sophisticates, the Pico Real lobby bar, in the Hotel Meliá Santiago (Av. de las Américas, esq. M, daily 6pm-2am), is a chic spot for enjoying cocktails. A pianist plays most nights, and live jazz is hosted on Friday. For sensational city views, take the elevator to the hotel’s top-floor Bello Bar (daily 6pm-2am, CUC5 including one drink; hotel guests free), which hosts live music at times.
A shot of quality rum costs a mere CUC1 at the Bar El Traguito (Pío Rosado, e/ San Basilio y Santa Lucía, tel. 022/64-1705, Tues.-Fri. noon-midnight, Sat.-Sun. 2pm-2am), a simple bodega-style bar beneath the Museo del Ron, and at the chic Bodega Don Rancho (Aguilera #513, daily noon-midnight). Sudsters should head to Taberna Bucanero (Hartmann esq. Aguilera, daily 10am-11:45pm), serving draft Bucanero by the glass (CUC0.75) or 10-glass ice-core dispenser (CUC7.50).
Santiago’s Casa de la Trova (Heredia #208, tel. 022/65-2689, noon-1am, CUC1 by day, CUC5 at night) is the island’s most famous “house of trova.” The trova tradition of romantic ballads was born here, and famous Cuban musicians perform. Patio de Artex (Heredia #304, tel. 022/65-4814, daily 11am-1pm, 4pm-7pm, and 9:30pm-2am, CUC2) packs in a younger crowd for traditional music performed live. Even livelier, La Casa de los Tradiciones (Rabí #154, e/ Princesa y San Fernando, tel. 022/65-3892, Mon.-Fri. 6pm-midnight, Sat.-Sun. 4pm-midnight) is an old wooden home where even the beer bottles get up and dance.
live performance at Patio de Artex
Coro Madrigalista (Pío Rosada #555, esq. Aguilera, CUC1) is a simpler venue with son and bolero nightly at 9pm. And the Museo de Ambiente Histórico Cubano (Félix Pena #602, tel. 022/65-2652) hosts traditional music and other cultural activities, as does the appropriately named Sala de Son (Enramada #616, tel. 022/66-9130, daily noon-6pm and 8pm-2am), just west of Plaza de Marte.
These Afro-Cuban comparsas (folkloric associations) have workshops where you can watch, and even participate in, practice sessions: Tumba Francesa (Calle Los Maceos #501, esq. General Bandera, no tel., Tues. and Fri. at 9pm), which maintains Haitian traditions; Foco Cultural El Tivoli (Desiderio Mesnier #208, tel. 022/62-0142, Mon., Wed., and Fri. at 8:30pm and Sun. at 2pm); and Ballet Folklórico Cutumba (Saco, e/ Corona y Padre Pico, tel. 022/62-5860, Tues.-Sun.).
The Tropicana (Autopista Nacional, Km 1.5, tel. 022/68-7020, Mon.-Sat. 10pm high season, Saturday only low season, CUC20), four kilometers northeast of town, hosts a colorful show tracing Caribbean history and culture. This is saucy Las Vegas-style cabaret espectáculo at its best.
the Tropicana
You’ll be the only non-Cuban at the alfresco Cabaret Las Américas (Av. Las Américas, tel. 022/63-4658, Tues.-Sun. 8pm-2:30am, 40 pesos), two kilometers northwest of Plaza de la Revolución, in Reparto José Martí. It packs in locals, who break out dancing beneath the stage. Cabaret junkies can get up close and personal at the bargain-priced Cabaret Son Caney (off Carretera de la Caney, tel. 022/64-8292, Tues.-Sun. 10:45pm, 40 pesos), with a small but fun 40-minute show popular with a gay crowd. Nearby, the private Tropicana d’Marcos (tel. 022/64-8728, Wed.-Mon. 6pm-1am) hosts an open-air “Cuban night” cabaret show and disco with live music and karaoke.
Gays have taken a liking to Cabaret San Pedro del Mar (Carretera del Morro Km 7.5, tel. 022/69-4037, Tues.-Fri. 10pm-2am, CUC5), near El Morro castle, eight kilometers south of town. Its small espectáculo precedes a disco.
The colonial-themed Santiago Café (Sat. 10pm-2am low season, nightly high season, CUC5), in the Hotel Meliá Santiago (Av. de las Américas, esq. M), features a small cabaret followed by disco.
La Maison (Manduley #52, tel. 022/64-0108, daily at 10:30pm, CUC5 including one drink) offers an alfresco fashion show followed by a cabaret.
Jazz fans finally are served by a dedicated club: the pleasant Jazz Club (Paraíso e/ Enramadas y Aguilera, off Plaza de Marte, tel. 022/62-7312, Tues.-Sun. 9pm-2am, CUC3).
Salsa fans fire up the dance floor at Casa de la Música (Corona #564 e/ Aguilera y Heredia, tel. 022/65-2227, 10pm-3am, CUC3-5).
Centro Cultural Proyecto Bahía (Calle 1ra #2, Punta Gorda, puertas@occ.co.cu) is a cultural project that works to stimulate children’s development and enjoyment. It has weekend programs. Ciudad Cultural, a cultural guide available in hotel lobbies, lists activities.
The Teatro Heredia (Av. de las Américas, esq. Av. de los Desfiles, tel. 022/64-3190), by the Plaza de la Revolución, hosts classical performances.
The Plaza Cultural Aguilera (Enramadas esq. Reloj, tel. 022/62-6130) hosts programs from trova to orchestral music and children’s performances (Fri.-Sun. 8:30pm).
Noche Santiaguera (also called the Festival de Rumba) is held on January 12, featuring a mini-carnival centered on Calle Heredia. The big enchilada, however, is the week-long Carnaval (Fiesta del Caribe) in late July, when everyone in town gets caught up in the street rumbas and conga lines. The node is the southern end of Avenida Jesús Menéndez, around Avenida 24 de Febrero.
In August, people converge in Parque Céspedes for the Festival de Pregón, arriving in carriages smothered with flowers and dressed in traditional costume to compete in traditional verse and song.
Every odd November/December, head to town for the International Choral Festival; Santiago de Cuba has three professional choirs.
