What transport is available to Cape San Antonio?

Question: I am coming to Havana in a few weeks time, staying in a Casa with no transport of my own. I would love to visit Cape San Antonio, how do I get there?

Answer: Some years ago, it was possible to take a special tourist bus from Havana to Cabo San Antonio. But this was discontinued as there simply isn’t enough tourist demand to warrant the provision of this transport, nor are there any public buses that make this trip.

Cubataxi, the country’s main tourist taxi service, will provide a one-day round trip to Cabo San Antonio from Havana for CUC 133. This includes an approximately four hour stay at Cabo San Antonio. Cubataxi can be reached at (537) 855-5555.

From Viñales (Pinar del Río Province), the agency Havanatur can provide a transfer, via Transtur transport facilities, to María La Gorda (known for its diving), which is also on the Península de Guanahacabibes where Cabo San Antonio is located, but there is some 68 km. between the two locations and no locally available transport to make the trip.

In a consultation with Havanatur offices in Havana, they suggested that the best way to reach Cabo San Antonio is to rent a car. The trip is well worth it, as in 1987, the 101,500 hectares that make up the Península de Guanahacabibes were declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. This almost virgin reserve has some 89 km of broad mangrove swamps in the north and 108 km of uplifted shelf of alternating white sand and coral rock in the south. It also has many species of birds, most being migratory, plants, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and orchids.