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Cuba self-drive holiday:
Havana & Eastern Cuba self-drive
A hugely enjoyable trip, spending a good amount of time in Havana before flying to eastern Cuba and the mountains of the Sierra Maestra, the city of Santiago, the gorgeous scenery around Baracoa, and the beach resort of Guardalavaca.
Havana
Day 1 Your international flight arrives in Havana, where you are met at the airport and driven to your hotel in Old Havana for a 2 night stay.
Day 2 B A free day to explore Havana. There is a huge amount to see.
Day 3 B Most of today is free in Havana, then in the late afternoon you are collected from your hotel and driven to the airport for your domestic flight to Holguín in eastern Cuba. You’ll be arriving at the end of the day, so rather than collect your car straightaway you are met at the airport and taken to your nearby hotel.
Bayamo and El Saltón
Day 4 BD When you are ready for the off, you take a taxi from your hotel to pick up your hire car at Holguín airport, which is on the road you want for Bayamo. You drive on a good road through open countryside, reaching the peaceful and pleasant town of Bayamo in about an hour. Bayamo lies just below the Sierra Maestra, the forbidding mountain range that flanks much of Cuba’s southern coastline. You might be able to see its main peaks as you set off eastwards skirting the foothills and passing through a handful of small towns, before turning into the mountains to arrive at El Saltón, where below a pretty waterfall there is a delightful mountain lodge.
El Saltón
Day 5 BD At El Saltón there is some beautiful and relatively easy walking close to the lodge and longer trails in the hills behind. It’s a good idea to hire a local English speaking guide (reasonable cost, payable locally) for the longer walks. You can bathe below a pretty waterfall, go birdwatching, hop in the car to explore the area, or just stay around the lodge’s very pleasant grounds. There’s also a basic spa with massage service and whirlpool.
Santiago
Day 6 B Leaving El Saltón it’s a straightforward drive of around 60 miles, by a choice of routes, to Santiago, your base for the next 3 nights. Santiago (p14) is arguably Cuba’s most colourful city, with an easy-going Caribbean atmosphere and a great location looking across a bay to the mountains and the sea, and a proud place in Cuba’s history. It is a great place to explore during the day, and in the evening to dine in restaurants and paladares, and enjoy live music at the Casa de la Trova, or one of the many other bars and venues around town. You might spend the whole of one day in the city, and the next day mix some more of the city with perhaps a trip to Gran Piedra (especially good on a clear day), or a coffee plantation, or the beach.
Day 7 B In and around Santiago.
Day 8 B In and around Santiago.
Santiago to Baracoa
Day 9 B Now begins one of the most memorable driving routes on the whole of the island: from Santiago, past Guantánamo Bay, around Cuba’s easternmost tip to Baracoa, and up to the beautiful beaches of Guardalavaca. The drive-time today, from Santiago to Baracoa, is usually about 4½ to 5 hours, so an early start means you should have time to stop here and there along the way. The highway from Santiago turns into a smaller road as you enter the town of Guantánamo, well back from the bay and the US naval base. You could stop to see the town before continuing down to the sea and onwards, skirting beautiful beaches below forested mountains, with plenty of places to stop and enjoy, before you reach the village of Cajobabo. Leaving the Caribbean here, take the ‘La Farola’ road with its spectacular mountain section crossing the edge of the Sierra del Plurial, arriving on the Atlantic coast at the little town of Baracoa. Stay here for 2 nights.
Baracoa
Day 10 B Baracoa is, in its way, among our favourite places in Cuba. Gorgeously set beside a curving bay backed by low mountains, the area is a piece of paradise. Columbus glowing described it as “the most beautiful land that eyes ever beheld”. Set apart from the rest of Cuba by the extra effort needed to reach it, the town of Baracoa has an amiable, low-key, slightly scruffy atmosphere. But of all the memorable places on this trip, it is likely to be Baracoa that will work a spell on you and steal your heart, and that you will return to in your mind long after your visit. Coffee, cacao and bananas flourish (it rains a lot here!), and there are lovely walks in the hills; you should be able to arrange a guide locally to take you. Don’t forget to try the local chocolate, which is delicious, or the coffee freshly roasted. There are some good paladares for dinner, and an often excellent casa de la trova–better than the one in Santiago, the locals claim.
