TC7, TC9 up to 7 and 9 hours Botanical Garden + Cienfuegos
Tour Overview
Near the Pepito Tey sugar mill just 25 minutes drive / 17 km east of Cienfuegos, is one of Cuba´s biggest gardens Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos. Cienfuegos' Botanical Garden is one of the richest gardens in the Americas. It houses 2000 species of plants, including 23 types of mamboo, 65 types of fig, and 250 different palms (the greatest variety in one place anywhere in the world). If you have a love for plants and flowers or a bird watcher this is a good tour to consider. Our BC7 or BC9 Botanical Garden + Cienfuegos Combo tour offers up to 7 hours or up to 9 hours touring the Botanical Garden and Cienfuegos. We will tour the garden with a certified English speaking botanist who will discuss the various plants and gardens and spot birds for approximately 45 minutes around the garden. We will spend about 3 hours going to/from Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos incluing driving and touring . After our garden tour we will spend the rest of our 7 or 9 hours on our Cienfuegos City and Punta Gorda area portion of the tours.
Tour Itinerary BC7 Botanical Garden + Cienfuegos
Jardín Botánico de Cienfuego (3 hours)
We start our tour picking you and your party up at the cruise terminal or at your Casa Particular in our high quality vehicle. On our ~25 minutes drive to Jardín Botánico de Cienfuego we will provide you with a quick introduction of Cienfuegos.
At the garden we will walk around the grounds and queue up for the English speaking botanist who will provide a ~45 minutes guided tour around the garden. He will discuss the history of the garden, point out and talk about the plants and birds around the property. After we can stop by the garden's bar for a beverage (e.g. fresh coconut water) if you so desire.
Lunch / snack / beverage break (30 to 90 minutes)
Depending on your wishes and timing this may be a good time to can have lunch. We can either have a snack or light lunch (e.g. pizza / sandwich) or a quick lunch or a more relaxing lunch at a local Cuban private restaurant. Let us know your preference and we can provide our recommendations and do the arrangements.
Cienfuegos' Punta Gorda and City Center tours (~3 hours)
We will split the remaining ~3 hours of our 7 hours tour touring Cienfuegos' Punta Gorda and City Center. We can do a quick pace 1/2 hour panoramic tour of Punta Gorda. We will drive down Malecón, have photo stops at Palacio Azul / Club Cienfuegos, Parque de Las Escultura, then on to the end of the Paseo del Prado (Calle 37) stop and see the "Taj Mahal" of Cienfuegos: Palacio de Valle. We will have time to go inside if there's interest to see the architectural details of this Palace.
From Punta Gorda, we will drive back up Paseo del Prado (Calle 37) and start our tour of Cienfuegos City Center with our remaining time. Our driver will drop us off at the Statue of Benny Moré. We will have a short a few blocks walk across Ave. 54 (San Fernando) Cienfuegos' shopping street to the city's main square Parque Jose Marti. We can have a quick stop at the state owned Cigar store for authentic Cigars and the House of Rum. We will then head over to see the historical sights around the square: Tomás Terry Theater, Colegio San Lorenzo, Palacio de Gobierno, Casa Del Fundador, Arch de Triumph, Ferrer Palace. We can also stop at the 29th street craft vendors and also go up to the La Union Hotel roof terrace for a panoramic view of the city. The driver can pick us up at the square to return to the ship.
Tour Itinerary BC9 Botanical Garden + Cienfuegos
With our BC9 Tour we will have an extra 2 hours touring Cienfuegos instead of 7 hours with BC7. With the extra 2 hours we can drive down from the Botanical Garden to Playa Luna area near by. We can continue to Hotel Pasacaballo in Rancho Luna landing to see the mouth of the Cienfuegos bay just across from the Jagua Castle. We can pass by the Necropolis Tomás Acea the unique garden cemetery in Cienfuegos. We can also drive through the local neighborhoods, stop at the local market and ration store for a glimpses of local Cuban life. (~1-2 hours)
Other possible stops: our exclusive access to Palacio Azul, walk through Club Cienfuegos, stops for beverage and music at the many musical venues in Cienfuegos (see Destinations page for a list). We can also just spend more time at the City Center stops e.g. at the 29th street crafts vendors. BTW, we will be happy to help you bargain for souvenirs.
Please see the Destinations page for customization suggestions.
Other Tour Details
Duration
TC7 up to 7 hours, TC9 up to 9 hours. We highly recommend 9 hours if your schedule allows.
Pricing
BC7 75 CUC per person (2 pax), 60 CUC per person (3 pax), 55 CUC per person (4 pax), 50 CUC (5 pax), 45 CUC per person (6 pax)
BC9 85 CUC per person (2 pax), 70 CUC per person (3 pax), 65 CUC per person (4 pax), 55 CUC (5 pax), 50 CUC per person (6 pax)
Inclusions
Private English speaking local Cuban tour guide. High quality taxi transport licensed for tourists. Pick up and drop off at cruise terminal or Casa particular.
Exclusions
Lunch, water, snacks, museum entrance fees, museum photo fees - client pays.
OFAC Compliance
Our tours are fully OFAC compliant under "Support the Cuban People" category.
Our competitive advantages
20+ years well connected tourist industry professionals, Cienfuegos native local experts, highly educated Cuban guides, truly private tour, fully OFAC compliant (Support the Cuban category), high quality vehicles and safe drivers, fully custom tour options, honest pricing.
See Info page for additional information.
Sample Schedule BC9 Botanical Garden + Cienfuegos
7:30 AM Pick up at the Cienfuegos cruise terminal / Casa Particular
Drive to Cienfuegos Botanical Garden. On the way introductory talk about Cienfuegos and Cuban life in Cienfuegos
8:15 AM Guided botanist tour of the garden
9:30 AM Scenic drive to the local neighborhoods, see a ration store / local market and the beautiful La Laguna del Cura beach
10:30 AM Panoramic drive and stops in Cienfuegos' Punta Gorda area
11:30 AM Cuban lunch at a Paladar
1:00 PM Cienfuegos' City Center tour including stops at the Cigar and Rum store, inside tour of the Casino Español (Museo Provincial de Cienfuegos), 29th Street crafts market, Union Hotel terrace city view and beverage break.
4:30 PM Drop off at passenger terminal / Casa Particular