Distance from Havana to Varadero. Independently from Varadero to Havana - how

How to get to Varadero

Like no other country, Cuba attracts the Russian traveler with its beaches. And the point here is not only in the ideal Caribbean landscapes, but also in the special spirit and mood that reigns on Liberty Island. People fly to Cuba to feel nostalgic for the old days, when sterile cleanliness reigned on store shelves, and people knew how to enjoy even the simplest trifles. Cubans in this sense are very similar to our former selves, and therefore the answer to the question of how to get to Varadero is sought and found by thousands of tourists who have decided to go back in time, at least for a few days.

Choosing wings

Two airlines operate direct regular flights to Cuba from Russia - Aeroflot and Cubana, but their planes fly from Moscow to Havana. There are two possible options to get to the beaches of Varadero - either buy a ticket to Havana and go to your chosen hotel from there, or fly to the famous Caribbean resort with a transfer at one of the European airports:

• You can fly directly from Moscow to Havana on board Aeroflot. The asking price is from $700. Travel time is 12.5 hours.
• You can get to Havana cheaper by Air France and KLM. Their prices for tickets to Cuba are traditionally more reasonable than those of other carriers. The cost of the flight is from $600, you will have to spend 13 hours in the sky.
• The cheapest option is to buy a ticket to Varadero airport on a Belgian Airlines flight or on board Lufthansa. With a connection in Brussels or Frankfurt, the journey will take at least 20 hours. The price of flights depends on how far in advance they are booked and the time of year. Approximately, you will have to pay $700-$800 for the round trip.

Varadero Airport receives many international flights daily and is in second place after Havana in terms of the number of passengers served. The air harbor of the most popular resort in Cuba is located 20 km from the center of Varadero and is named after Juan Gualberto Gomez.
When asked how to get to Varadero from the international airport, Cuban taxi drivers most readily answer. For their services they will ask from $40 to $50, depending on the level of self-confidence. If you know how to bargain and have free time and the desire to do this, you can always “drop” the price to $25-$30.
The second and cheapest way to get to the hotel strip is to use public transport. It is represented at Varadera airport by Viazul buses. They depart to the resort area several times a day, the journey takes about half an hour, and the cost of the trip is $6.

• The Viazul bus schedule, ticket prices and other useful details can be found on the website - www.viazul.com. The resource has an English version.

How to get to Varadero from the capital

By choosing the Moscow - Havana flight option, you can kill two birds with one stone. Firstly, you will be able to save a lot when purchasing an air ticket, especially if you try to book your seat on the flight in advance. Experienced independent travelers use the services of electronic mailing lists of special offers, which can be subscribed to on airline websites. The second advantage of a trip to Varadero via Havana is the opportunity to get acquainted with the numerous attractions of the Cuban capital, the central part of which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Once at Havana airport, decide what you would like to do next. If you are interested in Old Havana, you can get to the city either by taxi or by public transport:

• After leaving the international terminal, walk a couple of tens of meters to the left. A taxi rank is located here, as is a shuttle stop that runs between the terminals. Taxi drivers will ask about $25 for their services. You can bargain with them endlessly, but you are unlikely to be able to reduce the price. The shuttle will take you to the Terminal 1 stop for just a few cents. There, when you cross the road, you will see a stop for city buses R15 and R12 heading to the area of ​​Varadero and Old Havana.
• If sightseeing in Havana is not in your plans, you can take a taxi from the capital's airport and travel to Varadero in comfort. The cost of the service will be approximately $100 per car. Once you get to the center of Havana, you can find a taxi for $70-$80. At the airport, prices for everything are always higher.
• The second way to get to Varadero from the capital is to go to the Viazul bus station in Havana and buy a ticket for a flight to Varadero. They depart at 8.00, 10.00, 13.00 and 17.00 and arrive at the most popular Cuban resort three hours later. The price of the trip is $10.

The most profitable option is to find representatives of travel agencies and hotels among those meeting you at Havana airport and negotiate with them about a transfer to Varadero. Usually this service costs about $15-$20, but you shouldn’t count on 100% success in this case for obvious reasons.

All prices in the material are approximate and are given for March 2017. It is better to check the exact cost of travel on the official websites of carriers.

Post-instructions on how to get from Havana Airport in Cuba to Havana and the most popular resort on the island - Varadero.

