Trinidad Cuba Travel Guide

Trinidad Cuba cobblestone streets

Trinidad Cuba

Trinidad has one of Cuba's best kept hidden historical villas full of wonderful ancient white buildings lined  with bright red tile roofs and cobble stone streets of stone. Guided walking tours is the best way to travel to historical center of Trinidad since no automobiles allowed anywhere in Trinidad town center. Park your coco taxi rental on Jose Marti street and enjoy the walk back into the 16th century.

Since 1492 many African slaves were captured by the Spanish conquistadors and traded to Cuba directly from Trinidad for other Caribbean islands, Florida and other destinations to cut sugar cane.
Trinidad Cuba was honored by the United Nations Historical Society and voted in  1988 UNESCO declared Trinidad "A World Treasure"

UNESCO declared Trinidad  as the oldest city in North and South America after being founded by Christopher Columbus Spanish conquistadors in 1514 as the first Spanish settlement in Cuba,
entered as the New World of colonial Spanish heritage due to its Spanish architecture from 18th, 19th century.  The most interesting tour guides is that Trinidad's oldest sector is only fort-five blocks in size, with over on thousand historical structures.

 Spanish Conquistadors of Trinidad

Trinidad is blessed with amazing heavenly churches like the Great Parish Church, a neoclassical cathedral built in 1892 in the center of the main public square of old Trinidad which is the premiere square of stunning natural historic and architectural interest after Havana's famous Cathedral Square.

Trinidad has several Art and cultural museums: the Romantic Museum and the Museum of Architecture, Archeology, History and the Struggle against Counterrevolutionaries. One Mansion, built in 1699 sells Cuban souvenirs and special Sexy Cuban drinks typical of the city: Cubana Mosquito's is  a cocktail made of honey, Lime juice and high wine. The city also has a Troubadours House "Casa de la Trova" and "House of Music". In the evening Cuban salsa night clubs several disco bars and folk-dance performances.

Trinidad Hotels and Accommodations

Trinidad Hotels in Cuba

Hotel Ancon The Main hotel in Trinidad Beaches    
Trinidad has only 3 hotel deals with  the Ancon being the most modern 3 star all-inclusive resort located right on Trinidad's Ancon beach on the Trinidad Ancon Peninsula: the 3-star All-Inclusive Club Ancon; and the 3-star Hotel Costasur; The 4 star Brisas Trinidad del Mar. All three are on the beach, with a total of over six hundred beachfront  rooms, each with satellite TV.  Trinidad hotels do have nice swimming pools, Cuban restaurants, gyms, Karaoke bars, tennis courts, Salsa dancing discotheques and a family atmosphere.
Trinidad resorts has six small quaint but clean urban and rural hotels and villas, and the sophisticated 5 star Iberostar Grand Hotel Trinidad which offers Great Hotel Deals. Hotels in Trinidad have lovely colonial Spanish Cuban "Casas Particulares"  like bed & breakfast inns where you can vacation together with a Cuban family during your holiday in Cuba.

 Hotels in Trinidad
While in Cuba discover Trinidad and see the real Cuba, an simple town to stroll around in, as the old part is not too big, interesting with fantastic Cuban architecture, hot sexy Salsa music and the best Cuban rolled cigars. Some of the buildings had wooden or steel bars in the front, and even for way back then, it was required for security reasons. Beautiful historical center with red roofs and streets of little bricks. The old historical center of Trinidad is the best to see by feet, cars aren't allowed anyway, you can park your car at Calle Jose Marti.  Thousands of slaves got trade from this city to other islands of the Caribbean. In 1988 UNESCO declared Trinidad "World Monument"

UNESCO declared Trinidad, which was founded in 1514, the third Spanish settlement in Cuba to be a part of world cultural heritage because of its colonial architecture, which dates from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. The oldest part of Trinidad which has over one thousand buildings is one of its greatest attractions. Trinidad is an easy town to walk around in, as the old part is not too big. It's very interesting with fantastic architecture, music and what I thought, were the best cigars I came across! Some of the buildings had wooden or steel bars in the front, and even for way back then, it was required for security reasons.

