Santiago de Cuba

Cruise ships dock near the town center.

Take along a printable map.

Santiago de Cuba rivals Havana in music, literature and politics. Regarded as the 'cradle of the revolution' for its pivotal role in overthrowing the Batista regime, it is Cuba’s second biggest city. Unlike other Cuban towns, French planters and Haitians who settled here in the last century gave it a noticeable Caribbean flavor. Isolation from Havana also shapes the city’s distinctive character, and its own history is as colorful as the capital’s: Santiago de Cuba's first mayor was the conquistador of Mexico, Hernan Cortes. The city contains Cuba's oldest palaces and…

In front of the port is Casa de Habano (cigar shop). The Clandestine Museum, with great history of the cuban revolution, is a 10-minute walk from Port. Another 10-minute walk takes you to the museum of rum tour, which is great and ends with rum tasting of the best priced rum; the bacardi museum is near Parque Cespedes. With historical buildings and live music, Parque Cespedes has a great environment. Taxis are available north of the Park, including for a round trip to the beautiful fort at Castillo de Roca for CUC $15.

The historic center’s few streets around Parque Céspedes, the area of greatest cultural interest and activity for many visitors, are easy to explore on foot. Some districts are extremely hilly, including Tivolí.

Several hotels in town house offices for most major tour agencies. All provide guided city tours and excursions to Sierra Maestra, El Cobre, and La Gran Piedra.

For long distances, official taxis are rather expensive.

As in any third world country, much of the merchandise is intended for tourists to take home. Rum, cigars and coffee are Cuba’s largest tourist exports, available on the streets or at government-owned stores. For genuine merchandise, pay the official price in legal stores.

Things to watch out for:

All restaurants are government-owned and staffed by underpaid employees, so food in Cuba is notoriously bland. The best food in Cuba is generally in a casa particular or in paladares, locally owned restaurants in private homes.

• Street touts selling discount cigars of dubious authenticity that look real.
• "Friendly" locals who invite tourists to a bar for a drink, normally a Mojito, or to a restaurant; the establishment and the "friend" split the spoils after the tourist is charged two to three times the normal price.
• Short-changing in taxis or bars, or receiving national pesos (CUP) as change for convertible pesos (CUC).

The port has a mobile currency exchange.

Credit cards are not widely accepted in Cuba, where ATMs are rare.

Spanish is Cuba’s official language.

For emergencies in Cuba, dial 116.

In many cities, tourists can access the internet only through the government's communications centers ( ETECSA ). This is not cheap, and there is a good chance that someone is "watching" what you do on the PC.