Santiago de Cuba travel guide

History

Santiago de Cuba was one of the seven towns (villas) founded by Diego Velázquez. It was first built in 1515 on the mouth of the Río Paradas but moved in 1516 to its present location in a horseshoe valley surrounded by mountains. It was Cuba’s capital city until replaced by Havana in 1553 and capital of Oriente province until 1976. During the 17th-century Santiago was besieged by pirates from France and England, leading to the construction of the Castillo del Morro, still intact and now housing the piracy museum, just south of the city. Because of its location, Santiago has been the scene of many migratory exchanges with other countries; it was the first city in Cuba to receive African slaves, many French fled here from the slaves’ insurrection in Haiti in the 18th century and Jamaicans have also migrated here from the neighbouring island. Santiago is more of a truly ethnic blend than many other towns in Cuba.

It is known as the ‘heroic city’ (Ciudad Héroe), the cradle of the Cuban Revolution, the Rebel City, or ‘capital moral de la Revolución Cubana’. Many of Cuba’s heroes in both the 19th and 20th centuries were born here and started insurrections in the city and the surrounding mountains.

The national hero, José Martí, is buried in Santa Ifigenia cemetery, just west of the city. The city played a major role in the early days of the Revolution in the 1950s and boasts two major landmarks of the clandestine struggle: the Moncada Garrison, now a school and museum, scene of Fidel Castro’s first attack on the Batista regime in 1953, and La Granjita Siboney , the farmhouse where 129 revolutionaries gathered the night before the attack on the Garrison, which is also now a museum.

Santiago’s position at the foot of the mountains means that it is more protected from breezes than places along the north coast and is consequently several degrees hotter than Havana. This is not a problem in winter, but in the summer months of July and August it can be stifling. The song Calor en Santiago by Conjunto Rumba Habana sums it up perfectly: “¡Candela, fuego, me quemo, el calor me está derritiendo!” – “Candle, fire, I’m burning, the heat is melting me!” Unfortunately, this coincides with carnival in July, which just has to be the best time to visit Santiago. Nearly the whole month is taken up with festivities, starting with the Festival del Caribe, which runs into carnival in the third week with Santiago’s patron saint’s day on 25 July. Everything stops on 26 July, National Rebel Day and the anniversary of the attack on the Moncada barracks, then continues the next day.

Accident and emergency

Fire: Martí 517, T105. Police: T106. Central police station is Unidad 2, Corona y San Gerónimo. Near to the hotels Santiago and Las Américas is Unidad 4, on Aguilera near the hospital and the market.

Banks

It is possible to get CUC$ cash advance on credit cards (non-US) at Banco Financiero Internacional, Av Las Américas entre I y J, Reparto Sueño, T22-686252, Mon-Fri 0800- 1600, they also change foreign currency and TCs. Banco de Crédito y Comercio, Parque Céspedes, Santo Tomás entre Aguilera y Heredia and Lacret esq Aguilera, efficient service for credit card advances and changing TCs in European currencies. BICSA, Enramada opposite Plaza Dolores, for changing foreign currency and TCs. Banco Popular de Ahorro, Plaza Dolores, 0800-1500, Visa and MasterCard, ATM, prompt service, also a branch on Victoriano Garzón esq 3. TCs can be changed in any hotel except those in the Islazul chain. Meliá Santiago de Cuba has a Cadeca in its shopping precinct (also post office, pharmacy, tour operators, gift shops) daily 0900-2000, will change virtually any cash currency into CUC$. TCs can be changed in the Havanatur office in Casa Granda. Hotel Las Américas has a Cadeca in the lobby open daily 0800-1800 (although there is often no one there at lunchtime), for currency exchange, TCs, Visa, MasterCard advances. In the Asistur office under Casa Granda you can get cash advance on all major credit cards including American Express and Diners Club; they will also change American Express TCs, the only place that will do so in all Cuba. Do not change currency on the street. There is a Cadeca on Aguilera close to Plaza Dolores. If you want to buy pesos cubanos, change no more than CUC$5-10 for a 2- to 3-week stay.