The Cuban people in Trinidad are nice and the Cuban cigars were cheaper than Havana. What a great place to visit while on holiday in Cuba

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Trinidad Tourism

Trinidad Beach

TRINIDAD CUBA TOURISM INFO

Trinidad Cuba in the province Santi Spiritus, is one of the main tourist attractions in Cuba, because of its unspoiled colonial character and the old Spanish architecture.
Trinidad is declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.

Trinidad retains the atmosphere of an old colonial town, despite the influx of tourists. Founded in the year 1514, it was one of Cuba’s seven original towns, and the presence of many beautiful buildings dating from the 17th to 19th centuries accounts for its place on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Apart from the cobbled streets and the houses painted in pastel colors, the main attractions include the elegant Parque Martí and several museums in the colonial mansions, the best of which, the Museo Romántico, having been beautifully refurbished in period style. The Taller Alfarero, a ceramics workshop where traditional techniques are still used, is also worth visiting. Many tourists stay not in Trinidad itself but at the nearby beach resort of Playa Ancón. Mention should also be made of the Torre de Manaca Iznaga (50m/165ft), a lookout tower offering great views of the Valley of the Sugar Mills "El Valle de los Ingenios" and the Escambray Mountains.

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TRINIDAD MAP

Map of Trinidad Cuba

HOW TO GET TO TRINIDAD

Maps of Trinidad are available online but to get to Trinidad Cuba one has to go by road as there are no regular flights from Havana to Trinidad. Only a few charter flights from Canada land in the nearby Cienfuegos airport. The drive from Havana is a bit long but the last hour along a seaside road is quite fascinating. In Trinidad city you have the 3 star Las Cuevas hotel on top of a hill with great views over the surroundings. Under the hotel there is a cave system which can be visited with a qualified guide. The hotel to be recommended is the brand new Iberostar Trinidad 5 stars. The stylish interior decorating in the colonial building makes you feel like in a Trinidad mansion of a rich sugar baron. The hotel is located right at the municipal square at walking distance of the colonial Parque Mayor. If you prefer a beach stay you can find 3 all inclusive hotels at the beach of Ancon at 15 km from the city centre: the 3 stars stars Ancon and Costasur, and the 4 stars Brisas Trinidad al Mar. An ecological choice can also be the Ma Dolores, at the entrance of Trinidad coming from Cienfuegos. Here you find comfortable lodges at the Guanayabo river.
TRINIDAD CUBA 

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TRINIDAD TRAVEL

Trinidad Beaches

TRINIDAD TRAVEL INFO

 Travel to Trinidad Cuba to one of the most historic and most visited towns in all of Cuba, The UNESCO  protected town of Trinidad maintains a charming colonial atmosphere with its uneven cobbled streets, quiet plazas, churches, red tiled roofs, wooden shutters and wrought-iron grilles. Bicycles and horse-drawn carts bump along streets lined with untidy pastel-coloured houses, where open doors afford brief views of folk on rocking chairs and wooden birdcages, and the strains of salsa music drift out from cool courtyards where the intricate steps of the dance are practiced.

Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, Trinidad has thankfully escaped the modern tourist infrastructure and large hotels usually accorded a popular destination and retains its welcoming and tranquil atmosphere. Surrounded by sugarcane plantations, and situated between the Topes de Collantes mountains and the Caribbean Sea, Trinidad's location also provides easy access to the beach, mountains and the beautiful surrounding countryside, where vestiges from the 18th and 19th centuries in the Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills) testify to a time of prosperity during the sugarcane boom.

TRINIDAD SHOPPING

Shopping in Trinidad

TRINIDAD STREET MARKET

Trinidad, given its starring role on the tourist circuit, is one of the better shopping towns in central and eastern Cuba (though far from a shopper's paradise). In addition to the requisite cigar and music shops, several of Trinidad's atmospheric, cobblestone streets are converted daily into street markets featuring handicrafts, lace, and clothing items. While lace and clothing are the main attractions, you can also find interesting woodcarvings, musical instruments, masks, and a host of ceramic works. The street with the most variety tends to be Peña, near the Museo Municipal de Historia tower, while most of the lace and textile merchants, who occasionally have good guayabera shirts (simple, short-sleeved cotton shirt, with pockets and pleats, worn by men), tend to cluster on the small streets just east of the Plaza Mayor.

