Promotions and special offers. Transfers and Taxi in Cuba: Havana, Varadero, Trinidad, Pinar Del Rio, etc. Transfer from Havana airport to Varadero on your own
They have long been one of the main attractions of Cuba. Visiting them is an important item on a traveler's bucket list. Soft White sand and crystal clear water, despite the rapid construction of beach hotels, make this resort a place where you can enjoy beautiful nature and relax from the bustle of the city.
How to get from Havana to Varadero on your own? Varadero is not so far from Havana, only 134 kilometers. This distance can be covered in a couple of hours, although there are several stops along the way.
Excursion tour
Often travelers who fly to Varadero for a few weeks want to visit Havana. If the trip is planned with an overnight stay, it is better to take an excursion. The tour operator will arrange overnight stays at the hotel and transfers to and from Havana. The excursion will also include a sightseeing tour of the capital. Prices range from 120 CUC (RUB 7,500) per person per day trip up to 2000 CUC (12,200 rubles) for an overnight excursion. This trip can be booked in advance or requested at the hotel reception.
Solo travel
How to get from Varadero to Havana on your own? If you plan independent trip, then you can use taxi services, regular buses or rent a car. Such a trip will save some money and time, because the tourist himself chooses what he wants to do in the capital: sightseeing, shopping or tasting local dishes and Cuban rum.
Bus
The easiest way to get from Varadero to Havana is to take the Viazul bus. The cost of the trip is only 10 CUC (635 rubles). The bus station in Varadero is located on the corner of Calle 36. The station can be easily reached from any hotel, for example, by taxi - the cost is 3-5 CUC (150-200 rubles).
The bus is a great way to get to Havana quickly and safely. It is possible that it will be filled with other tourists wanting to see the capital. It's better to book yourself seat in advance, at least a day in advance. Reservations can be made through the official Viazul reservation system. After confirmation of payment, the tourist receives a receipt by email, which must be printed and exchanged at the bus station ticket office for bus tickets.
In Havana, the bus stops in Old Havana and then in Vedado, the historical district of the city, ending at Vedado Occidental.
Taxi
The option of taking a taxi from Varadero to Havana is more comfortable, but costs much more. The standard cost of a trip is usually about 80 CUC (5,000 rubles), but you can find a cheaper car. Taxi drivers wait for passengers near the Viazul station, sometimes there are already one or two passengers in the car. You can try to join them and split the fare for the trip.
Getting to Havana by taxi will be much faster than by bus, because there will be no stops along the way, and the driver will bring tourists to their desired destination. You can and should bargain with taxi drivers about the price of the trip, because this is part of the Cuban adventure. In Cuba they are traded everywhere, the original price can be significantly reduced. Even if the traveler does not speak Spanish, English language Many people understand here too.
From the capital to the resort
From Havana you can get to Varadero using the same methods: bus and taxi. You can also rent a car. Three major car rental companies - REX, Cubacar and Havanautos - offer good cars. The price includes a daily car fee, an initial deposit, insurance and several additional fees (delay and damage vehicle). This option is only suitable for experienced drivers. After all, driving on Cuban roads is still a pleasure and is often accompanied by increased stress.
Buses from Havana to Varadero leave from the main Viazul station on 26th Avenue, right opposite the old zoo. There are four flights a day: at 6.00, 8.00, 13.00 and 17.30. All buses are modern, air conditioned and very comfortable. The journey lasts three hours. During this time, the bus makes stops where you can have a snack or do a photo shoot.
There are also buses from different bus companies, for example, "Havantur", which go to Varadero, collecting passengers at various city hotels. This travel option is also safe and cheap.
Varadero Airport
From Havana Airport you can get to Varadero by public transport - Viazul buses. Flights depart to the resort several times a day. The journey takes about an hour, the cost is approximately 400-500 rubles per person. Cuban taxi drivers ask about $40 (3,000 rubles) for their services, but you can bargain for half that price.
