Best Things To Do In Santa Clara Cuba

Santa Clara is a small town in central Cuba, known for its Cuban revolutionary history, landmarks and all things Che Guevara. This list of things to do in Santa Clara Cuba can be easily conquered in just one day, with time to spare for a mojito or three. Salud to that!

Santa Clara Cuba Travel

Santa Clara was a bit of an unexpected surprise during our Cuba trip. I was enamoured with pics of Trinidad, and added Santa Clara to our Cuba itinerary as Santa Clara has the closest airport to Trinidad (around 2 hours drive). On arrival, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Santa Clara is a super cute town with a strong colonial and revolutionary history, and plenty of things to see.

Santa Clara is ‘Che’s city’. You can’t walk for long without finding a statue or mural dedicated to Che Guevara, the Argentine guerilla who became a leader of the Cuban revolution in the 1950s.

Santa Clara is the resting place of Che Guevara where, in 1958, Guevara led and won the Battle of Santa Clara, the final battle of the Cuban revolution.  As well as revolutionary history, Santa Clara Cuba attractions include picturesque colonial buildings and a surprisingly happening nightlife.

We stayed Hostal d’Cordero in Santa Clara Cuba. Hostal d’Cordero is a lovely colonial house with a boutique hotel feel. The house has a few rooms set around a relaxing courtyard and is walking distance from all these Santa Clara Cuba activities.

Keen to travel to Santa Clara? Read on to discover what to do in Santa Clara Cuba!

Santa Clara Cuba Things To Do

1. Santa Clara Cuba Walking Tour

Santa Clara is a relatively small city, and half the pleasure is in admiring the colourful architecture and observing daily Cuban life. This means that one of the best things to do in Santa Clara Cuba is to hit the pavement and take a walking tour.

Self Guided Walking Tour

You could easily take a self-guided walking tour of Santa Clara. Just remember to download Google Maps before heading to Cuba! Start at Parque Leoncio Vidal (2 below) and visit the Santa Clara Theatre (3 below). Then head down Avenida Liberacion where you’ll find Tren Blindado (4 below) and the statue of Che Guevera (5 below).

From there, it’s a short walk up Loma del Capiro (6 below) for sweeping views over Santa Clara. You’ll need to cut back across the city to visit the Che Guevera Mausoleum (7 below). I enjoyed the walk across the city away from the central tourist area, but you can grab a taxi or horse drawn cart if you prefer less walking.

Guided Walking Tour

To make the most of one day in Santa Clara Cuba, I recommend taking a guided walking tour of Santa Clara with a Cuban local. We loved our half day Santa Clara walking tour with Yasmany from Heart of Cuba Tours.

Yasmany taught us a lot about the revolutionary history of Cuba and Santa Clara, and gave us an insight into daily life in Cuba. We learnt about the Cuba ‘special period’, the severe economic depression in the 1990s where Cubans lost on average one third of their body weight, and the ongoing impact of the US trade embargo.

We easily covered Santa Clara Cuba things to do 1-7 during our four hour walking tour with Yasmany, and even had time for a morning mojito break.

Read More: If you love meandering around pretty old colonial towns, then you absolutely must visit Trinidad Cuba, the best preserved colonial town in Cuba!

2. Parque Leoncio Vidal Santa Clara 

Parque Leoncio Vidal or Parque Vidal is the main plaza or town square in Santa Clara Cuba. The plaza is the geographical and figurative heart of Santa Clara. It’s a popular place for locals to meet and tourists to hang out, and has a constant hive of activity from live music to old men playing chess.

Parque Vidal is surrounded by restaurants and bars and interesting colonial and  neoclassical architecture. My personal favourites were the Jose Marti library which is a unique example of neoclassical architecture in Santa Clara, and the Santa Clara Theatre (3 below).

Location: Parque Leoncio Vidal is at the centre of Santa Clara (which itself is the centre of Cuba!). The plaza is bordered by Rafael Trista, Colon and Cuba streets.

Cost: Free..

Read More: Another favourite spot in Cuba is the beautiful Vinales Valley!

3. Teatro la Caridad – Santa Clara Theatre

Teatro la Caridad is Santa Clara’s theatre, and is one of the only old colonial theatres remaining in Cuba. The theatre dates back to 1885, and is beautifully restored.

It’s definitely worth paying 1 CUC to enter the theatre and see the ornate chairs, gallery and intricately painted ceiling. There’s usually a tour guide at the theatre to bring it’s history to life. When we visited, the theatre guide only spoke Spanish, so we were happy to have our tour guide Yasmany translate for us.

As well as being rather spectacular, Teatro la Caridad remains a working theatre to this day, with regular shows including music and ballet.

Location: Teatro la Caridad is on the northern side of Parque Leoncio Vidal.

Cost: Entry to Teatro la Caridad is 1CUC. Provide a small tip if you use the theatre’s tour guide. Our guide said that tickets for the shows are very affordable at around 5-10 CUC.

