Casa Particular / B&B Las Tunas

Sra. Reyna de la Rosa
Sr. Orlando del Toro
Menocal No. 2A altos
e/ F. de la Cruz y Calle 77
Rpto. Velázquez
Las Tunas

Telf. +53 31 37 23 98
Mobile: +53 54 24 57 10

Price: 20-40 CUC
Note: In the top floor of their house Reyna and Orlando are renting a big apartment, a small apartment and a bedroom (with bathroom). If you want they may combine the bedroom with the big apartment by unlocking an internal door.
Apartment #1 is made of a living room, a dinning room and a wide well-equipped kitchen that includes a refrigerator, double bed, fan, air conditioning, plus a bathroom with hot and cold water. In the back of this apartment there is a space for washing and hanging out the clothes. If you like, they may combine this apartment #1 with the other bedroom that has a bathroom as well. (More details of this room on next comments).
Apartment #2 is smaller than apartment #1 but it has a small dining kitchen with refrigerator, and a bedroom with a double bed, air conditioning, fan, TV set and a bathroom (with hot/cold water).
Room #3 has a double bed, air conditioning, fan, TV set, refrigerator and a bathroom (with hot/cold water). If guests wish they may unlock door between the room and apartment #1.
Both apartments and the room share a terrace with rocking chairs and tables. This house is in a residential neighborhood. It takes 10 minutes walk to Las Tunas downtown and faster in a bicitaxi (20 CUP). Reyna and Orlando are very good hosts.
They offer a rich and tasty breakfast and an evening meal (if you like).

Reservation: by phone

Las Tunas city is a rather small province capital, though very clean and kept. You may go on foot to visit the downtown and see the most interesting sites. Vicente García Park, the Catholic Church and the sundial mark the center of the city, where you also find the emblematic Hotel Cadillac with its architecture of the 30´s. The pedestrian zone, across the main street, is attractive because of its restaurants, bars, shops, and a swing set that invites you to sit down while watching and enjoying life around. On Saturdays and Sundays the main street is closed to traffic and opened up to pedestrians. Then, La Noche Tunera is celebrated with a great variety of meals, drinks, music, games and a lot more…It´s worth going if you are in Las Tunas during a weekend.

In the city and around

In Las Tunas city and its vicinity there are a couple of things you cannot miss…

Noche Tunera. When you are in Las Tunas during a weekend you should not miss La Noche Tunera. In the late afternoon the main street of the city is completely closed to traffic, from Saturday nights and Sundays afternoons this street is opened exclusively for pedestrians. In restaurants and bars of the city they offer a great variety of foods and drinks. There are also clowns for kid's amusements. Adults may play chess and some others dance in various places with very loud music. This is a Cuban common show; however this one seems to me very special and different; I don´t know why…maybe you could tell me.

Having a drink at the Hotel Cadillac. This 30´s-architecture hotel is located in the downtown. Here you may find a refreshing drink while enjoying the city life.

Sitting down on a swing at the boulevard. So far I have not seen these relaxing chairs (swing set) in any other Cuban city. I recommend trying a pru oriental (fermented beverage made of some plant roots), a specialty in eastern Cuba; it is sold at 3-5 pesos (CUP) in the boulevard and then you may sit on a swing to watch the boulevard movement.

Excursions to the north coast beaches. You may choose among wonderful beaches and wonderful beaches…You will find virgin beaches, a beach with a hotel and facilities and some other beaches in front of small villages. More information about beaches is found downward.

Nature reserves / fishing. Someone gave me this advice though I did not go to the place. People say that near Las Tunas city there is a nature reserve you can know by walking the zone. With a special permit you may fish as well. It seems that fish is not as protected as the environment. This excursion is organized by the ECOTUR agency. You may do one or several days excursions. If you are interested I recommend finding more information at the ECOTUR office in Las Tunas.

Beaches in the north coast of Las Tunas

Playa la Herradura. Playa Herradura is a small fishing village with a beautiful bay for swimming. To one end of the bay you may see the fishers´ boats. When fishers come back from the sea in the mornings they usually sell fish directly to people on the beach. Many paladares (restaurants) around the beach are ready to offer fresh fish to your taste. Something marvelous! Besides you will find hammocks and beach umbrellas for renting. The distance between Playa La Herradura and Las Tunas is about 90 km. A taxi outward journey in the morning and return journey in the afternoon costs about 50 CUC.

Beaches around Punta Corella. Between Punta de Tomate and Playa La Herradura there are several virgin beaches with no facilities. During winter season they all are very quiet and usually you will be the only one in the place. But in summer it is very different. Mainly beaches around Punta Corella´s camping site are usually more crowded. E.g. "La Uvera". This is a beach that personally I like a lot. Many beaches here are shallow and so safer for children, though the vegetation is poor. If you want to stay a whole day in one of these beaches it is advisable to take water, some food and sun protector with you. The distance between Playa La Herradura and Las Tunas is about 95 km. A taxi outward journey in the morning and return journey in the afternoon costs about 50 CUC.

Beaches La Boca / "La Llanita". A three minutes walk from the ferry in La Boca (towards the sea direction) will take you to playa La Llanita. This virgin beach is about 3 km long and ends up in Punta de Tomate, a five-house village. During winter moths it is very peaceful. In summer time it is a site very crowded by people from around. In addition, there are some hotels for Cubans, and so you will find a lot of fiestas and less tranquility. Going from the ferry to the other direction you may find another beach with umbrellas, hammocks and a pair of kiosks with fast food and drinks. Be careful when swimming there since the sea currents coming in and out of the bay are very strong. An excursion day in taxi from Las Tunas is around 50-60 CUC.

Playas de Covarrubias. Fantastic sands wait for you in Covarrubias, located 70 km from Las Tunas. In one of the two beaches is the Hotel Covarrubias. Prices (all included) in this four star hotel are very saving. A whole day stay is somehow expensive, that is, if you want to use the beach, hammocks and umbrellas you will have to pay an entry of 30 CUC individually. This price includes meals and drinks, plus all facilities at the hotel but your bedroom (all from 9 am to 6 pm). You must consider that a double room for a night is about 78 CUC. Maybe it is better to stay one or two nights at the hotel. If you prefer a virgin beach you better go straight ahead the entire road and do not enter the hotel facilities. Then you will find a simple road to the sea and then you will find a beautiful beach of many kilometers long. Beautiful and quiet in winter while very visited in summer by people from surrounding towns and villages. A taxi from Las Tunas will take you in the morning and picks you up in the afternoon for a cost of about 40 CUC.

Las Tunas - arrival and departure

Viazul (bus). Las Tunas is located on the central road between Havana and Santiago de Cuba. Most buses stop here for 10 minutes, that´s why it is easy to get to and leave from Las Tunas –as long as buses are not completely full. Having booked a ticket previously is always advisable. The bus station is near downtown and easily reachable from Reyna and Orlando´s renting house. Here you find the current schedule.

Collective taxi (minibus)/trucks. The cheapest means to travel to cities and towns near Las Tunas (Camagüey, Holguin, Puerto Padre, and Bayamo) are trucks and collective taxis. Sometimes you will have to long wait for them to come. But when you have plenty of time to take this means of transportation, you will surely save some money.