Every Friday and Saturday night, local youth gather at Área Cubanacán, on Avenida de las Américas, to hear live bands and watch big-screen music videos.
Marina Marlin (tel. 022/69-1446, Tues.-Sun. 10am-10pm), at Punta Gorda, offers water sports and sportfishing. You can rent watercraft. The Sala Juegos, at Hotel San Juan (Av. Siboney y Calle 13), has two mini bowling lanes plus pool tables.
The Acuario (Pío Rosado #352, tel. 022/62-5438, Tues.-Sun. 9am-6pm, CUC1) displays tropical fish in tanks.
Estadio Guillermo Moncada (Av. de las Américas y Calle E, tel. 022/64-2640) hosts baseball games October-March.
There are more than 400 casas particulares. All are air-conditioned.
The Casa Catedral (San Pedro #703 altos, e/ Heredia y San Basilio, tel. 022/65-3169, CUC20-25) has views over Parque Céspedes from a marble-floored lounge with balcony. The owners rent two simply furnished rooms. One has a huge, tiled colonial bathroom that is a feature in itself. The second has a small modern bathroom, kitchenette, and private entrance.
Justifiably popular, S Casa Colonial Maruchi (San Félix #357, e/ Trinidad y San Germán, tel. 022/62-0767, maruchib@yahoo.es, CUC25-30) is a beautiful colonial house filled with antiques and Santería icons. Downstairs, two rooms (one with brass bed) have private hot-water bathrooms and open to a lush patio; upstairs, an apartment has its own terrace. The owner, Maruchi Berbes, an expert on Afro-Cuban culture, hosts dance and drumming classes.
Casa Colonial Maruchi
My favorite place is S Casa de Yuliett Ramos (San Basilio #513, e/ Clarin y Reloj, tel. 022/62-0546, CUC15-25). Yuliett’s home is endearingly decorated with stone walls and wood paneling. One of the three rooms opens to a patio balcony; another has a quaint sundeck. Join the family in the TV lounge with leather sofa.
Casa Don Carlos (Heredia #416, e/ Clarin y Reloj, tel. 022/62-0606 or 5348-4128, www.casadoncarlos.webs.tl) is another lovely option in a colonial house steps from the main plaza. Its single air-conditioned room has two beds, plus Internet and phone. The owners speak English, French, Italian, and Portuguese and offer meals.
Canadian tour operator Kate Daley and her Cuban husband, Abel, run S Hostal Atardecer (Jagüey #164, e/ Padre Pico y Corona, tel. 022/65-9320, www.realcubaonline.com, CUC25), on a steep street one block from the main square. It’s a neocolonial home with massive doors, wide verandas with railings, a high ceiling, period furniture, and a patio plus roof terrace with fabulous view. The house has two large air-conditioned bedrooms with private bathrooms. Kate’s gourmet meals are reason enough to stay here and include vegetarian and non-observant kosher. Kate offers discounts for long-term stays and volunteers, plus special-interest tours of the region.
One of the nicest houses in town is Casa de Florinda Chaviano Martínez (Calle I #58, e/ 2da y 3ra, tel. 022/66-3660, CUC25), with a modern lounge and a single, well-lit room with modern hot-water bathroom. A handsome patio with grapevine arbor proves perfect for enjoying breakfast. The hosts are liberal and attentive.
Similar alternatives include Casa de Gloria Boué (Calle J #212, e/ 5ta y 4ta, tel. 022/64-4949, CUC25) and Casa Particular Nancy Téllez (Calle J #265, e/ 6ta y 5ta, tel. 022/62-5109, juanmatos78@yahoo.es, CUC20-25), each with two nicely furnished rooms.
These leafy residential suburbs offer some of the nicest middle-class houses in town. One of my favorites is Casa Particular Esmeralda González (Av. Pujol #107, esq. 5ta, tel. 022/64-6341, rachelbarreiro@yahoo.es, CUC20-25), where Esmeralda rents a spacious, well-lit, cross-ventilated room with fans, kitchenette, TV, independent entrance, marvelous period bathroom, and parking. Another is S Casa Particular Juan Matos Palaez (Calle Bitirí #102, esq. Taíno, tel. 022/64-1427, cmatos@eccs.ciges.inf.cu, CUC25-30), a beautiful 1950s-style home with two nicely furnished rooms with exquisite tiled hot-water bathrooms, plus huge patios to the front and rear.
All hotels listed have air-conditioned rooms and satellite TV unless noted.
The Oficina del Conservador de la Ciudad (City Conservationist’s Office, Av. Rafael Manduley #203 e/ 7 y 9, Vista Alegre, tel. 022/64-9690) has opened four small hostals in refurbished villas in Vista Alegre. All cost CUC15 s, CUC19 d, or CUC17 s, CUC22 d with breakfast. A three-night minimum is required.
The impecunious might try Hotel Birret (Calles L y 7, tel. 022/64-2047, CUC8 s, CUC10 d), in Reparto Vista Alegre. Run by the Universidad del Oriente, it offers basic rooms with shared bathrooms with cold water only.
Otherwise, the cheapest digs are at Islazul’s Hotel Gran Hotel (Saco, esq. Hartmann, tel. 022/65-3020, CUC20 s, CUC32 d low season, CUC26 s, CUC42 high season), with 15 functional and rather pricey rooms with safes and simple bathrooms. It has a bar, café, and restaurant.
Islazul’s Hotel Libertad (Aguilera #658, tel. 022/62-1589, CUC20 s, CUC32 d low season, CUC36 s, CUC42 d high season, including breakfast), on the south side of Plaza de Marte, has a classical motif and exquisite tilework and hardwoods throughout. It offers 42 smallish but amply furnished rooms with small modern bathrooms. It has a lobby bar, elegant restaurant, and Internet.
Villa Gaviota (Manduley #502, e/ 19 y 21, tel. 022/64-1370, jefe.recepcion@gaviota.co.cu, from CUC25 s, CUC35 d low season, from CUC29 s, CUC40 d high season), in Vista Alegre, features 46 modestly furnished bargain-priced villas in a quiet residential district. It has a swimming pool, a store, and a restaurant and disco.