Baracoa to Guardalavaca
Day 11 B The second half of your drive around Cuba’s eastern tip takes you through magnificent scenery along the coast road. After leaving Baracoa the road has been badly hit by hurricanes and it is a tough bumpy drive for a while, best taken slowly. The worst is over within an hour or so as you wind along this wonderful coast, with bay after bay of turquoise water sparkling in bright sun below the hills of the Humboldt national park. The road gets better as you approach the town of Moa, close to a nickel-mining area, before it turns slightly inland, winding its way past Nicaro, through Mayarí (where the train in Buena Vista Social Club’s ‘Chan Chan’ is heading). You could take a small detour to Birán to visit Castro’s birthplace, before choosing either the slow roads around the Bay of Nipo, or better roads via Holguín. You arrive at Guardalavaca late in the day if you have made stops, where you stay for 3 nights.
Guardalavaca
Day 12 AI A couple of days at the beach in Guardalavaca in an all-inclusive resort with lots of facilities–a huge contrast to the rest of your trip, as you relax in a conventional holiday surroundings. You drop off your hire car on arrival at the resort.
Day 13 AI At the beach at Guardalavaca.
Havana
Day 14 B An early transfer this morning to Holguín airport for the morning flight back to Havana, where you are met and transferred to the landmark Hotel Nacional in the Vedado district. There should be time to explore Vedado and to see the Plaza de la Revolución. To mark your last night in Cuba the hotel desk should be able to book you in at a club in the evening–perhaps the Tropicana, Cabaret Parisien, or one of the local jazz clubs.
Day 15 B Most international flights leave in the late afternoon, giving you at least the morning to see some more of Havana before you are collected from your hotel and transferred to the airport.
Guide prices* from £1,225 to £1,860
15 days / 14 nights
Starts and ends in Havana, Cuba.
Choose from a range of rental car categories.
Choose to stay in either mid-range hotels or upper range hotels (where available).
Not quite right for you? Contact us to adjust the itinerary, change hotels or how you travel.
Order a Cuba brochure
› Order or download a Cuba brochure
› Flip through a Cuba brochure now
Contact our Cuba specialists
› Phone for advice or drop us an email
Not quite right for you? Contact us to adjust the itinerary, change hotels or how you travel.
We make it easy
Flexible dates: start on any date.
Flexible flights: book your flights yourself or with us.
Flexible hotels: choice of hotel grades to suit your style and budget.
Flexible car hire: choice of models.
Easy arrival: you are met at the airport and driven to your hotel.
Simple hire car
pick-up/drop-off: collect
and return your
car in central Havana.
(Airport drop-off for an additional £15.)
Helpful information: comprehensive itinerary, detailed driving directions, free road map, free guide book.
Full support: 24 hour local assistance.
Financial security: We are ATOL licensed and a member of AITO.
Places visited on this Cuba selfdrive holiday:
› Havana
› Bayamo
› Baracoa
Similar selfdrive holidays in Cuba:
› Havana & Western Cuba selfdrive
Also consider the following Cuba holiday:
› Havana & Eastern Cuba Day Walks
*What do guide prices cover?
Guide prices are per person based on 2 people travelling together and sharing twin/double accommodation and small car.
Please ask us for prices for families, threesomes, singles, etc.
Guide price includes visa, meals where specified, B = breakfast, L=lunch, D= dinner.
Guide price does not include international flights, travel insurance, Cuba departure tax (allow £15pp), drinks with meals or items of a personal nature such as drinks, tips, and laundry, or optional excursions taken locally in Cuba.
Flights: We can arrange your flights from the UK for you. You are free to book your flights independently if you wish - before doing so please talk to us about the flight options that would fit this tour best.
Booking conditions: See the current brochure insert for our booking conditions.
Order a Cuba brochure
› Order or download a Cuba brochure
› Flip through a Cuba brochure now
Contact our Cuba specialists
Geodyssey brings you an exclusive selection of thoughtfully designed holidays in amazing locations throughout our destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our holidays focus on what is natural, authentic, comfortable, stylish and affordable, and on what works best in each country. Our tailor-made holidays are individually designed by our experienced team on the basis of in-depth knowledge, a real enthusiasm for our destinations, and a desire to make sure we get it right for each and every customer. All our customers have 100% financial protection. All the land-based holidays on this website are exclusive to Geodyssey. Geodyssey is an independent company managed by its owners, based in London, founded in 1993.
