Cuba
Santa Clara
The city where the Cuban Revolution was won, and where Che Guevara is buried.
Santa Clara is where the Cuban Revolution was decided: at the end of 1958 Che Guevara's column took the city and derailed an armoured train, and Batista fled the country on New Year's Day. The Che Guevara Mausoleum now holds his remains beneath a giant bronze statue, and the wrecked carriages of the Tren Blindado lie beside the tracks where they came off. Around that pilgrimage sits a working university city with a busy main square, a frescoed colonial theatre and one of Cuba's most open-minded cultural scenes.
Suggested stay
1–2 days
Language
Spanish
Currency
CUP
Timezone
UTC-4
Why you'll love Santa Clara
Che's city the mausoleum, the armoured train and the hilltop the rebels stormed make the 1958 battle easy to follow on foot
Parque Vidal a shady main square where the whole city turns out in the evening, framed by a frescoed theatre and a bullet-scarred facade
Open-minded culture a student city with a long-running alternative scene, from drag nights and trova to Cuban rock
Remedios next door one of Cuba's oldest colonial towns, a short drive away and famous for its riotous Christmas-week Parrandas
Best time to visit
Nov-Apr
27-33° days
22.407° N, 79.965° W
UTC-4 · America/Havana
whenywhere contains ads and partner links that we think are helpful and that earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Weather & when to go to Santa Clara
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Nov-Apr
Watch for Jun monsoon flooding risk
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Santa Clara
June is the wettest and least comfortable month, and the summer around it stays hot and humid with heavy afternoon storms; hurricane season runs June to November. Santa Clara is inland with no sea breeze, so the heat bites harder than on the coast, and power cuts happen year-round.
Top things to do in Santa Clara
-
Che Guevara Mausoleum - the revolution's shrine
history ⭐ Highly recommendedA huge bronze Che stands over a parade square carved with his farewell letter to Fidel; beneath it a dim mausoleum with an eternal flame holds his remains and those of comrades killed in Bolivia, beside a museum of his life. Photography is not allowed inside.
-
Tren Blindado - the derailed armoured train
history 👍 PopularThe monument to the battle's turning point: original carriages lie tipped beside the line, with the bulldozer the rebels used to rip up the track, and small displays inside the wagons tell the story.
-
Parque Vidal - the evening paseo
culture arts 👍 PopularThe city's main square, with a bandstand, shady benches and families out after dark. Look for the bullet marks from 1958 still pocking the tall hotel facade on one side, then walk the pedestrian Boulevard running off it.
-
Teatro La Caridad - Marta Abreu's frescoed theatre
culture arts historyAn 1885 horseshoe theatre on Parque Vidal paid for by the city's great philanthropist, with a painted ceiling and gilded boxes. Catch a performance if one is on, or ask to look inside.
-
El Mejunje - Santa Clara's alternative cultural centre
nightlife music culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedAn open-air venue built into roofless ruins that has hosted drag shows, trova, rock and theatre for decades, and became a byword in Cuba for welcoming everyone. The busiest nights run late.
-
Loma del Capiro - the rebels' hilltop
history scenic 👍 PopularA small hill on the edge of town that the rebels seized during the battle, now topped by a monument. Climb the steps near sunset for a view over the rooftops toward the Escambray hills.
-
Iglesia del Carmen - where the city began
historyA hilltop church and leafy square marking the spot where the first settlers from Remedios founded the town in 1689, a quiet walk north of the centre.
Best areas to stay in Santa Clara
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Centro (around Parque Vidal)
First-time visitors $Busy colonial grid around the main square
Explore hotels in Centro (around Parque Vidal) →
Remedios
Quiet colonial base $$Sleepy colonial town with two churches
Explore hotels in Remedios →
Caibarien
Cheap cays base $Faded fishing port by the causeway
Explore hotels in Caibarien →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Santa Clara
Getting to & around Santa Clara
Getting there
Most travellers arrive by Viazul coach from Havana or Trinidad; charter flights land at Abel Santamaria (SNU) on the edge of town
Flight
Abel Santamaria International (SNU)
Roughly 10 km from the centre and used mainly by charter flights bringing package tourists to Cayo Santa Maria. Taxis wait outside arrivals and reach Parque Vidal in about 20 minutes; there is no public bus worth relying on.
Coach
Viazul terminal, Carretera Central
Santa Clara sits on the main Viazul routes from Havana, Varadero, Trinidad and the east, arriving at the terminal on the Carretera Central west of the centre, a short taxi ride from Parque Vidal.
Train
Santa Clara station
The city is on the trunk line between Havana and Santiago, with the station just north of the centre near the armoured train; services are slow and unpredictable, so few visitors rely on them.
Getting around
Walking
The centre is compact and flat; the armoured train is an easy walk, the mausoleum a longer one across town.
