Beaches near Havana

Going on RCCL to Havana in July, staying overnight and we wanted to spend a few hours at the Beach. Is it best to hop on the circulator bus i have read about and take a bus to the beach? get a taxi? Are there beaches anyone would recommend where you could rent chairs and umbrella? Want to stay a reasonable distance from Port.

When we did a land tour of Cuba a few years ago. I don't remember seeing any beaches closer to downtown Havana .

The beach is about 25 minutes away by taxi or bus. It is adequate, but not spectacular. The road there is unscenic highway. The town itself appears run down. And yes, there are chairs and umbrellas for rent. However, I would not waste my time on such a short stop over. There is so much to see in the neighborhoods of Havana. If you really want to cool off in the water, consider a few hours at one of the hotel pools with a day rate (usually around 20 CUC or less pp, most of which can be used for food/drinks). Or just do as the locals do and stroll on the Malecon (the iconic road along the harbor with the wall) to catch a cool breeze.

What is your thinking to stay away from the port? If you get just a block or so away from the most heavily touristed areas of Havana Vieja (which the port borders), you will see few tourists and many locals going about their daily life.

I did not believe a US Citizen can just go to the beach as that is not educational or People to People per the rules? Normal tourist activities due not fall within the rules... maybe I'm mistaken.

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I believe travelers should do their due diligence. There is plenty written about this on all the travel forums on Cuba, so it's a safe assumption that most are informed nowadays.

This is a situation where everyone departing from a US port or airport chooses to heed their own conscience.

Do what feels comfortable for you and let others do the same.

Since good intentions don't count, most who publish an itinerary, even if it resembles that of some organization, probably don't fulfill the criteria anyway. But there's no way to know, because no one is checking.

Some of the required records are also held by the cruise line or ship. Cruise line and is ultimately responsible for conforming to the law.

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Some of the required records are also held by the cruise line or ship. Cruise line and is ultimately responsible for conforming to the law.

Not responsible if you choose the "individual" option and DIY. As it has been explained on a thread of this forum, the cruise line allows the choice of their group or individual, under the people to people excuse. They, as the airlines, keep the record of which of the 12 excuses you choose, and provide transportation to and from Cuba.

Your probably right. There have been comments in the past about records on cruise ships being kept.

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Before the changes last year, tour groups like Insight or Roas Scholar took US passport holders from the US to Cuba, and applied to OFAC for a license based on a planned, full time schedule of cultural (people to people) activities, That tour agency was/is responsible for seeing to it that participants fulfilled the criteria and for record keeping.

This seems roughly equivalent to what the cruise line does for those choosing to take their tours/excursions.

With the ability of individuals to travel under a general license, airlines and cruise ships provide transportation for passengers who wish to DIY. They do keep a record of the reason each passenger chose for travel under the 12 OFAC legal reasons/excuses.

So while folks here spend print space debating legalities, the question gets answered in detail elsewhere:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147271-i387-k10250819-Public_Beaches_close_to_Old_Havana-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html

Back to the original question....

Poster tommui987 just reminded me of a place in the Playa neighborhood, a club that has a private beach. 20CUC pp/day

Club Havana

5ta Avenida e/188-192

Reparto Flores, Playa, Havana

tel. 537 204 5700

Back to the original question....

 

Poster tommui987 just reminded me of a place in the Playa neighborhood, a club that has a private beach. 20CUC pp/day

Club Havana

5ta Avenida e/188-192

Reparto Flores, Playa, Havana

tel. 537 204 5700

Thank you!!! I to was also wondering about a beach for a tiny portion of the last day, just in case Norwegian misses the private island again.

Back to the original question....

 

Poster tommui987 just reminded me of a place in the Playa neighborhood, a club that has a private beach. 20CUC pp/day

Club Havana

5ta Avenida e/188-192

Reparto Flores, Playa, Havana

tel. 537 204 5700

How far a cab ride is Club Havana from cruise ship port & any idea on how much we could expect a cab to charge us to go there? Once there would it be easy enough to get a cab back to the ship? Thanks for any further info VidaNaPraia.

On 6/1/2017 at 8:54 PM, VidaNaPraia said:

Back to the original question....

 

Poster tommui987 just reminded me of a place in the Playa neighborhood, a club that has a private beach. 20CUC pp/day

Club Havana

5ta Avenida e/188-192

Reparto Flores, Playa, Havana

tel. 537 204 5700

Is anyone allowed to go here?