When planning our Cuba adventure, Trinidad was one of the top cities that we wanted to include on our trip. I had seen so many beautiful pictures and heard so many great things, so I couldn’t wait to check it out. Here’s what I managed to squeeze in on our short 2 day visit (spoiler alert – I’d recommend at least another day).
A little about Trinidad
Trinidad dates back to the 1514, when it was founded by the Spanish Conquistadors for its strategic location close to trade routes and for its fertile land.
In the 18th and 19th centuries it was a major center for Cuba’s sugar industry with large plantations surrounding the city. The city is also renowned for its traditional Cuban music like guaracha and son, which are foundational to salsa.
Today it’s a UNESCO world heritage site almost frozen in time with cobblestone streets and colorful colonial architecture. rinda
Shared taxi to Trinidad
This was our third city to visit after Havana, coming directly from Playa Larga taking a shared taxi. Our shared taxi was $35 each and was about a 3-hour drive. For those spending less time in Cuba, driving directly from Havana is possible, but will be about 4-5 hours.
Where we stayed
We stayed two nights here in an incredible casa right by Plaza Carillo and less than a 10-minute walk to the historic city center. The place was perfect and had everything we needed and provided a delicious breakfast each morning! My only regret was not staying an additional night here and in Trinidad!
What to do and see
Trinidad Free Walking Tour
Needless to say the first thing on our agenda was a free walking tour of the historic center of Trinidad. The tour was approximately 2.5hours and our guide was incredibly informative about the history of the city as well as the sights we walked by. It was also incredibly interesting to get a locals’ insight and perspective into a city and the country. The tours take place twice a day and are a very easy walk. Although it is free, it’s standard to tip about $5 per person.
Convento de San Francisco de Asis
It’s hard to miss the tall yellow tower situated at the corner of Calle Cristo near the main square Plaza Mayor. This is part of the old convent that was established by Franciscan monks around 1619. Today it houses a small museum with some information about the revolution. The entrance fee is 50 CUP and gives you access to the museum and the bell tower which you can climb to the top of. Definitely recommend doing this, the views are brilliant and it’s a fairly short climb.
Cafe Don Pepe
Cafe Don Pepe is right outside of the entrance to the convent and is the perfect spot to pop in for a refreshment. This is where the locals love to come and grab a coffee and it’s clear why once you step inside. It’s all outdoor seating in an ambient, tranquil garden. Get a traditional Cuban coffee here, which is some of the best in Trinidad, a cocktail or a classic Cuban tostada.
Plaza Mayor
Plaza Mayor is the central square of the city and one of its most important historical and cultural landmarks. Surrounding the plaza are the beautiful and colorful colonial buildings, which at one point were mansions for the well to do sugar plantation owners. Now these buildings have been converted to museums such as the Romantic Museum, the Municipal History Museum and the Museum of Colonial Architecture.
At the top of the square is Iglesia Parroquial de la Santísima Trinidad (Church of the Holy Trinity) which holds the title as Cuba’s largest church. The plaza is the definition of picturesque so be ready to snap hundreds of photos. Be sure to walk past at night as well to see it all lit up (well when the power is working – unfortunately like many cities in Cuba power cuts are quite normal these days).
Casa de la Música
Casa de la Música is located near the top of Plaza Mayor adjacent to the Church of the Holy Trinity, and is a famous outdoor music venue and night club. The venue extends the length of the steps that go up to the top of the hill and is famous for its lively variety of Cuban music like son and salsa. Live bands will play each night.
This venue has been an important cultural landmark in Trinidad and has been credited for playing a major part in the creation and spread of Cuban musical styles. In short, make sure to spend an evening here and bring your dancing shoes.
Restaurante San Jose
We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Restaurante San Jose, as recommended to us by our hostess from the casa. This restaurant is huge and has an equally large and varied menu including pizza, pasta, fish and burgers. Be mindful that the portions are quite big so you may want to share if you are not a big eater. We had some great seats at the top of the restaurant in the outdoor space.
