Cuba - Lonely Planet [114]
Boat
Passenger ferries (Map; 867-3726) shuttle across the harbor to Regla and Casablanca, leaving every 10 or 15 minutes from Muelle Luz, at the corner of San Pedro and Santa Clara, on the southeast side of Habana Vieja. The fare is a flat 10 centavos, but foreigners often get charged CUC$1. Since the ferries were hijacked to Florida in 1994 and again in 2003 (the hijackers never made it outside Cuban waters), security has been tightened. Expect bag searches and airport-style screening.
Car
There are lots of car-rental offices in Havana, so if you’re told there are no cars or there isn’t one in your price range, just try another office or agency. All agencies have offices at Terminal 3 at Aeropuerto Internacional José Martí. Otherwise, there’s a car-rental desk in any three-star (or higher) hotel. Prices for equivalant models are nearly always the same between the companies; it’s called socialismo.
Cubacar ( 835-0000) and/or Havanautos ( 273-2277) – it’s essentially the same government-run company – have desks at most of the big hotels, including: Meliá Cohiba, Meliá Habana, NH Parque Central, Habana Libre, Comodoro and Sevilla.
Rex Rent a Car (Map; 836-7788; cnr Línea & Malecón, Vedado) rents fancy cars for extortionate prices.
Servi-Cupet gas stations are in Vedado at Calles L and 17; Malecón and Calle 15; Malecón and Paseo, near the Riviera and Meliá Cohiba hotels; and on Av de la Independencia (northbound lane) south of Plaza de la Revolución. All are open 24 hours a day.
Guarded parking is available for approximately CUC$1 all over Havana, including in front of the Hotel Sevilla, Hotel Inglaterra and Hotel Nacional.
Public Transport
HAVANA BUS TOUR
The handy new hop on/hop off Havana Bus Tour ( 831-7333; Calle L No 456 btwn Calles 25 & 27) runs on three routes. The main stop is in Parque Central opposite the Hotel Inglaterra. This is the pickup point for bus T1 running from Habana Vieja to the Plaza de la Revolución (via Centro Habana, the Malecón and Calle 23), and bus T3, which runs from Centro Habana to Playas del Este (via Parque Histórico Militar Morro-Cabaña). Bus T2 runs from the Plaza de la Revolución (where it connects with T1) to Marina Hemingway (via Necrópolis Cristóbal Colón and Playa). Bus T1 is open-top. All-day tickets are CUC$5. Services run from 9am to 9pm and routes and stops are clearly marked on all bus stops.
BUS
Havana’s bus service has improved immensely in recent years with the introduction of a brand new fleet of Chinese-made ‘bendy’ buses that replaced the famously crowded and dirty camellos (the city’s former metro buses) in 2007. These buses run regularly along 14 different routes, connecting most parts of the city with the suburbs. Fares are 20 centavos (five centavos if you’re using Convertibles), which you deposit into a small slot in front of the driver when you enter.
Cuban buses are crowded and little used by tourists. Beware of pickpockets and guard your valuables closely.
All bus routes have the prefix P before their number:
P-1 Diezmero – Playa (via Virgen del Camino, Vedado, Línea, Av 3)
P-2 Diezmero – Línea y G (via Vibora & Ciudad Deportiva)
P-3 Alamar–Túnel de Línea (via Virgen del Camino & Vibora)
P-4 San Agustín – Terminal de Trenes (via Playa, Calle 23, La Rampa)
P-5 San Agustín – Terminal de Trenes (via Lisa, Av 31, Línea, Av de Puerto)
P-6 Calvario – La Rampa (via Vibora)
P-7 Cotorro – Capitolio (via Virgen del Camino)
P-8 Calvario – Villa Panamericano (via Vibora, Capitolio & harbor tunnel)
P-9 Vibora – Lisa (via Cuatro Caminos, La Rampa, Calle 23, Av