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![Playa Boca Ciega, Guanabo, Playas del Este (de La Habana) © sogestour •]• Guanabo © JacobForever panoramio](http://www.particuba.net/villes/guanabo/images/Guanabo_BocaCiega700.jpg) |
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| OUR CASA LIST BEGINS HERE | HABANA DEL ESTE MAP HERE | |||||||
| Located some 30 km or 45 minutes east of La Habana on the autopista called Via Blanca, you'll find this pleasant village, easternmost point of the Playas del Este (Beaches east of Havana), very popular (May to September) with Habaneros mostly during Summer. This area is part of the new Mayabeque province - replacing Ciudad de La Habana province. West of here and part of the same stretch along the sea are the tourist-only areas of Tarara, Boca Ciega and Santa Maria del Mar (sort of micro Varadero, at 3 km). And then another nice playa, El Megano. You won't find any casas particulares there, just mid-priced hotels and a couple of aparthotels with their "efficiency units", those all-equipped apartments, an option for prolonged stays. Still, casas would still be more affordable in the long run. From El Megano going east, you are in Guanabo town per se with lots of casas for rent and no high-rise buildings. You can get high at Mirador de Bellomonte (a bar and snack), off and up the Via Blanca at km 24.5. The government has been trying for years to lure some snowbirds (retired Canadians) away from the Florida winter nests by offering a 6-month visa and affordable long term rentals in all-equiped apartment complexes such as Las Terrazas (awful, to be avoided) and Los Pinos locally; Islazul (see FYEYE below) offers some individual 1-to-5-bedroom casas all over Guanabo, some attractively-priced for couples sharing the casa (not each other). Oh, well...
RESTAURANTS :: TOP-RATED La Casa de Quinta (Quinta #47203, e/472 y 474) everything tastes better on its open-air terraza as well as inside its aircon indoor dining area ; Noon-Midnight, 6-10cuc ::: Le Mare A seaside terrace with the sound of the waves as atmosphere, calle 1 no 50407, e/ 504 y 506 ::: Paladar 421 calle 462 #911, e/9na (novena, 9th) y 11 : Service, food are great, affordable prices : a winning combination !, open 9h-23h. ::: Paladar Pizzeria Piccolo best Italian food around, avenida 5, e/ 502 y 504 : fast service, pasta cooked perfectly al dente and pizzas better than average ::: El Cubano « Great food but sometimes, there are long lineups : it's also a bar, on Quinta Avenida, corner 454 in Boca Ciega, west of town ::: Mi Casita de Coral : on main street near Washington, corner 8 : discreet with comida cubana such as preparations of beef, pork, chicken, fish and seafood (in Santa Maria del Mar) ::: Mi Cayito (El Pelicano) : on the small pond named Itabo with fish, pork and seafood on a nice terrace from 10 to 6 (in Santa Maria del Mar) TRANSPORTATION ::: Habana Bus Tour leaves Havana's Parque Central and ends here at some hotels in Playas del Este : 5cuc pp for the day. Schedule here. Stops at Villas Bacuranao, Tarara, Megano and hotels Megano, Tropicoco, Atlantico ::: Official taxis OK in Guanabo (7) 696-6666 (20cuc from downtown Havana) ::: Private taxis for 1 cuc per person (shared old car with 4-5 others ::: City Bus 400 leaves in front of Havana's Capitolio and runs along avenida 5 to the eastern end of town (where one can go to ensure a seat on its return to the capital) : fare 1 Cuban Peso or 4 cents ::: Hershey Electric Train daily departures (x3) from Havana (in Regla across the bay) Casablanca station [tel (7) 862-4888] : 4h45 (arr here 05h39), 12h21 (arr here 13h15), 16h35 (arr here 17h29) 3 to 4 hours later : an unforgettable experience for about 80 centavos cuc. The station is in La Regla which can be reached by the passenger ferry (every 15 mins.) from Habana Vieja. Avoid weekends when it's packed; returns leave from Matanzas and go by here at 07h07, 14h37 and 18h55; phone ahead in Matanzas before going to station HOTELS Guanabo ::: Hotel Gran Via + Hotel Miramar + Villa Playa Hermosa Santa Maria del Mar ::: Hotel Atlantico + Aparthotel Las Terrazas Atlantico + Club Bravo Arenal + Marazul + Villa Los Pinos |