Immigration

Asistur, Hotel Casa Granda, Heredia esq San Pedro, T22-686600. For all health, financial, legal and insurance problems for foreign tourists. Inmigración y Extranjería, Calle 13 6 frente al despacho eléctrico, T22-641983, Mon and Fri 0900-1200, 1330-1630, Tue, Wed and Thu 0900-1200, in summer holiday mornings only. Go to Bandec on Parque Céspedes y Aguilera and buy special stamp (sello) for CUC$25, then return to Immigration for paper work (15 mins).

Internet

Etecsa has an office under the cathedral on the corner of Parque Céspedes, Félix Pena y Heredia, open 0700-2300 daily. Computers for internet access and phone booths for international and domestic calls. Hotel Las Américas, 2 terminals in the hotel lobby, CUC$3 per 30 mins. Bar alongside if you have to wait your turn. Meliá Santiago de Cuba, business centre off the entrance. The best place in terms of quality and quantity of machines where there are 6 computers, CUC$6 per hr, and connection is usually good. Hotel Casa Granda also has computers for internet access.

Language schools

The Universidad de Oriente, on the outskirts of town. Spanish language classes together with Cuban dance and percussion are offered by Càlédöñiâ Languages, The Clockhouse, 72 Newhaven Rd, Edinburgh EH6 5QG, T44-(0)131-6217721, www.caledonia languages.com. They also offer accommodation in casas particulares, hiking and tours in the Sierra Maestra.

Medical services

Clínica Internacional, Av Raúl Pujol esq 10, T22-642589. Outpatient appointments, laboratory, dentist, 24-hr emergencies, international pharmacy, especially for tourists, everything payable in CUC$, CUC$25 per consultation, the best clinic to visit to be sure of immediate treatment. There is a pharmacy next door to the Casa de la Trova on Heredia. The Hotel Meliá Santiago de Cuba has a well-stocked pharmacy but it is expensive.

Post

The main post office is on Aguilera y Clarín, daily 0700-2000, where you can make phone calls within Cuba and buy international phone cards. There is email service but no internet access. The Casa Granda has its own post office, as does Hotel Sol Meliá Santiago. For a courier service, Cubanacán Express, Calle 6 entre L y M, Reparto Sueño, T22-687221, express@stgocub.scu.cyt.cu. Offers good service at reasonable prices. There is also DHL, opposite the bar, El Baturro, near Plaza Céspedes, which also has email facilities.

Telephone
You cannot make collect calls from hotels, only from private houses. Etecsa is on Aguilera, just before Plaza Dolores, open 24 hrs. For calls outside Santiago, Centro de Comunicaciones Nacional e Internacional, Heredia y Félix Pena, by the cathedral.

Plaza Marte is a central hub for lots of local transport. The city is easy to walk around with many of the sights congregated around the centre. It takes about 20-30 mins to walk from Parque Céspedes to the Hotel Santiago and 30 minutes from the parque to the bus station.

For excursions there are buses on some routes out of town but it is easier to negotiate a day trip with a driver who can take you to your destination. Make sure everything is agreed and clear before you set off, as drivers have a reputation for moving the goalposts when you’re a long way from base.

Bus

There is a regular bus service between Plaza Ferreiro (top of Av Victoriano Garzón) and Plaza Marte/Parque Céspedes. Urban buses cost 20 centavos. Horse-drawn coches are 1 peso. Bus No 214 goes to Playa Siboney; 207 to Juraguá; there is no bus at present to Parque Baconao or to El Cobre.

The long-distance bus terminal is near Plaza de la Revolución at the top of Av de los Libertadores/Carretera Central. Víazul (22-628484, 0700-2100, closed Sun afternoon, but if you turn up 30 mins before departure you can buy your ticket) is in an office to the left of the bus departure area, with a blue door. Note that for buses to Baracoa demand can be great in high season. Get your ticket the day before (or Sat for a Mon journey). Once a busload of tickets has been sold no more will be sold that day but if you turn up at 0500 the next morning they usually put on more buses depending on demand. On your return you can only buy tickets on the day of travel because the number of seats depends on how many buses have come from Santiago, but queue early. For an overnight journey wear trousers and a fleece if you have one, as the a/c is very cold and even Víazul is not comfortable at night. Astro has more local services, but is reserved for Cubans and is no longer available for foreigners.