Cubanacán’s S Hotel E San Basilio (San Basilio #403, e/ Calvario y Carnicería, tel. 022/65-1702, hotelesanbasilio@tur.cu, CUC40 s, CUC60 d year-round) has turned a former colonial mansion into a delightful eight-room hotel (an extension of the Hotel Versalles). Rooms are regally decorated and have beautiful modern bathrooms. It has a small restaurant and 24-hour lobby bar.
Cubanacán’s 72-room Hotel Versalles (Alturas de Versalles, Km 1.6, Carretera del Morro, tel. 022/69-1016, comercial@hotelversalles.co.cu, from CUC43 s, CUC64 d low season, CUC47 s, CUC68 d high season) is striking for its stylish contemporary furnishings, lovely bathrooms, and large balconies with city views. Its elegant restaurant has a stunning stained-glass window, plus the pool deck is a great place to lounge.
Islazul’s Hotel San Juan (Av. Siboney y Calle 13, tel. 022/68-7200, CUC29 s, CUC40 d low season, CUC35 s, CUC60 d high season, including breakfast), on San Juan Hill, has 110 modestly furnished rooms in villa-style blocks—take an upstairs room with a lofty ceiling to help dissipate the heat. Facilities include a swimming pool and nightclub, but you’re a long way from the center. The Hotel San Juan is nicer than the similarly priced Hotel Las Américas (Av. de las Américas y General Cebreco, tel. 022/64-2011), an uninspired 70-room property closer to the center.
A superb newcomer in 2013, the 24-room S Hotel Rex (Av. Garzón #10, tel. 022/68-7092, CUC45 s, CUC60 d year-round, including breakfast), just off Plaza de Marte, is a historic hotel refurbished with a classic contemporary vogue. A highlight is its snazzy restaurant and bar. Guest rooms boast cable TV and Wi-Fi.
Setting the gold standard is Cubanacán’s S Hotel Meliá Santiago de Cuba (Av. de las Américas, esq. M, tel. 022/68-7070, www.meliacuba.com, from CUC110 s, CUC140 d low season, from CUC160 s, CUC200 d high season), a 15-story modernist structure with 270 rooms, 30 junior suites, and three suites (with free wireless Internet), all done up with contemporary furniture. It has heaps of facilities, including restaurants, sauna, gym, swimming pool, business center, and nightclub.
Hotel Meliá Santiago de Cuba
Until recently one of only two paladares in town, Paladar Salón Tropical (Fernández Marcané #310, e/ 9 y 10, tel. 022/64-1161, daily noon-midnight) offers rooftop dining beneath an arbor or a romantic cross-ventilated room with stained-glass windows. The menu ranges from pizza (CUC4) to fricasseed lamb (CUC8).
In the casco histórico, you’re served filling plates of tasty criolla fare at El Holandes (Heredia #251, esq. Hartman, tel. 022/62-4878, Raquel.halley2012@yahoo.es, daily noon-midnight).
South of Parque Céspedes, Paladar Caribeña (San Carlos #262, esq. San Pedro, tel. 022/62-3071, daily 10:30am-1am) has elegant decor plus a more rustic rooftop option for enjoying shrimp enchilada (CUC7) or lobster (CUC10) any of a dozen ways.
Casa Micaela (San Félix #456, e/ Hechavarría y Sagarro, tel. 022/62-5716, daily 24 hours) serves tasty criolla fare, such as garbanzo beans (CUC1.50) and roast pork (CUC3), in a shaded inner patio, with live music Monday and Friday.
In Reparto Hoyo, stop off at Rumba Café (San Félix #455A, e/ San Francisco y San Gerónimo, tel. 5802-2153, Mon.-Thurs. 9:30am-9pm, Fri.-Sat. 9:30am-10pm), a café-lounge run with European sophistication (think World music on the sound system) by a Cuban-Italian couple: Vilma and Fabio. The kitchen conjures up salads, tapas, fruit tarts, and various coffees, enjoyed in the lounge or under an arbor in the patio with poured-concrete sofas.
El Barracón (Av. Garzón, esq. Prudencio Martínez, tel. 022/66-1877, daily noon-11pm) plays up the runaway slave theme with life-size models, medieval-style tables and chairs, wrought-iron lanterns, and a pork-focused menu (CUC5).
Despite its ritzy elegance and exceptional cuisine at reasonable prices, not many folks dine at Restaurant La Isabelica (tel. 022/68-7070, daily 7pm-11pm), in the Hotel Meliá Santiago (Av. de las Américas, esq. M). I savored a pumpkin curried soup (CUC3) and jumbo shrimp flambéed with rum (CUC16), plus profiteroles (CUC3). The Hotel Meliá Santiago’s open-air S Restaurant La Fontana (daily noon-11pm) is a hit for its Italian dishes, including tasty pizza, plus continental dishes such as fish fillet with capers in white wine sauce (CUC12).
Restaurant Zunzún (Av. Manduley #159, tel. 022/64-1528, daily noon-10pm), in a mansion in Vista Alegre, has a varied menu ranging from tapas (CUC2) to lobster enchiladas (CUC25).
If you don’t mind the passing traffic, you’ll find good seafood fare at Dimar (Av. de las Américas, esq. D, tel. 022/69-1889, daily 8am-11pm), a clean, glass-enclosed restaurant with outside seating.
After exploring the frenetic streets, head to the Café de Té (Calle Aguilera, esq. General Lacret, tel. 022/65-8067, daily 9:15am-8:45pm), which sells herbal and flavored teas, plus coffee drinks; it hosts boleros and traditional music on Saturday at 6pm.
Freshly baked goodies are sold at Doña Neli (no tel., Mon.-Sat. 7am-7pm and Sun. 7am-2pm), on the southwest corner of Plaza de Marte. And do treat yourself to artisanal chocolates made on-site at Chocolatería Fraternidad (Mon.-Fri. 9:15am-9:15pm, Sat.-Sun. 10am-10pm), on Parque de Marte’s southeast corner.
For ice cream, head to S Heladería La Arboleda (Av. de los Libertadores, esq. Av. Garzón, tel. 022/62-0435, Tues.-Sun. 9am-11pm), a temple of delight with numerous sales points and outdoor patios to speed along the lines. It’s better even than the new outdoor Coppelia (Calle Jagüey e/ Peralejo y 10 de Octubre), which opened in 2013.
