First Day in Havana and Sunset on the Malecón
At last, here are the first pictures from my trip to Cuba! Daniel and I spent a long time planning beforehand which route to take and what we wanted to see along the way. One thing was clear: as much…
Travelblog Cuba
Four weeks in Cuba, a hire car and 3,200 kilometres of potholes from east to west. We walked through the colourful neighbourhoods of Havana, searched for Fidel Castro’s hideout in the jungle of the Sierra Maestra and hiked between the tobacco fields and limestone rocks of the Viñales Valley. I got to ride in the cab of a 1914 locomotive, photographed an abandoned nuclear power plant and saw a whole country fall silent for nine days when Fidel died – and Havana play salsa again afterwards. Here are all my travel stories from Cuba, stage by stage.
Havana – Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución and the Cementerio Cristóbal Colón
On the second day a long route through the districts in the west of Havana lay ahead of us. From the old town we headed towards Vedado, through the Chinese quarter Barrio Chino to the well-known Plaz…
La Habana Vieja, Centro Habana and the San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress
On the third day, too, we explored Havana's colourful districts on foot: first the Chinese quarter Barrio Chino, then back through Vedado to the Malecón. There is a beautiful viewpoint for the sunset…
From Havana to Santiago de Cuba
After three days in Havana our road trip from east to west finally began. We had booked the rental car six weeks before the holiday, which unfortunately was far too late for Cuba: supposedly there wa…
Sights of Santiago de Cuba
The two full days in Santiago de Cuba were really good: a beautiful city with fewer tourists than Havana. Our casa was right in the centre, directly on Parque Céspedes and the cathedral. On the first…
Another Side of Santiago de Cuba
On our first day in Santiago de Cuba we found a great guide in Elliot, who was to show us the corners off the tourist track on the second day. At sunrise I wandered alone through Santiago's streets, …
On the Broken Road from Santiago de Cuba to Pilón
Since a hurricane in 2012 the road between Santiago de Cuba and Pilón in south-eastern Cuba has been hard to drive, especially around Pilón: it leads over collapsed bridges and in several places stra…
Into the Sierra Maestra to Santo Domingo
Next to the Viñales valley, the Sierra Maestra was the most beautiful landscape we saw in Cuba. It is known from the time before the revolution, when Fidel Castro and his people hid in the jungle and…
On the Trail of Fidel Castro in the Sierra Maestra
As mentioned in the last post, next to the Viñales valley the Sierra Maestra was the most beautiful landscape of our road trip across Cuba: the mountains around Pico Turquino, Cuba's highest peak, de…
From the Sierra Maestra to the Beaches of Cayo Coco
After the Sierra Maestra, the beaches of the island of Cayo Coco were next on the plan. In between lay a long stretch from south to north through a very rural area where sugar cane plantations shape …
The Beaches of Cayo Coco in Northern Cuba
After the stopover in Morón we finally headed to the offshore island of Cayo Coco in northern Cuba. The approach runs along a roughly 20-kilometre causeway that was built 30 to 40 years ago at Fidel …
Cayo Las Brujas and Cayo Santa María
After the trip to Cayo Coco we pitched camp for three nights in Caibarién, a cosy corner between beautiful beaches and pleasant little towns such as Remedios. On the first day we drove out to the off…
In the Old Locomotive from Caibarién to Remedios
Near Caibarién an open-air museum with old locomotives, built around 1900, tempted us before we went on to Remedios. The engines were great to look at, and some of them actually still seem to run. In…
In Che Guevara’s City, Santa Clara
After Caibarién in the north we headed south again, with a stopover in Santa Clara, the city where Che Guevara became famous in a decisive battle and where he is buried today. Of course his myth is c…
Over the Topes de Collantes to Trinidad
After a night in Santa Clara we drove south the next day towards Trinidad, the colourful town that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The drive through Topes de Collantes National Park, with its green …
Trinidad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Our anticipation of Trinidad, the town with World Heritage status, was huge after everything we had seen and heard from friends. So we planned four nights to explore the town and the surrounding area…
From Trinidad to the Salto del Caburní Waterfall (Topes de Collantes)
At sunrise I was out in the streets of Trinidad again, enjoying the beautiful light in the colourful lanes. After breakfast we drove back into Topes de Collantes National Park. Our first stop was a s…
From Trinidad to the El Nicho Waterfall
On our last full day in Trinidad we drove into Topes de Collantes National Park to see the well-known El Nicho waterfall up close. Next to the waterfall there are several natural bathing pools – so i…
From Trinidad to Cienfuegos
On our last morning in Trinidad, after breakfast, we quickly climbed a hill north of the town with a lovely view over Trinidad to the sea. Then we went on to Cienfuegos, a charming, relaxed town on C…
The Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant near Cienfuegos
Before the holiday one question tormented me: would we manage to get into the abandoned nuclear power plant near Cienfuegos? According to reports on the internet, access was impossible, so I had alre…
From the Old Locomotives of Australia to the Bay of Pigs
After the nuclear power plant we set off on a longer day trip west to the Bay of Pigs, where an invasion against Fidel Castro failed in 1961. On the way lies the small village of Australia, where old…
Cienfuegos, Old Coffee Fincas near Las Terrazas and Viñales
After Cienfuegos came the longest drive of our trip, around 500 kilometres, to the Viñales valley. A pity: on exactly that day Fidel's body arrived in Cienfuegos, and we could have seen the funeral p…
Hiking through the Tobacco Fields of the Viñales Valley
The limestone rocks of the Viñales valley are something special early in the morning or in the evening, when the light of sunrise or sunset strikes them and mist drifts through the valley. The first …
Playa de Cayo Jutías near Viñales
The next morning I was out in the fields of Viñales again for sunrise, this time with a bit more luck than the day before. After breakfast we visited a small tobacco farm with our host and topped up …
Havana – Highlights & Tips
After three weeks in the car and more than 3,200 kilometres on Cuba's pothole-riddled roads from east to west, we're back in Havana, relieved – only one flat tyre spoiled things along the way. What d…