JC7, JC9 up to 7 and 9 hours Jagua Castle + Cienfuegos
Tour Overview
The Jagua Castle is a limestone fortress that the Spanish built in the 18th century to guard the bay from pirates. It is located at the mouth of the bay coming into Cienfuegos. It is a National Monument with an enlightening museum and a spectacular views of the bay.. You will see the still-operable drawbridge, dry moat, spiral staircases, and cannons pointed toward the bay. The museum contains weapons, maps, navigational equipment, pottery and a re-creation of the commandant’s office. On this tour we will take the faster route across the narrow entrance of the bay in a frequent local 15 minutes ferry or private boat across the bay to the castle. Taking the ferry and boats is an experience to itself. On landing the fort is about a five minute walk away. Our JC7 or JC9 Jagua Castle + Cienfuegos Combo tour offers up to 7 hours or up to 9 hours touring the Jagua Castle and Cienfuegos. We will drive down to the mouth of the bay passing through the beautiful Playa de Luna beach. At the landing next to Hotel Pasacaballo we will take a local boat over to the Castle. The boat ride is an experience by itself. After 2-3 hours with the tour of the castle, we can have lunch at a Paladar and spend the rest of our 7 or 9 hours on our Cienfuegos City and Punta Gorda area portion of the tours.
Tour Itinerary JC7 Jagua Castle + Cienfuegos
Jagua Castle (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 ~30 minutes drive to the landing next to Hotel Pasacaballo we will provide you with a quick introduction of Cienfuegos.
At the landing we will take the 15 minutes ride in a local ferry or a private boat across the mouth of the Cienfuegos Bay to the Castle. We will spend about an hour at the castle seeing the great vista of the bay and walk around the castle and its museum.
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.
See Destinations page for customization suggestions.
Tour Itinerary JC9 Jagua Castle + Cienfuegos
With our JC9 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
JC7 up to 7 hours, JC9 up to 9 hours. We highly recommend 9 hours if your schedule allows.
Pricing
JC7 80 CUC per person (2 pax), 65 CUC per person (3 pax), 60 CUC per person (4 pax), 55 CUC (5 pax), 50 CUC per person (6 pax)
JC9 90 CUC per person (2 pax), 70 CUC per person (3 pax), 65 CUC per person (4 pax), 60 CUC (5 pax), 55 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 JC9 Jagua Castle + Cienfuegos Combo
7:30 AM Pick up at the Cienfuegos cruise terminal / Casa Particular
Drive to Racho Luna beach area on the way we will have an introductory talk about Cienfuegos and Cuban life
8:30 AM Hotel Pasacaballo in Rancho Luna landing, take local boat or ferry to Jagua Castle
9:15 AM Jagua Castle tour
11:00 PM Return to Rancho Luna area continue scenic drive back to CIenfuegos
11:30 PM Cuban lunch at a Paladar
1:00 PM Punta Gorda tour, drive around the local neighborhood, see a ration store
2:30 PM Cienfuegos City Center tour
4:30 PM Drop off at passenger terminal / Casa Particular