Cuba - Lonely Planet [199]
Espriu (Calle 12 btwn Avs 4 & 6; dishes CUC$1-3; 24hr) The best in town and handily located on Parque Echeverría, Espriu is an OK restaurant among uninspired choices. Choose from espresso, shrimp cocktails, fish fillets, burgers and sandwiches.
Cafetería El Rápido (Av Céspedes btwn Calles 7 & 8; 24hr) After tramping the streets in search of something more inspiring, most tourists end up here swearing to never complain about their Varadero hotel buffet again. There are two more branches around town.
Cafetería La Cubanita (cnr Av 3 Oeste & Calle 13; 24hr) Situated near Plaza Molocoff, Cafetería La Cubanita has a pleasant outdoor setting where you can consume drinks for Convertibles.
La Barra 1470 (Calle 13 btwn Avs 6 & 7) Tablecloths and wine glasses and a nice inner decor raise expectations that probably won’t be met when it comes to the food.
Pizzería La Boloñesa (Av Céspedes No 901; 10am-10pm) Peso pizza’s always an option, but don’t bank on any boloñesa.
El Viajero (cnr Calle 13 & Av 13) The address might sound fateful, but you could get lucky at this cheerful peso place long touted by the locals as the best eating joint in town.
There are many Convertible supermarkets and stores along Av 3 Oeste near Plaza Molocoff, including El Dandy (Av 3 on Plaza Molocoff; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat, 9am-noon Sun), selling drinks and groceries. You can get cheap peso snacks in the market itself and the area surrounding, where merchants peddle everything from fake hair to plastic Buddhas.
Entertainment
Casa de la Cultura ( 52-12-92; Av Céspedes No 706 btwn Calles 15 & 16) Housed in a beautiful but faded colonial building with stained glass, iron awnings and an interior patio with rockers. Search the hand-written advertising posters for rap peñas (performances), theater and literature events.
Cine Cárdenas (cnr Av Céspedes & Calle 14) Has daily movie screenings.
Shopping
Photo service (cnr Calle 13 & Av 31) This is housed inside an old Spanish fort. All your standard camera needs can be met here.
Getting There & Away
The Varadero–Santiago Víazul (www.viazul.com) bus stops in Cárdenas once daily in either direction. The eastbound service leaves Varadero at 9:25pm and arrives in Cárdenas at 9:45pm. It then heads east via Colón (CUC$6, one hour), Santa Clara (CUC$11, three hours), Sancti Spíritus (CUC$16, four hours 30 minutes), Ciego de Ávila (CUC$17, five hours 50 minutes), Camagüey (CUC$23, seven hours 45 minutes), Las Tunas (CUC$31, 10 hours), Holguín (CUC$35, 11 hours 10 minutes) and Bayamo (CUC$41, 12 hours 30 minutes) to Santiago (CUC$48, 15 hours 30 minutes). The return bus leaves Cárdenas at 10:40am and arrives in Varadero at 11am.
Local buses leave from the bus station (cnr Av Céspedes & Calle 22) to Havana and Santa Clara daily, but they’re often full upon reaching Cárdenas. There are also trucks to Jovellanos/Perico, which puts you 12km from Colón and possible onward transport to the east. The ticket office is at the rear of the station.
Bus 236 to/from Varadero leaves hourly from the corner of Av 13 Oeste and Calle 13 (50 centavos, but they like to charge tourists CUC$1).
* * *
ASK A LOCAL
Cárdenas has a couple of interesting public spaces that can get lively if you come on the right day. Plaza Roja (Red Square) at Calle 13 and Av 15 has a private grocery market twice a month on Saturdays. Then there’s the Patio de Cangrejos in front of the Museo de Batalla de Ideas that hosts occasional live music at weekends.
María, Varadero
* * *
Getting Around
The main horse-carriage (one peso) route through Cárdenas is northeast on Av Céspedes from the bus station and then northwest on Calle 13 to the hospital, passing the stop of bus 236 (to Varadero) on the way.
The Servi-Cupet gas station (cnr Calle 13 & Av 31 Oeste) is opposite an old Spanish