Popular Airport | Jose Marti Intl. Airport |
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Popular Airlines | |
Approximate Flight Duration | 8 hour |
Approximate Travel Distance | 6412 Km |
A Merino Benitez Airport, 16 kilometers west of Santiago city center, can be quickly reached by taxi or metro. Passengers can also go to the airport with special vehicles that can be rented from car rental companies.
Taxis that can take you from Santiago to Merino Benitez Airport in about 20 minutes, are applying a high tariff on weekends, holidays and night time.
With the metro that you can take from the Los Heroes metro station in Santiago you can reach the Barrancas stop which is just 10 minutes away from the airport. To use the metro you can buy tickets from the counters around the station. From Barrancas stop you have to take an 8 minute taxi ride to the airport.
Avis, Budget, Enterprise and Alamo car hire companies provide you the option to rent a car with or without a driver. You can rent a car from these companies at any time, or arrange a private vehicle to pick you up from wherever you are and take you to the airport.
There is a four-storey terminal building at A Merino Benitez Airport, which covers a large area. The terminal building, which is undergoing renovations, is planned to be opened in 2020 with much wider features. The current terminal building has duty free shops, luggage space and parking space on the ground floor. On the first floor there are rest rooms reserved for VIP companies, on the second floor, shops, restaurants and entrance doors are located. On the third floor of the building, there is also a check-in area reserved for the customers of restaurants and VIP passengers.
You can find bank ATMs, telephone operator shops, pharmacies, travel agency shops, health care room and insurance offices spread over different floors of the building. In the terminal there is a reserved area for those who are VIP passengers. In this section you can access VIP lounges of Latam, Pacific Club, Voyage, Delta Sky Club, American Airlines and Avianca companies.
There are many restaurants, cafes and bars in the airport for travelers to meet their eating and drinking needs. These are La Pausa, Cybo Bistro, Fritz, Gatsby, Ruby Tuesday, Subway, Telepizza, Johnny Rockets, Pronto Copec, McDonald's, Cafe Danes, Bakery & Co, Cafe On Time, Cinnabon, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Tamarugo, Patagonia Cafe, Espression Lavazza , Vinum and Heineken Star Lounge.
Among the places you can shop at the airport are stores ranging from cosmetics to clothing, technology and music to jewelry. Among these are Bath & Body Works, MAC Cosmetics, Punto Musical, Samsung, MacOnline Express, Garmin, Gizmobies, Fotokina, MOW, La Cava del Vino, Kubox, Jugueteria Alemana, BirttShop Chile, Licantai, Toc's, Rumbo Sur, Piedra Linda, Sol y Mar , Piedras Australes, Jewelery Me, Swarovski and Hugo Boss.
Transportation is provided by taxi, bus, and trains in Havana, which is Cuba's window to the word, the country which had long been a closed book. Unfortunately, those transportation vehicles cannot promise comfort because they fall behind modern technology. The trains that serve with 12 lines in the city center are the most basic means of transportation in Havana.
Once you arrive in the city, you can see that smoke of exhaust and cigarette and the noise are surprisingly much. Havana promises you a unique experience with its colorful buildings lined on its streets, street artists performing music and the world-renowned cigars. Jose Marti Airport, which serves international flights, is located in an area that can be considered as the center of Havana. It is possible to reach the city center by bus and train from the airport which is 14 kilometers away from the center.
Those who want a more comfortable and practical journey can take advantage of transfer vehicles, car rental or taxi options.
You can prefer to go to the city center by taxi alone in Havana, as well as you can take a taxi together with some of other tourists to travel at more affordable prices. Taxis in Havana differ compared to the usual taxis in other countries.
You can feel yourself as if you are making a historic journey thanks to the old models from 70s and 80s. These taxis provide a very enjoyable journey, even if they are far from being comfortable. You can get to the city center from the airport in about 20 or 30 minutes by taking a taxi.
If you want to travel by bus to reach the city center, you should be ready for a tiresome journey. Although there is no bus stop at Terminal 3, which serves international flights, small buses that can be called minibuses serve for transportation purposes at Terminal 1. There are free transfer buses at the airport to travel between these two terminals.
Since the bus fare payments are made in Peso in Cuba, you are strongly advised to change sufficient amount of money into Peso before you leave the terminal building. It takes about one hour to reach the city center by taking the advantage of bus option.
You can also prefer to get to the city center by the trains departing from Terminal 1 building of the airport. Considering that Terminal 3 serves only international passengers, it would be a good idea to take advantage of free transfer buses at the airport to reach Terminal 1.
Train line 2 runs between the city center and Bejuca. If you take this train at the airport, you need to pass 14 stations until you get to the city center. This journey takes about 40 minutes because the trains are slower than metro lines.
Before heading out to Havana, you can contact the hotel you are going to stay or one of the transfer companies in the city and you can take advantage of a comfortable transfer vehicle for your journey from the airport for a certain amount of fee. Although this way of transportation is more costly compared to taking a taxi, it promises you a more comfortable journey.
You can also get to the city center by car you can rent from the offices of the car rental companies in the parking areas outside the airport. Cubacar, Rex, Havanautos and Via Transgaviota are among the companies you can get this service. The offices of these companies are right outside Terminal 3 building, which serves international flights. Sometimes it may be difficult to find a rental car because of the high demand during dense seasons.