Free
Horse-drawn carts
Coches run fixed routes out from the centre and are how many locals get around; pay the driver in cash.
TBC
Bicitaxis
Pedal rickshaws wait around Parque Vidal for short hops; agree the fare before setting off.
TBC
Taxis
State cabs and private cars handle the mausoleum, the bus terminal and day trips; agree the price first.
TBC
Day trips from Santa Clara
Remedios
Half dayColonial town
One of Cuba's oldest towns, with a rare twin-church main square, a gilded altar inside its parish church and a museum devoted to the Parrandas, the Christmas-week street battle of floats and fireworks between rival neighbourhoods.
Getting there
car
About 45 min northeast by car or taxi
Cayo Santa Maria
Full dayCauseway beaches
A long causeway runs across the shallows to a string of white-sand cays lined with all-inclusive resorts; a resort day pass or a public beach makes it a long but easy day out.
Getting there
car
About 2 hr by car or taxi via Caibarien and the causeway
Embalse Hanabanilla
Full dayMountain lake
A reservoir folded into the green Escambray hills, where boats cross the water to waterfalls, coffee farms and short forest walks.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1.5 hr south into the Escambray by car or tour
Cienfuegos
Full dayBay city
A French-founded city on a wide bay, with a UNESCO-listed neoclassical centre, a grand theatre and a waterfront drive out to the ornate Palacio de Valle.
Getting there
car | bus
About 1.5 hr southwest by car or Viazul coach
A little history of Santa Clara
Santa Clara was founded inland in 1689 by families from Remedios who moved away from the coast, by tradition to escape pirate raids. It grew into the capital of the old Las Villas province, a tobacco and sugar town whose great benefactor, Marta Abreu, paid for its theatre, schools and public works in the late nineteenth century.
Its place in history was fixed at the end of 1958, when Che Guevara's rebel column fought its way into the city, derailed an armoured train full of government troops and reinforcements, and took the garrison. Batista fled Cuba on 1 January 1959. Since 1997 Che's remains have rested here, in a memorial that has made the city a place of pilgrimage.
Families from Remedios found Santa Clara inland, at the site of today's Iglesia del Carmen
Teatro La Caridad opens, funded by philanthropist Marta Abreu
Battle of Santa Clara: Che Guevara's column derails the armoured train and takes the city
Batista flees Cuba on 1 January as the rebels' victory is sealed
Las Villas province is divided and Santa Clara becomes capital of Villa Clara
The Che Guevara memorial complex is inaugurated on the battle's anniversary
Che's remains, recovered in Bolivia, are interred in the mausoleum
Know before you go
Payment
Cash only
English
Limited
Wifi
Limited
Power
Type A / B
120 V, 60 Hz
Dialing
+53
Bring cash. Foreign cards and ATMs are unreliable to unusable here, so plan on carrying what the trip needs and changing money on arrival.
Monsoon flooding risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
FAQs about Santa Clara
▸ When is the best time to visit Santa Clara?
November to April is dry, warm and the most comfortable time to walk the city. June is the wettest month, and the summer stays hot, humid and stormy with hurricane season running into November. Christmas week adds the Parrandas in nearby Remedios, one of Cuba's great street festivals.
▸ How long should I spend in Santa Clara?
One night covers the mausoleum, the armoured train and an evening on Parque Vidal, which is why most people break the journey between Havana and Trinidad here. Stay two to add Remedios, a night at El Mejunje or a day at Hanabanilla.
▸ What should I know before visiting the Che Guevara Mausoleum?
Photography is not allowed inside, and bags and cameras are normally left at a cloakroom before you enter. The mood is solemn, so dress and behave as you would at a memorial. The statue and plaza outside can be photographed freely.
▸ Can I reach the beach from Santa Clara?
Yes, but not quickly. Santa Clara is inland; the nearest good beaches are on Cayo Santa Maria, reached by a long causeway beyond Caibarien in about two hours by car. Many people combine a night in the city with a few days on the cays.
▸ Is Santa Clara worth visiting if I am not interested in Che?
It is a lighter stop without him, but still a lively, unpolished provincial city with a strong student and arts scene, a fine theatre and good access to Remedios and the Escambray hills. It shows everyday Cuba with far fewer tour groups than Havana or Trinidad.
More in Cuba
Camaguey
Cuba's most bewildering colonial street plan - lanes that fork, bend and dead-end around a church on almost every corner.
✓ best Dec-MarCienfuegos
A French-founded city of neoclassical colonnades on one of the Caribbean's finest bays.
✓ best Nov-AprHavana
A capital caught between centuries - colonial plazas, crumbling grandeur, fifties American cars and live music on the corner, all along one sea wall.
✓ best Dec-May