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THIS EDITION WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY Brendan Sainsbury Luke Waterson # _ Pinar del Río p170 Artemisa & Mayabeque p142 Matanzas p195 Cienfuegos p232 Isla de la Juventud (Special Municipality) p156 Sancti Spíritus p266 Ciego de Ávila p293 Villa Clara p247 Camagüey p309 Las Tunas p328 Holguín p338 Granma p363 Guantánamo p424 Santiago de Cuba p384 City of Havana p50 YOUR COMPLETE DESTINATION GUIDE In-depth reviews, detailed listings and insider tips SURVIVAL GUIDE Directory A–Z .................. 498 Transportation ................ 511 Language ......................... 522 Index ................................. 536 Map Legend ..................... 543 VITAL PRACTICAL INFORMATION TO HELP YOU HAVE A SMOOTH TRIP ON THE ROAD Spanish spelling is phonetically consistent, meaning that there’s a clear and consist- ent relationship between what you see in writing and how it’s pronounced. Most Latin American Spanish sounds are pronounced the same as their English counterparts. Note that thekh in our pronunciation guides is a guttural sound (like the ‘ch’ in Scottish loch), v and bare similar to the English ‘b’ (but softer, between a ‘v’ and a ‘b’), and r is strongly rolled. Some Spanish words are written with an acute accent (eg días) – this indicates a stressed syllable. In our pronunciation guides, the stressed syllables are in italics. If you read our pronunciation guides as if they were Eng- lish, you will be understood. Spanish nouns are marked for gender (masculine or feminine). Endings for adjec- tives also change to agree with the gender of the noun they modify. Where necessary, both forms are given for the phrases in this chapter, separated by a slash and with the masculine form Àrst, eg perdido/a (m/f). When talking to people familiar to you or younger than you, use the informal form of ‘you’, tú, rather than the polite form Usted. The polite form is used in the phrases pro- Sorry. Lo siento. lo syen·to Yes./No. Sí./No. see/no Please. Por favor. por fa·vor Thank you. Gracias. gra·syas You’re welcome. De nada. de na·da My name is … Me llamo … me ya·mo … What’s your name? ¿Cómo se llama Usted? ko·mo se ya·maoo·ste (pol) ¿Cómo te llamas? ko·mo teya·mas (inf) Do you speak English? ¿Habla inglés? a·bla een·gles (pol) ¿Hablas inglés? a·blas een·gles (inf) I (don’t) understand. Yo (no) entiendo. yo (no) en·tyen·do ACCOMMODATIONS I’d like to book a room. Quisiera reservar una kee·sye·ra re·ser·var oo·na habitación. a·bee·ta·syon How much is it per night/person? ¿Cuánto cuesta por kwan·tokwes·ta por Language PAGE 48 PAGE 497 ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

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THIS EDITION WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY

Brendan SainsburyLuke Waterson

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Pinar del Ríop170

Artemisa &Mayabeque

p142

Matanzasp195

Cienfuegosp232

Isla de la Juventud(Special Municipality)

p156

SanctiSpíritus

p266

Ciego deÁvilap293

Villa Clarap247

Camagüeyp309

LasTunasp328 Holguín

p338Granma

p363 Guantánamop424Santiago

de Cubap384

City ofHavana

p50

YOUR COMPLETE DESTINATION GUIDE

In-depth reviews, detailed listings

and insider tips

SURVIVAL GUIDE

Directory A–Z .................. 498Transportation ................ 511Language ......................... 522Index ................................. 536Map Legend ..................... 543

VITAL PRACTICAL INFORMATION TO

HELP YOU HAVE A SMOOTH TRIP

ON THE ROAD

Spanish spelling is phonetically consistent, meaning that there’s a clear and consist-ent relationship between what you see in writing and how it’s pronounced. Most Latin American Spanish sounds are pronounced the same as their English counterparts. Note that the kh in our pronunciation guides is a guttural sound (like the ‘ch’ in Scottish loch), v and b are similar to the English ‘b’ (but softer, between a ‘v’ and a ‘b’), and r is strongly rolled. Some Spanish words are written with an acute accent (eg días) – this indicates a stressed syllable. In our pronunciation guides, the stressed syllables are in italics. If you read our pronunciation guides as if they were Eng-lish, you will be understood.

