Tito Crespo Las Maravillas #95 Viñales Pinar del Rio Tel. +53 (48) 79 33 83 Cel. +53 58 29 18 57 Price: 20 CUC - 25 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. Tito and his wife Carito are renting three rooms. Room no.1 is located in the family´s main house. This room has a big double bed and a smaller double bed. It has also fan, air conditioning and an independent bathroom with cold and hot water. They recently finished the construction of a small house with two rooms (No.2/No.3) for renting. The new house is behind the main family´s house, distant from the street and so quiet. Both rooms have independent entries and a small corridor with two balances. Each has a double and a single bed. They also have a fan and a bathroom with hot and cold water. In few weeks conditions will be better. Soon they will have air conditioning and a safe. These are simple but clean rooms. Carito's excellent food is served outside above a palm tree roof. At the roof of the house you can enjoy a terrace with some tables and chairs. From here you have a good view on the valley of Viñales. At night a romantic place where you will see a lot of stars. In the garden you will find sunbeds for relax. Tito was working a few years as a teacher of geography so he knows the valley of Viñales very well. He has a lot of suggestions for excursion nearby and he also can organise a guide for you. If you want discover the valley by bike - no problem, Tito will rent them to you. Actually a highly recomended place to stay in Viñales! By foot you will get in about 15-20 minutes to the town center. A taxi will cost about 2 CUC. When you're arriving/leaving by Viazul Tito will drive you with his old american car to/from the busstation. If it's not broken... Reservation: by phone or by e-Mail (spanish and english). Eloy Hernandez Rodriguez Calle Salvador Cisneros #198 Viñales Pinar del Rio Tel. +53 (48) 69 52 09 Price: 20 CUC - 25 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.

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 two sisters began to collect a lot of plants and plant them arount there house. They cared all the plants in such a way that today around there house you will find a real botanical garden. Nowadays the family and friends of them will show you and explain you some of the plants. 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, for exemple at Casa don Tomas (beside the restaurant) or directly in Titos' casa particular. The price will depend of the time you want to rent the bicycle. You can rent it just a few hours or up to a week.

• 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". For explaining in a short way, the aquáticos are a groupe of people living on a mogote in the valley of viñales who are sure, that their water source will help against every illness. You can visit them, reaching the hill by foot or by horse. When you're not so interested in the people believe 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 town centre of Viñales. 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 not cheap 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, specially if you're alone. You pay 5 CUC a day and can hop on and off as often you want to. Sometimes there's doing a bus with two floors the journey. Then you enjoy at the upper-deck a very nice view and get a lot of possibilitys to take good pictures. Please be aware, that this bus is running slower, so the timetable is not correct. Ask the bus driver when he will come back when you're leaving the bus. Have a look at the promotion!

How to get to Viñales

• Viazul (bus). There are two buses between Habana and Viñales with a stop at the bus terminal in Pinar del Rio. The first bus in every direction also stops at Las Terrazas. There's also one direct bus between Trinidad / Cienfuegos and Viñales. Check the timetable!

• Cubataxi runs every day a minibus between Habana and Viñales and also beetween Trinidad / Cienfuegos and Viñales. The price is 3 CUC higher as Viazul. But Cubataxi will drive you to the direction you want to go to, so maybe it's cheaper than Viazul and afterwards from the bus station a taxi to your direction. Please note, that Cubataxi offers also the posibility to go by a normal taxi, shared by other travelers. So you pay 20 CUC each, direct transfer from your casa particular / hotel to the direction you want to go to. At Viñales you will find the office of Cubataxi and Viazul in the same building. Have a look at the offer!

• 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/to Pinar del Rio). A normal tourist taxi will cost you about 15 CUC, a private taxi will drive you for about 8 CUC - 10 CUC.