4. Monumento a la Toma del Tren Blindado – Derailed Train Monument 

The Tren Blindado monument and museum memorialises the location where Che Guevara and his men derailed an armoured railway car in 1958 during the Battle of Santa Clara.

Tren Blindado is a small park where the main feature is the derailed train cars and the bulldozer that was used to destroy the tracks and derail the train. The freight cars contain historical information, exhibits and art.

Monumento a la Toma del Tren Blindado is one of those sites where you need some context to make sense of it. Either read up in advance, or take a tour guide to explain the history. Without this, you could be excused for thinking that Tren Blindado was some kind of interpretive art installation, rather than the actual site and remains of one of the most significant battles of the Cuban revolution.

Location: Tren Blindado is near the city end of Avenida Liberacion, around 800 metres or 10 minutes walk from Parque Leoncio Vidal.

Cost: Free to look at from outside in park. 1 CUC for entry to the freight cars museum.

5. Statue of Che Guevara Holding A Child 

The Statue of Che Guevara holding a child is a small life sized statue of Che Guevara, you guessed it, holding a child. Take a closer look and you’ll find hidden symbols of Che’s life in the statue, including a small boy riding a goat on his shoulder.

You’ll only need a few minutes to check out the Che Guevara statue, so it’s a good passing stop as you walk around the streets of Santa Clara.

Location: Avenida Liberacion, around 500 metres east of Tren Blindado.

Cost: Free.

6. Loma del Capiro – Viewpoint

Loma del Capiro is a viewpoint with sweeping panoramic 360 degree views over Santa Clara Cuba. The hill is roughly 180 metres high with around 200 steps. It’s not a tough walk but can be hot, so take plenty of water.

Like most places in Santa Clara, Loma del Capiro has a bit of revolutionary history, as Che Guevara used the hilltop as a hideout during the Battle of Santa Clara. At the top of Loma del Capiro, there’s a small monument commemorating the Battle of Santa Clara, topped with the flags of Cuba and the 26 July revolutionary movement.

At the hilltop, we also found teenagers doing what teenagers do all over the world – schleping around, taking selfies and listening to music!

Location: Loma del Capiro is at the end of Capiro Street, which is not far off Avendia Liberacion. Loma del Capiro is around 1km walk from the Statue of Che Guevara or 2km walk from Parque Leoncio Vidal.

Cost: Free.

7. Mausoleo del Che Guevara – Che Guevara Mausoleum and Monument 

The Che Guevara mausoleo is across the west side of Santa Clara. The site has a massive Che Guevara statue monument, along with a small Che Guevara museum and memorial underneath the statue. The statue dominates the skyline, and you’d be forgiven for missing the museum and mausoleum if you didn’t know they were there.

The Che Guevara museum and memorial are free. There’s a baggage check area, as no bags or cameras are allowed inside. The museum has photos and some writings from Che, with captions in Spanish. Che Guevara was buried in the mausoleum in 1997 after his remains were exhumed and returned from Bolivia where he was captured and killed in 1967.

Location: The Che Guevara Mausoleum and Monument is located at Che Guevara Square on Campo de Tiro, at the end of Rafael Trista. The Mausoleum is around 1.7 km from Parque Leoncio Vidal or 3.5km from Loma del Capiro.

Cost: Free. We left a small tip for the bag storage services.

8. Santa Clara Cuba Nightlife

The Santa Clara Cuba nightlife is surprisingly happening. As a tourist, your best bet for nightlife in Santa Clara is either Park Leoncio Vidal or El Mejunje (photo above).

Parque Vidal

There’s always something happening in Santa Clara’s town square, from music in the square to a show at Teatro la Caridad to the many restaurants and bars lining the square. We enjoyed Las Terrazas for a drink in the afternoon sun. Las Terrazas is a burger bar with a local feel (think old Cuban men drinking rum from a plastic cup) upstairs overlooking the square. After that, we hit up Hotel E Central Villa Clara overlooking the square for swanky drink on the verandah. Hotel E is more upmarket (cocktails 3-5 CUC) and seemed to attract well to do locals.

Club El Mejunje 

El Mejunje is a local institution, famous for (amongst other things) holding Cuba’s first drag show and being LGBT inclusive. This place simply oozes cool. El Mejunje is located in a ruined colonial building with overgrown trees on the inside and murals on the outside. As well as a bar, El Mejunje has a cultural centre which had an art exhibition when we visited.

Location: See 2 above for Parque Vidal. El Meunje is on Marta Abreu, around two streets west of Parque Vidal. While you’re in the hood, stroll another block west down Marta Abreu past the impressive Catedral de Santa Clara de Asis.

Cost: In Santa Clara, expect to pay 1-2 CUC for a beer and around 2 CUC for a mojito (mine were anything from 1.50 to 3.50 CUC).

Santa Clara may be small and often overlooked by travelers, but with its rich colonial and revolutionary history Santa Clara absolutely deserves a spot on your Cuba itinerary. I hope you enjoy these Santa Clara Cuba things to do!

Read More: 30 Awesome Things to do in Havana Cuba.

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