Spanish nouns are marked for gender (masculine or feminine). Endings for adjec-tives also change to agree with the gender of the noun they modify. Where necessary, both forms are given for the phrases in this chapter, separated by a slash and with the masculine form rst, eg perdido/a (m/f).

When talking to people familiar to you or younger than you, use the informal form of ‘you’, tú, rather than the polite form Usted. The polite form is used in the phrases pro-

Sorry. Lo siento. lo syen·toYes./No. Sí./No. see/noPlease. Por favor. por fa·vorThank you. Gracias. gra·syasYou’re welcome. De nada. de na·da

My name is …Me llamo … me ya·mo …What’s your name? ¿Cómo se llama Usted? ko·mo se ya·ma oo·ste (pol)¿Cómo te llamas? ko·mo te ya·mas (inf)Do you speak English?¿Habla inglés? a·bla een·gles (pol)¿Hablas inglés? a·blas een·gles (inf) I (don’t) understand.Yo (no) entiendo. yo (no) en·tyen·do

ACCOMMODATIONSI’d like to book a room.Quisiera reservar una kee·sye·ra re·ser·var oo·na habitación. a·bee·ta·syonHow much is it per night/person?¿Cuánto cuesta por kwan·to kwes·ta por

Language

41-language-cuba-6.indd 522 23/06/2011 4:27:52 PM

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©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

Mildewed Magnifi cence There ought to be a banner in the arrivals hall at Havana airport that reads ‘Abandon preconceptions, all ye who enter here.’ Get ready for shocks, surprises, and eye-opening epiphanies. Twenty-fi rst century Cuba prom-ises to be like nowhere else you’ve ever vis-ited: economically poor, but culturally rich; visibly mildewed, but architecturally mag-nifi cent; infuriating, yet at the same time, strangely uplifting. If the country were a book, it would be James Joyce’s Ulysses; lay-ered, hard to grasp, serially misunderstood, but – above all – a classic.

Cuba’s intricacies are a result of its histo-ry, a troubled saga of external interference

and internal strife that has bred genocide, slavery, invasion, counterinvasion, and pop-ular revolution. Floating halfway between the US to the north and Latin America to the south, the archipelago has long strug-gled to work out where it fi ts in. Even its ecology, as German scientist Alexander von Humboldt once observed, is decid-edly weird, a kind of ‘Caribbean Galápagos’ where contradictory phenomena coexist.

A Certain Romance For half a century Cuba has been infamous for its politics, dominated by the increas-ingly wrinkled visage of Fidel Castro, who only has to cough for the world media to go on red alert. But the polemics hide deeper

welcome to Cuba

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secrets. Most visitors are surprised to arrive in Havana and fi nd, not some grey commu-nist dystopia, but a wildly exuberant place where the taxi drivers quote Hemingway and even hardened cynics are ensnared by the intrigue and romance.

Cuba’s romance isn’t of the candlelit, dinner-for-two variety. Here, in a country of few material possessions, life can be raw, in your face, and rough around the edges. But, the austerity is only half the story. Cuba is crammed with innumerable impossible-to-buy riches. Ponder the Latin Lotharios holding court on Havana’s Malecón, the ingenious DIY-merchants fi ne-tuning their hybridized Russian-American cars, or the old ladies in rollers conjuring culinary mir-acles out of nothing.