You can buy fresh produce and meats at the mercado agropecuario (Aguilera and Padre Pico, Mon.-Sat. 6am-5pm) and the squeaky-clean El Avileño market (Saco e/ Félix Pena y General Lacret, Tues.-Sat. 8am-noon and 4pm-7pm, Sun. 8am-noon).
For fine art head to Galería de Arte UNEAC (Heredia, e/ Hartmann y Pio Rosada, tel. 022/65-3465, ext. 106) or Taller Aguilera (Calle 6 #211, esq. 9, Vista Alegre, tel. 022/64-1817 or 5368-7678, www.carlosreneaguilera.jimdo.com), where sibling artists Carlos and Josefina Aguilera and their father José display sensational works.
The tasting room adjoining Fábrica de Ron Caney (Av. Peralejo #103, tel. 022/62-5575, daily 9am-5pm) sells a wide range of national rums, including rare 25-year-old Ron Paticruzado. It is also well-stocked with cigars, as are the Casa del Habano (Aguilera, esq. Jesús Menéndez, tel. 022/65-4207, Mon.-Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. 9pm-noon) and Casa del Tabaco (daily 8am-8pm) in the Hotel Meliá Santiago (Av. de las Américas, esq. M).
For a genuine hand-embroidered blouse or guayabera, head to El Quitrín (Hechavarría #477, e/ Porfirio Valiente y Pío Rosada, tel. 022/62-2528, Mon.-Fri. 8:30am-4pm). La Casa de los Abanicos (Heredia esq. Pio Rosada, Mon.-Sat. 9:20am-5:20pm) sells hand-made fans from CUC5.
There’s an Infotur booth in the airport car park (tel. 022/69-2099) and another on the southeast corner of Parque Céspedes (Lacret, esq. Heredia, tel. 022/68-6068, daily 8am-5pm low season, daily 8am-7pm high season).
Inmigración is in the Centro de Negocios (Alameda e/ Jagüey y Saco, tel. 022/68-7135).
There are branches of Banco Financiero Internacional on Félix Pena one block north of Parque Céspedes; on Saco, at the corner of Porfirio Valiente; and on Avenida de las Américas (esq. J). You can also exchange foreign currency at Cadeca (Aguilera #508, tel. 022/65-1383).
The post office (Aguilera #310, esq. Padre Quiroga) adjoins DHL (tel. 022/68-6323 or 022/65-4750). Etecsa (Freites, esq. Hartmann, tel. 022/65-7524, and Heredia, e/ Félix Pena y General Lacret, tel. 022/65-7524, daily 8:30am-7:30pm), on the south side of Parque Céspedes, and the Centro de Negocios (Alameda e/ Jagüey y Saco, tel. 022/68-7135) have international telephone and Internet service.
The Clínica Internacional (Av. Raúl Pujol, esq. Calle 8, tel. 022/64-2589, 24 hours) charges CUC25 per consultation, or CUC30 between 4pm and 7am and for hotel visits. The clinic has a modestly stocked pharmacy, as does the Hotel Meliá Santiago (Av. de las Américas, esq. M).
In trouble? Asistur (Calle 4, e/ 7 y 9, tel. 022/68-6128, asisturstago@enet.cu, Mon.-Sat. 9am-5pm), on Parque Céspedes, provides travelers’ emergency assistance. The Consultoría Jurídica Internacional (Calle 8 #54, e/ 1 y 3, Rpto. Vista Alegre, tel. 022/64-4546) provides legal services.
Aeropuerto Internacional Antonio Maceo (tel. 022/69-1014), off Carretera del Morro, is eight kilometers south of Santiago. Buses #212 and #213 (via Punta Gorda) operate between the airport and Avenida de los Libertadores, downtown. A taxi costs CUC7 one-way.
Cubana (Enramada, esq. San Pedro, tel. 022/65-1577, airport tel. 022/69-1214) serves Santiago from Europe, plus daily from Havana, and from Varadero, Camagüey, and Baracoa.
Víazul buses (tel. 022/62-8484, www.viazul.com) for Santiago arrive and depart the Terminal de Ómnibus Nacional (Av. de los Libertadores, esq. Av. Juan Gualberto Gómez, tel. 022/62-3050). Buses depart Santiago four times daily for Havana, and daily for Trinidad and for Varadero.
Local buses and camiones operate to outlying destinations from the Terminal de Ómnibus Municipales (Av. de los Libertadores y Calle 4, tel. 022/62-4329). Camiones for Bayamo and Guantánamo leave from the Terminal de Ómnibus Intermunicipales Serrano (Av. Jesús Menéndez, e/ Máximo Gómez y Juan Bautista Sagarra, tel. 022/62-4325).
Trains arrive and depart the railway station (Av. Jesús Menéndez y Martí, tel. 022/62-2836). The Tren Francés (train #1) departs Havana every third day at 6:27pm and arrives Santiago de Cuba at 9:12am. The return train (#2) departs Santiago de Cuba at 8:17pm and arrives Havana at 10:57am. The slower train #3 departs Havana at 4pm every third day, on a day when the Tren Francés isn’t running, and arrives Santiago de Cuba at 8:05am. The return train (#4) departs Santiago de Cuba at 11:15pm and arrives Havana at 3:41pm.
Buy your tickets at the Viajero ticket office (tel. 022/65-1381, daily 9am-6pm) on the station’s north side; you must go the same day for travel on the Tren Francés and 24 hours beforehand for the regular train.
Ships berth at the cruise terminal (Av. Jesús Menéndez, tel. 022/65-1763).
Marina Marlin (tel. 022/69-1446), at Punta Gorda, has moorings.
Bus #1 runs between Parque Céspedes and both the interprovincial and intermunicipal bus terminals. Most people get around on camiones, penned in shoulder-to-shoulder like cattle.
