Cuba - Lonely Planet [273]
Sala Teatro José Luis Tasende ( 29-21-64; Ramón Guerrero No 51; 8:30pm Sat & Sun) For serious live theater, it’s this venue with quality Spanish-language performances.
CINEMA
Big-screen showings take place at the city’s one reliable movie house, the crumbling Cine Encanto (Av Agramonte).
SPORT
Estadio Cándido González (Av Tarafa) From October to April baseball games are held here alongside Casino Campestre. Team Camagüey, known as the Alfareros (the Ceramists), play in Group C with Ciego de Ávila, Las Tunas and Villa Clara.
Salón Polivalente (Plaza de la Revolución) This place is nearby Estadio Cándido González, behind the huge Monumento a Ignacio Agramonte, and hosts other athletic matches.
Shopping
Calle Maceo is Camagüey’s top shopping street, with a number of souvenir shops, bookstores and department stores.
Other stores:
ARTex Souvenir (República No 381; 9am-5pm) On the main drag.
Photo Service (Av Agramonte 430 btwn República & San Ramón) Sells instant cameras and batteries and develops prints.
El Sol (Maceo No 53; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat, 8:30am-12:30pm Sun) Che T-shirts, mini-tinajones, Che key-rings, compact discs, Che mugs. Get the picture?
Getting There & Away
AIR
Ignacio Agramonte International Airport (airport code CBG ; Carretera Nuevitas Km 7) is 9km northeast of town on the road to Nuevitas and Playa Santa Lucía.
Cubana ( 29-13-38; República No 400) has daily flights to Havana (CUC$93 one way, one hour 35 minutes). Air Transat (www.airtransat.com) and Skyservice (www.skyserviceairlines.com) fly in the all-inclusive crowd from Toronto, who are hastily bussed off to Playa Santa Lucía.
BUS & TRUCK
The regional bus station (Av Carlos J Finlay), near the train station, has trucks to Nuevitas (87km, twice daily) and Santa Cruz del Sur (82km, three daily). You pay in Cuban pesos. Trucks toward Playa Santa Lucía (109km, three daily) leave from here as well: ask for el último (last in the queue) inside the station and you’ll be given a paper with a number; line up at the appropriate door and wait for your number to come up.
Long-distance Víazul ( 27-01-94; www.viazul.com) buses depart Álvaro Barba Bus Station ( 27-24-80; Carretera Central), 3km southeast of the center.
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VíAZUL DEPARTURES
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ASK A LOCAL
Camagüey is a flat city and great for cycling. My bici-taxi cost me 8000 pesos (US$320) and was grafted together in Cuba. I once rode it to Playa Santa Lucía with some friends – that’s over 120km away. The roads were bumpy but we took a few shortcuts. When we arrived, it was beautiful.
Enrique, Camagüey
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The Santiago de Cuba departure also stops at Las Tunas (CUC$7, two hours), Holguín (CUC$11, three hours 10 minutes) and Bayamo (CUC$11, 4½ hours). The Havana bus stops at Ciego de Ávila (CUC$6, one hour 45 minutes), Sancti Spíritus (CUC$10, four hours), Santa Clara (CUC$15, four hours 35 minutes) and Entronque de Jagüey (CUC$25, six hours 10 minutes). For Víazul tickets, see the jefe de turno (shift manager).
Passenger trucks to nearby towns including Las Tunas and Ciego de Ávila also leave from this station. Arriving before 9am will greatly increase your chances of getting on one of these trucks.
Public transport to Playa Santa Lucía is scant unless you’re on a prearranged package. Expect to pay between CUC$55 and CUC$70 for a taxi one-way from Camagüey.
TRAIN
The train station ( 28-32-14; cnr Avellaneda & Finlay) is more conveniently located than the bus station – though the service isn’t. Foreigners buy tickets in Convertibles from an unmarked office across the street from the entrance to Hotel Plaza. The Tren Francés leaves for Santiago at 3am-ish on alternate days and for Havana (stopping in Santa Clara) at 11pm-ish,