Santiago de Cuba

Santiago de Cuba is the capital of the Santiago de Cuba province in south-eastern Cuba.

Understand
Santiago is the second city of Cuba. Fidel Castro started the Cuban Revolution from here in the 1950s.

By bus
Viazul buses depart from the train station. Four daily Viazul buses run to/from Havana, three local and one express (stopping in Camagüey only). There is also a daily bus to Baracoa, another to Trinidad (which runs daytime to Santiago and overnight to Trinidad), and a daily overnight from Varadero. From Havana, the price is CUC51.

The local is (too) relatively remote from the city center, so you will need a taxi to get to/from there. A fairly nice plaza right next to it can be used, if you need to spend a half hour or so.

Getting to Santiago from Havana takes about 15 hours on the local bus, and 12 hours on the express overnight.

By train
Overnight train service along the main line from Havana via Matanzas, Santa Clara, and Camagüey runs 2 of every 3 days. The Tren Francés, running every 3 days with refurbished coaches from the old Paris-Amsterdam service, is Cuba's premier train, and the most reliable train in Cuba (which is not to say it is reliable). It theoretically departs Havana at 18:27 and arrives in Santiago the next day at 09:12, stopping overnight in Santa Clara and Camagüey. The other train is a simple express with a few more stops and also runs every three days. One-way from Havana on the Tren Francés costs CUC73 in first class (which is well worth it) and CUC50 in second class (called especial), while especial on the other train costs CUC30. Note that unlike Víazul, students studying in Cuba pay in pesos. There are other services, such as a daytime train to Camagüey and Santa Clara on Thursdays and Sundays, returning on Mondays and Fridays. Local train service to Holguin has been suspended due to poor track conditions. As elsewhere in Cuba, check in advance before planning train travel–the schedules are always in flux. And expect to arrive late, maybe by more than 10 hr, even on the Tren Francés.

Santiago's is on the relative outskirts of town, so you will want a taxi or bici-taxi to your accommodations.

By plane


A taxi from/to Holguin Airport is CUC30/person on a shared ride.

Get around
Most of the historical center is accessible by foot, in fact for tourists it's the only reasonable option.

To get farther away, taxis in the city will "happily" take you for a ride for the whole day, for a price. Plenty of them can be found standing between Plaza de Marte and Parque Cespédes.

Further afield

 * Baconao nature park
 * Baconao nature park

Learn
If you want to learn Spanish during your stay in Santiago de Cuba you can take an Intensive Spanish course from one week up to four weeks. The classes are held 4 hr/day and give you the opportunity to improve your Spanish quickly during a short time period.

Eat

 * Every Saturday and Sunday, a street fair full of vendors of cheap eats starts up on Avenida Victoria de Garzón. This is a good place to try local specialties, including lechón or whole roast pig, Cuban-style fried fish, Cuban-style fried chicken, and chichurrones or fried pork rinds. Prices are in pesos and amazingly low. Probably Santiago's cheapest eats overall.



Drink

 * For an authentic evening experience, try one of the cervecerias along Avenida Jesús Menéndez at the harbour. The less chique the better.



Sleep
As of Jun 2015, AirBnB.com offers now peer-to-peer lodging, typically around US$35 per night. There are also many other AirBnB-like reservation websites, search for "casa particulares in Santiago".

Casas Particulares
As is generally the case with booking casas in Cuba, do not assume the email works! It's often best to make a phone call once in Cuba.



Connect

 * The local newspaper is Sierra Maestra.



Cope
More so than most other places in Cuba, Santiago is full of touts. The touting starts right at the bus or train station&mdash;arrange a ride to your casa or hotel in advance, if possible. But no matter where you go you will constantly hear calls of ¿Quieres un taxí?.

Go next

 * El Cobre, home to the holiest virgin in Cuba, is a worthwhile day trip from Santiago.


 * The usual next stop on the Eastern Cuba tourist trail is Baracoa, though some travelers head west to Bayamo and the attractions of Granma Province instead.