All tourist hotels have rental agencies. Havanautos (Hotel Las Américas, tel. 022/68-7160), Cubacar (Hotel Meliá, tel. 022/62-7177; Hotel San Juan, tel. 022/68-7206; Av. de los Libertadores, esq. Av. Juan Gualberto Gómez, tel. 022/62-3884; Plaza de Marte, tel. 022/62-9194; beneath the Hotel Casa Granda, tel. 022/68-6107), Vía (on the southeast corner of Parque Céspedes, tel. 022/62-4646), and Rex (tel. 022/68-6445 downtown, airport tel. 022/68-6444) all have offices at the airport.
Taxis hang out on the south side of Parque Céspedes and outside the tourist hotels. Cubataxi (tel. 226/65-1038) has taxis on call. However, small motorcycles are the taxis of choice for locals; thousands buzz through the streets—just wave one down and hang on for the ride of your life. Grantaxi (tel. 022/62-4328) offers rides in classic Yankee autos.
You can rent scooters at the Hotel San Juan (Av. Siboney y Calle 13).
City tours are offered by Cubatur (Heredia, esq. General Lacret, tel. 022/68-6033, and Garzón e/ 3ra y 4t), Cubanacán (Av. de las Américas y M, tel. 022/64-2202), Gaviotatour (Av. Manduley #456, tel. 022/68-7135), and Paradiso (Heredia #305, tel. 022/62-7037), which specializes in cultural tours.
Spanish speakers can join guided tours of the casco histórico offered by the Oficina del Conservador de la Ciudad (Av. Rafael Manduley #203, e/ 7 y 9, Vista Alegre, tel. 022/64-9690, 8 pesos). They begin at Parque Céspedes (Tues., Thurs., and Sat. 9:30am) and at the Museo Emilio Bacardí Moreau (Wed., Fri., and Sun. 9:30am).
Marina Marlin (tel. 022/69-1446) offers an hour-long bay excursion (CUC12 including cocktail) with a 10-passenger minimum.
Canadian Kate Daley and her husband, Abel (Jagüey #164, e/ Padre Pico y Corona, tel. 022/65-9320, www.realcubaonline.com), offer history tours of the city; excursions and tours farther afield focused on art, gardens, ecosystems, and geography; Spanish classes; and music and dance instruction.
The village of El Cobre, on the Carretera Central, 20 kilometers northwest of Santiago, takes its name from the copper (cobre) mine that the Spanish established in the mid-1500s. In 1630, it was abandoned, and the African slave-miners were unilaterally freed. A century later it was reopened by Colonel Don Pedro Jiménez, governor of Santiago, who put the slaves’ descendants back to work. The slaves were officially declared free in 1782, a century before their brethren in the cane fields. Although the mine closed in 2000, the pit (filled with a turquoise lagoon) can be seen from the Monumento al Cimarrón, beyond the village. This monument, reached by steep stairs, is dedicated to the slaves who rebelled.
Dominating the village is the ocher-colored, triple-towered hilltop Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Cobre (tel. 022/34-6118, daily 6am-6pm). Cuba’s only basilica was erected in 1927 (a hermitage has occupied the site since 1608, however) and is a national shrine dedicated to the Virgin of Charity, the patron saint of Cuba to whom miraculous powers are ascribed.
The front entrance is reached via a steep staircase. More usual is to enter at the rear, from the parking lot, where the Sala de Milagros (Salon of Miracles) contains a small chapel with a silver altar crowded with votive candles and flowers. To the left and right are tables with miscellaneous objects placed in offering. On the walls hang scores of silver milagros; the two centuries of ex-votos include a small gold figure left by Castro’s mother, Lina Ruz, to protect her two sons, Fidel and Raúl, during the war in the Sierra Maestra.
Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Cobre
Steps lead up to a separate altar where the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre resides in effigy in an air-conditioned glass case. Clad in a yellow cloak and crown (Ochún’s color is yellow), she is surrounded by a sea of flowers and the entire shrine is suffused with narcotic scents. Once a year thousands of devotees make their way along the winding road, many crawling painfully uphill to fulfill a promise made to the saint at some difficult moment in their lives. The unlucky angler in Ernest Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea promises to “make a pilgrimage to the Virgin de Cobre” if he wins his battle with the massive marlin. In 1952, Hemingway dedicated his Nobel Prize for Literature to the Virgin, placing it in her shrine.
Touts will rush forward to sell you flower wreaths, miniature chacitas (images of the Virgin), and iron pyrite—fool’s gold—culled from the residue of the nearby mine. “Es real!” they say, attempting to put a small piece in your hand. A firm “No gracias!” should suffice.
The Hospedaje El Cobre (tel. 022/34-6246), behind the church, serves pilgrims and has 16 basic rooms where foreigners are welcome when space allows; each room has three single beds and a private bathroom (20 pesos pp). Couples must be married and show ID with the same address. A refectory serves basic fare at 7:30am, noon, and 6pm. For reservations, write Hermana Elsa Aranda, Hospedaje El Cobre, El Cobre, Santiago.
Bus #202 operates four times daily to El Cobre from Santiago’s Terminal de Ómnibus Intermunicipales. Camiones run from Avenida de las Américas at the corner of Calle M and from Avenida de los Libertadores and Calle 4. A taxi will cost about CUC25 round-trip. Tour operators offer excursions.
The easternmost spurs of the Sierra Maestra rise west of Santiago. Nestled in a valley, El Saltón is touted as a mountain health resort, with picture-perfect cascades. It’s excellent for bird-watching. The lodge offers massage, guided hikes (CUC2), and birding (CUC2).
El Saltón is at the end of the road about 15 kilometers west of Cruce de los Baños, a regional center overlooking the Río Contramaestre. In 2013, the Mausoleo del Tercer Frente Oriental (Av. de los Mártires, Tues.-Sat. 9am-4pm, Sun. 9am-noon) opened here. Comandante Juan Almeida Bosque (1927-2009), who led the “third eastern front” during the Revolution, is buried here along with 216 other guerrilla fighters. In the town center, the Museo Tercer Frente Guerrillero (Av. de los Mártires, Tues.-Sat. 9am-4pm, Sun. 9am-noon) tells their tale.
Cubanacán’s Villa El Saltón (Carretera Puerto Rico a Filé, III Frente, tel. 022/56-6326, carlos.rosales@hotelsalton.cocu, CUC39 s, CUC48 d) is an eco-lodge built in the 1970s as an anti-stress center for the Cuban elite. Accommodations are in 25 modestly appointed double rooms with modern bathrooms. An open-sided, thatched restaurant overlooks the river.
