Vinales Valley Cuba – Best Things To Do In Vinales

Vinales is an small agricultural town in the Pinar del Rio province in Western Cuba. The main drawcard of Vinales is the idyllic Vinales Valley, with its endless lush greenery and rounded mogote limestone hills. This post covers the top 10 things to do in Vinales Cuba, from the cute small town to the beautiful surrounding Valle de Vinales. 

Read More: This post focuses on what to do in Vinales Cuba. See my Cuba itinerary for further information on Vinales, including details on how to get to Vinales and where to stay in Vinales.

What To Do in Vinales Cuba 

Vinales is all about living the slow life and experiencing country living as it was in the 1950s. The best Vinales Cuba things to do include doing nothing at all … grab a mojito, sit on an old rocking chair on the verandah, and watch the world slowly pass you by.

1. Vinales Valley Tour

Taking a Vinales Valley Tour has to be the number one thing to do in Vinales, and is the sole reason a lot of people visit Vinales. If Havana is the vibrant beating heart of Cuba, then Valle de Vinales must be its laid back country cousin.

The Vinales Valley is quintessential Vinales. Picture a bucolic green valley with soaring limestone hills (known as ‘mogotes’), hidden caves and traditional farming communities still powered by oxen drawn carts. While Vinales is an agricultural area with various crops of fruit and vegetables and animals, it’s most famous for its tobacco and coffee plantations. No wonder the Vinales Valley was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1999!

It’s possible to explore Valle de Vinales unguided, but the experience is all the richer if you take a guided walking or horseback tour of the Vinales Valley. Most casa particulars can organise an English speaking tour guide when you arrive. (Or not in our case … We were assured our guide spoke English, but spent the day understanding around 1/10th of his Spanish and wild gesticulations.)

Most Vinales Valley tours include a pleasant meander (walking and/or horseback) around the incredible natural wonder of the valley, and a visit to a tobacco plantation and coffee farm.

We took a 4 hour Vinales Valley walking tour which covered around 8km at a comfortable pace. As well as a tobacco and coffee farm, we experienced farming as it must have been 100 years ago with very limited mechanical machinery. We passed oxen ploughing fields, a farrier fixing a horse’s shoe and people planting crops by hand. If the heat gets to you, cool off with a dip in the lake.

Don’t forget to take some small notes for tips.

2. Visit a Tobacco Plantation

Most tours of Valle de Vinales include a visit to a traditional working tobacco plantation. There’s also a couple of tobacco plantation stops on the Vinales hop on hop off bus (5 below) if you don’t take a Vinales Valley tour.

We passed several tobacco plantations and drying barns, and visited Corazon de Valle, which aptly means ‘heart of the valley’. Here, you’ll get to see how tobacco and coffee are made without modern machinery, and even sample and purchase the good stuff.

We paid 3 CUC per cigar for cigars in packs of 20 or 30, an absolute bargain for quality tobacco right from the farmer’s table. (Not that we ever smoked any of it … just got caught up in the authentic souvenir purchasing.) If you do buy cigars, check your country’s import restrictions as you could well be stung with a hefty customs duty bill.

Read More: While you’re in Cuba, don’t miss Santa Clara Cuba, the revolutionary heart of Cuba and resting place of Che Guevara.

3. Visit a Coffee Plantation

Tobacco not your vice? Why not see how coffee is made the old fashioned way, and taste the goodies with a view to write home about. We loved our visit to Corazon de Valle (photo above), where we learnt about coffee growing and processing, and sampled the local coffee, honey and rum (nom nom nom). You can also purchase coffee beans or ground coffee to take home, and relive the Cuban experience for weeks to come.

4. Explore a Cave 

The Vinales Valley is filled with caves to explore, from rugged remote caves that are strictly for adventurers only, to caves that can be conquered by all sporting-ability levels. (Including my level: close to non-existent.)

The most popular caves in Vinales are Palenque de los Cimarrones and Cueva del Indio (or Indian Cave), which are both on the Vinales bus tour (5 below) and are surrounded by beautiful countryside. We visited Palenque de los Cimarrones, as we only had time for one cave stop and this sounded more up our street.

Palenque de los Cimarrones: Palenque de los Cimarrones is only a few hundred metres long (3 CUC entry), and has a cave bar out front (photo above), which makes for a fun afternoon (or party cave on some weekend nights!). The cave gets its name from runaway slaves (cimarrones) who escaped and took refuge in the cave. Even though we visited in peak season (March), we only saw a few other tourists in the cave.