The Spirit of Survival That Cuba has survived is a miracle in itself. That it can still enthrall travelers from around the globe with its beaches, bays, mountains, rum, music, and impos-sibly verdant landscapes is an even greater achievement. The key lies in the Cubans themselves: survivors and improvisers, po-ets and dreamers, cynics and sages. Defy-ing all logic, it is the people who have kept the country alive as the infrastructure has crumbled; and it is they also who have en-sured that Cuba continues to be the fasci-nating, perplexing, paradoxical nation it is. Such uniqueness is a vanishing commodity in an increasingly globalized world. Grab it while it’s still there.

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(left) Classic American car in the streets of Habana Vieja, Havana (lbelow) Musicians playing traditional Cuban music in a bar, Havana.

Cuba is a continuing Cuba is a continuing education. Just when you education. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, it think you’ve figured it out, it confounds you with another confounds you with another brow-beating riddle. That brow-beating riddle. That essentially is its underlying essentially is its underlying attraction.attraction.

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G U L F O F M E X I C O

Ensenadade la Broa

Golfo deBatabanó

Bay of Pigs(Bahía deCochinos)Bahía

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Corralde SantoTomásAutopista Havana-Pinar del R¡o

A utopista Nacional

Carretera Central

GrandCayman

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JagüeyGrande Colón

Sagua laGrande

Cárdenas

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Topes deCollantes

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HavanaMildewed architecture

and wild seas (p50)

MatanzasDilapidated buildings hide

soulful secrets (p196)

CienfuegosNeoclassical bayside city

(p233)

TrinidadUnblemished colonial

townscape (p275)

Ciénaga de ZapataThe Caribbean’s largest

swamp (p227)

Las TerrazasTrails, nature and an artists’

community (p148)

Valle de ViñalesCycle through bucolic bliss

(p183)

#e 0 120 km0 75 miles

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Santiago de CubaThe cradle of Cubandance culture (p387)

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peak (p376)

CamagüeyA labyrinth of narrow streets

(p310)

BaracoaThe best food outside

Havana (p434)

Santa ClaraCuba’s edgiest city

(p249)

VaraderoRelax in a beach resort

(p205)

Cayo GuillermoThe definitive island in the

stream (p307)

Top Experiences ›

Itiner-aries

STRAITS OF FLORIDA

CARIBBEAN SEA

Trinidad

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Cienfuegos

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Two WeeksThe Classic

Fall in love with classic Cuba in Havana, with its museums, forts, theaters and rum. Head southeast next, via the Bay of Pigs, to French-fl avored Cienfuegos, an ar-chitectural monument to 19th-century neoclassicism. After a night of Gallic style, travel a couple of hours down the road to colonial Trinidad, with its cache of easily

reachable beaches and more museums per head than anywhere else in Cuba. Santa Clara is a rite of passage for Che pilgrims but also great for smart private rooms and an upbeat nightlife. Further east, Camagüey lures you with its maze of Catholic churches and giant tinajones (clay pots). Skip over Las Tunas, and hightail it to gritty Holguín for a slice of workaday Cuba. Laid-back Bayamo is where the Revolution was ignited, but allow plenty of time for the cultural nexus of Santiago de Cuba, where the seditious plans were fi rst hatched. Save the best till last with a long but by no means arduous journey over the hills and far away to Baracoa for coconuts, chocolate and other tropical treats.

Whether you’ve got six days or Whether you’ve got six days or 60, these itineraries provide a 60, these itineraries provide a starting point for the trip of a starting point for the trip of a lifetime. Want more inspiration? lifetime. Want more inspiration? Head online to lonelyplanet.Head online to lonelyplanet.com/thorntree to chat with other com/thorntree to chat with other travelers.travelers.