El Saltón is reached from Contramaestre, on the Carretera Central about 70 kilometers northwest of Santiago, then 27 kilometers south to the village of Cruce de los Baños, where the paved road gives out. El Saltón is eight kilometers west of Cruce via the community of Filé. El Saltón can also be reached by jeep and a steep clamber from Río Seco, on the coast near Chivírico.
Villa El Saltón
The bone-rattling drive west along the coast from Santiago is magnificent, with the Sierra Maestra plummeting to a crashing sea. The road becomes gradually more lonesome as you pass rustic fishing villages and pocket-size beaches. The section between Palma Mocha and La Plata is frequently washed out by storms (it was impassable at last visit, although repair crews were at work); don’t be surprised to find the road impassable, or to find heavy-duty trucks ferrying passengers across washed-out sections.
The only settlement is Chivírico, a fishing village about 80 kilometers west of Santiago. Here you’ll find two foreign-operated hotels with knockout views. Nearby Las Cuevas de Murciélagos is full of bats, while about 22 kilometers farther west of Chivírico, at Uvero and reached via a glade of palms, is a monument marking the site where Castro’s rebel army won its first major victory against Batista’s troops on May 28, 1957.
About 12 kilometers west of Ocujal (48 kilometers west of Chivírico), you cross the mouth of the Río La Plata. It was here, on January 17, 1957, that Castro’s rebel army first came down from the Sierra Maestra to attack a small garrison of Batista’s Rural Guard. The Museo Combate de la Plata (CUC1) is 400 meters off the road, beside the river, on the west side of the bridge. Three thatched huts exhibit uniforms, maps, small arms, and more. The watchman, who lives adjacent, will open up on demand.
Just as Edmund Hillary climbed Everest “because it was there,” so Pico Turquino lures the intrepid who seek the satisfaction of reaching the summit of Cuba’s highest peak, heart of the 17,450-hectare Parque Nacional Pico Turquino. Most hikers set off from Santo Domingo, in Granma Province, on the north side of the mountain. On the south side, a dauntingly steep 13-kilometer trail begins at Estación Biológica Las Cuevas del Turquino, at Las Cuevas, 55 kilometers west of Chivírico. A guide is compulsory (CUC20 pp, plus CUC5 for cameras, plus mandatory tip).
You’ll need to set off around 4am to summit before clouds set in (no departures are permitted after 7am). You normally ascend and return in one day, a 10-hour feat, although you can shelter at 1,650 meters on Pico Cuba (with a rudimentary kitchen with stove) and at La Esmajagua, midway between Pico Cuba and Las Cuevas (CUC30 for a two-day hike). If you want to cross the sierra, you can hike all the way to Alto del Naranjo, on the north side of the mountain, a two-night/three-day journey (CUC48). You’ll need two sets of guides—one for each side of the mountain—arranged in advance.
You must be self-sufficient (bring all the food and water you need). The weather is unpredictable; dress accordingly. Cold winds often kick up near the summit; the humidity and wind-chill factor can drop temperatures to near freezing. Rain is always a possibility, downpours are common, and fog is almost a daily occurrence at higher elevations by mid-morning.
Book through EcoTur (Santo Domingo tel. 023/56-5635, Bayamo tel. 023/48-7006, Santiago tel. 022/62-5438 or 5289-3558, or Havana tel. 07/641-0306, reservas@ecotur.grm.tur.cu). You need to carry your own gear. No sleeping bags or blankets are available.
Brisas Sierra Mar (Carretera de Chivírico, Km 60, tel. 022/32-9110) offers scuba diving (CUC30, or CUC60 for a wreck dive, CUC365 for a certification course). The most popular dive site is the wreck of the Spanish cruiser Colón, sunk on July 3, 1898, by the U.S. Navy. It rests just 20 meters below the surface, 35 meters from shore just east of Ocujal. Offshore from kilometer 24.7 is the wreck of the Spanish-American warship Juan González, and off Asseredero, at kilometer 32, lies the wreck of the cruiser Viscaya.
Planning to hike Pico Turquino? You can camp (you’ll need to be self-sufficient) at Estación Las Cuevas, which has a basic dormitory with three beds (CUC5 pp). Alternatively, Campismo La Mula (reservations: Campismo Popular, Jagüey #163, e/ Mariano Corona y Padre Pico, Santiago, tel. 022/62-9000, CUC5 pp), at the mouth of the Río La Mula, 12 kilometers east of Las Cuevas, has basic cabins with cold showers, plus a simple restaurant.
Campismo Caletón Blanco (c/o Campismo Popular), 30 kilometers west of Santiago, also has simple cabins and accepts foreigners.
Canadian Kate Daley and her Cuban hubby, Abel (Jagüey #164 e/ Padre Pico y Corona, Santiago de Cuba, tel. 022/65-9320, www.realcubaonline.com, CUC50 including housekeeper), rent a three-room hilltop bungalow at Caletón Blanco, with a three-day minimum rental. It has heaps of light. Single rooms with traditional furniture cost CUC15-20. The rooms share a cold-water bathroom, but hot water and a second bathroom with wheelchair access were being added. A paladar 400 meters east of Campismo Caletón Blanco serves meals.
Cubanacán’s clifftop Brisas Sierra Mar (Carretera de Chivírico, Km 60, tel. 022/32-9110, carpeta@smar.scu.tur.cu, from CUC53 s, CUC70 d low season, from CUC93 s, CUC144 d high season) is a beautiful all-inclusive 10 kilometers east of Chivírico. The 200 nicely furnished rooms have modern accoutrements. Its heaps of facilities include water sports, tennis, scuba diving, and a swimming pool with views. It shares facilities with the more intimate 34-room Brisas Los Galeones (Carretera de Chivírico, Km 60, tel. 022/32-6163, CUC98 s, CUC130 d year-round), perched atop a headland about 10 kilometers east of Brisas Sierra Mar; a shuttle connects the two. The spacious rooms have king-size beds and balconies. A charming restaurant overlooks a pool, and it has a game room, tiny gym, and sauna. A 296-step staircase leads to a beach.
