How to get to Santiago de Cuba for our dance holidays
We know that finding out how to get to Santiago for our Cuba dance holidays isn’t always obvious. So we have created a short guide that we hope will help you to plan your journey to join us in Santiago de Cuba for a holiday of a lifetime.
Santiago de Cuba is located on the eastern side of the island approximately 15 hours by bus, 12 hours by car or a 1.5 hour flight from Havana.
Arriving into Eastern Cuba
We recommend arriving at either of the following international airports on the eastern side of Cuba. We can arrange transfers from both airports
- Santiago de Cuba has its own international airport although only a few international flights land there.
- Holguin airport is the second closest international airport to Santiago de Cuba and has more regular international flights and a transfer time of approximately 2.5 hours.
Arriving into Havana
For those flying into Havana there are daily internal flights available between Havana and Santiago de Cuba. However, you should be aware that these flights can be subject to delays and last minute cancellations. If you are planning to book internal flights, we recommend doing so on different days to your international flights just to allow time for any cancellations or delays. Having some time in Havana, will also give you the chance to explore Cuba’s capital city.
For those on a budget there are daily buses to travel down from Havana. The journey lasts approx. 15 hours and you can choose whether to travel during the day or at night. The national bus network offers scheduled services in air conditioned vehicles with regular breaks along the way. Additionally, if you have the time, you could always break up the journey and spend a night or two somewhere en route, Camaguey or Trinidad, for example, make for a fantastic break in the journey.
Travelling from Europe to Eastern Cuba?
At the time of writing there are three main airlines that we would suggest checking out when looking for flights.
Condor
Condor fly direct from Frankfurt (FRA) in Germany to Holguin (HOG) every Wednesday and Sunday.
- If you are travelling from the UK there are connecting Lufthansa flights which you can book on the Condor website from a number airports including Manchester, London, Birmingham, Bristol and Glasgow. This has the advantage of all of your flights being under the same booking.
- If you are travelling from elsewhere in Europe, there are connecting flights available from many other European cities as well, so do have a look on the Condor website.
Air Canada
- Air Canada is a good option if travelling from the UK (from or via London) as there are daily flights to Holguin (HOG). These flights often involve an overnight stopover in either Montreal (YUL) or Toronto (YYZ) on the outbound flight but the connection is usually a lot shorter on the return flight.
Blue Panorama
- Blue Panorama flies direct to Santiago de Cuba airport (SCU) from Rome (FCO). This is a good option as it takes you straight to Santiago de Cuba and doesn’t require a long transfer in Cuba. However you will need to book separate return flights from Rome to your own country.
- These flights are once a week on a Wednesday (up until 26 March) or a Monday (after 26 March).
If you are keen to travel via Havana please get in touch for further flight/airlines suggestions.
Please bear in mind that if you are planning to travel on connecting flights through the US, you will be subject to US legislation on travel to Cuba and must obtain the relevant visa and comply with US regulations for your trip.
Travelling from the United States to Cuba?
There are two options for getting to Santiago de Cuba from the United States
Travel via Havana
There are direct flights to Havana only, at the time of writing, from a number of US cities including Miami, Orlando, New York, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Houston and from there you can travel to Santiago de Cuba (see above).
Travel to eastern Cuba
You might like to think about travelling via a third country such as Canada to avoid the additional journey from Havana to Santiago de Cuba. There are frequent direct flights from Montreal (YUL) and Toronto (YYZ) to Holguin (HOG) with airlines such as Air Canada and West Jet.
We hope to see you in Santiago de Cuba soon! If you need any further advice please do not hesitate to get in touch.