Car hire

Cubacar and Vía Rent-a-Car are at the airport and in the main hotels. There is a Vía Rent a Car office (22-624646) opposite Casa Granda and also at Carretera del Caney y Calle 15, Reparto Vista Alegre (22-641465). It costs CUC$192 for 4 days plus CUC$40 for insurance. On return beware of CUC$10 charge for dirty exterior, CUC$20 for dirty interior and CUC$16 for scratches on the paint work caused by flying stones.

Taxi

Cubataxi, T22-651038/9, airport to town CUC$5, from the bus station to Plaza Marte is CUC$1, to Parque Céspedes CUC$2, from the centre out to Santa Bárbara CUC$3. You can also get a private taxi; lots hang around Parque Céspedes and Plaza Marte, but they will charge about the same as a Cubataxi. You will be continually offered private taxis every time you go out, particularly near any of the hotels or plazas. Bicitaxis can be arranged for short journeys around town (although tourists are supposed to take taxis) at Plaza Marte for about CUC$1.

Taxis can be a convenient way of covering long distances if there is a group of you to share costs, but for individuals it is worth investigating official transfers to places off Víazul’s routes. Eg Sol y Son can arrange door-to-door transfers direct to Holguín airport for the Fri and Sun flights, US$25 per person.

Train

Book tickets in advance from basement office in new terminal. This is relatively easy and quick, unlike the journey itself when delays of 16 hrs or more are frequent. Do not enter the waiting room area but walk in from the left and there is a guard on the door. If there is a queue for tickets he will make you wait outside. Train travel is not as reliable or comfortable as bus travel and agencies have stopped selling tickets as a result of the irregular service. Take a sweater for Havana journey, which has freezing a/c. There is a service every other day to Havana in theory, at 2000, 20 hrs.

Air

International and domestic Cubana and AeroCaribbean flights arrive at the Antonio Maceo airport (22-691014/691830, F22-86184), 8 km south of the city on the coast. There are flights most days to/from Havana with Cubana, CUC$108, and Aerocaribbean, CUC$115, 1 hr 45 mins, 2-hr check-in; also Baracoa (Sun), Holguín (Sat, Sun), Trinidad (Tue) and Varadero (Mon). Cubana also has international flights to Santiago from Madrid, Paris, Canada, Rome and Milan, and Aerocaribbean has flights from Montego Bay, Jamaica, Port-au-Prince, Haiti and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

On arrival you are greeted by several taxi drivers, some of whom even manage to get right into the arrivals building; these are unofficial taxis but reasonably priced and safe. Official and unofficial taxis shuttle passengers into town for around CUC$5-8, depending on the company and the distance.

The Aerocaribbean office is at San Pedro entre San Basilio y Heredia. The Cubana office is at Enramada esq Lacret (Mon-Fri 0900-1700, Sat 0900-1400, 22-651577/9). Local and inter-Caribbean flights (some destinations) can also be booked at tour operators while Cubanacán Express (C 6 entre L y M, Reparto Sueño, T/F22-687221, express@stgocub.scu.cyt.cu) sells tickets for Aerocaribbean, Air France, Air Jamaica Express, Air Europa, Cayman Airways, Cubana and Iberia.

Bus

There are several daily Víazul buses from Havana, with morning and afternoon departures, and one from Trinidad, via many places of interest worth stopping off along the way. The long-distance bus terminal is to the north of the city, by the Plaza de la Revolución, some 30 minutes’ walk to Parque Céspedes. Outside you will find taxis to take you to your destination. Arriving at night is not a problem as there are always taxis waiting for business.

Train

Daily rail services to and from Havana link Santiago with all the major towns lying along the main rail route through the country. The railway station is central, opposite the rum factory on Av Jesús Menéndez, and within walking distance of many casas particulares and some hotels in the centre.