Nonguests can buy day passes to the Brisas hotels (CUC27 pp 9am-6pm, CUC39 9pm-11pm including all meals and drinks, or CUC9 dinner only).
swimming pool at Brisas Sierra Mar
The small town of Mayarí Arriba squats at the end of the road in the rugged Sierra del Cristal northeast of Santiago. Carlos Manuel de Céspedes established his revolutionary government here in the 1860s, and Raúl Castro established his military headquarters here when he opened the second front in 1958. Access is via the crossroads village of Alto Songo, 23 kilometers northeast of Santiago.
The superb Complejo Histórico de Museos del Segundo Frente (Av. de los Mártires, tel. 022/42-5749, Mon.-Sat. 9am-5pm, free), on the north side of Mayarí Arriba, includes the main museum displaying photos, maps, and military hardware, including a helicopter and even full-scale models of a P-51 Mustang (delivered secretly from the U.S. to the rebel army in November 1958) and other U.S. warplanes. The museum focuses on the work of Raúl Castro, Frank País, and Vilma Espin (Frank’s chauffeur, later Raúl’s wife, and later still head of the Women’s Federation) in liberating the region from Batista’s troops and setting up a public service administration in the region in 1958—“a grand experiment for the near future.”
Uphill, a palm-lined boulevard leads to the Mausoleo del Segundo Frente (daily 9am-4pm, free), a dramatic marble mausoleum set in an arc of royal palms, surrounded by red califo rojo plants (they represent the blood of revolutionary martyrs). A ceremony is held here each March 11. The ashes of Raúl Castro’s wife, Vilma Espín, are buried beneath a huge rock in the garden, where Raúl has prepared his own grave. The rock bears a plaque with the Cuban emblem with Raúl and Vilma’s names to each side.
The 32,400-hectare Baconao Biosphere Reserve extends 40 kilometers from the eastern suburbs of Santiago to the border with Guantánamo Province. The park was named a biosphere reserve by UNESCO for its biodiversity, including many species endemic to the region. It is reached from Santiago via the Carretera Siboney, lined with 26 monuments to the heroes of the Moncada attack.
The region has beaches popular with locals on weekends. Few are inspiring (except Playa Daiquirí, which is exclusively for the use of the Cuban military and their families).
The area was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Buses depart Santiago’s Terminal de Ómnibus Municipales (Av. de los Libertadores, esq. Calle 4) to Playa Siboney and Baconao, which are also served by camiones.
A taxi from Santiago will cost about CUC35 round-trip to Siboney (about CUC50 to Baconao; arrange a return pickup).
The only gas station (24 hours) is 26 kilometers east of Santiago.
This park encompasses the Cordillera de la Gran Piedra, a lush mountain environment for bird-watching and hiking. Access is from a T junction at Las Guasimas, 13 kilometers from Santiago, where the Prado de las Esculturas (daily 8am-4pm, CUC1) is a sculpture garden with about 20 uninspired contemporary works lining a trail.
The deteriorated road—subject to landslides—winds up through ravines, growing ever steeper and more serpentine until it deposits you at Pico Gran Piedra (1,234 meters), a distance of 14 kilometers, on a ridge with a view down the mountains. It’s cooler up here and clouds swirl through the pines and bamboo.
The Villa Gran Piedra restaurant and hotel sits at 1,150 meters elevation, where a 454-step stairway leads up to the Gran Piedra (Great Rock, CUC2); you can climb a steel ladder onto the massive boulder for a spectacular view. On a clear day you can see the Blue Mountains in Jamaica.
A bus from Santiago runs weekly.
This 45-hectare garden (daily 7am-4pm, CUC1), 800 meters west of Villa Gran Piedra, was created in 1960 on a former coffee plantation to raise flowers. The garden is a riot of color and scents, difficult to dampen in even the wettest of weather. Guides will show you around a series of juxtaposed gardens, surrounded by topiary hedges. Amaryllises grow with carnations, salvia roja spring up beside daisies, blood-red dahlias thrive beside the garden’s namesake birds of paradise. There are potting sheds, too, full of begonias and anthuriums, and a prim courtyard with a café.
atop Gran Piedra
Visits are permitted only with a voucher (CUC5) sold by tour agencies in Santiago.
Two kilometers east of Gran Piedra via a rutted dirt road are the remains of a coffee plantation built by Victor Constantin Couson, a French immigrant who fled Haiti in 1792. Now a museum (daily 8:30am-4:30pm, CUC1), the ruins of the two-story finca exhibit farming implements and furniture. The coffee-crushing wheel can still be seen. Trails lead through the estate and forests. It has guided tours in Spanish.
Islazul’s Villa Gran Piedra (Carretera de la Gran Piedra, Km 14, tel. 022/68-6147, reception@gpiedra.scu.tur.cu) has 22 rustic, modestly furnished red-brick cottages atop the ridge crest—a spectacular setting at a crisp 1,225 meters! An atmospheric restaurant/bar offers views. It has struggled to get back on sound footing since Hurricane Sandy, and at last visit had issues with electricity and water supply.
The little village of Siboney, replete with wooden French-style Caribbean homes, lies in a sheltered bay with a mediocre beach, Playa Siboney. Being the closest beach to Santiago, it’s popular with Cubans who flock on weekends. A war memorial recalls the landing of U.S. troops on June 24, 1898. Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc here in 2012, with near total destruction of shorefront homes.
This red-tile-roofed farmhouse, one kilometer inland of Siboney, is the site from which Fidel Castro and his loyal cohorts gathered for their attack on the Moncada barracks: They sang the national anthem in whispers, and at five o’clock on the morning of Sunday, July 26, 1953, the rebels set out in a convoy of 26 cars; the 1950 Oldsmobile used by Abel Santamaría is here. Today it is a museum (tel. 022/39-9168, Mon. 9am-1pm, Tues.-Sun. 9am-5pm, entrance CUC1, cameras CUC1, videos CUC5) displaying weapons and bloodstained uniforms. Newspaper clippings tell the tale of horrific torture. Six of the attackers died in the attack; more than 60 others died in captivity. Batista’s henchmen then took the already-dead revolutionaries to Granjita Siboney, where they were blasted with gunfire to give the impression that they had been caught plotting and were shot in a battle.