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Four DaysEscape from Varadero

Varadero has some cheap packages and is a popular gateway into Cuba, but once you’ve had your fi ll of the beach, what else is there to do? Here’s

a thought. Take your transport west to Ha-vana, stopping off for lunch in Matanzas, where Cuban reality will hit you like a sharp slap on the face. Book a night in a fi ne co-lonial hotel in Habana Vieja and spend the next day admiring the copious sights of the old quarter. The next day, head west to Las Terrazas, an eco-resort that seems a million miles from the clamorous capital (it’s actu-ally only 55km). Going back east, keep on the green theme in Guamá, a reconstructed Taí-no village and crocodile farm, before procur-ing accommodation in Playa Larga, where you can either dive or plan forays into the Ciénaga de Zapata. A couple of hours east lies the city of Cienfuegos, an elegant stop-over whatever the season. A more secretive Cuba can be found in Colón, back in Matan-zas province, and a dustier, time-warped one in half-ruined San Miguel de los Baños, an erstwhile spa. Last stop before returning to your Varadero sun-lounger is Cárdenas, home to three superb museums.

One MonthThe All-Encompassing

Cuba might not look that big, but you could easily lose a month exploring its nooks and crannies. With time on your hands, linger a few days in Ha-

vana before heading west to Viñales, where enthusiastic naturalists and hard-working tobacco farmers live in verdant harmony. Swing back east next, avoiding Havana and heading straight for the French-themed city of Cienfuegos. From here you can press on to Trinidad for three days of colonial splendor. Schedule one night in understat-ed Sancti Spíritus, and linger at least 48 hours in Santa Clara before diverting to Morón, where you can plan sorties on Cayo Coco. Camagüey is on everyone’s schedule – pencil in two nights – but Las Tunas at-tracts only the time-rich (that’s you). Stop for a day to admire the sculptures. Devote three days to Holguín province, where you can visit beguiling Gibara and enjoy pine-scented air in the Pinares del Mayarí. Stop off for a night in Bayamo on your way to Santiago de Cuba, which you can use for a base for excursions to El Cobre, Chivirico and Parque Baconao. Reserve three days at the end to make the obligatory pilgrimage to Baracoa.

STRAITS OF FLORIDA

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» (above) Arco de Triunfo, Parque José Martí, Cienfuegos (p234) » (left) White-sand beach, Varadero (p205).

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10 DaysAround the Oriente

The Oriente is a diff erent country; they do things diff erently there, or so they’ll tell you in Havana. This cir-cuit allows you to bypass the Cuban

capital and make your base in Santiago de Cuba, city of revolutionaries, culture and folklórico dance troupes. Regular buses trav-el east into the mountains of Guantánamo province. Pass a night in Guantánamo to suss out the changüí music before climbing the spectacular ‘Farola road’ into Baracoa, where three days will bag you the highlights. Heading north via Moa is a tough jaunt, with taxis or rental cars required to get you to Cayo Saetia, a wonderful key where lonesome beaches embellish a former hunt-ing reserve. Pinares de Mayarí sits in the pine-clad mountains of the Sierra Crystal amid huge waterfalls and rare fl ora. Take an urban break in hassle-free Bayamo, be-fore tackling Manzanillo, where Saturday nights in the main square can get feisty. More adventurous transport options will lead you down to Niquero and within strik-ing distance of the largely deserted Parque Nacional Desembarco del Granma. Spend a couple of nights in Marea del Por-tillo before attempting the spectacular but potholed road back to Santiago.

Two WeeksCentral Cuba Circuit

Focusing on central Cuba allows you to visit places that many itineraries leave out due to lack of time and/or informa-tion. Make a base in Trinidad, colo-

nial city extraordinaire, and branch out to the historical and equally beguiling Valle de los Ingenios. Make for the Sierra del Escambray next, where the muddy trails and clear pools of Topes de Collantes justify at least a two-night stopover. A rough road continues on to Lago de Hanabanilla, where you can hike some more or net a largemouth bass. Santa Clara reintroduces you to urbanity with its museums and nightlife, and there’s more of the same in Remedios, if on a smaller scale. The quiet northeastern route enables pit stops in Yaguajay, with its interesting Museo Camilo Cienfuegos, and Florencia, where a peaceful reservoir invites bucolic contempla-tion. After a day or two in Morón, get back on the Carretera Central and hit Camagüey, Cuba’s third city and a cornucopia of unique architecture. Thirty kilometers to the south-east is the Hacienda la Belén, a nature re-serve renowned for its birdlife, which makes for an excellent side trip. Finish off in Hol-guín and enjoy a couple of days’ beach time in nearby Guardalavaca.

