Havana via Varadero – Cheaper Than Flying to Havana Directly
by Mark in CubaPlane tickets to Havana from Edmonton are ridiculously expensive. It was off the hook. I knew I wanted to end up in Havana, but damn… the plane tickets were so much more expensive than tickets to other parts of Cuba, especially Varadero. That got me thinking – since Varadero is not so far from Havana, why don’t I fly to Varadero instead, and arrange for transfer on land to Havana. Even if I end up taking a taxi, it would still be cheaper than flying to Havana directly.
I asked Jorge what it would cost to have some form of transfer from Varadero to Havana arranged for me. He said he was gonna look to see if he knows of any taxi drivers who are driving someone to Varadero, so they can pick me up on the way back as it would be cheaper than a regular taxi fare. However chances of that happening are not the greatest, because I would be landing in Varadero at a particular time so there would have to be a taxi driver in Havana who just happens to drive someone to Varadero and be on the way back at the time I needed him.
This didn’t seem like a possibility, but according to Jorge, even regular taxi fare to Havana from Varadero airport would be about $80 CUC. If I consider that plane ticket to Varadero is on average $500 cheaper than to Havana, it’s still a significant saving. I seriously did not see any flying to Havana directly as a viable option so I ditched it completely and started looking for cheap plane tickets to Varadero instead and use it as my cheap gateway to Havana.
I was OK leaving it for last minute – if there is some form of luck in place and Jorge knows of someone who will be returning to Havana on the day of my arrival to Varadero, I will take advantage of it. Otherwise I will take a taxi and pay my $80 CUC. Flying to Varadero and then transferring to Havana is still significantly cheaper than flying to Havana directly. At least from Edmonton. It only makes sense to pick Varadero as port of entry.
So here I was much closer to making final decision. Choosing a destination part has been finalized. I know I only want return plane ticket and I know it should be from Edmonton to Varadero. Obvious next step was choosing a time to go.
