Complete Santiago de Cuba

by coach, boat & on foot

This full-day exploration of Santiago de Cuba is the ideal way to see as much of the city as possible during your visit.

Departing from the port, a short drive brings you to your first stop, El Morro Castle. The fort sits atop a 60m (200ft)-high promontory at the entrance to Santiago harbour and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

Your journey continues with a sightseeing drive passing the historic sites of Loma de San Juan and the Moncada Barracks, where in 1953 Fidel Castro led a group of insurgents in an attack on the encampment. This event is considered by many to be the start of the Cuban Revolution. You will also pass Revolution Square, with its impressive statue of local hero General Antonio Maceo Grajales atop his horse, surrounded by 23 raised machetes.

Your next stop will be for a visit to El Cobre Church: one of the country’s most venerated religious sites, estimated to be visited by more than 500 people every day and where mass is offered every morning. You will then travel to Santa Ifigenia Cemetery for your next stop. Here, among more than 8000 tombs, are the remains of Cuban national hero Jose Marti and, since December 2016, the ashes of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz.

You will then journey to the marina to embark on a boat to transport you over to Cayo Granma, a small island located at the entrance to the bay of Santiago de Cuba. Here you will enjoy a traditional Cuban seafood lunch with a glass of wine, beer or a soft drink. Once you are fully refreshed, the boat will transport you back across to the marina, where you will rejoin your bus and proceed to Parque Cespedes, the main square of the city. Next you will have some free time to admire the historical buildings that surround the plaza, including the cathedral.

The final stop on your full-day adventure will be a visit to La Barrita de Ron Caney, once a bar and now a shop located next to the rum factory. Here you can sample the rum and browse the shop for a souvenir of your visit.

Rejoining your bus, you can reflect on everything you have seen during the short transfer back to the port.