Yaguajay

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Two WeeksThe Northern Route

For Cuba veterans who’ve already done the ‘classic’ tour – or adventur-ers keen to keep off the tourist trail –

try this alternative trek east via a little-used northern route (bike or car re-quired). After soaking up the obvious draws of Havana, follow the rising sun to Matan-zas, a gritty city with an interesting culture and the resort-phobe’s antidote to Varadero. From here, a web of narrow, potholed roads lure you east, via the isolated spa of Baños de Elguea, to the architectural dreamscape of Remedios, with its quiet charm and noisy festivals. Further east, San José del Lago is another spa, visited primarily by Cubans, close to little-explored forests where Castro’s guerrillas once roamed. Morón is a good place to relax for a day or two, with fi shing lakes and the beaches of Cayo Coco nearby. Camagüey province’s northern coast is semideserted until you arrive in Nuevi-tas, an understated industrial town close to the beach. Puerto Padre is a salt-of-the-earth Cuban town loved by purists, while Gibara is a wonderfully weathered seaside settlement with mucho magic. Finish your sojourn in Holguín, city of bar crawls, a bolshie baseball team and plenty of other surprises.

One WeekA Week in the West

West of Havana, green Pinar del Río often gets neglected by travelers tak-ing the classic route east. You can rec-tify this by heading to Las Terrazas,

Cuba’s most successful environmental proj-ect that created a Unesco Biosphere Reserve out of a near ecological disaster. Nearby, Soroa is famed for its orchids and water-falls and can be explored from the same base. Track further west on day two past faded ‘spa,’ San Diego de los Baños, toward Parque La Güira, where you can spot birds in between visiting the cave where Che Gue-vara pitched camp during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The town of Pinar del Río deserves a lunch stop, but the real beauty lies 25km to the north in the unique landscape of Vi-ñales, prime tobacco-growing country and one of the most instantly picturesque places in the Caribbean. Tour operators in Viñales off er some enticing excursions north to un-inhabited Cayo Jutías and equally sublime Cayo Levisa, both adorned with pristine beaches. If time allows, schedule a visit to Cuba’s remote western tip, renowned for its world-class diving and ecologically well-stocked Parque Nacional Península de Guanahacabibes before heading back to Havana.

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HAVANA . . . . . . . . . . . .50DOWNTOWN HAVANA . . . . . 54OUTER HAVANA . . . . . . . . . 122Playa & Marianao . . . . . . . . 122Parque Lenin Area . . . . . . . 131Santiago de las Vegas Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133Regla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Guanabacoa . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Cojímar Area . . . . . . . . . . . . 136Casablanca . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137Playas del Este . . . . . . . . . . 137

ARTEMISA & MAYABEQUE PROVINCES . . . . . . . . 142ARTEMISA PROVINCE . . . . 144San Antonio de los Baños . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144Artemisa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145North of Artemisa . . . . . . . 146Soroa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146Las Terrazas . . . . . . . . . . . . 148Bahía Honda & Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151MAYABEQUE PROVINCE . . .151Playa Jibacoa Area . . . . . . . 152Jaruco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155Surgidero de Batabanó . . . 155

ISLA DE LA JUVENTUD (SPECIAL MUNICIPALITY) . . . . 156ISLA DE LA JUVENTUD . . . 158Nueva Gerona . . . . . . . . . . . 158East of Nueva Gerona . . . . 164

