How to Book Viazul Tickets for Bus Transportation in Cuba - Sold Out?
Posted 3 years ago - July 2nd 2018
You’re going to Cuba! You have a great itinerary and now you just need to book accommodations and figure out how you are going to get from point A to point B.
Planning and arranging your Cuba travel plans before you arrive sounds like a great idea. That is until you start digging in and realize that Cuba’s online presence is severely lacking.
Buying Tickets on the Viazul Website
We have received many emails from panicked guests who tell us that they tried to book trips to various places in Cuba using the Viazul website only to see that the dates that they wanted were ‘sold out’. Relax, it’s not entirely true!
But for those of you who like to have every detail of your itinerary planned out, it’s time to let go of that idea! In general, businesses in Cuba are way behind in keeping their websites up to date. Most of us are used to booking everything online these days but this is clearly not the case in Cuba. Businesses there, rely on face to face interaction to get things done.
Should you want to try your luck online, here is their site:
https://www.viazul.com/
Buying Ticket in Havana
So what is the best way to purchase bus tickets? You simply have to do it in person. Yes, this means a trip to the bus station to purchase your tickets. It’s best to do it 2 days before your departure but often 24 hours before is sufficient.
The Viazul Bus Station in Havana is likely only a 15-20 minute taxi ride from your casa. Your casa host can certainly help you get there.
Once at the station, you will need to line up to speak with one of the agents to let him or her know where and when you would like to travel.
Some speak sufficient English to assist you but speaking Spanish will definitely help. If you are not comfortable speaking Spanish, you can download our handy Useful Spanish Phrases For Cuba document.
The agent will hand you a very unofficial looking ticket with the details of your trip along with your name. Your ticket is printed on a regular letter size sheet of paper via a dot matrix printer (remember those?!). Don’t loose this! I doubt they can or are willing to look up your ticket I their system after the fact.
Once you have have your boarding pass you can head up to the bar / cafeteria. You can order the usual meals although some items where not available for my early trip to Matanza. They were still opening and did not have any breakfast items available.
One big note though is that eating on the bus is not allowed. Having said that, I still saw people eating on the bus but it’s best to not let them see you!
I have certainly heard of people, (one of my friends included), successfully purchasing Viazul tickets online but there seems to be no way to predicting their availability.
As you approach the bus station you will see several taxi drivers hanging about. Several will offer you their services. Their prices are competitive should you need an alternative to the bus.
You can download the Viazul Schedule and Viazul Fares on our downloads page.
Travel Day Check In
You generally need to get yourself to the bus station 30 minutes before departure time. The first thing you need to do is check in. Approach the check in counter and exchange your ticket for a boarding pass. Again, it’s just a regular sheet of paper with your seat assignment. Whenever I have taken the bus it has only been 60 - 65% full so they told us to just take any seat.
Taking the Bus from Havana to Trinidad
The boarding process can be confusing and you have to pay attention to what's going on. There are busses pulling in and out all the time and things seem to run in typical, unorganized fashion.
There is really only one gate and of course, the buses don’t always run exactly on time. The first bus of the day seems to arrive on time but there is more likelihood of it being delayed a by a few minutes later in the day. Pay attention as the bus or busses arrive. The conductor calls out the destination several times. You then load your luggage below and hop on the bus.
Once on the bus, it was time to sit back. I have to say that I was comfortable. The bus was air-conditioned (not too cold but just right) I was able to recline my chair and had lots of room to spread out.
I was traveling on my own and was lucky that the bus was perhaps 65% full so I had the seat next to me to myself. Of course there was some chatter but for the most part, all the passengers (mostly Cuban’s from what I could see) were quiet and relaxed.
After about 20 minutes of getting out of the city, the real culture of Cuba kicked in. The bus stopped to pick up a few people on the side of the road. The first time it happened, I wasn’t sure who these people were. Friends of the drivers? Would I have to give up the free seat next to me?
I’m guessing that we picked up and dropped off 15-20 people during our entire journey. I figured out that they were not paying riders but in the community spirit of helping one another, the drivers would stop and pick people up. There was even an off-duty policeman and perhaps his daughter.
If you were paying attention, you may have noticed that I said ‘drivers’, plural a couple times above. Yes, there were two drivers. One in the driver's seat and another standing right beside him. During my entire 6 hour journey I didn’t see them switch.
