Santa Clara
Santa Clara is a decent sized town in the centre of Cuba with a fine colonial square, some jolly nightlife and Che Guevara's mausoleum. The city was the scene of one of the final battles of the Revolution when Che attacked an armoured train sending reinforcements to Batista's troops.
Santa Clara is a good place to stay for a day or two and an excellent staging post on the way to Santiago — the trip takes around 3.5 hours from Havana and 2 hours from Varadero by car Buses take 4-5 hours — around two a day; and the train takes around 5-6 hours — several, mostly nightly.
The main hotel, the Santa Clara Libre on the central Parque Vidal, is a tall '50s block and scene of the last stand of the local police against the revolutionaries, the front is still pock-marked with bullets. The rooms have been subdivided and are tiny — you have to be an Olympic gymnast to get onto the loo. Noise from the rooftop disco is deafening. This is one of the few major hotels where both Cubans and foreigners are allowed. Costs are $30-50 pn.
There are no other decent hotels in central Santa Clara, though the local spivs are adept at offering casa particulars — they will often catch you on the way into town as you ask directions and cycle around manically taking you from place to place. This usually involves waking someone up to give you their room — casa particulars are not very developed in this un-touristy town.
There are also two pretty decent hotels on the outskirts. These are set in pleasant grounds, have pools and are a 5 minute drive or 30-50 minutes walk from the centre. The best by far is the Motel Los Caneyes,costing $30-50 pn, 2km west of the Monumento Ernesto Che Guevara. Villa La Granjita a little further out is similar.
THIS IS AN INTERACTIVE TOUR AROUND SANTA CLARA
We start from Parque Vidal at the center of town, the boulevard, the derailed Tren Blindado and later we end at Che Guevara Mausoleo, those are the Santa Clara must see, the Che Museum has a detailed account of the capture of the city in December 31, 1958.
Click on the picture to bring it closer or to see another angle
Now we are going to visit the others Parks of the city, the old one first: Los Mártires, El Carmen, La Pastora, La Audiencia and La Ceibita, the small one are: Chaflán, Las Arcadas and Eduardo Machado(San Cristóbal).
HOME | CASA PARTICULAR SARMIENTO FAMILY IN SANTA CLARA | SUNSET PHOTOS |VISIT CIENFUEGOS | | Click on to Book your room at Sarmiento Family