Trinidad was one of the cities that we were a lot of looking ahead to checking out during our one month backpacking trip around Cuba. before arriving, other travellers had spoke of cobblestone streets, brilliantly coloured buildings as well as blindingly white beaches nearby. as well as although we did discover all of those features during our week in Trinidad, we likewise discovered a few a lot more things that both surprised, as well as dissatisfied us.

Don’t miss the quick video of our time in Trinidad at the bottom of this post!

As our bus pulled into town, mobs of touts swarmed us yelling as well as waving indications in the air…we absolutely weren’t in Cienfuegos anymore – which had no touts as well as generally no tourists! Luckily, we had already booked our lodging at Casa Bernardo, so we just by-passed the huge group of people desperately trying to get the interest of one of the lots of tourists getting off of the bus.

Needless to say, it was an fascinating welcome to Trinidad.

After browsing on foot for our casa, we lastly identified it as well as were greeted by a soft-spoken, kind guy named Bernardo. He was the owner as well as showed us to our space – which just so occurred to be the penthouse suite.

Our rooftop space included two big decks all for ourselves. The bedroom was spacious with two beds, a mini-fridge, a table as well as an area to hang our clothes. There was an connected bathroom, as well as (thankfully) the space had air conditioning. Bernardo didn’t speak much English, however we were able to get by with our fundamental Spanish.

The food as well as the space at Casa Bernardo was exceptional!
We really ended up costs our time in Trinidad split between two casas. Our second one was extraordinary as well. because of the truth that they were making additions as well as doing some building work, they only had two spaces available, which indicated that we generally had the whole (detached) home to ourselves!

The space was huge as well as bright, the place was perfect, the breakfast was tasty as well as the owners Mirelis as well as Edilberto were extremely welcoming. The costs in Cuba are extremely fair for casa particulars, as well as we extremely suggest you stay in them during your travels around Cuba.

The space at Casa Mirelis as well as the breakfast were awesome!
I understand we’ve been going on as well as on about exactly how terrific it was to stay at the casa particulares around the country, however that’s because it genuinely is one of the primary things that makes travelling in Cuba so unique!

However, I likewise recognize that lots of people may like to travel to Cuba on a excursion (meaning you wouldn’t have to offer with the crazy mobs!), as well as if that’s the case, inspect out eshores.co.uk for excursions around Cuba, as well as hotel choices as well.

We selected to stay in casa particulares to ensure that we might satisfy the friendly regional owners.

Where to stay in Trinidad

We stayed at Casa Bernardo as well as at Casa Mirelis in Trinidad as well as can suggest them both. You can discover a lot more as well as book a space there on Airbnb. Click right here to see the current cost for Casa Bernardo, as well as click right here for Casa Mirelis. It will show an choice to lease the whole casa, however you can opt to book just one room.

☞ Click right here to compare costs for casas as well as guesthouses in Trinidad on Booking.com, as well as click right here for Airbnb

When we shown up at Casa Bernardo he used us a tasty glass of fresh mango juice as well as after guzzling it down, we were off to explore. The very first thing we observed were the cobblestone streets – exactly how gorgeous they looked, as well as exactly how tough they were to walk on – complied with by the stunning buildings as well as horses trotting by.

Although the city was charming at very first glance, we couldn’t assist however be in shock at just exactly how lots of tourists as well as touts there were. We were in Trinidad in May, which is thought about the off-season, as well as when we were planning our trip to Cuba, we were so thrilled that we’d be showing up outside of the height period.

Travel insurance coverage for Cuba

You’ll requirement to have travel insurance coverage in buy to travel to Cuba. It’s really mandatory that all travellers have insurance, as well as you may or may not be asked to show proof of insurance coverage on arrival. To get a complimentary quote from world Nomads, just go into your details below:

Casa owners likewise presumed that this would be the sluggish season (including the ownersof the casas we stayed at), so they started on their much-needed renovations, additions as well as expansions. As a result, lots of casas were under building when the tourists arrived, as well as some even had to turn travellers away. They just weren’t expecting to have occupancy in May!

The buildings in Trinidad are incredibly colourful!

