Havana agenda - thoughts?

[cpayne]

We will be in Havana Fri 2 pm until Sat 8 pm. We are a group of 10 so need to be a bit more organized. Here is a tentative "agenda" I have come up with. Any thoughts or suggestions? From a time frame am I pushing it to close on any of my estimates? Etc....

 

Friday

*******

2 - 3: Get off the ship

3 - 4: Exchange currency

 

4 - 6 Walk (approx. 5 min) to Almacenes San Jose Market

 

6-7 Co Co Cab ride along the Malecon to see the sunset & experience a Co Co cab (silly I know)

 

7 - ? Middle Aged Adult bar hop to listen to music, enjoy mojitos, smoke cigars, etc.... Stroll Obispo Street and make a large square block back to the ship ending at La Reliquia for dancing.

 

Sat

****

7:30-9 Jog thru the parks and area around the ship (I'll be the only one in the group doing this!)

 

10 - 2 Hire convertibles for a 4 hr tour of Havana.

 

2:30 - 5:30 Ferry to Christ Statue and hike to the top

 

6:00 Final drink on the rooftop of Ambos Mundos Hotel to watch the sunset

 

7:00 Back on board for 8 pm sailing

 

Not planning on pre-arranging the 4 hr convertible tour of Havana. Have been back and forth on this, but opting for choosing our car when we get off the ship. This may also sound silly, but I want to be able to pick my specific car. Husband and I are car enthusiasts and want to see what my options are with the classic cars and pick accordingly.

 

Any thoughts, suggestions welcome! Thanks in advance!

[RiverBlues]

Plan sounds fine.

Just have in mind an itinerary for the 4 hour "tour", so you get in what YOU want to see and not just what the driver thinks is an overview. I would not necessarily expect off the street to get a driver/owner of car who speaks good English, although perhaps the ones who have the nicest cars (quality restoration and air conditioning) also have the guide skills to make enough to restore such a car. Expect most cars to be badly restored (for example, same cheap, shiny white plastic on seats and door panels) and the seats sprung out (uncomfortable, esp. after a couple of hours).

In a four hour tour, you should not only get an overview of the city, but get out to see Hemingway's finca and/or Fusterlandia and/or the Colombo cemetery. If you drive the "full" Malecon, you should be able to see the Christ statue across a narrow bit of water anyway, but enjoy the ferry ride. On night one, you might consider taking a taxi the short way through the tunnel to see the cannon firing at 9pm. Read up on the history of it. There are costumed soldiers, a period carriage, a craft market, the castle/fort and the cannon shot itself. Then you could go back to your bar hop or hit one or two of the music clubs listed on http://www.lahabana.com

If you think you like the idea of a coco taxi, try the bici-taxis as well while getting around in Habana Vieja. IMO, most crafts/paintings are very limited; the Almacenes San Jose market has what every shop on Obispo has, just more of it and a few more "original" (i.e. not the same ones of classic cars) but bad quality paintings. If you want actual art, look for the print making studios in Habana Vieja which actually have original art of decent quality. The majority of souvenirs and trinkets seem to be made in China.

[cpayne]

We are working on a tentative itinerary for the 4 hr classic car tour. This will include a few stops along the way and thus the reason for four hours versus two hours.

 

My husband has been to Cuba numerous times for work. He is the true car enthusiast of the group and is aware of the challenges they have had in restoring the cars. Still cool to see, though. The pictures he has brought back from his trips remind me of a Hollywood movie set!

 

Thank you for the suggestion on the cannon firing. I had ruled that out BC of lack of interest for him and I, but others in our group may be interested. I can add that to the agenda for those who are interested to take a cab over and then re-join us along our middle-age bar hop. Good idea.

 

We plan to use the Bici-taxis in Cienfuegos so crossed that off the list for Havana.

 

Thinking of cutting our time at the art market by 30 minutes and spending a bit more time stopping at the shops along our middle-age bar hop. How late do you shops stay open?

 

Thanks for the input.

[RiverBlues]

There is a cluster of stands in one location on Obispo, a little craft/souvenir market, but it closes about 5. Some other individual shops scattered around Vieja are open later; not all are on Obispo.

The bici-taxis are good transportation around the uneven, cobblestone streets of Vieja, in the exhaustingly extreme heat and humidity, not just a novelty. They are very cheap, too. A couple of CUC gets you very far.

[KCmomof5]

We will be in Havana Fri 2 pm until Sat 8 pm. We are a group of 10 so need to be a bit more organized. Here is a tentative "agenda" I have come up with. Any thoughts or suggestions? From a time frame am I pushing it to close on any of my estimates? Etc....

 

Friday

*******

2 - 3: Get off the ship

3 - 4: Exchange currency

 

4 - 6 Walk (approx. 5 min) to Almacenes San Jose Market

 

6-7 Co Co Cab ride along the Malecon to see the sunset & experience a Co Co cab (silly I know)

 

7 - ? Middle Aged Adult bar hop to listen to music, enjoy mojitos, smoke cigars, etc.... Stroll Obispo Street and make a large square block back to the ship ending at La Reliquia for dancing.

 

Sat

****

7:30-9 Jog thru the parks and area around the ship (I'll be the only one in the group doing this!)

 

10 - 2 Hire convertibles for a 4 hr tour of Havana.

 

2:30 - 5:30 Ferry to Christ Statue and hike to the top

 

6:00 Final drink on the rooftop of Ambos Mundos Hotel to watch the sunset

 

7:00 Back on board for 8 pm sailing

 

Not planning on pre-arranging the 4 hr convertible tour of Havana. Have been back and forth on this, but opting for choosing our car when we get off the ship. This may also sound silly, but I want to be able to pick my specific car. Husband and I are car enthusiasts and want to see what my options are with the classic cars and pick accordingly.

 

Any thoughts, suggestions welcome! Thanks in advance!

Currently the market is closed but will be open by the time you cruise in March. I am not sure if they will be open when we get there in July. We are doing a middle age bar hop tour also. I have your original bar hop tour. We have tweeked it a bit as we are eating at El del Fente first. I will let you know how far we make it! I think your plans sound great. I look forward to reading your reviews. Dawn