Cuba - Lonely Planet [183]
Tropicana Matanzas (Map; 26-53-80; admission CUC$35; 10pm-2am Tue-Sat) Capitalizing on its success in Havana and Santiago de Cuba, the famous Tropicana cabaret has a branch 8km east of Matanzas, next to the Hotel Canimao. You can mingle with the Varadero bus crowds and enjoy the same entertaining formula of lights, feathers, flesh and frivolity in the open air. Rather like a cricket match, rain stops play here if the weather cracks.
From October to April, baseball games take place at the Estadio Victoria de Girón (Map), located 1km southwest of the market. Once one of the country’s leading teams, Los Cocodrilos (Crocodiles) struggle to beat La Isla de la Juventud these days.
Shopping
Shopaholics, you’d better look elsewhere. Checking out the stores (what stores?) in Matanzas makes a car boot sale look like Hollywood Boulevard.
Ediciones Vigía (Map; 24-48-45; 8am-4pm Mon-Fri) Incurables can browse here for original handmade books.
Photo Service (Map; Calle 288 No 8311 btwn Calles 83 & 85) This is the place for all your photo-related needs.
Getting There & Away
AIR
Matanzas is connected to the outside world through Juan Gualberto Gómez International Airport, located 20km east of town. Click here for details.
BICYCLE
For someone of good fitness, Matanzas is easy to reach on a bike from Varadero. The road is well-paved and completely flat, bar the last 3km into the city starting at the Río Canímar bridge (a relatively easy uphill climb if you’re heading east). Bike hire is available at most Varadero all-inclusive hotels.
BUS
Long-distance buses use the National Bus Station (Map; 91-64-45) in the old train station on the corner of Calles 131 and 272 in Pueblo Nuevo south of the Río San Juan. Matanzas has good connections to the rest of the country. Víazul (www.viazul.com) has four daily departures to Havana (CUC$7; two hours; 9am, 12:15pm, 4:30pm, 7pm) and Varadero (CUC$6; one hour; 10:15am, 12:10pm, 2:10pm, 8:20pm). The first three Varadero departures also call in at the airport.
Buses within Matanzas province use the San Luis Bus Terminal (Map; 29-27-01; cnr Calles 298 & 127) and fan out to the province’s main cities including Canasí, Cárdenas, Colón, Jagüey Grande and Jovellanos.
TRAIN
The train station (Map; 29-16-45; Calle 181) is in Miret, at the southern edge of the city. Foreigners usually pay the peso price in Convertibles to the jefe de turno (shift manager). Most trains between Havana and Santiago de Cuba stop here (except the fast Tren Francés). In theory, there are eight daily trains to Havana beginning at 3:25am (CUC$3, 1½ hours) and a Cienfuegos departure at 8:05pm, alternate days (CUC$6, three hours). Eastbound, there are trains that terminate at Manzanillo and Sancti Spíritus. The daily Santiago train (CUC$27) is supposed to leave early evening (5pm-ish, but check) stopping at Santa Clara, Ciego de Ávila, Camagüey, and Las Tunas.
The Hershey Train Station (Map; 24-48-05; cnr Calles 55 & 67) is in Versalles, an easy 10-minute walk from Parque Libertad. There are five trains a day to Casablanca station in Havana (CUC$2.80, four hours) via San Antonio (CUC$0.40), Canasí (CUC$0.85), Jibacoa (CUC$1.10), Hershey (CUC$1.40) and Guanabo (CUC$2). Departure times from Matanzas are 4:34am, 8:26am, 12:30pm, 5:12pm and 9:08pm (the 12:30pm train is an express and takes three hours instead of four). Ticket sales begin an hour before the scheduled departure time and, except on weekends and holidays, there’s no problem getting aboard. Bicycles may not be allowed (ask). The train usually leaves on time, but it often arrives in Havana’s Casablanca station (just below La Cabaña fort on the east side of the harbor) one hour late. This is the only electric railway in Cuba, and during thunderstorms the train doesn’t run. It’s a scenic trip if you’re not in a hurry.
Getting Around
To get to the train station from the center, bus 1 leaves from Calle 79 between Calles 290 and 292. Buses 16 and 17 go from Calle 300 in the center to the Río Canímar. The Oro Negro gas station is on the corner of Calles