However, we were still able to discover our own slices of paradise among the crowds as well as the hustlers. just venturing a few streets away from the primary Plaza Mayor exposed peaceful lanes and Cubans going about their days. We took pleasure in watching the equine as well as carts clambering by, observing locals bargaining for fruits as well as vegetables as well as truly liked the small-town vibe in a few of the areas that we discovered ourselves in.

Seeing “baseball” being played in the streets, with nothing a lot more than a tennis sphere was a fantastic moment as well. For a bat, they utilized their hands, as well as for bases, they produced squares in the mud on the streets. It was pure, natural fun – something that we don’t frequently see these days, as youngsters their age are normally inside playing video games or are on their tablets.

We liked enjoying these kids play baseball on the street.

Apart from walking around as well as checking out the back streets, we likewise truly took pleasure in our night’s out with salsa as well as rumba music! That’s absolutely the highlight of any type of trip to Cuba in my viewpoint – the music as well as the fun that goes together with it.

We discovered an exceptional tavern to eat at (La Botija), which was open 24 hours, as well as had delighted hour as well as specials for 2 hours each day. This was the second finest restaurant (#1 for Nick) we ate at in Cuba as well as the tapas right here were fantastic. There was a online band each night as well as we satisfied some truly awesome backpackers at the tavern as well.

The rumba as well as salsa music as well as shows were fantastic in Trinidad.
Before showing up in Cuba, we had heard great deals of fantastic things about Trinidad’s close-by Playa Ancon beach, which is just a quick, 10 minute trip away. So, we made a decision to inspect it out – as well as ended up going back three times!

Playa Ancon is a stunning stretch of white sand as well as greenish-blue water, which spans for 4 kms. There are a couple of resorts on the beach, however there are lots of open areas to just pull up a blanket or a towel as well as take pleasure in the sun. There are a couple of bars as well, the one at the public car parking great deal makes a delicious pina colada. Our days right here were spent lounging, swimming as well as walking.

If you hangout near hotel Club Ancon (where the bus will decrease you off), you can utilize their lounge chairs for 2 CUC / day, or you can sit on the sand for free, however still have gain access to to their fresh water shower.

The gorgeous Playa Ancon.

We felt like Playa Ancon was a great retreat from the hassle as well as bustle of small Trinidad. I do believe that the city felt extra busy since of its size. Havana was hectic as well as had some hassle too, however it was such a sprawling place, so the annoyances didn’t seem so concentrated. Trinidad however, is rather small, so the touts were ideal in our face, regularly trying to offer us anything as well as whatever in any way hours of the day.

In the end, I believe we had mixed feelings about Trinidad. We were expecting an amazing, colonial town, which came extremely suggested from travellers, as well as although we had some fantastic moments in the city as well as it was truly charming, we were a bit distracted as well as bothered by the constant hassle as well as unavoidable “tourist pricing“. We (personally) favored our time spent in Havana, Cienfuegos and Camaguey!

Traveller’s Tips:

It’s a 1.5 hour bus trip from Cienfuegos to Trinidad, the expense is 6 CUC.

You can utilize wi-fi at The Iberostar Grand Hotel, however you need to purchase an overpriced drink. They offer the time cards there, or you have to go to the Etecsa office, which is found in the exact same plaza/square.

A taxi to Playa Ancon costs 6 CUC for the whole car, each way. discover other travellers to share the costs. Some people got coco taxis down to 8 CUC both methods with wait time.

Another choice to get to the beach is to take the shuttle bus, which costs 2 CUC/person/return trip. The bus departs ideal across from Cuba excursion (9am,11am,2pm,5pm)

Tavern La Botija is found at71B on Boca as well as San Jose.

To get to Havana, it’s easier, quicker as well as the exact same cost to take a shared taxi! inspect out the Infotur office. They can hook you up with a casa-to-casa trip for 25 CUC, the exact same cost as the bus.

The bus from Trinidad to Camaguey is 5 hours as well as costs 15 CUC.

Don’t miss our utmost guide To Independent travel In Cuba.

Check out our quick 4 minute video from our time travelling in Trinidad, Cuba

A special thanks to HostelsClub.com for showing us the two incredible casas that we stayed at! As always, all thoughts, opinions as well as evaluations stay our own, in spite of any type of free services offered. 

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