Perhaps the second driver would take the return trip shift. It was interesting though that all other passengers that they picked up along the way stood at the front near the second driver. They did not take a seat on the bus like I thought they might.
While the buses are comfortable, they don’t have bathrooms onboard. This was fine because we stopped at a few roadside restaurants where we were also able to pick up some refreshments. There was ample time for everyone to use the bathroom and pick up some treats. There were 3 or 4 such stops.
In Trinidad, the bus pulled into a small, nondescript bus station where there where taxis and others waiting to pick up passengers.
Taking the Bus from Havana to Matanza or Veradero
More recently, I took Viazul from Havana to Matanza. The experience was generally the same although I did notice some small changes. First, the drivers partner stood up and (in Spanish only) explained the entire trip to us. The trip to Matanza would take about 2 and a half hours and would include one 10 minute stop. The bus would then continue on to Veradero.
The other change I noticed was that we didn’t pick up any passengers from the roadside this time. I am not sure if they have eliminated this practice or if it still occurs on other routes.
Which is Better, a Colectivo or the Bus?
For my return trip back to Havana, I decided to take a colectivo. Although I really enjoyed taking the bus, I wanted to compare it to the colectivo experience. Specifically, I wanted to know which was better in terms of comfort, convenience and speed.
What is a colectivo? A colectivo is just a shared taxi. Assuming you are the drivers first and only customer who wants to make a trip from Trinidad to Havana, he will agree to take you and your luggage for 25 CUC, the same amount as the bus. The catch is he won’t actually start driving until he has 3 other passengers going to the same place. Colectivos are very popular throughout Cuba and many visitors find it to be a very cost effective method of travel.
In terms of comfort, the bus wins hands down. I had lots of room and could easily recline my seat without impeding the passenger behind me. The colectivo was a small, Lada-type car and although my luggage was in the back (a big suitcase since I travel heavy!), I had to carry my camera bag on my lap. The bus had an overhead compartment so I was much more relaxed.
The bus also had air-conditioning! My trip was during September so outside temperatures are usually 86F (30 C) and usually higher. The colectivo supposedly had air-conditioning but of course it was broken!
A really bad side effect of taking the long trip with the windows rolled down are the fumes. There is much less pollution control in Cuba and most cars there run on diesel. It’s very common to see black smoke spewing out of the car in front of you. All of that goes directly into the cabin.
Drivers are very used to this and don’t necessarily change lanes to avoid the smoke even if there is space in the next lane. To make matters worse, drivers may add to this smoke by adding a little of their own. They don’t have any problem smoking a cigarette during their journey.
I thought travel time would have been much faster as I have seen others talk about the trip being faster than the bus. For me, however, we only shaved off 20 minutes. That doesn’t include the time spent waiting and driving around looking for other passengers before the trip.
From the convenience perspective I am going to say it was a tie. They both have their quirks. Having to buy bus tickets the day before can be a bit of a hassle and take time away from doing other things. I didn’t mind this part at all and just considered it to be part the Cuba experience. But there is also the issue of getting to and from the bus station on both ends. A colectivo will generally pick you up and drop you off right at your casa or hotel. If you are staying at a casa particular, the casa owner will also arrange the colectivo for you and that is a very nice bonus.
A Colectivo Might Be Better if You’re Traveling as a Group
I travelled on my own and the experience may have been different if I had travelled with 2 or 3 friends. Colectivos, for example, might make more sense if you are travelling in a group.
The wait to find other passengers before the trip begins doesn’t really apply so you can leave as soon as you find a driver. Once you have a driver you also have the freedom to make on-the-fly changes to your trip.
If, for example, you wish to stop and spend a little time at an interesting spot, the driver will surely agree. You’ll of course have to agree on a price for this option but it’s nice to not be stuck to the rigidity of a bus schedule.
My Preference is the Bus
Each of us values things a little differently and for me, I would take the bus again both ways. I am no spring chicken and will take the comfort of the bus any day. I like to board the bus and either enjoy the scenery and/or completely zone out for a few hours on the trip.
So there you have it, purchasing bus tickets in Cuba is easy although you may have to do it in person as opposed to online. It’s all part of the adventure and just part of the culture of Cuba!
You can start your own Cuban adventure right now! Use our handy tool below to check availability at any of our Havana casa particulars.