Are you looking to book a taxi at Havana airport?

Your first impact with Havana and its airport will probably be a little bit shocking 🙂 In this post I am going to show you how you can do it easily (yes an old classic one!) and the options available.

As you know, because of the limitations with other countries is not that easy to plan and book a taxi ride from the airport to the city center of Havana

Book a taxi at Havana airport: the options available

Most of the times, as soon as you get outside the airport you’ll see many chauffeurs running over you and asking if you need a ride. Some are the government yellow cabs. These cabs usually cover a standard fare around 30 cuc. These taxi are usually cars of the 80′, old but generally in good condition and with AC.

On the other hand there are the famous classic cars or almendron. Most of those cars are private drivers or cuentapropista (small business owner) and, if they have a valid license, they can drive from the airport to Havana or Old Havana.

The experience with an old classic cab is of course way memorable and fun. At the end of this page you can book a taxi from Havana airport so you don’t need to wait or find a transportation.

It’s usually not that difficult to find these cabs once you get out of the airport but you need to pay them in local currency (CUC). Anyway there’s a cadeca (bank) just outside the airport and you can change your money right away.

Based on the season and day of the week the airport might be less or more chaotic. Jose Martì International is the largest airport in Cuba but the amount of airplanes landing here it’s just incredible.

Flights from all over the world are landing here and the structure and service of the airport is not really ready to host them. I know there’s a project to widen the structure, but so far it’s the only one option.

Because of the relationship with the USA, tourism is increasing dramatically. Many Americans are ready to visit one of the most desired places ever.

“From Jan. 1 to May 9, 51,458 Americans visited Cuba, compared to 37,459 over that period last year…There were 38,476 visitors who flew directly from the U.S. to Cuba, compared to 29,213 in the same period last year.”

“Another 12,982 Americans came in via third countries, a whopping 57 percent increase over the 8,246 Americans who flew to Cuba from elsewhere in the same period last year.” (Business Insider)

“Cuba also has seen a 14 percent rise in overall tourism. Arrivals from 206 counties from Jan. 1 to May 9 rose from 1,349,903 last year to 1,547,104 this year. Visitors from Germany were up 22 percent; France, 25 percent; the United Kingdom, 26 percent and Spain 16 percent.

And those numbers are growing fast in 2016. You can then imagine how fast hotels and casas particulares are sold out because of this growth. I have noticed myself. Especially in the latest months it’s getting really difficult to find free houses.

The same thing is happening with the transportation. In fact, sometimes isn’t that easy to find a free cab or to book one for an excursion or a tour of the city. The same thing might happen at the airport. Since there aren’t new cars in Cuba (cars are not imported for large consumer) and tourism is growing, there’s an increased demand and a limited offer.

Sometimes the requests are that much that isn’t easy to find a taxi available.

Book a taxi at Havana airport: how you can do it

So, how can you book a taxi at Havana airport in advance? There are a limited number of websites and online services related to transportation in Cuba. The embargo is still restricting most of the websites. If you want to book in advance your ride with a classic cab from the airport to your hotel or final destination I can help you.

During the last months thanks to this blog I have helped friends and people to find solutions to their travel to Cuba and transportation. Below you can make a reservation of your taxi or almendron (classic cab) and a driver will pick you up at the airport.

Even if you have a delay the driver will wait for you with your name (a reasonable delay! :-))

If you want to get rid of the taxi-stress book using the button below.

>>Click here to book a taxi

If you have questions send an email HERE or visit this page 

Conclusion

Hope this post about how to book a taxi at Havana airport helped you to show you the options available and what you can expect if you are visiting Cuba and Havana. I invite you to visit also my previous posts so you can discover more about the amazing Cuba and read some interesting tips!