South of Nueva Gerona . . . 165The Southern Military Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . 165CAYO LARGO DEL SUR . . . 166

PINAR DEL RÍO PROVINCE . . . . . . . . . 170PINAR DEL RÍO AREA . . . . .171Pinar del Río . . . . . . . . . . . . 171La Coloma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179Southwest of Pinar del Río . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179PENÍNSULA DE GUANAHACABIBES . . . . . . .181Parque Nacional Península de Guanahacabibes . . . . . . . . . 181VALLE DE VIÑALES . . . . . . 183Viñales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Parque Nacional Viñales . . .189West of Viñales . . . . . . . . . . 191THE NORTHERN COAST . . .191Cayo Jutías . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191Puerto Esperanza . . . . . . . . 192Cayo Levisa . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192Playa Mulata Area . . . . . . . 193SAN DIEGO DE LOS BAÑOS & AROUND . . . . . . 193San Diego de los Baños . . 193Around San Diego de los Baños . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

MATANZAS PROVINCE . . . . . . . . . 195NORTHERN MATANZAS . . 196Matanzas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Varadero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205Cárdenas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220San Miguel de los Baños & Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223PENÍNSULA DE ZAPATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224Central Australia & Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224Boca de Guamá . . . . . . . . .225Gran Parque Natural Montemar . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227Playa Larga . . . . . . . . . . . . .229Playa Girón . . . . . . . . . . . . .229

CIENFUEGOS PROVINCE . . . . . . . . . 232Cienfuegos . . . . . . . . . . . . .233Rancho Luna . . . . . . . . . . . .243Castillo de Jagua . . . . . . . .244Laguna Guanaroca . . . . . . .245Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos . . . . . . . . . . . . .245El Nicho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245The Caribbean Coast . . . . .245

VILLA CLARA PROVINCE . . . . . . . . . 247Santa Clara . . . . . . . . . . . . .249Embalse Hanabanilla . . . . .258Remedios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259Caibarién . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261Cayerías del Norte . . . . . . .262

SANCTI SPÍRITUS PROVINCE . . . . . . . . .266Sancti Spíritus . . . . . . . . . 268Alturas de Banao . . . . . . . .275

On the Road

See the Index for a full list of destinations covered in this book.

Trinidad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275Playa Ancón & Around . . 286Valle de los Ingenios . . . . 288Topes de Collantes . . . . . . 289Northern Sancti Spíritus . . .291

CIEGO DE ÁVILA PROVINCE . . . . . . . . .293Ciego de Ávila . . . . . . . . . . .295Morón . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299Around Morón . . . . . . . . . . .301Florencia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302Cayo Coco . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303Cayo Guillermo . . . . . . . . . .307

CAMAGÜEY PROVINCE . . . . . . . . .309Camagüey . . . . . . . . . . . . . .310Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321Sierra del Chorrillo. . . . . . . 321Guáimaro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .322Minas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .322Nuevitas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .322Brasil & Around . . . . . . . . .323Cayo Sabinal . . . . . . . . . . . .324Playa Santa Lucía . . . . . . .325

LAS TUNAS PROVINCE . . . . . . . . .328Las Tunas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330Monte Cabaniguan . . . . . . .335Puerto Padre . . . . . . . . . . . .335Punta Covarrubias . . . . . . 336Playas La Herradura, La Llanita & Las Bocas . . . 336

HOLGUÍN PROVINCE . . . . . . . . .338Holguín . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339Gibara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351Playa Pesquero & Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .353Guardalavaca . . . . . . . . . . .354Banes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .358Birán . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360Sierra del Cristal . . . . . . . . 361Cayo Saetía . . . . . . . . . . . . .362

GRANMA PROVINCE . . . . . . . . .363Bayamo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .365Around Bayamo . . . . . . . . .372Gran Parque Nacional Sierra Maestra . . . . . . . . . .373Manzanillo . . . . . . . . . . . . . .375Niquero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379Alegria del Pio . . . . . . . . . .379Parque Nacional Desembarco del Granma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380Pilón . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381Marea del Portillo . . . . . . . .382