Day trip (morning)- Parque El Cubano, Javira Waterfall
Our host from our casa helped us plan our 2nd day which included hiring a taxi to take us to Parque El Cubano and Javira Waterfall, followed by a stop at Playa Ancon before returning back to Trinidad. The cost for the full day hire of the taxi driver was $55 and we even got lucky enough to be driven in a very cool blue classic chevy car.
Parque el Cubano and Javira Waterfall is located a short 10-minute drive from the city center. The fee to enter the park is $10 per person. Once inside it’s a 2km walk to reach the water and it is a pretty easy hike – the only thing that was not enjoyable was the abundance of mosquitos, so lather yourself in bug repellent with the highest deet factor known to man, as these things were like vampires!
We found ourselves behind a large tour group who were on a walking tour of the park so we hastily but politely made our way ahead of them on our very speedy hike to reach the waterfall. Once you reach the falls there is a small area to drop your bags and change before getting into the turquoise waters. The good thing about our speedy walk was that we were only two of about 6 people there, so it was pretty incredible to have it nearly to ourselves.
Water shoes aren’t entirely necessary, but I found I appreciated having them as it made it easier to get into the water as well as to stand and walk up on certain rocky areas! I cannot recommend enough getting into the water and having a swim!! We swam right up to the waterfall and into the small cave next to it! After that hot and sweaty hike, the water was so refreshing!
We enjoyed some time here before we decided to make an equally speedy walk back. The park does have a nice looking restaurant at the entrance if you want to have some food and relax, but we were eager to get to our next place so we didn’t make a stop here.
Day Trip (afternoon) - Playa Ancon
Playa Ancon is a white sandy beach about 12km from Trinidad and is really stunning! We got some free lounge chairs under a thatched tiki umbrella and set about just relaxing and ogling the turquoise water. There are several outdoor bars/restaurants and plenty of eager staff ready to serve you so we treated ourselves to a few cocktails and some plantain chips.
The beach is soft white sand and the water incredibly refreshing so we spent quite a bit of time in the water. Definitely my favorite beach stop from the entire trip.
La Nueva Era
Trinidad is not short on bars and restaurants so you will have your pick, but we happened to find this gem of a place just exploring. I think it was the antique white car that was parked in their inner courtyard that lured us in.
This place is huge and had a lovely second story open area that we grabbed a table at, and it ended up being the perfect spot to watch the sunset. Incredibly we had the entire place to ourselves so the service we received was top notch! We could see the entire old town, all the way to the ocean, as well as the Escambray Mountain Range behind the city. I highly recommend a stop in here for the service and the sunset!
Munoz Tapas
We enjoyed dinner on another lovely rooftop at Munoz Tapas. It had a good selection of vegetarian choices as well as cocktails for a very reasonable price! Be sure to get one of their delicious pina coladas.
La Fortuna
We ended our evening with some post dinner drinks at La Fortuna. La Fortuna is a very small bar decorated with dollar bills and other currency hanging from the ceiling. It’s quite quirky with a bathtub inside you can sit in, and old sewing tables outside to sit at. We were told the bartender was one of the longest serving bartenders in the city. And she made an incredible mojito, probably the best I had in all of Cuba. The bar was next door to a salsa club so was fun to people watch and listen to some great music as well.
Final thoughts
I absolutely loved Trinidad and if I had to do it all over again, I would have booked another night here. If you are in Cuba for two weeks, I would ensure you plan on at least three days in Trinidad.
The city itself is relatively small, but there are so many great day trips and places to explore nearby, like visiting the Valley of the Sugar mills and the old plantations, visit the Cave of the Portuguese which is said to have been used by former Portuguese pirates, hiking in the Escambray Mountains, or checking out the nearby island Cayo Blanco. With more time in the city itself you could take some salsa lessons at one of the several dance studios in the city (we met many tourists doing this), or just explore the many local museums.
Trinidad is so incredibly beautiful and the people are very welcoming and friendly; it far exceeded my expectations and they were pretty high to begin with. I can’t recommend it enough as a must visit city on any Cuban adventure. I will certainly be returning one day!
