Most organized tours and independent travelers make a stop at Boca de Guamá (tel. 45/91-5551), a contrived tourist attraction, built as a re-creation of a Native American village on a series of small islands at the center of the large Laguna del Tesoro (Treasure Lake). Boat tours of the lake and canals (CUC$12 for 1 hr between 9am and 4pm) are available. On one small island in the middle of the lake, you'll be able to walk among 32 life-size figures of Taíno Indians sculpted by the late Cuban artist Rita Longa. You can also dine on crocodile meat (CUC$15) at El Colibrí, a decent little tourist restaurant here. You can stay at the Guamá Hotel (tel. 45/95-9100; www.hotelescubanacan.com; CUC$42-CUC$58 double) here (hotel guests need to pay CUC$12 for the round-trip boat ride). The hotel features a series of individual circular bungalows built on stilts over the lagoons. The rooms are spartan, but the setting is pleasant and there's a pool.
At the entrance to Boca de Guamá, you'll find a roadside mini-mall of shops and a small zoo with crocodiles, jutías (an endemic ratlike creatures), and other animals (open 9:30am-5pm daily; CUC$5). Just down the road from there, you'll find a much more authentic and formidable breeding and conservation crocodile farm: the Criadero de Cocodrilos (tel. 45/91-5562). If you've never seen a crocodile up close, you will be awed by the size, power, and prehistoric aspect of these impressive reptiles. Admission is CUC$5 (open from 8am-6pm daily) and includes a brief guided tour. A series of walkways will carry you past numerous pens of around 4,000 crocs of all ages and sizes. You can't exactly pick out your dinner, but it doesn't take much imagination to figure out where all the crocodile meat is coming from -- at least you know it's fresh.
If you go to Playa Girón, it's worth taking a quick tour of the little Museo Playa Girón (tel. 45/98-4122). Two rooms inside this simple building contain a series of photos, relics, and a written history detailing the Bay of Pigs invasion and battles, as well as some local history. A 15-minute documentary video (in Spanish) is shown throughout the day, and outside you can see tanks, heavy artillery, and a U.S. plane. The museum is open daily from 8am to 5pm; admission is CUC$2 for adults. It is an additional CUC$3 for a guide, CUC$1to see the documentary, CUC$1 to take photos and CUC$5 to film. Unfortunately, the written explanations are in Spanish only.
Just south of Jagüey Grande is the community of Central Australia where you'll find a decommissioned sugar factory and the Museo Memorial Comandancia de la FAR (tel. 45/91-2504). It was Fidel Castro's command post during the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. It's open Tuesday to Sunday 9am-5pm, and costs CUC$1.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
