By air
Abel Santamaría Airport, Santa Clara (SNU), ~2 h by road
North America · Cuba
Trinidad, Cuba
A cobbled sugar-era town between hills and sea
Getting there
Best time to visit
November to April — dry and pleasant
Don't miss
Plaza Mayor
The Valle de los Ingenios
Playa Ancón
Topes de Collantes
Things to do
Strolling the old town
Live music on the cathedral steps
Horse riding in the valley
Beach days at Ancón
Where to eat
What to pack
Comfortable shoes for the cobbles, swimwear, sunscreen
A quieter corner
La Boca, a small fishing village on the coast road to Ancón
Questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Trinidad?
November to April — dry and pleasant. What to pack: Comfortable shoes for the cobbles, swimwear, sunscreen.
How do I get to Trinidad?
Fly into Abel Santamaría Airport, Santa Clara (SNU), ~2 h by road.
What is there to do in Trinidad?
Strolling the old town, live music on the cathedral steps, horse riding in the valley, beach days at Ancón. A quieter find: La Boca, a small fishing village on the coast road to Ancón.
What should I eat in Trinidad?
Roast pork, black beans and rice, lobster, and canchánchara, a local drink of rum, honey and lime.
About Trinidad
- Hills
- Coastal
Where it is
Trinidad is a colonial town in Sancti Spíritus province in central Cuba, set between the Escambray mountains and the Caribbean coast.
History
Trinidad was founded in 1514 by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, one of the earliest Spanish towns in Cuba. Its wealth came from the sugar mills of the nearby valley in the 18th and 19th centuries, worked by enslaved Africans. When the sugar trade moved elsewhere the town was left largely unchanged, and with the valley it became a World Heritage Site in 1988.
People
Trinidad's people speak Spanish and many open their homes to guests, while the town's streets fill in the evening with son music, dancing and families sitting out on their doorsteps.
Known for
- Cobbled streets and pastel houses
- The Valley of the Sugar Mills
- Live music in the evenings
- Playa Ancón nearby
Did you know?
The tall 19th-century tower at Manaca Iznaga in the Valle de los Ingenios was built to watch over enslaved workers in the sugar-cane fields.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.