The art gallery on the south side of the Plaza Mayor, Galería de Arte ARTex, has two floors of contemporary art, much of it very accessible, and the traditional souvenir renderings of Trinidad.

The place for cigars and tobacco paraphernalia in town, La Casa del Tabaco, has two branches and carries all the finest Cuban cigars, carefully stored. The shop at Lino Pérez 296 (at the corner of José Martí) is open daily from 10am to 6pm; the branch on Francisco Javier Zerquera (at the corner of Maceo), is open daily from 10am to 6pm.

Trinidad Shops

TRINIDAD ART GALLERY

Many of the artistic ceramic statues you'll see for sale around Trinidad Cuba are hand made by the famous Santander family, whose history in this art form goes back hundreds of years. Tourists can visit their quaint factory where all the art is produced by El Alfarero Casa Chichi, Andrés Berro 51, between Abel Santamaría and Pepito Tey (tel. 41/99-3146), however we suggest to call in advance and tell them you're coming.

The only Cuban CD store in Trinidad is the ARTEX which is beside  the very famous Casa de Música on Fernando H. Echerri, where you'll discover nightly Cuban musicians performing  live music. The band will usually play just about any type of Music that you want to hear.


CUBAN ART GUIDE

TRINIDAD CUBA

 TRINIDAD VACATIONS

 Trinidad de Cuba is the most preserved colonial city in America. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site , Trinidad is not only a beautiful and colorful city of antiquity best but also is a town with a fascinating history, rich culture, interesting events and traditions, and lively music and dance. Surrounded by spectacular landscapes, turquoise seas, verdant mountains, exquisite valleys, rivers and waterfalls; Trinidad, a living museum, is an engaging paradise for photographers

Founded by Diego Velázquez en 1514 with the name of Villa De la Santísima Trinidad, it has been declared by the UNESCO Humanitarian Culture, thanks to its architectural and historical valor's perfectly conserved. Also known as the Museum city of the Caribbean Sea, it is the most colonial of all the cities on the island. To walk on its stone streets, admire its churches and parks, paralyze yourself in front of its old houses examples of Spanish culture in America, or to be received with a warm cup of coffee by any neighbor, are just some of the experiences you have to live in this magical corner of Cuba. 

Now is the time to drive toTrinidad Cuba with your Cuba Car Rental.

CUBA CAR RENTALS

TRINIDAD MUSEUMS

Its impossible to go to Trinidad and not visit its numerous museums, restaurants, The Farmer’s house, The house of Trova, Santa Ana Church, Central Plaza, Brunet Palace, The Palace of Sanchez Iznaga, The Mayor Parish or The Canchánchara to enjoy its wonderful cocktails with the same name.

About 4 kilometers from the city is the Valley of San Luis or Valley of the Ingenious, also the Cultural Inheritance of Humanity, where at beginnings of the XIX century existed 48 Sugar Plants in full production, who’s ruins are visited today by thousands of tourists who also admire the front of The tower of Iznaga, built by himself to guard the slaves at work so they’d work hard enough in the Villa.

Very near by is the Maria Aguilar Beach, with its warm and not to deep waters, with an exuberant coral life, sponges, small tropical fish, and different species of starfish.

CUBAN ART GALLERY

TRINIDAD CUBA HISTORY

TRINIDAD CUBA

Trinidad was founded on December 23, 1514 by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar under the name Villa De la Santísima Trinidad. Francisco Iznaga, a rich Basque landowner in the western portion of Cuba during the first 30 years of the colonization of Cuba, was elected Mayor of Bayamo in 1540.Iznaga was the originator of a powerful lineage that finally settled in Trinidad where the Torre Iznaga is. His descendents fought for the Independence of Cuba and the Annexation to the US from 1820 to 1900.Its one of the best preserved cities in the Caribbean from the time when the sugar trade was the main industry in the region

Nowadays, Trinidad's main industry is tobacco processing. The older parts of town are well preserved as the Cuban tourism industry sees benefit from tour groups. In contrast, some parts of town outside the non-tourist areas are very run down and in disrepair, especially in the centre.