This excellent little museum (tel. 022/39-9119, Mon.-Sat. 9am-5pm, CUC1), 100 meters east of Granjita Siboney, is dedicated to the Spanish-Cuban-American War of 1898 and does a good job of it, too. Its thoughtful and detailed presentations include huge historical photos, superb maps, scale models of warships and the battles, and original cannons and other weaponry, including two Spanish torpedoes.
The stand-out property is Casa de Pepín & Rodolfo (Calle La Marina #21, tel. 022/39-9245 or 5293-6992, seoane90@hotmail.com, CUC30 room, CUC40-50 bungalow), on the clifftop east of the footbridge at the east end of the beach. This gorgeous 1950s villa has access to its own tiny beach good for snorkeling. The couple rent a two-room bungalow with simple kitchen and shared bathroom. A dining room opens to a broad terrace and lawns.
I also like Casa de María Elena González (Obelisco #10, tel. 022/39200, marielana.sgto2013@yahoo.es, CUC20), a clean, cross-ventilated modern three-story house with a swimming pool in the stone patio. One of its two rooms opens to a breeze-swept terrace with fabulous views; the second, atop the roof, has floor-to-ceiling louvered glass windows.
About the only eatery here is Restaurante La Rueda (tel. 022/39-9325, Sun.-Fri. noon-5pm, Sat. noon-10pm), which serves superb criolla fare (less than CUC5) and has ocean views. The place was once owned by Compay Segundo (real name Francisco Repilado), of Buena Vista Social Club fame.
From a T junction at Granjita Siboney, a spur road leads east through the park. First up is Comunidad Artística El Oasis, a hamlet of fieldstone cottages, about three kilometers from the T junction. The entire community, comprising 10 families, works as artists and has open studios: check out the Santería-inspired works of Evelio Ramos Pérez. His neighbor Clemento Ríos, a santero, can offer a genuine Santería experience in his home with an astonishing shrine.
beach at Siboney
Beyond Verraco, a massive limestone plateau shoulders up against the coast, with the road running between them. The Carretera Baconao ends just beyond the hamlet of Baconao, where there’s a military barrier.
It’s a shock to find a Tyrannosaurus rex prowling the Valle de la Prehistoria (Carretera de Baconao, daily 8am-5pm, entrance CUC1, cameras CUC1, videos CUC5), about six kilometers east of Comunidad Artística El Oasis. The beast is one of dozens of life-size dinosaurs that lurk in a natural setting. An Apatosaurus (alias brontosaurus) wallows in a pool. There are even woolly mammoths, and a pterodactyl perches atop a hillock. Real-life goats nibble amid the make-believe beasts made of concrete. A Museo de Ciencias Naturales (daily 8am-4:45pm, CUC1) displays painted snails and other exhibits of flora and fauna.
Dowagers from the heyday of Detroit and Coventry are on view at this desultory open-air auto museum (tel. 022/39-9197, daily 8am-5pm, entrance CUC1, cameras CUC1, videos CUC2), behind the Cupet gas station, two kilometers east of the Valle de la Prehistoria. About three dozen barely maintained cars range from a 1912 Model-T Ford to singer Benny Moré’s Cadillac. The Museo de Autos Miniaturas (Miniature Car Museum) contains more than 2,500 tiny toy cars.
After the turnoff for Playa Daiquirí (off-limits), you’ll come to a bend in the road with a huge mosaic of a tocororo, the national bird of Cuba, inlaid in the hillside. A few kilometers beyond is Comunidad Artística Los Mamoncillas, at Playa Verraco. Here, the entire community is engaged in arts. You can browse open studios.
Farther east the land grows more arid. Inland of Playa Sigua you’ll pass the Jardín de Cactos (daily 8am-3pm, CUC2), displaying about 200 species from around the world. Expo Mesoamérica is another cactus garden containing Mesoamerican sculptures at the base of cliffs opposite the Club Amigo Los Corales.
This aquatic park (tel. 022/35-6176, Tues.-Sun. 9am-4pm, CUC7), about 50 kilometers east of Santiago, has a small yet impressive museum on nautical miscellany and marine life. The real-life exhibits, which include moray eels, marine turtles, and a shark tank with walk-through glass tunnel, are dismal. The highlights are the daily dolphin shows at 10:30am and 3pm; you can even get in the water with these endearing beasts.
The large Laguna Baconao, immediately west of the hamlet of Baconao, is edged by mountains at the far east end of Baconao reserve. There are a few dolphins (and crocodiles, apparently) in the lake. Boat excursions are offered (CUC2) at Complejo Turístico Laguna Baconao (Carretera Baconao, Km 53, daily 9am-5pm), a desultory property where crocs were once bred as a tourist attraction; at last visit, only four crocs remained.
With its own sculpture garden, S Casa de Enrique y Rosa (Carretera de Baconao, Km 17.5, Comunidad Artística Los Mamoncillas, Playa Verraco, tel. 022/625766, CUC20) is the home of a family of ceramists who rent one spacious air-conditioned room with fan, refrigerator, and a delightful tiled bathroom. It has secure parking.
Islazul’s 115-room, stone-lined Hotel Costa Morena (Playa Larga, Carretera de Baconao, Km 38.5, tel. 022/35-6126, recepcion@cmorena.co.cu, CUC24 s, CUC55 d low season, CUC44 s, CUC70 d high season, all-inclusive) sits in ungainly grounds that overlook a narrow pebble beach. The high point is its atmospheric Restaurant Las Orquideas.
Cubanacán’s Club Amigo Carisol-Los Corales (tel. 022/35-6155, reserva@carisol-loscorales.co.cu, from CUC75 s, CUC100 d all-inclusive) is divided into two adjoining properties: Carisol is for adults only; Caracol caters to families. Together they offer 310 rooms, including 46 junior suites. Nothing scintillating here, but the large pool area appeals and you get your cocktails, water sports, and buffets included. You can rent scooters for exploring.
The thatched La Casa Rolando (tel. 022/35-6196, daily 9am-4pm), at Complejo Turístico Laguna Baconao, serves criolla dishes.