• Havana airport code: HAV
• International airport name: Jose Marti International Airport
• Airport address: Avenida Nguyen Van Troi, Boyeros, La Habana, Cuba
• Local time: GMT -5
• Opening hours: 24 hours a day
• Visa: A visa to Cuba for Russians and Belarusians is not required when staying on the island for no more than 30 days. Citizens of Ukraine must obtain a visa to visit Cuba. A passport for visiting Cuba is valid for at least 1 month from the end of the trip. When arriving in Cuba, you must fill out a migration card in two copies.
• Currency of Cuba: Cuban peso, 1 peso = 100 centavos. Current exchange rate: 1 Cuban peso = 0.03 US dollars or 2.2 rubles. You can safely change money at the airport, because... the rate is the same everywhere.
• Date of construction of the airport: 1930
• Passenger turnover at Havana Airport: more than 4 million passengers
• Airfare Moscow – Havana: from 390 US dollars roundtrip
• Regular Aeroflot flights from Moscow fly from Russia to Havana airport.
• Location of Havana airport: Cuba island, 11 km south of Havana
• Distance to resorts: Havana Airport - Varadero 170 km
• Airport phone: (53 7) 266 4644 / (53 7) 33 5777
• Weather at Havana Airport throughout the year: the hottest months and the warmest sea are from July to September (average air temperature: +30 +32 °C, average water temperature: +30 °C), the coldest and windiest months are from January to March (average air temperature: + 25 +27 °С)
• Services at the airport Havana: ATMs, post office, currency exchange offices, paid Internet, smoking areas, offices of travel agencies and tour operators, car rental offices, taxi stand, VIP lounge, pharmacy, elevators, playroom for children, rum and cigarette shop, restaurants, cafeterias . The airport does not have luggage storage, hotel or free internet access.
• Beaches closest to the airport: Playa de Este (42 km from the airport), Playa de Jaimanitas (22 km from the airport)

Brief description of the airport

José Martí International Airport in Havana is the largest international airport on the island of liberty and a hub for Cuban airlines Cubana de Aviación. The airport connects Cuba with other Caribbean islands, the USA and Latin America, as well as Europe. The airport in Havana is the only airport in Cuba with regular direct flights from Russia. Travel time Moscow – Havana is 13 hours, flights depart every day.

Havana Airport Terminals

Havana Airport has 4 passenger terminals and 1 cargo terminal.

• Terminal 1 – Domestic flights within Cuba
• Terminal 2 – charter flights from the USA
• Terminal 3 – international flights (including flights from Russia)
• Terminal 5 – flights from the Caribbean

Shuttle buses run between individual terminals.

Among the most popular ways to travel from Havana airport to the center and resorts are bus, taxi, shuttle, and rental car.

Shuttle bus

This travel option is available to those who have purchased a package tour with transfer to their resort. When leaving the airport terminal, you will be greeted by a representative from your tour operator who will tell you which bus you need to take. Some tourists who fly to Cuba on their own make arrangements with transfer guides in advance and travel to their hotel on a bus with other tourists for 25-30 CUC per seat.

Bus to Havana and Varadero

There are no direct comfortable buses from the airport to the center of Havana. Local buses depart from Terminal 1, but fares are charged in Cuban pesos (CUP) rather than Cuban convertible pesos (CUC). The fact is that the money that is exchanged in exchange offices for tourists is the Cuban convertible peso, created specifically for the tourism sector and currency shops. Residents of the country make payments in Cuban pesos.

Some tourists get sophisticated and go from the airport to the highway, where they can wait for hours for a city bus P12 or P16 to get to Havana on a budget. The fare for this bus is 10 pesos for an adult and 5 pesos for a child. The operating hours of the route are approximate, even airport staff may not know it - from approximately 6 am to 21 pm. However, for me, searching for such a bus and waiting for it for a long time in the heat is a dubious pleasure, especially after a many-hour transatlantic flight.

To get to Varadero, you will first need to take a taxi to the bus station in Havana. The address of the bus station in Havana from which buses depart: Ave. 26 y Zoológico, Nuevo Vedado. Buses on the most popular route - Havana - Varadero - run 4 times a day. Travel time is 3 hours, ticket price is 10 US dollars. In Varadero, the bus station is located at Calle 36 y Autopista. Bus tickets are available for sale online at Viazul.com or at the ticket office at the bus station. In addition to Viazul buses, Cuba also has a budget bus carrier, Astro Bus.

Car rental

All rental companies at Havana Airport are located in the arrivals area or near the parking lot. In Terminal 3 there are offices of local car rental companies Cubacar, Rex, Havanautos and Via Transgaviota. It is recommended to book a car in advance, because... During high season, demand for rental cars often exceeds supply. Depending on the time of year and class of car, prices vary from 50 to 125 CUC per day. It is obligatory to purchase insurance at a cost of 15 cookies per day.

It only makes sense to rent a car at the airport if you are going straight from the airport to your resort. If you want to first explore the capital - Havana - then you will not need a car. In this case, you can rent it later in the capital itself.

Travel time by car from Havana Airport: 30 minutes to Havana, 1 hour to Playa de Este, 2 hours to Varadero. On the roads of Cuba you can often see Russian cars from the 1950s: Zils, Ladas, Muscovites. Traffic is not too busy. By car you can reach the most remote corners of Cuba and will not depend on public transport. For example, to the popular Russian hotels Iberostar, Amigo Atlantico, Brisas del Caribe.

If you don’t want to drive yourself, you can book an individual excursion with a driver around the entire island, which will take into account all your wishes.

