Page 306 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

304  SUR VIV AL GUIDE

Travelling by Car

The best way to see a lot of Cuba’s hinterland is to travel by
car. With a car it is possible to discover places and scenery
that it would be difficult to see on an organized tour, and
even more so if you travel by air. It is best to plan an itinerary Example of a new road sign seen
and stopovers in advance, and a good road map is essential. outside cities
A few precautions should be taken. Keep speed down and
always park in supervised car parks. In summer, because of often the road is crossed by
the heat, it is advisable to travel early in the morning. You will unmarked railway lines or
see many people hitchhiking on the road. Although this is a wandering animals.
The worst roads, with potholes
normal way of life in Cuba, it it not recommended for tourists and bumps, are found in
to pick people up (see p291). Eastern Cuba, but the surfaces
of city streets are by no means
perfect either.

Petrol
Fuel is distributed through
the many Servi-Cupet and Oro
Negro service stations through-
out the island. They sell petrol
for convertible pesos and are
open 24 hours a day. However,
there are fewer stations outside
the towns, so keep the tank
topped up, just in case.
A lorry picking up hitchhikers on the Autopista Nacional (motorway) Ask the car hire company
for a free automapa, which
The Highway Code The Road Network
shows where the Servi-Cupet
In Cuba traffic drives on the The carretera central is an old, service stations are located
right. The speed limits for cars narrow and not particularly across the island.
are 20 km/h (12 mph) in parking comfortable road linking Pinar
areas, 40 km/h (25 mph) near del Río to Guantánamo, via all Road Maps
schools, 50 km/h (30 mph) in the provincial capitals. The only
town, 60 km/h (37 mph) on dirt motorway in Cuba is the A good road map is essential.
roads and in tunnels, 90 km/h Autopista Nacional, or “Ocho The Guía de Carreteras published
(55 mph) on asphalt roads Vías”; it goes from Pinar del Río by Limusa is very informative
and 100 km/h (62 mph) on to Jatibonico, near Sancti but unfortunately not widely
the motorway. Spíritus (the Holguín–Santiago available. Infotur in Havana and
Every so often on the Auto­ de Cuba stretch is under some car rental companies may
pista (motorway) you will see construction) and is toll-free. stock copies.
signs telling you to reduce your It is in good condition but should Maps and brochures are also
speed to around 50 km/h: do not be used as if it were an ordinary distributed free of charge by
ignore these instructions, as road, without exceeding the Infotur, in travel agencies and
they are often followed by road speed limit, because every so by car hire companies.
blocks. In general, the police are
quite tolerant with tourists, but
speeding may invalidate car
hire insurance.
In town, headlights should
be kept dipped. Seat belt use
is both recommended
and compulsory.
The road signs, of which there
are very few, are the usual
international ones, but there
are also others on the country
roads that warn drivers they
are approaching a junction
or a stretch of dangerous
road (see p293). A hire car at a Servi-Cupet service station

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