Click on the image to download or print the PDF.
Directions
In order to find us easily, you can print the directions. You can do this by clicking on print after opening the image. However, we are easy to find anyway, just the bring the directions together with your other travel papers. Bring them with you, because you can’t open the directions in Cuba, even in an Internet-Café since they don’t have always have Acrobat Reader. Therefore we would recommend you to download the file on your smartphone, so when you need it you can access it.
How to get there
There are three possible ways of getting to Viñales. With the bus, via Viazul, with a rental car or a taxi. In the following I will explain the possibilities and some tips to make it easier!
Arrival by bus from Viazul
You can already order the bus tickets via internet on the website http://www.viazul.com. The prices are very moderate. For example, a bus ticket from Habana to Viñales costs only 12 USD. It is possible that Viazul will only allow you to book the seats a few weeks before your arrival. If a booking is not possible at first, please try again at regular intervals. From our experiences, the booking is very safe and is binding. The coaches are modern and well equipped. Make sure you bring some warm cloths for this trip, since the air conditioner is usually set to extra cold..
Arrival by Taxi Publico (Shared Taxi)
To get this straight from the beginning – state owned taxis ( yellow cars with modern brands ) are not recommended, because these are far more costly for long trips compared to private taxis.
However, in every city or town, there is a place, usually near the bus station, where the private taxi drivers are gathered. Just go there, negotiate a price to go for example from Habana to Viñales. Usually, the drivers want to bring at least 4 persons, so you might have to wait a maximum of half an hour until the car is full. If you rather just go with the two or three of you, just negotiate and pay a little bit more. In case you are in a smaller town or city, make sure you arrange the taxi a day in advance, they will even pick you up the next day from your casa. And this usually goes really well!
In a Casa Paricular, people always help. Also, even if it is very unusual for you not to be able to book these taxis in advance, have trust in this. It always goes very well, and the drivers are trustworthy; they live from this job. People in Cuba are very spontaneous and flexible, and you cannot plan everything in advance.
Here are some approximate prices for the taxi, in the case that the taxi takes 4 people. With 2 people per taxi, you can calculate the double prices.
- Taxi particular Havanna – Viñales, approx. 15-20 CUC per Person, duration 2-3 hours.
- Taxi particular Viñales – Trinidad, approx. 25-35 CUC per Person, duration 5-6 hours.
Please note, that we cannot always keep those prices up to date, so there might be differences.
Arrival with a rental car
You reach Viñales with a rental car over the highway from Havanna in about 3 hours. The distance from the centre of Habanna is about 190km. At kilometer 140, leave the highway and take the right exit. From there on there is 28 kilometer left until our Casa Particular Casa Viña Sol.
After about 5km you pass by a small town and there is a stop sign. Go straight over the intersection. After another 6km you arrive at a T-intersection. Turn right and follow the street until Viñales. Be careful while driving the last kilometers through the mountains to Viñales. There are many curves in the road, and oncoming cars don’t always have the best brakes.
You can may encounter young cubans that tell you to go on another road. Don’t get distracted by this, it’s a trick to lure you to the city of Pinar del Rio.
Once you’ve arrived in Viñales drive through the town over the main street until the penultimate crossroad before the tank station, because the next side street is a one-way street. Here you go right, and after 100m left. Then after another 150m turn right into a small street with no pavement. The first five meters goes down slightly. After 200m at the end of the street turn left and drive over the small bridge. Our Casa Viña Sol is located on the left, 100m after the bridge. Please use the PDF above which contains the directions, you can print it, or download on your smartphone.