Waking up early morning, I was ready to step out and explore the city in the humid and hot weather of about 30C. But before that, I stopped by the cafeteria right below my hostel for some much-needed coffee and breakfast. As I mentioned in my previous day post, the Plaza Viejo is a tourist area with quite a few cafes serving American or European style breakfast.
Just past 9am it was time to go on a self-guided walking tour of the Old Town Havana, capturing in as many sights as I can. This is an easy walk for all ages visiting museums, palaces, and much more. Depending on your pace and time you take to visit each place, it may take about 6 hours to complete the tour. Perhaps more time if you miss on ferries to Morro Castle.
Here’s a map of the walking tour:
Click on each point of interest in the map above to read more about that place.
This walking tour covers:
- Old Havana
- Plaza Vieja
- Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana
- Museum of the Revolution
- Granma Memorial
- Plaza de la Catedral
- Cathedral of Havana
- Morro Castle
- Gran Teatro de La Habana
- San Salvador de la Punta Fortress
- El Templete
- El Capitolio
- La Cabaña
- Manzana de Gómez
- Maximo Gomez Monument
- Church of Angel Custodio
- Our Lady of Kazan Orthodox Cathedra
- Castillo de la Real Fuerza
- Lonja del Comercio
And here are some of the best pictures I have from my walking tour:
I was back to the hostel quite drained out from all the walking around, so took an evening nap before heading out to the plaza for dinner at Cafe Bohemia, that had live music and great reviews from fellow travelers.
My plan was to head to Viñales next day and I was going to take the tourist bus costing CUC 20 one way, taking 3-4 hours. But my hostel host recommended taking one of the taxis that would cost CUC 30 per person and take 2 hours; and he would book it for me, which I agreed to considering I will be there in almost half the time.
Costs
Note: All values in USD, unless otherwise mentioned, are approximate and based on the exchange rate of USD 1 = CUC 1 at the time of publishing. Each cost is for one adult.
| What | Cost | Notes |
| Breakfast | $10 | Continental breakfast |
| Lunch & drinks | $30 | El Floridita (Hemingway) bar. |
| Coconut ice-cream on streets | $2 | Delicious ice-cream in a coconut. |
| Museum of Revolution | $5 | Entrance fee of CUC 5. |
| San Salvador de la Punta Fortress | $3 | Entrance fee of CUC 3. |
| Castillo de la Real Fuerza | $2 | Entrance fee of CUC 2. |
| Dinner | $17 | Cafe Bohemia. |
| Water & snacks | $2.40 | From local store. CUP 10 for 1 liter bottle. |
| Total Costs | $71.40 | Per person |
| Overall Costs | $1,081.80 | Per person |