Cienfuegos

Cienfuegos , the Pearl of the South, is a small city in the Central Cuban province of Cienfuegos. The historic center of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Understand
Cienfuegos is the only city in Cuba that was founded by the French. As a result, it feels a little different than other Cuban cities, with wider streets. There are two main areas of interest to tourists; Pueblo Nuevo, the city centre; and Punta Gorda, a peninsula with lots of 1950s homes. It's a nice place to visit for a day or two, but after that, you might run out of things to do.

By car

 * Trinidad – About 1 hr, just stay by the coast most of the way. Not all turns are signposted.

By bus
The two daily Viazul buses between Havana and Trinidad, as does the daily bus between Varadero, Santa Clara, and Trinidad. This last bus arrives from Varadero heading for Trinidad at noon, and arrives from Trinidad heading for Varadero at 16:00 (it is missing from the Viazul website). Travellers heading east and wishing to catch the 8:00am Viazul bus from Trinidad to Santiago de Cuba can sometimes arrange for an early morning minivan through Viazul. Ask at the bus station.

By taxi

 * From Trinidad: 1½ hr, CUC10
 * From Viñales: 5-6 hr, CUC40

By train
There are two trains that run from Havana: a very slow daytime train (every second day) that returns the following day, and a somewhat faster late-evening train (every second day) that operates via Matanzas and returns overnight. Trains may also leave for Santa Clara (very) early in the morning and return in the evening, and leave for Santa Clara and Sancti Spiritus in the afternoon, returning the following morning. Check that the trains are running in advance.

By plane
Jaime González Airport has three flights a week: leaving Miami at 8am Mondays and Fridays, returning 10:45; and leaving Miami 17:30 Wednesdays and returning later in the evening (20:00). A roundtrip ticket is US$509. The airline is a charter. The telephone number is (800) 493 8426, the website is http://www.destinationcuba.com/.

Get around
Both the centre and Punta Gorda are easy of walk around, but are about 3 km apart. They are joined by Calle 37 (del Prado), which runs by the sea. If you don't fancy walking, the principle public transportation is coches or horse-drawn carts that seat 6 or 8 people. They go up and down Calle 37. The price is CUP1 for Cubans or CUC1 for tourists.

You can most likely easily arrange taxi at your place of stay, esp. if you'd like to visit one of the more remote parts (e.g. Playa Rancho Luna).

See




Sleep

 * Hotel Faro Luna. Staying at the Faro Luna is like being at your own villa, only 25-30 rooms a beautiful pool overlooking the Caribbean and attentive staff.
 * Hotel Jagua. This is a large hotel to the south of the city, around 2 km from the city centre. The building itself is a square concrete block and fairly unattractive. However, the rooms and facilities are pretty good by Cuban standards. For cheap water and drinks, visit the shop outside the hotel, opposite the entrance, rather than the hotel shop itself and pay half the price.
 * Hotel Pascacaballo. This is a big, modern resort-hotel at Rancho Luna, on the coast, opposite Castillo de Jagua. Lunch was awful, unless you like jello and canned vegetables. The hotel looked like it was maybe a quarter full.

Casa Particulares:
 * Casa de Nadia Hernández Garcia. Ave 16 #4307 Altos (upstairs) e/ (between) calles 43 y 45 (streets). In Punta Gorda, big room with a refrigerator, air conditioner, and bathroom. Good food and laundry. CUC25, plus CUC4 for breakfast and CUC10 for dinner.
 * Hostal Elena y Elio, Ave 62 #3107 e/ Calle 31 y 33, +53 43 593611, elenayelio@nauta.cu helpful couple sometimes meet arriving buses and can arrange onward travel/tours, from CUC20 (double room).
 * Casa de Nadia Hernández Garcia. Ave 16 #4307 Altos (upstairs) e/ (between) calles 43 y 45 (streets). In Punta Gorda, big room with a refrigerator, air conditioner, and bathroom. Good food and laundry. CUC25, plus CUC4 for breakfast and CUC10 for dinner.
 * Hostal Elena y Elio, Ave 62 #3107 e/ Calle 31 y 33, +53 43 593611, elenayelio@nauta.cu helpful couple sometimes meet arriving buses and can arrange onward travel/tours, from CUC20 (double room).

Connect
5 Septiembre is the local periodical.

Stay safe
Before 2003 Cienfuegos had a reputation for teenage prostitutes. Girls would skip school to go to the airport three times a week for the flights from Canada and meet Canadian men. Beginning in 2003 the police cracked down on prostitution and now Cienfuegos has a reputation for the most vigorous anti-prostitution police patrolling in Cuba (and there are no longer flights from Canada). After dark be careful at nightclubs, restaurants, or on the streets; simply asking an innocent young woman for directions could get her arrested. Don't bring a Cuban guest into your casa unless she signs the guest book; several home owners lost their homes because tourists brought "girlfriends" home for the night. If a woman is arrested twice in a year for being with a tourist she is fined. If she's arrested three times she goes to prison for four years. (Tourists are usually not arrested or punished.)

Go next

 * Santa Clara – Take a day trip to Santa Clara, ca. 1 hr away, to visit the museum and resting place of Che Guevara.
 * Varadero