Eastern Short Stay
“Magic, weird, beguiling, outlandish, unorthodox, mysterious, surreal, psychedelic, and hallucinogenic; you can throw a thousand words at Baracoa, but still not come close to nailing its essence.” Lonely Planet Guide
Santiago de Cuba and Baracoa Guide and Accommodations Package
If you’re wondering how to get to Santiago de Cuba or Baracoa, our Eastern Cuba guided packages make it easy! Santiago and Baracoa are ideal destinations for travellers seeking the less touristy side of Cuba. Santiago is Cuba’s essence distilled and potent: steamy, musical, and revolutionary. Baracoa is remote and wild, well worth the trouble to get there, as the Spanish explorers can attest: Columbus wrote of Baracoa "the most beautiful place in the world ...I heard the birds sing that they will never ever leave this place...".
With our Eastern Cuba Short Stay package, you can spend 3-nights or more exploring these fascinating, yet least visited cities with the help of a friendly local guide. This Cuba tour package is a minimum 4 days/3 nights and can be purchased a la carte or it can be attached to the beginning or end of our 8 day Original Cuba Tour.
If you have at least two-weeks in Cuba, we recommend our 15 day Original Cuba Tour or our 14-day Heritage Tour, both of which include Baracoa and Santiago de Cuba.
What does the Eastern Cuba Short Stay Package Include?
The Cuban Adventures Eastern Cuba Short Stay package includes the following:
- Accommodations with breakfastchoose from standard or premium casas particulares. We do not recommend hotels, but they are available by request. US law prohibits US travellers from staying in hotels.
- Transportation between Santiago de Cuba and Baracoa Transportation to and from Eastern Cuba available upon request
- A local English-speaking guide throughout. Your guide will be your friend in Eastern Cuba, who you can depend on to give you the insider tips, help you with logistics, translations, and guided walking tours.
Not included:
- ActivitiesYou will pay locally for activities and necessary transportation. Discuss your interests with your guide and they will help you with logistics and accompany you as requested (may be additional fee)
- Meals and Drinks You will start each day with the included hearty breakfast. Afterwards you can explore Eastern Cuban cuisine on your own, or take your guide’s advice. The guide may accompany you for meals if you’d like, at an expensive restaurant it is customary to pay for their meal.
- Gratuities It is customary to show your appreciation for a job well done by giving a gratuity. The amount depends on your satisfaction and means, but for your guide, an average tip would be US$5/day/person. Expect to tip musicians, bathroom attendants, drivers, restaurant staff, and casa staff.
Options to Get to Baracoa
You can either start your Eastern Cuba Short Stay in Baracoa or Santiago de Cuba. Currently, the transportation options from Havana to Baracoa are:
- Private taxi - from Havana, 15 hours (overnight stop required)
- Viazul Tourist bus- Route is Havana - Santiago (20 hrs)- Baracoa (5.5 hrs), there is no direct service to Baracoa.
- Fly from Havana to Holguin or Santiago de Cuba (1.5 hrs), then bus or private taxi to Baracoa (5.5 hrs)
- Arrive internationally at Santiago or Holguin Airport, then bus or private taxi to Baracoa (5.5 hrs)
Why Visit Baracoa?
Baracoa was the first Spanish settlement in Cuba and one of the first in the whole of the Americas. It never developed beyond the quaint town it is today after it was replaced as Cuba’s capital by Santiago (later being moved again to Havana). Many of the wooden houses are in the style they were originally built. The most impressive feature of this part of Cuba however is the surrounding nature. With dramatic mountains, lush forest, beaches, and flowing rivers, Baracoa boasts some of the most beautiful natural landscape in all of Cuba. From Baracoa you can visit the Humboldt National Park which earned UNESCO distinction as “One of the most biologically diverse tropical island sites on earth.”
Activities you can do Baracoa:
- Scenic boat rides through the river
- Hikes through national parks to caves and waterfalls
- Coffee and Cacao farm tours
- Maguana beach day tour
- Archaeological museum
What our Travellers say about Baracoa
“Baracoa left me speechless!”
“From the activities we did two stand out. One is the Baracoa Yumuri river day trip with Norge, who was full of knowledge about Baracoa and introduced us to a pristine, beautiful part of Cuba…”
“My favorite place on the tour was Baracoa! It felt like we were with the people of Cuba and the food there was excellent.”
“Baracoa was my favorite city”
Options to get to Santiago de Cuba
If you choose to start your Eastern Cuba Short Stay in Santiago, here are the transportation options to Santiago de Cuba:
- Fly from Havana to Santiago de Cuba with a domestic or international airline
- Private taxi from Havana, 12.5 hours (overnight stop required)
- Viazul Tourist bus from Havana to Santiago de Cuba direct (20 hrs)
- International flights to Santiago de Cuba (from Madrid, Miami, Kingston, and Santo Domingo)
Contact us for pricing and transportation options
Why Visit Santiago de Cuba?
Santiago de Cuba is ideal for travellers who love music or dance and an intensely old-town Latin vibe. Cuba’s second-largest city is quite different to Havana. Apart from the intimate traditional music venues, other things worth checking out in Santiago are the impressive fortress at the entrance to the bay, and the cemetery where many famous Cubans have been laid to rest (including Jose Marti, Company Segundo, and even Fidel Castro himself). Santiago is Cuba’s hottest city in more ways than one.
Activities in Santiago de Cuba:
- Historical Museums
- La Gran Piedra Mountain
- El Morro Castle
- Dance and Music instrument lessons
- Live music venues
- Virgen del Cobre church
- Siboney beach
- Specialised Day Tours (including a specialist guide, entry fees, transport)
- Sierra Maestra treks
What our Travellers say about Santiago de Cuba
“My favourite destination on the tour was Santiago - the Afro-Cuban music and dance, and the chorus' beautiful singing moved me to tears”
“Loved the day of historical and cultural sightseeing in Santiago”
“Excellent private tour from Havana to Santiago de Cuba and back. Fabulous guide, quality information and outstanding exposure to Cuban history and life.”
“[Most favourite excursion] Cemetery and changing of the Guards in Santiago also the June 26th Museum, El Cobre and the basilica was fantastic so beautiful and so interesting finding out from Rosy about the religions in Cuba…We absolutely loved this trip, which I have wanted to do for many years.”
