3 Weeks of Cuba-la Parte Oriental

3 Weeks- Rental Car-Casas Particulares

Havana-Cienfuegos-Playa Ancon-Camaguey-Santiago-Banes-Cayo Coco-Cayo Santa María-Santa Clara-Varadero-Havana


Rental Cars in Cuba:

Last time we went to Cuba we also rented a car (I believe with Cubacar) and didn't have a single problem. We had a new although tiny car and it worked. This time we chose the cheapest company VIA Car and did not have the same luck. On the first day we had to wait 1,5h for the car. Then after 2 days the gas started to leak. We filled at the gas station and it came out again on the bottom...although Via Cars should have two offices in Camaguey where it happened both were closed. Luckily we found a mechanic on the side of the street who drove a VIA truck and basically forced him (he told us he was busy and the town office was closed but we should go to the airport, which we did afterwards but which also turned out to be closed) to fix it. Luckily he did and I spoke Spanish otherwise we would still be waiting in Camaguey. Arriving in Santiago where the next VIA office should be and where we called our German rental firm to make things right and demand a new car, VIA sent us a mechanic to revise the car. Having a quick look he said that the other mechanic had already fixed the problem, that another car wouldn't be better and that also against our other problem the broken fuel gauge he couldn't do anything (in the end we always had to calculate how many km we drove and how much new gas we would need for the next trip). Left with the same old, meagerly repaired car we drove on. Then the entire electrics in the car died down and it couldn't even be started anymore. Luckily my dad knows a thing or two about cars and suspected a problem with the battery. Indeed a cable had loosened itself due to the bumpy roads and he could still repair it (after that the lever to open the bonnet broke and would it have happened again could not have fixed it anymore). Upon returning the car we had to completely fill up the tank because otherwise the fuel gauge wouldn't go up (although we only had to it give it back with 12 litres) and the lady refused to take it back with the gauge down, not believing us that we filled up more than 25 litres. So in the end we paid 3/4 of a tank for them. When we told the lady that we asked the company's mechanic to repair the fuel gauge and he said he couldnt do anything about it she said that it was our own fault we should have never accepted a car like that. HAHA! if we waited until we got a new one we would still be sitting in Santiago.....Moreover it is worthy to say that VIA car only had "offices" in the main cities while we saw that Cubacar or HavanaCar had !open! offices in every little town and place we passed. STAY CLEAR of VIA and rather pay the extra couple of CUCs.

Havana Accomodation:

In 2009 we stayed at the Hotel Vedado. This was quite disappointing and definitely the worst place we ever stayed in in Cuba. Dirty, moldy, dusty, unfriendly personnel. This time we wanted to avoid such an experience and I googled and googled all halfway economic hotels. Even in the ones for 60 Euros a night, reviews were quite horrible including bed bugs, mold, etc. So I chose the one with the least bad reviews and prayed. The Hotel Victoria, however, was quite pleasant for Cuban standards. Rather clean, rather good location, breakfast as meagre as in any other state run hotel. All in all recommendable although I prefer the logding we took upon our departure. A casa particular called Carlos Valderrama in Centro Habana. He's a (probably) divorced man, who speaks English and he is very helpful and nice. Since theres not woman in the house, no dinner is offered but the house is located so centrally that good restaurants and paladares are within walking distance. Habana Vieja and all the sights can be reached by foot in 7-10 minutes. Since most of the more economic hotels are dirty and located in Vedado where nothing interesting happens I would definitely recommend taking a casa particular even in Havana. Since only then (at least I) you go and see the places where real habaneros live. If I hadn't lived there nothing would have ever brought me to centro Habana and I would have only seen the touristy old town and hotely Vedado.

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Trip Length: 3 weeks
Blog Entries: 1
Photos: 0
Words: 3871

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Blog Entries

Date	Blog Title	Location
July 31st 2013	3 Weeks of Cuba-la Parte Oriental	Central America Caribbean » Cuba