How to get from Varadero to Havana Airport? The easiest way is a hotel transfer; its cost is often included in the package. If you go on your own, it is better to use a bus or taxi.
Kiwitaxi works with professional transport companies, requiring carriers to different countries same standards. This allows us to achieve predictable quality of service around the world.
The fastest way to travel from Varadero to Havana
The transfer is 1.5–2.5 times faster than public transport. Due to the fact that you don’t need to adjust to the schedule and don’t have to waste time on stops along the route.
Faster than a taxi on the spot by an average of 5–15 minutes, since the Kiwitaxi driver arrives at the appointed time, and you do not have to waste time searching for the right car and waiting for delivery.
A comfortable option without additional stress
The car you need will arrive. At the time of ordering on the website, you select capacity and additional parameters, for example, a child seat for the desired age.
We meet at a convenient place. At airports, drivers or Kiwitaxi greeters try to be as close to the arrivals area as possible with a sign with the client’s name on it, as far as the rules allow. In hotels we try to meet you at the reception; Varadero is no exception.
You don't need to know the language of a foreign country. Many Kiwitaxi drivers and greeters know Russian, and even more know English. As a last resort, you can communicate with a support manager who definitely knows Russian.
Serviceable cars and professional drivers. Kiwitaxi works with licensed carriers. Transfers are carried out using vehicles that have undergone maintenance and are no older than seven years. Drivers have professional licenses.
Service at an understandable price
The price is fixed at the time of order. Whatever payment option you choose, the price will not change. There may be an additional payment only if you need to travel deviating from the route or make a long stop.
Payment online. You can pay for the service by card on the website. This will allow you not to think about how to exchange money in order to take a local taxi to Varadero to Havana.
Many people believe that if it were not for the transfer from the package tour, they would be lost in a foreign country and would not be able to get to the hotel.
I'll tell you a story about how my wife and I went to Cuba on your own in the summer of 2010. We chose a very decent 4* hotel. At the travel agency, a tour to this hotel for two for 2 weeks cost 4000 euros.
We booked this hotel online for 1200 euros. A direct flight with Aeroflot from Moscow cost 1,100 euros per person. Those. with your own hands the tour would turn out to be 600 euros cheaper. Not bad? Everything is the same, only without the transfer.
But we went further - we bought tickets with a transfer in Amsterdam for 550 euros per person! Those. saved money 1700 euros.
But this article is not about saving, but about transfer.
We flew into Havana in the evening, and the hotel was in Varadero, 150 km away. Even if we took a taxi to the hotel and back, it would be less than the 600 euros saved on a direct flight, and even more so the 1,700 we saved. But I still want to save. Let's look further:
Cuba is a poor socialist country, intercity public transport there looks like this:
And this is not a joke, please note that the passengers are decently dressed. This is an official transport that runs on a schedule and charges a fare.
But even in this poor country Like Cuba, there is a service for tourists. After a short search we found bus company, Viazul, which operates bus services between major cities only for tourists. And, of course, on normal buses, with air conditioning. The schedule was found on the same site.
From Havana to Varadero, a ticket cost 10 CUC (local currency, the exchange rate is average between the dollar and the euro. For convenience, I will further call them euros).
But on last bus we no longer had time. So we did this:
The hotel in Varadero was only booked from the next day. We decided to spend the night in Havana and leave on the first bus.
Hotels in Havana started from 100 euros per night. It seemed expensive for us. From traveler reviews we learned the following:
In Cuba, the only legal business for ordinary people is to organize Casa Particular. To do this, you need to allocate a room in your house with a separate toilet and install an air conditioner, then you can hang a sign like this:
This means that tourists can rent a room here for the night. The price for such a room is 15-25 euros per day. But you can’t order online, and it’s also very difficult to find out addresses in advance. But in the reviews they wrote that there are a lot of such houses in Havana, any taxi driver will take you to one.
This is what we did:
1)
We arrived in Havana.
