Odalis Pena Fernandez Calle 10 #3710 e/ 37 y 39 Reparto Gerona Nueva Gerona Isla de la Juventud Tel. ++53 (46) 32 23 45 Precio: 10 CUC without aircondition, 15 CUC with aircondition. Note: The best house at the Island! Very familiar, very good and cheap food. Odalis has ideas for excursions and she also looks for a transport (without interest). Cubataxi (Tel. 322 222/323 762)

The Isla de la Juventud (Isle of the Youth) is a very good and famous place when you like to dive. But apart of this it's also a very comfortable, quiet place, a place for a relax and for get to know the Cuban life. There are also some nice beaches with only a few tourists.

Excursiones

• Playa Paraiso. It's a nice beach near the city. You can go there by horse car (costs you 3 - 5 CUC both ways) or by bicycle. At the beach it's rather dificult to buy some drinks or food, although there exists a small hotel, but a one which only sells in Cuban Pesos, the result, like in most of cases, nothing to sell... You will find a person who likes to sell Coconuts for a horrible price - but it's worth to try one... (And if you hagle over the price a coconut will cost about 50 US-Cents)

• Playa Bibijagua. Only beach in Cuba with black sand. You will find it six km out of Nueva Gerona. You can go with the same transports like the Playa Paraiso, the Price will be a little bit higher - 1 or 2 CUC. There exists three parts of the beach. A cuban part (old hotel), a tourist part (villa gaviota) and a camping place. For me the first one, the Cuban part at the old hotel is still the best. With the drink and foods it's the same situation like at Playa Paradiso. At the tourist part you will receive some things, in CUC.

• Presidio Modelo. The prison where Fidel Castro was after the assalt of Moncada (casern) in Santiago de Cuba. You can visit a good part without pay anything. When you like to see more, also the museum you need to pay in CUC. You can combinate the beach with a visit in the prison because it's on the way.

• Hotel Colony. One of the best place for diving in Cuba. It's at 35 km from Nueva Gerona. A Taxi driver (unoficial one) will cost both ways about 20 - 25 CUC. It can be a posibility to go the Island, living in the Casa Particular of Odalys and go in the morning for diving! When you understand some spanish, change here to the page about diving in Cuba.

• Other places for visiting. Cocodrilo, la Fe etc.

• Not an excursion idea but maybe by bad weather an option... Nearly at the end of the the mainstreet of Nueva Gerona (street 39) near the "Cupet" (gas station) there's a ETECSA ofice (Calle 28 at Calle 41) where you can enter the Internet.

How to go to Nueva Gerona / Isla de la Juventud

• CUBANA has 3 to 4 flies daily from Habana. Price: 24 CUC (one way). For CUC-paying tourist at the office in Nueva Gerona Cubana only reservs so called VIP Tickets (3 for every flight). The Normal CUC-tickets you need to buy about one week in advance, so it's better to buy right in Habana the return flight. VIP means that you can buy your ticket about three days before the fligth, that you will wait at a separate waiting room at the airport and that you receive there a drink. Afterwards you can enter as the first one in the aircraft. For this service you have to pay at the airport 10 CUC more as the normal CUC-ticket. If you ask me it's only a way more for get you money. Don´t give them the chance and buy your ticket in Habana.
  
• CATAMARAN. The fast boat leaves at the moment daily. Normally at 10:00 and at 16:00 the port of Batabano. The journey will take two hours. The best is to reserve in Habana. The boat company (NCC) sell at a small window in the ASTRO Bus Terminal in Habana tickets (at the side of the station where also the collectiv taxis are waiting). Foreigner can reserve at this place their journey. With the reservation receipt you can by in Batabano your ticket, the price is 55 CUC. The reservation office is only open from 7 o'clock to 12 o'clock. Also from ASTRO's busstation is leaving a connecting bus to Batabano. It's leaving the days when the catamarn's working at 7 o'clock and 12 o'clock. You need to be at least half an hour before at the station. The ticket you can pay on the bus, it costs 2,3 Pesos MN. When you arrive in Batabano the first you have to do is to change your reservation receipt in a ticket, remember 11 CUC one way. Afterwards you have to confirm the ticket, so you receive your seat definitly. Actually the journey by fast boat is more expensiv than the journey by airplane - not easy to understand why...