The playas del Este
 Playa Veneciana in Guanabo, only steps from Sol-Mar and Nancy Pujol's casas © sogestour •[• In summer, the three main local beaches "of the East" are packed with Habaneros fleeing the torrid city heat and humidity  Playa El Mégano in Santa Maria del Mar — Map here [click] © sogestour  Playa Boca Ciega, between Guanabo and Santa Maria © sogestour  Casa Pujol's patio has palm trees and is right on the water. © sogestour See this map. It's under the last "E" (1RA) of the words Playas del Este © sogestour  From Valenciana beach, a Cuban offers rides on a Hobie Cat. On this day, it seemed overloaded riding a timid wind forecasting a long slow day ... © sogestour •]• One of the numerous casas rented by Islazul, some in quite deserted parts (in winter) of Guanabo : check a map before renting ; )  Cuban Surfriders Association and Havana Surf want to promote their favorite activity © havanasurf EVENINGS ::: Cabaret Guanimar, calle 468, angle 5 : outdoor shows at 23h 8-10cuc pp ::: Teatro Avenida, avenida 5 e/476 y 478 : popular in summer while in winter, it's teatro por niños ::: Cine Guanabo, calle 480 / ave 5 : showings starting at 17h3 ::: According to Lonely Planet, the local gay spot (Havana's gay community beach meeting place) is a beach bar named La Paté at calle 1 near Mi Cayito at the western end of Santa Maria del Mar. ::: Tourist info Infotur ::: International Clinic on Avenida de Las Terrazas 36 in Santa Maria del Mar Tel (7) 796-1819  Once per day, at 08h50, a Viazul bus stops in Guanabo on its way (and back at 20h10) to Matanzas, Aeropuerto de Varadero and Varadero — Ruta 20  Among Conner Gorry's favorite beaches is one of the Playas del Este. Details on click. |
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OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
::: Make sure that in your first email or phone call you specify that you want to book a room in that particular casa and that you will reconfirm your booking on arrival in Cuba. Unless you only want a room in any house which may be of the same quality, not the specific casa you booked through photos on these websites ::: So as to not abandon expecting owners with empty rooms, reconfirm (or call ahead to cancel) your booking by phone as soon as you can after arriving in Cuba ::: Please write or phone a casa owner to cancel a booking. As late as it may seem, it allows them a chance to rebook. ::: Children under the age of 16 may share a bedroom with adults for free. Specify the child's age when booking. At the end of the casa name, the V signals the casa was suggested by travelers or owners but not verified by the website staff. If you try it and like it, write us about it. ::: Unless otherwise mentioned, the average room rates and service prices are : 20-25cuc per bedroom per night [up to 40+ for 4 in a room]; breakfasts 3-5cuc, dinners 7-10cuc. ::: Any casa particular anywhere in Cuba must have a hot water shower, otherwise it cannot have a permit to rent ::: Please share your Complaints, comments & suggestions webmaster [@]cubacasas.net  |
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BOOK BY PHONE • From Canada and the USA : 011 53 (add phone # preceded by 7 for Guanabo and Playas del Este) • From Europe, Great Britain, Scandinavia and Mexico : 00 53 (add phone # preceded by 7 for Guanabo and Playas del Este) ••• HOW TO DIAL A CUBAN PHONE NUMBER HERE ••• CELL PHONE NUMBERS on our town lists and casa pages are preceded by 05 for calls originating Havana; from anywhere else in Cuba, dial 01 + the 8 digits of the cell. BOOK BY EMAIL : Click on logo to open a message addressed to that casa in your email application; or right-click to copy address. Spanish vocabulary here.  |
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| Click pictures to open page and details. Locate casas on our very own map here. |
See the casas in sequence.
