Living Cheaply in Havana - Real Havana: Explore Cuba Like a Local and Save Money - page 135

3) Walk across Prado street and continue walking east along Brasil, for just
one block , until you reach Agramonte Street. Agramonte runs parallel to Prado.
4) Turn right on Agramonte (direction south), and walk for 6 blocks (should take
you about 10 minutes)
5) The main taxi depot is located at the corner of Agramonte and Mision
Street.
Taking the Taxi
Once you get to the taxi area, you will see at least a half dozen taxis particulares.
There will likely be a lot of people in the area too, waiting to get into taxis. There
will be at least a few men shouting, “ Guanabo , Guanabo .” These men are the taxi
organizers and are alerting passengers that the taxis will be traveling all the way
to the eastern suburb of Guanabo. This is where you want to go. Approach one of
these organizers, tell them you want to go to Guanabo, and they will place you in-
to one of the waiting taxis. Never pay anything to these men. You only pay the
taxi driver at the end of the trip.
Most of the taxis particulares going to the Playas del Este are station wagons with
an extra row of seats, making them capable of holding up to nine passengers.
The cars almost always travel fully occupied, so as to make the trip financially vi-
able for the driver. The ride usually takes about 30 minutes and, as mentioned be-
fore, costs 50 pesos (MN) per person.
Where to Get Off
Although these taxis will take you all the way from Old Havana to the town of
Guanabo, you can get off at any point along the route. One of the closest
beaches is named Bacuranao. It is very small and not so popular. Further east,
there are a few tourist hotels (Atlantico and Tropicoco) located near the town of
Santa Maria del Mar. The beach here is great, but the area is isolated, so your op-
tions for drinking, dining and entertainment are very limited.
I recommend riding the taxi a few kilometers further, into the town of Guanabo.
The beach in this area is one of the best and, most importantly, Guanabo is filled
with restaurants, stores, discos and casas particulares. It is far and away the most
popular beach of the Playas del Este . When Havana residents talks about going
to the beach, this is the place they are referring to.
The taxis will always drive along Guanabo's main street (Ave. 5ta), which runs
parallel to the beach. I suggest getting off just when you start to see the action,
shortly after the roundabout in the road. The beach is particularly nice in this area
and you can always explore the rest of the town on foot. If you are unsure of
where to get out, just tell the taxi driver that you want to go to the Playa de
Guanabo (Guanabo Beach) and he will let you off in the right spot.
Getting Back To Havana