2)
We saw the Viazul counter at the airport and booked tickets for the morning (the ticket was written out by hand by the girl, the reservation was made by phone to the central control room - very funny! :) And this is in the age of computers and the Internet). But you could also buy a ticket at the station, before leaving - there were many empty seats on the bus. But if possible, it is always better to play it safe.
3)
At the exit from the airport, as in Europe, there is a queue of taxis (the cars are decent foreign cars with air conditioning. We were disappointed, because we thought that only retro cars drove there, we wanted to go in one of these :))
4)
We got into a taxi and said one phrase - “Casa Particular” (we don’t know Spanish at all - the driver tried to ask us something, but we shrugged our shoulders and smiled, because we didn’t understand anything).
5)
The trip cost 25 euros, the taxi driver brought us to Kasa, which also cost 25 euros.
6)
In the morning we called a taxi through the hostess, and for 10 euros they took us to the bus station.
7)
The station is very old, but the service is like at the airport - luggage is collected at the check-in desk and loaded onto the bus yourself. For 20 euros for two and 3 hours, we comfortably drove to Varadero.
8)
At the Varadero station we took a taxi for 10 euros and went to the hotel.
In total we spent 90 euros. The flight back was also in the evening, so there was no overnight stay and no taxi from Kasa to the station.
Those. round trip transfer cost 145 euros. Anyway, compared to a package tour, the savings were very big!
But in our case, we also received a lot of emotions, because... Cuba outside the hotel gates is a completely different world, a journey into the past 50 years. For this day we received as many impressions as we have never received before. And after living in a hotel for a week, we rented a car and went on a week-long trip around the entire island, in which we received ten times more emotions! But this is a topic for a separate story...
The moral of this article is that there is no need to be afraid of an independent transfer in a foreign country, you will not only save money, but also get an unforgettable experience. I’m not even talking about civilized countries, where everything is clear, where any passer-by can explain with their fingers how to get to the place you need. In the end, no one canceled the taxi. If the hotel is less than 50 km from the airport, then a taxi will be relatively inexpensive.
If even in socialist Cuba you can easily and without knowing the language make an independent transfer to a neighboring city, then in almost any country in the world it can also be organized independently.
Moreover, with an independent transfer you get a portion of the local flavor, which you will not be able to experience on any excursion from a tour operator. Such emotions cannot be bought with money.
The only negative is that you need to spend a little time finding the necessary information about flights, schedules and prices. If you don’t want to waste time searching for this information, contact your personal Top3travel manager - the price includes not only the selection of tickets and hotels, but also assistance in organizing a transfer. If in your case a taxi is expensive, then we will find the local transport schedule, find out where to buy a ticket and how to find a train station or stop.
Happy travels!
Alexander Filev,
Creator of the site top3travel.
Since José Martí is an important transport hub in Cuba, there are taxis, shuttles, buses, and fixed-route trains.
How to get from Havana Airport to the desired point
There are at least four ways to get where you need to go:
- group or individual transfer,
- by taxi, ordering it through the service or catching it on the spot,
- by train or metro,
- by bus or minibus.
Transfer versus ordering a taxi through the app
Faster by at least 10 minutes, since the Kiwitaxi driver knows your arrival time in advance and will be waiting for you at Havana Airport, at the specified location.
Without unnecessary fuss. You don't have to search for Wi-Fi, open the app, enter travel parameters, select a car - everything you need has already been done.
The car meets the requirements: the required number of seats and luggage, air conditioning and a child car seat, if you have ordered one.
More expensive on average by 10–20%, since Kiwitaxi transfers are carried out by licensed drivers in cars no older than seven years old, which must have undergone technical inspection.
Transfer versus taxi from Havana Airport booked on site
Benefits of an individual transfer
Faster by at least 10 minutes: There are several official taxi services at Havana Airport, but there are often queues to board, as airport employees distribute passengers into cars or tourists themselves take a long time to choose an option. There may be private traders on duty near the airport; among them you need to choose the most trustworthy one - this takes time.