 Click above logo to move on. |
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NANCY PUJOL
Independent 2 bedroom casa, shared bath Calle 1ra # 50019, entre 500 y 504. On the sea, about 5 mins. from the town centre, right on the water, steps from Playa Valenciana. Tel. (7) 796-3062  |
VICENTE y CLARITA
Upstairs three-br casa, kitchens, pool, roof Calle 11 # 46805, entre 468 y 470, up the hill from village centre, overlooking the village in reparto Bello Monte. Tél. (7) 796 6543 cell 52 53 95 44  |
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| D'YUYA Independent 2 bedroom casa, shared bath Calle J # 50006, entre 500 y 502 up the hill across the highway overlooking the village in reparto Sibarimar. Tel. (7) 796-2354  |
NORYS y ADRIAN V
Two ac br's, ensuites, terrace, shared kitchen Calle Quito #920, entre 9na («Novena») y Tegucigalpa, town centre, 4 blocks from beach. Tél. (7) 796-2856 cel. 52 67 78 03  |
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SOL-MAR
Independent upper one-bedroom, bar Calle 1ra (Primera) No. 50017, entre 500 y 504. On the sea, next door to Nancy's, steps from Playa Valenciana. Tel. (7) 796-3959  |
MARIENZO V
Independent apts, ensuites, swimming pool Calle 9na A # 45206 (entre 452 y 454) in the Boca Ciega sector of town. Tél. (7) 799-0331 cell 54 00 77 61  |
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| MADAY V Independent two-bedroom casa with kitchen Calle 468 # 915 entre 9 y 11, reparto Bello Monte, 400 meters from the sea. Tel. (7) 796-3955 cell 52 96 38 11  |
YAMILET y GILBERTO V
Independent upstairs 2-bedroom casa, kitchen Calle 5ta D # 494A01, entre 494 y 496, centre of village 300 m from playa. Tel.(7) 796 4307  |
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| VILLA ARELIS V Upstairs, two br, ensuites, kitchen, terrace Calle Real # 76 A e/ Sanchez Gomez y Final in the Barreras area of Guanabacoa, 3 km from playa Santa Maria Tel (7) 796-9352 cell 52 84 95 89  |
ISABEL y FANJUL V Indep upstairs 2-bedroom casa, kitchen Avenida 3ra No. 320, e/Calles 2a y 3ra in Boca Ciega 70m from the beach. Tel. (7) 796-5678  |
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| VILLA MAYADA V Complete two-bedroom casa on beach; pool Calle 1ra No 49006, e/490 y 492, near farmers' market and town center. Sisters May and Ada have long travelled and lived abroad. Minimum one-week rental at 90cuc per day. Link to web site.  |
 El Mare restaurant where you can enjoy seafood where seafood comes from ; ) |
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RECOMMENDED BY PAPERBACK GUIDEBOOKS Footprint Handbook (FH), Géo Guide (GG), Le Routard (LR), Lonely Planet (LP), Moon Handbooks (MH) and web site Trip Advisor (TA) ::: FH : Nancy Pujol, Iriana Suarez y Rosa Machado, Alberto y Neisa ::: GG : Joche y Diana, Reina y Gilberto, Marlen, Villa Playa Hermosa ::: LR : La Galega y Teresa, Neyda y Glenda, Yojaida, Mileydis y Julito ::: LP : Gilberto y Blanca, Las Terrazas de Teresa, Elena Morina ::: MH : Julio y Mileydis, Hostal Guanabo, Casa Trujillo ::: TA (10+Avis) : Nancy Pujol, Mayada, Mimin, Gabriel y Mary, Valido y Surami, Villa Cloty, Hostal Guanabo 13.02.18 LR+GG 101219 |
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