Eloy Hernandez Rodriguez Calle Salvador Cisneros #198 Viñales Pinar del Rio Tel. ++53 (48) 69 52 09 Price: 15 CUC Note: A small typical house for your own. The room has two double beds, ventilator and a bathroom (hot and cold water). Eloy is a very kindly person. If you're at home he will brings you some own toasted coffee or make you a shake with fresh fruits. His food is one of the best I've eaten in Cuba and he will offer a buffet of food. Eloy's retired and has a lot of ideas what to do in and around Viñales. This is certainly one of the best adress in Viñales. If Eloy doesn´t have a room for you I will suggest you the neighbour's house, the one of Tony and Enca (Salvador Cisneros #196). Both are teachers at the school of Viñales. They can tell you a lot about the history and about the hidden places you need to discover in the region. Tito Crespo Las Maravillas #58 Viñales Pinar del Rio Tel. ++53 (48) 79 33 83 (Anacelia, Nachbarin) Price: 15 CUC - 20 CUC Note: This Casa Particular is about one mile from the village of Viñales (in the direcion of Puerto de Esperanza). Around the house there are a lot of tabacco plantations. It's a very nice place for discover the valley of Viñales and the live of the Cuban farmers. I strongly recomend this house because you´re in the middle of the beauty valley - and this, the nature, is one of the most important attractions. The room has a double bed, ventilator, air-conditioning and a independent bathroom (hot and cold water). A taxi from the centre of Viñales will cost you about 1 CUC.

Viñales is a nice village for staying two, three ore more days. There's the unique scenery, pure nature around the village. The place is very famous because of that are many organzied tourists around the village. They come by modern cars, drive to the Cave and to the Wall but they normally don't stop in the village and they also don´t have time for discover the valley. When you really want to discover Viñales you need time for walking in the plantations, time for talking with the farmers and then you will get the real fascination of this place!

Excursiones

I will only give you some keywords, Tito or Eloy can explain you more about this excursiones and about the transport mean to do them.

• Just walking or riding in the valley, talk to the farmers, look at the tobaco plants.
  
  
• "Botanical Garden". A lot of years ago they began to plant and collect a lot of plants. They cared all the plants in such a way that today they living in a small jungle. By good weather they show and explain you their garden with a lot of pleasure. They don't ask for an entrance price but it's logical to give them a small gift, isn't it? You will find this botanical garden at the exit of Viñales in direction to Puerto de Esperanza - more or less opposite the building of the petrol station "Cupet")
  
  
• Go for a ride with the bicycle. You can visit the small villages in the valley or just without destination getting to know the marvellous valley. There are various places in Viñales where you can hire a bike. The prices will be the followings: 1 hour = 1 CUC / 2 hours = 1.7 CUC / 3 hours = 2.10 CUC / 4-5 hours = 2.5 CUC ... / 1 day = 12 CUC / each day more = 10 CUC.
  
  
• Visit the caves. There doesn't exist only the "Cueva de los Indios" which the tourist mainly visit, there are also other famous caves near Viñales which are more or less untouristy (like "Paleolítico").
  
  
• You can visit the famous "Aquáticos" (people who think (for explaining in a short way) that the water of theirs' hill help them with every illness). This excursion you can do by foot or also by horse. When you're not interested in the believing of this people you can also just enjoy the nice view from the hill to the valley.
  
  
• Visit the north coast of Cuba, there you will find very nice beaches. Most of them are very quiet, there are only a few tourists. Specially recomendable are the excursions to the isle Cayo Jutías and to the isle cayo Levisa. Last-mentioned is also very famous among divers. It's posibile to make a daily trip to this two places. If you like to go in the most agreeable way I recomend to organise the trip by a local tourist agency. Comparing the ofers in Viñales, Havanatur has the best (Their office is at the exit of Viñales in direction to Puerto de Esperanza - in the building of the petrol station "Cupet" - Tel. (082) 936 161, 936 262). They offer the trip to Cayo Jutías for 25 CUC (including Transfer, lunch, sunshade and tax for using the road to the isle). The trip to Cayo Levisa costs 40 CUC (including Transfer, lunch, snorkeling). Who want's to do this excursions by his own for exemple with a rented car or moto will be surprised about the price finally paid (Cayo Jutías: taxes for the road; Cayo Levisa: ship - and the high priced food at this places). If you like to go by public transport you need at least two days for this trips. The hotel at Cayo Levisa is very high priced and the last miles to Cayo Jutias are only posible to do by a hired transport! Read all offerts [pdf, Spanish] de Havanatur, Viñales!

• Viñales BusTour. It's running a (Tourist)-bus, with a fixed timetable. The bus circuit give you the possibility to visit the most famous places in and around Viñales in a cheap way. You pay 5 CUC a day and can hop on and off as often you want to. Have a look at the promotion!

How to get to Viñales

• ASTRO (bus). There's scheduled at least one bus a day from Habana and one from Pinar del Rio. Last-mentioned is not very reliable.
• VIA AZUL (bus). They have every day two buses from Habana and Pinar del Rio. Check the timetable!
• CAMIONES (trucks). From La Esperanza, La Palma, Moncada, Pinar del Rio. You need time because there aren't many trucks. Often the taxi collectivo is the better bet. With this kind of taxi you reach for 1 - 3 CUC Viñales from Pinar del Rio for exemple. I write this because I made made my experiences with the trucks to and from Viñales. I travelled from Pinar del Rio to Viñales on a rainy day. The amarillo (a person who has to stop trucks and state-owned cars) didn't work because they don't like to get wet... So I had to wait 2 and a half hour. When I went back the amarillo worked. So it was a sunny, hot day. I waited, one hour, two hours because there weren't trucks to Pinar del Rio. At the end I did both ways with a taxi collectivo, one time for 1 CUC the other time for 3 CUC...
• Taxi (from Pinar del Rio). A normal tourist taxi will cost you about 15 CUC, the illegal one - I don´t recomend this way - will drive you for about 8 CUC - 10 CUC but it´s not than sure that you will arrive where you want, for example when there´s some police in the village of Viñales you have to walk the last mile...

Law in Viñales

I'd like to inform you that in Viñales exists a special law that doesn´t exist in any other part of Cuba. Cubans can´t stay in this town, especially they can´t when they are with a foreigner. Normally a foreigner and a Cuban can´t live together in a hotel, but in casa particulares. In the case of Viñales you have NO chance to stay in ANY house. The same law existed in Trinidad, but now you can go to the immigration where you can receive a permission when you can show that your relation is serious. This posibility doesn´t exist in Viñales, I hope oneday they will change this law, not every relation between Cubans and foreigners are relations of prostituation, aren´t they?