No problems with the language. If you don't know foreign language, it will not be easy to explain to the taxi driver where you need to go, how much you are willing to pay and that you will not go without a child seat.
At a predetermined price. Each taxi service in Cuba operates according to its own tariff (boarding, mileage, downtime, and so on). Private drivers even determine the price by looking at the tourist and assessing how much they can charge him. The transfer costs as much as was indicated in the voucher at the time of pre-order.
Payment online. There is no need to change the currency to the local one, since you paid for the transfer in full on the website.
Disadvantage of an individual transfer
More expensive on average by 5-15%. If your destination is close to the airport, a taxi service on site will be cheaper, since Kiwitaxi operates at a single rate throughout the city.
Transfer compared to bus, minibus, metro or train
Benefits of an individual transfer
1.5–2.5 times faster. Taking into account the average waiting time for scheduled transport and transfers, getting from José Martí to a hotel within the city or a transport hub is on average 1.75 times longer.
Calm and comfortable. A Kiwitaxi driver will be waiting for you at a designated location at Havana Airport and will help you with your luggage. The driver can also help you check into the hotel by acting as a translator when communicating with the administrator.
"From the gangway to the room." You will not get confused in navigating at Havana Airport, as the driver will meet you and escort you to the car. It will take you to the specified location, and you will not have to walk from the public transport stop.
Disadvantage of an individual transfer
Up to 5 times more expensive based on two tourists. The transfer price is approximately comparable to the cost of regular transport when ordering a minibus for 6 or more passengers.
Comfortable, convenient and developed public transport Cuba cannot boast, so one of the most popular means of transportation in Cuba is a taxi. Like Cuban money, taxis on the island are divided into tourist and local.
Tourist cabs are equipped with air conditioning and a radiotelephone. Payment for the trip is taken in dollars. A trip in such a taxi is safe, since the movement of the vehicle is controlled by the operator. A local taxi is cheaper, and you can catch it on the street, but the car in such a taxi is old, worn out, and no one will give a guarantee of safety.
In Cuba, you will meet retro cars that carry tourists, these cars are of various colors and brands - from American cars of the 50s of the last century to Soviet Zhiguli and Moskvich cars.
Types of taxis in Cuba
In 2008, all state-owned cab companies were united under one brand, Cubataxi, but the companies transport passengers under the old names. There are three state-owned companies operating in the taxi business in Cuba: Cubanacan, Turistaxi, and Panataxi.
The Cubanacan company provides tourists with a Mercedes car, but the cost of the trip will be rather high. A trip in Japanese small cars from the Turistaxi company is also an expensive travel option. Expensive pleasures of traveling around Cuban cities include trips in cars of the Transgaviota and Taxi OK companies.
Only in the capital of Cuba, the cheapest taxi “Panataxi” carries passengers through its streets. You can recognize him by his familiar Lada. Not every tourist can afford a ride in an old Grancar Chevrolet: you will have to pay up to 30 cookies for an hour of travel. The Cocotaxi company transports local passengers in black and yellow cars, and visitors in yellow cars.
There is also the so-called national taxi “Colectivos”. His trip price is fixed: 10 pesos. This company operates American cars, Zhiguli and Moskvich. Bicycle taxis "Bicitaxi" are not allowed to carry tourists, but it seems that no one pays attention to this ban.
A trip through the cities of the country, along the streets big cities can take place by bicycle taxi, by car in the form of a capsule, or by horse-drawn cart.
What is the difference between a Cuban state taxi and a private one?
The difference between a state cab and a private one is very simple: state cabs have license plates of blue color, for private ones - yellow. And the colors of the cars are represented in all shades of the rainbow. Colorful, bright colors are also loved among taxi drivers. The taxi sign can be attached to the glass, on the roof, or on the hood.
There are also shared taxis on the island. You can team up with your hotel guests and order station wagon buses or minibuses to travel to the sights of the country.
Special buses run in resort areas. You pay for travel on them once, and then you can get off at the stop you need, then get on a similar bus again, as many times as you like.