Practical Cuba
Taxis in Cuba
"Taxi" in Cuba covers at least five different vehicles operating on different rules, and picking the wrong one is the usual way visitors overpay. What follows is what each is actually for.
How it works, not what it costs — reviewed 2026-08-24.
State taxis and private cars
State-operated taxis serve airports, hotels and the main tourist districts, and are the default for an airport transfer. Private licensed cars also work as taxis, and in practice they are the more common way to get between cities point-to-point.
Almost nothing is metered in practice. The price is agreed before you get in — that is the norm rather than a tourist trap, and it applies to Cubans too. Agree it out loud, in a currency you both name explicitly, before the door closes.
Colectivos — the shared long-distance car
A colectivo is a shared taxi running a fixed intercity route, filling up with individual passengers and leaving when full. On corridors like Havana–Viñales or Trinidad–Cienfuegos they are faster than the coach and often cost little more per seat.
The classic American cars visitors photograph are frequently working colectivos rather than tourist props — that is what has kept them running for sixty years.
Cocotaxis, bicitaxis and coches
The cocotaxi is a yellow three-wheeled scooter with a fibreglass shell, found in Havana and Varadero. It is a short-hop novelty vehicle: open-sided, loud, fine for a mile, unpleasant in rain.
The bicitaxi is a cycle rickshaw, used for short distances in city centres. The coche is a horse-drawn carriage, and in several provincial cities — Camagüey, Bayamo, Cárdenas — it is not a tourist ride but a genuine part of the local transport system, running fixed routes for a local fare.
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Frequently asked questions
- Are taxis in Cuba metered?
- Rarely in practice. Agree the fare before you set off, and say which currency you mean.
- What is a cocotaxi?
- A yellow three-wheeled scooter taxi with a rounded shell, used for short hops in Havana and Varadero.
- Can I use a ride-hailing app in Cuba?
- Not the international ones — Uber, Lyft and Bolt have never operated here. Cuba has its own, La Nave, which books a car from a map and is widely used in Havana; it needs a Cuban SIM and is paid in cash. Outside the capital, arrange taxis in person or through your accommodation.