SANTIAGO DE CUBA PROVINCE . . .384Santiago de Cuba . . . . . . . .387Siboney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412La Gran Piedra . . . . . . . . . . 413Parque Baconao . . . . . . . . . 415El Cobre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418El Saltón . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420Chivirico & Around . . . . . . 420

El Uvero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421Pico Turquino Area . . . . . . . 421

GUANTÁNAMO PROVINCE . . . . . . . . .424Guantánamo . . . . . . . . . . . 426Around Guantánamo US Naval Base . . . . . . . . . . 431South Coast . . . . . . . . . . . 433Punta de Maisí . . . . . . . . . 433Boca de Yumurí . . . . . . . . 433Baracoa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434Northwest of Baracoa . . . 440Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt . . 442

OUR WRITERS

OUR STORYA beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their fi rst travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was born.

Today, Lonely Planet has offi ces in Melbourne, London and Oakland, with more than 600 staff and writers. We share Tony’s belief that ‘a great guidebook should do three things: inform, educate and amuse’.

Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty LtdABN 36 005 607 9836th edition – Oct 2011ISBN 978 1 74179 802 9© Lonely Planet 2011 Photographs © as indicated 201110 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Printed in ChinaAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, and no part of this publication may be sold or hired, without the written permission of the publisher. Lonely Planet and the Lonely Planet logo are trademarks of Lonely Planet and are registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Lonely Planet does not allow its name or logo to be appropriated by commercial establishments, such as retailers, restaurants or hotels. Please let us know of any misuses: lonelyplanet.com/ip.

Brendan Sainsbury Coordinating Author, Havana, Sancti Spíritus Province, Ciego de Ávila Province, Camagüey Province, Las Tunas Province, Holguín Province, Granma Province, Santiago de Cuba Province, Guantánamo Province Brendan is a British freelance writer who lives in British Columbia, Canada. He fi rst visited Cuba in the 1990s and returned in 2002, after a spell as a teacher in Angola, to work as a travel guide leading cultural and cycling trips around the country. He researched and

wrote his fi rst Lonely Planet Cuba guide in 2006, with his 3-month-old son in tow. Since then he has produced three more Cuba guides, written countless Cuba-related newspaper articles, given presentations and been interviewed by everyone from Rick Steves to USA Today. When not writ-ing and researching, Brendan likes to relax by running unaided across deserts, playing fl amenco guitar and teaching his son to cross-country ski. He has also contributed to Lonely Planet guides to Spain, Italy, Canada and the USA.

Luke Waterson Artemisa & Mayabeque Provinces, Isla de la Juventud (Special Municipality), Pinar del Río Prov-ince, Matanzas Province, Cienfuegos Province and Villa Clara Province Cruising the countryside in

wheezing Cadillacs and Plymouths, smoking several dozen cigars, experiencing two drag shows, sinking a myriad mojitos and learning some (tentative) salsa moves while researching this edition helped Luke fall in love with Cuba all over again. He was fi rst smitten with the country back in 2004, on a backpacking trip that coincided with the withdrawal of the dollar from circulation by Castro. Highlights since then have included bathing in a waterfall on a restricted military zone and seeing sea turtles nest. Travel-wise, Luke’s passions are Latin America,

Eastern Europe and Britain – yes, Britain: musings on his journeys to these places, and advice on what and what not to do in them, can be found at www.lukewaterson.co.uk.

Read more about Brendan at:lonelyplanet.com/members/brendansainsbury

Read more about Luke at:lonelyplanet.com/members/lukewaterson

Although the authors and Lonely Planet have taken all reason-able care in preparing this book, we make no warranty about the accuracy or completeness of its content and, to the maxi-mum extent permitted, disclaim all liability arising from its use.

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