Guantanamo

Angela Saleido Leyra
13 Norte #561
e/ Luz Caballero y Carlos Manuel
Guantánamo
Tel. +53 (21) 38 37 04

Price: 10 - 15 CUC
Note: After having a look to all private houses in Guantánamo I can say that this one if for me the best! It's located between the revolutionsplace/Hotel Guantánamo and the city centre. With a horse car you get easy and very cheap (one Cuban Peso) to the town centre. But you also can go there walking, it takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

Angela rents a room w ith aircondition, TV, radio, fridge and it's own bathroom. There's also a patio where you can relax and enjoy Guantánamos' sun.

But certainly the best of this places are the owners. They're very friendly - so you will feel very well at their house - I'm sure!

Guantanamo is a very quite city between Santiago de Cuba and Baracoa. When you have time is nice to stay two or tree days in this city because there aren't too much tourists (when there are even) and you can relax yourself and try to enter in the Cuban everyday-life. In the town centre the colonial architecture is preserved. Visit the churches of the city and enjoy the small preserved part of the city.

Excursiones

Casa central/ Villa lupe. This is a nice hotel near to the city, which has a river where you can go for swimming.
The watching point over the US-Naval-Base (Mirador de la base naval). The Hotel Guantánamo organice some excurcions to this place where you have a good view of the Naval Base that the USA has in Cuba. That's why Guantanamo is well known all over the world.

Zoológico de piedra (Zoo with stone animals). The zoo is located at Yateras. It's the only one in the world. The artist is Iñigo and his son. You can get there by colective taxi or by a normal CUC taxi (Cubataxi).
That's all I know about excurcions. There are not too much places for visiting, but you can go to the center of the city. There you can seat on the park and look at commun life of the "guantanameros". With the horse cars you can go from one end of the city to the other. Price 1 Peso (2 Pesos if you go to the busstation). With the Bicycltaxis you also can reach another part of the city rather cheap, the price is 5 Pesos per Person, if there's a hill between start and destination it will cost 10 Pesos per person (for exemple if you go from the main park to the Reparto Caribe (Hotel Guantánamo).
There is a "paladar" named La Cubanita where you can eat fried chicken, rice and beans (congri), salat, fried bananas and a beer for 60 cuban pesos or 3 CUC.

How to go to Guantánamo

CUBANA (air line) has every day (without Thuesday and Thursday) early in the morning a flight from and to Habana. It costs 120 CUC (one way).
AEROTAXI (air line) has some flies to Baracoa and Santiago de Cuba, but you have to ask at the information offices in Cubana de aviacion.
ASTRO has buses from Havana, Bayamo, Holguin (each two days), and Santiago de Cuba (two times per day).
VIA AZUL. The buses make a stop in the journey between Santiago de Cuba and Baracoa. So you have from each direccion one bus a day. Check also the timetable!
TRAIN. The regular train from Havana is leaving every second day to Guantánamo. The train stops at every province so can easily go to Guantánamo by train. The landscape of the line Combinado (San Luis) - Guantánamo is very nice. There are also trains between Guantanamo and near villages like Costa Rica, Boqueron and Caimanera. For more information, check the timetable.
TRUCKS. A rather dificult thing to go to Guantanamo by truck these because of the strong police controls entering the city. Sometimes there are connections to Baracoa also avaiable for turists, but you will pay about 10 CUC and not 10 Pesos, because of the risk the drivers say... I recomend to travel the journeys to and from Guantánamo by train or by Via Azul.
Collectiv Taxis. There's the posibility to catch one from Santiago de Cuba to Guantánamo (and also in the other direction). They want you to pay about 10 CUC, remember, the oficial price is about 25 Pesos and Via Azul does only cost 6 CUC! The colletiv taxis for Guantánamo are leaving in Santiago de Cuba at the busterminal opposite the old railwaystation.