Taxi transfer from Havana airport

Airport transfer is one of the most convenient ways to get to your resort or hotel. Local taxis can be taken from the stands located in front of all terminals. A taxi ride from the airport to the center of Havana takes approximately 20-30 minutes and costs 20-25 CUC (equivalent to 20-25 USD) one way. Always agree on the cost of the trip in advance, because... Although some taxis are equipped with meters, they are rarely turned on. Please note that taxis for locals are different from taxis for tourists. They are not equipped with air conditioning, broken and not always clean. But the fare for them is very low. There are now fewer and fewer rare taxi cars in Cuba, and orange modern Hyundai and Skoda taxi cars drive from the airport to the city.

My trip around Cuba was not limited only to the capital; I decided to visit Varadero. Moreover, this city is famous for its beaches. In short, this is a resort paradise that is a must-visit. :)
Moreover, you don’t come to Cuba often; you want to see as much as possible during your trip.

From Havana to Varadero by bus

The first option I want to talk about is the bus. This is the only type of public transport that you can use for your trip.

Buses depart from the station of the Cuban capital.

There are several flights per day. The route is operated by Viazul.

You will have to spend about two or two and a half hours on the road.

Fare

The ticket costs 10 Cuban pesos (10 US dollars).

Purchase

You can buy a ticket on the carrier’s website (there is an English version there) or from the driver on the bus.

From Havana to Varadero by taxi

One of the popular travel options for this route among foreigners is a taxi.

Even if you arrived at the airport of the Cuban capital or another place, you can take a taxi and go to the resort of Varadero in comfort. This is cool because you don’t have to think about the road, where to go, the driver knows everything himself. A convenient option if you have a lot of things.
If you bargain, you can rent a car for 70 Cuban pesos (70 US dollars).

From Havana to Varadero by car

To travel to Varadero, you can also rent a car. There are a lot of companies in Havana that provide similar services. Just be careful when signing a rental contract, read all the clauses so that you don’t have to overpay. I like this option because you can rent a retro car. This island country is famous for such vehicles. The downside, of course, is that you won’t gain much speed in such cars, but I’m sure you’ll be impressed. :)

In Cuba, the roads are not very good; the repairs took place a long time ago, so there are often bumps and potholes. I recommend that you travel during daylight hours, otherwise it will be difficult to drive through all the bad areas at night. Of course, there are good sections, but I don’t recommend accelerating, because as soon as you pick up speed, a hole will immediately appear. Happiness will not last long. :)
The downside of such a trip is that there are practically no signs on Cuban roads, and a seventh sense or intuition will not help here. You can, of course, take one of the locals as a guide, they will give you some advice. But it is better to use a navigator.
There are few cars on the roads of Cuba; such transport is simply a luxury there. Therefore, get ready for the fact that you will have to overtake carts. By the way, you should be very careful with this, because domestic animals (cows, horses) walk freely on the roads and can cause trouble.

Regarding infrastructure, this will be a little difficult along the way:

• In general, there are very few gas stations on the island, you will come across one or two along the way, so as soon as you see it, refuel immediately, even if you only use a quarter of the tank;
• there will be no hotels along the way either;
• There are practically no cafes or shops, but there will often be stalls with fruits and vegetables.

In addition, local police may sometimes stand on the road checking documents. Be polite.
You can get to Varadero from Havana by car in two to three hours, depending on what speed you pick up and whether you stop along the way.
Regarding fuel, the cost of 1 liter of gasoline in Cuba is 1.3 Cuban pesos (1.3 US dollars). The journey will take about 10–12 liters (it will cost 13–15 Cuban pesos or 13–15 US dollars).

Other options

The railway is no longer a travel option; trains do not operate on this route.
If you like to take risks, you can try hitchhiking. Locals willingly pick up foreigners, they want to earn extra money :)

Bottom line

I went to Varadero by bus. You know, either I was lucky, or it’s true that there are flights for tourists, and there are separate ones for locals. For foreigners, the trip, of course, is more expensive, but such buses are more comfortable, that’s a fact. The air conditioning worked, the seats were soft, and the interior was clean. In short, I really liked it. I recommend this option, because it is both budget-friendly and convenient.

We are planning a trip for the spring. We still can’t decide on a place. At first we wanted to go to Sri Lanka, but the reviews we read did not inspire us. The choice fell on Cuba or the DR. Based on numerous reviews and my personal experience, organizing a late on one's own it turns out much cheaper, especially if you take care of it in advance. Hence the question: Where do you recommend going and is it worth the bother? independent booking hotels and tickets? How What is the general situation with taxis and other things if you are not traveling from a travel agency?

Victorica ... through TO. Cuba on one's own cheaper, we bought from solyson, Kuban air tickets (share flight with Aeroflot), chose hotels, etc. Spent almost 3 weeks in Cuba: Havana - Cayo Largo - Varadero. Varadero- Cuban Türkiye or Egypt. There’s nothing to do there at all, I howled on the 3rd day and we took the car and rushed back to Havana. Cayo Largo is... why, we thought again semi-independently through the solison, our own route, etc. but counting how much and How- it turns out expensive. I'll probably have to completely surrender myself into the tenacious clutches of TO :) Now Kubana has...