Getting around
Train
Taxi
Bike
Other
Bus
Cubans call them "guaguas".Big distances :
Astro and Viazul are the two companies that provide transport between the major cities.
Astro : Cubans pay in pesos, foreigners in dollars. Basic comfort.
Viazul : everybody pays in dollars. Air-conditioning, reliable service (always on time), comfortable seats, and sometimes a video. More info on http://www.viazul.cu.
Within La Habana and the suburbs:
You pay in pesos.
Rule : when you go to a bus stop, you'll see some people waiting there. The people do not really stand in a row, but everybody knows his order to get in the bus. You ask for the last person in the row : 'El ultimo ?', and you'll know your order in the row.
There are different kinds of buses. Remarkable is the camello : very long and colourful bus with two bumps like a camel, always quite crowded.
Our experience :
To cover big distances, we took Viazul buses. Within La Habana, we took several buses e.g. from Luyano the P1 to get to Varadero and from Parque de la Fraternidad the camello to get to Cojimar. They are a good and cheap way to get from one end of La Habana to another.
Train
Travelling by train is an adventure. It is a nice way of travelling, but you have to take your time. Fellow travellers who had taken the train from La Habana to Santiago de Cuba told us their train journey had lasted for 30 hours instead of 15 hours. Nevertheless they thought it was a pleasant journey, talking with the Cubans and taking everything as it comes.Taxi
There are several official taxi companies, and apart from those you there are also private taxis. Private taxis are sometimes illegal.Cubataxi is a good option. They have meters and official prices.
Always ask the price to get to the destination before. With private taxis you can bargain.
Our experience :
We often took Cubataxi because they never cheat. We took taxis within La Habana and other cities, or to make excursions, e.g. the round-trip to El Cobre from Santiago de Cuba.
Bike
We met a lot of people biking around Cuba. It seems to be an ideal country to explore by bike. You can cover big distances by bus and put your bike in the luggage-department (Viazul).Our experience :
We rented a bike in Trinidad to go to peninsula Ancon. Beautiful ride, but very hot, take a lot of sunscreen!
Other
To get to remote places, you often have no regular buses. Instead there are camioneta's and trucks. You ask the locals where they stop. Camioneta's are small buses. In a truck you climb into the pickup and travel in the open air. You pay in pesos.Our experience :
Take your time. You have to wait a lot, but in the end, you'll reach your destination. We loved this way of travelling with the Cubans.