TRINIDAD TOURISM

Tourism officials like to say Trinidad is a museum in itself. Those visiting the 500-year-old city will find Spanish colonial architecture, underscoring a colonial ambiance that marks the tiny city one of the country’s greatest attractions. Only a few square blocks in size, historic Trinidad is famous for its lovely, cobblestone streets, pastel coloured houses with elaborate wrought-iron grills, as well as majestic palaces and plazas. The city can be toured in a few hours, by foot or by horse-drawn carriage. The city’s is located near both the Escambray Mountains and the Caribbean beach.

One of the area’s most interesting sights is the Valley of the Sugar Mills, which has been declared a World Heritage Site. The valley has around 70 long-standing sugar mills that are a reminder of the importance of sugar to the Cuban economy over the centuries.It has la Torre Iznaga, a 45 meter tower built by Alejo Iznaga Borrell in 1816. Twenty km from the city is Topes de Collantes, one of Cuba’s premier ecotourism centres. Another attraction is the Casilda Bay, which attracts both snorkelers and divers. A nearby islet has pristine beaches.

Ancon Beach is a white sand beach that boasts a number of three- and four star hotels. Ancón was one of the first new resorts to be developed in Cuba following the 1959 revolution. Along the Ancon Peninsula are three hotels: Hotel Costa Sur (South Coast Hotel), Hotel Ancon and Brisas Trinidad del Mar (opened in 2002).

TRINIDAD ATTRACTIONS

Trinidad Cuba Mansion

PLACES TO VISIT

The best-preserved colonial city in Cuba, in the shadow of the Escambray mountains, Trinidad was not even linked by road to the rest of the country until the 1950s.
Declared a national monument by the Cuban government this city is very much as it was four centuries ago, the beauty of its baroque architecture and cobblestones squares harking back to a bygone era when Trinidad was a key player in the Caribbean slave trade.


BAYAVO BRIGE
Built in the early 19th century, this Roman-style bridge symbolizes the city of Sancti Spíritus and the province. The town’s 17th-century Iglesia Parroquial Mayor (Major Parish Church) is the oldest church in Cuba and a good example of Spanish-Arab influence.

San José de Lago
Thousands of families were founded here by emigrants from the Canary Islands; most of them later engaged in tobacco growing, keeping their traditions alive.

Valle de los Ingenios
East of Trinidad are the ruins of some 70 centuries-old sugar mills. The stunning, 146-foot-high Iznaga Tower, built around 1840, looms over the valley as a reminder of days when slaves worked the cane fields and the mills.

Ermita de la Popa
(the Popa Hermitage). Inspired by Spanish maritime tradition, this church was built centuries ago on the road up to La Vigía in Trinidad so that it could be seen from the sea.

TRINIDAD BEACHES

Trinidad Beaches in Cuba

TRINIDAD BEACHES

Ancon and Maria Aguilar Beaches In addition to its beautiful natural surroundings and colonial appearance, Trinidad is located by the sea, which has two excellent beaches: Ancon and Maria Aguilar, Ancon Beach is just a little over 7 miles (12 km) from the city. It is two and a half miles (4 km) long, with white sand and green-blue water. Its seabed is ideal for scuba diving.


The Ancon Peninsula is bordered by a narrow shelf of sandy bottom, with colorful patches of coral, ridges up to 16 and a half feet (5 meters) high, tunnels and other features. It has 21 scuba-diving sites, where you can see concentrations of Black Coral (Antipathes spp.), a wide varietay of spnges, gorgonians, Common Sea Fans (Gorgonia spp.) and many kinds of colorfull fish.

TRINIDAD VACATION PACKAGES

Location and How to Get There
The Ancon Peninsula is slightly over 7.5 miles (12 km) from Trinidad (232.5, or 375 km, east of Havana, in the middle of the country). Modern roads link the city to the city of Sancti Spiritus, capitol of the province of the same name, and to the city of Cienfuegos (25 miles, or 40 km, away). A large part of the road to Cienfuegos hugs the coast and offers some beautiful views. There are three national airports in Sancti Spiritus Province. The one serving Trinidad handles the most flights-of small and medium sized planes-and links that city with other important tourist resorts in the country.