Indian Cave: The Indian Cave Vinales (Cueva del Indio) is also a fairly short cave, with a 200m walk and a 400m boat trip through a lit cave, with a gift shop at the end.

5. Ride the Vinales Hop On Hop Off Bus

The Vinales hop on hop off bus drives a circuit of some of the best Vinales attractions for only 5 CUC. It’s a great way to jam in lots of the best things to do in Vinales for independent and budget conscious travelers!

The Vinales bus tour stops include tobacco plantations, caves, Hotel Los Jazmines and Mural de la Prehistoria.

Kinda not really just like the big red double decker hop on hop off buses that you find in major cities … minus the red double decker and high rises, plus a super helpful bus driver and small town sights.

6. Soak in the views from Hotel Jazmines

If you’re after the best views of Vinales Valley, then look no further than Hotel Los Jazmines. The hotel has a public viewpoint with sweeping panoramic views over the green valley, tobacco plantations and mogote hill formations that Vinales is famous for.

Soak in the views at the pina colada bar (my kinda bar!) which often has live Cuban music playing.

7. Vinales Botanical Gardens – Jardin Botanico de Vinales

The Vinales Botanical Gardens are kind of like a rambling overgrown backyard. Actually, I think they literally are a rambling overgrown backyard.

Jardin Botanico de Vinales is set around a casa particular and restaurant, with a variety of trees and plants. If you don’t know your botanicals (ahhmm … me), take up the offer of a tour guide as the gardens aren’t signposted.

I personally found the gardens a little underwhelming, but redeemed by a family of 12 super cute baby chickens. (Little did I know at this point that the Vinales Valley is teeming with baby chickens. So precious!)

Entry to the Vinales Botanical Gardens is free, with a donation box as you leave to support the upkeep of the gardens.

8. Mural de la Prehistoria Vinales

Mural de la Prehistoria Vinales is one of those places that is partly fascinating and partly just a little strange.

In case you’re stumped by the name, Mural de la Prehistoria is a ginormous colourful mural depicting prehistoric scenes. It’s painted onto the rock wall, is over 100 metres long, and took 18 people four years to finish. Phew!

Entry to Mural de la Prehistoria is 3 CUC including a drink. If that’s a little steep for a quick snap, there’s a viewpoint on the side of the road shortly before the main entrance where you can see the painting from a little further away.

9. Relax at the Lovely Vinales Restaurants

The best way to relax after a hot day exploring the Vinales Valley is to park up at one of the many restaurants along and off Salvador Cisneros, the main street of Vinales. Most restaurants have lovely verandas, which are perfect for a spot of people watching.

Cubar Bar and Restaurant: Cubar Vinales is a nice modern bar across the road and to the left from the main square. With good cocktails and nice decor, you could be anywhere in the world.

Tres Jotas – 3J Bar de Tapas: 3J Bar de Tapas is just a few doors down from Cuba. It looked great, but had a line, so we gave it a miss. (I do not do lines.)

El Bily: El Bily is a super cute vino and tapas bar just across the road from the wifi shop. It was my fav spot for an early evening drink and snack, and had excellent people watching opportunities from the deck.

Carratero Hotel Lobby Bar: The Lobby Bar at Carratero Hotel on Vinales’ main street has a wrap around verandah and is another good spot for people watching. Cocktails are a little more expensive than other local bars, at around CUC 3.50-4.

Restaurant Bar El Barrio: We enjoyed lunch on El Barrio’s balcony, which offered a bit more variety in its menu, including special fajitas the day we visited.

Parrillida Restaurante 1920: Restaurante 1920 is famous for its BBQ pork and chicken, and also serves a variety of seafood and local food.

Los Robertos: Los Robertos is an excellent spot for a slightly fancier dinner, with wine by the glass and good seafood.

Papis: Papis is a totes cute looking burger bar for cheap and casual eats. The outdoor burger shack style wouldn’t look out of place in Bali or Tulum.

Main Street Close Off: At night, some of the central blocks of Vinales’ main street close off to traffic, the restaurants overflow onto the road and small pop up bars appear.

10. Take a Day Trip from Vinales to Cayo Jutias Beach

Cayo Jutias is a rather stunning stretch of white sandy beach around 60km / 1 hour from Vinales, making it the perfect day trip from Vinales. Unfortunately, we only had 2 nights in Vinales, so didn’t have time to fit in a day trip to Cayo Jutias beach. If I had my time again, I’d stay another night in Vinales and add in some chillaxing beach time.

I hope you love Vinales as much as I did, and enjoy all these awesome Vinales Cuba things to do!

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