Driving in Cuba, Havana Rent Car in Cuba: Hyundai Athos, 3780km exploration in the Caribbean Island of Cuba

You see the powerful machine we rented??!! The big, the Magestic, Amazing: Hyunday Athos

After spending almost a week in Havana my friends and I decided to skip the capital and start some serious island exploration. The best way to get to know places is definitely by driving. We can basically stop wherever we wish.

After an intensive search in Havana and after taxi around the city to check out all the prices, we found out that they do not change a lot as the existing companies do all belong to the state; they are state owned enterprises as every other in Cuba. No private companies exist in Cuba.

So after an hour on a taxi looking for the best deal ( and actually after a couple phone calls ) we end up staying with CUBA CAR – CAR RENTAL. This is a tiny office located aside a Servicentro ( Gas Station ) and exactly facing the Malecón Avenue. The guy that talked to us was nice and understood that we wanted the cheapest.

Hum…looks a bit smaller on this picture

Car Rental, CUBACAR
Carlos León
Pnto Servicentro 23 y Malecón, Havana, Cuba
870.2257

Prices car rental Havana

1 to 6 days = $55CUC per day
7 to 13 days = $50CUC per day
+ 14 days = $45CUC per day

After a short conversation with the car rental employee, I quickly got to know some quick fact about car driving in Cuba. Basically and apart from common sense, we have to watch out for some tricks on Cuban roads.

Farola Highway, from Baracoa to Guantanmo, East Cuba

Driving in Cuba: Do’s & Don’ts

• Don’t pass the speed limit due to the large amount of people walking on the roads also during the night, tons of animals passing the road, people on horses, cows, dogs and all other farm animals you can think of. Also the police will probably stop you;
• If so, do not be rude to police. They will be a mirror of your first behaviour. Smile, say hello “Hola! Como está? And you’ll just be fine. If they stick to the ticket just cry and they will let you go;
• Some roads are in really bad conditions so watch out. If you go light and you like speed, you have to take in count that you can find a huge hole that you’ll have no time to break or reduce speed;
• Never be out of a spare tyre. Always fix the problems you have with tires;
• Maybe you’ll want to give a lift to some one, there are thousands of people hitch hiking or waiting for transportation. Cuba has no criminal activity like other western countries, so hitch hiking will be pretty safe;
• Be safe and always have the fuel tank half full, better off like this than getting no fuel in certain towns of little villages;
• I mean, of course you can go a bit faster than the speed limit ;
• Stop and by fruit and drink fresh fruit juice whenever you see someone doing it or selling it on the side of the road, this will be one of your trip highlights
• Cuba and it’s tropical weather can be tricky so just in a sudden a storm can come and your visibility will be really bad not to talk about the amount of water that will quickly flood the roads
• Yes! Get a car and discover Cuba by your own!

Road conditions in Cuba are OK if you stick to the big main roads, I mean, OK concerning that even a secondary road in Morocco is much better than the highway from Santa Clara to Havana. Road signs do not exist so you better start practicing your Spanish accent, open that window and start asking direction to where ever you wish to go.

Road in the country side of the Island

Now, if you decide to go and drive trough the small yellow road ( yellow on the map corresponding to smaller roads, rural itineraries ), well, there were times we wished the trip would end, and, times where basically the road disappeared like from Moa to Baracoa. To go to Baracoa people usually take the southern road from Guantanamo and Santiago de Cuba, but as we were driving clock-wise on the island, we had to pass the northern access to town of Baracoa, the first place where Cristobel Colon once arrived.

In almost 4000km driven, we had 3 flat tires, had to buy a new tire that got destroyed and had to switch another one in Pinar del Rio in the rental company.

We were sleeping along the way, while choosing a place to be the next destination, we were using Lonely Planet book for directions but as soon as we got to any town center, we would just follow our instinct and look for a place to stay. We only stayed in one “private house” that was publicized in LP. Al the other ones we just searched and talk to people directly, discussed prices and whenever we got good deals, we stayed.

More or less or trajectory was going around the island on a clock wise circle which I now point out the places where we slept for 2 weeks during the time we rented the car: Remédios ( 2nights ), Playa Santa Lucia ( 1night ), Baracoa ( 4nights ), Santiago de Cuba ( 2nights ), Camaguey ( 2nights ), Trinidad ( 2nights ), Viñales ( 3nights ).

Driving with storm in Cuba

We put fuel for 9 times in the following locations: Havana, Santa Clara, Cayo Coco, Manatí, Moa, Santiago de Cuba, Sancti Spiritus, Piñar del Río and Bahia Honda ( where we just put $5 CUC to get us to Havana to deliver the car ). We spent exactly $187 CUC which is around 150EUROS. We drove 486km on our first day of driving, from Havana passing 3 hours on the beach in Varadero and heading to Remédios where we stayed for 2 nights.

Road to Cayo Santa Maria north of Remédios

We delivered the car on time, and, by surprise hit the NUMBER 1 TOURIST to get back without 1 police ticket!! We were the first to get back on this office without 1 car fine, and even more surprising to them was that we rented the car for 2 weeks! Who says Portuguese drivers are bad? In Cuba at least…

Driving along the Caribeean Sea, Southern Cuba

Driving in Cuba, Havana Rent Car in Cuba: Hyundai Athos, 3780km exploration in the Caribbean Island of Cuba

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Tags: athos, caribbeans, cars, Cuba, drive, driving, expedition, exploration, havana, hyunday, overland, rent a car, road trip, travel