cuevas de santo tomas

There's a rather steep climb up a mogote to the cave entrance. It's amazing - well worth a visit. They'll give you a helmet with an LED attached. I recommend taking a hiking stick, and wear good walking shoes (of course, carry some water).

It is nice cave, but just like many others in the world. Entrance fee is quite high. Nevertheless it is worth to visit if you stay for couple of days in Vinales.

Very nice to see. Worth a visit when you go to Vinales. It's closeby en very easy to reach. Very big. Nice guide

The Santo Tomas Caves are located in Vinales, Cuba. Vinales is a small town, very friendly, where they love tourists.....It is only a 2 and a half hour bus drive from Havana. The bus is very comfi, with AC, and rest room on board.We stayed in Vinales, in a BB, and from there we took a taxi to the cave.This happens to be the second largest cave in the Latino countries (after Mexico), said our tour guide. He was very knowledgeable, friendly, and funny. He kept us together as a group, waited patiently if somebody spent a bit longer time looking at the formations. We saw a couple of bats just hanging from the top. We saw beautiful cave walls, You need a helmet and a headlight, which they provide, to be safe. You also need to understand that Cuba does not have the means to build a sidewalk inside the cave, so you are going walk on the natural rocks of the cave floor. To me this was more appealing, and much more interesting then those caves that have a cement floor. My husband and I have truly enjoyed this cave and we highly recommend it to anyone who loves adventures.I mean what else can be more adventurous than going up and down, inside of the Earth's belly???

There were hundreds of people in the queue shuffling into the cave. Inside you get a boat ride for a few minutes. It was a total waste of time. It is just another large cave. The place is not well taken care of and if you have seen any other caves in your life before, then this one is not worth the effort.

Amazing place to visit. My friend and I decided to visit these caves, we did not have a guide, but i think that was perfect since we got to go by ourselves, and discover breathtaking scenes inside this caves. I completely felt like a explorer. at the end of the path there is a river/lagoon inside the cave. a boat was waiting for us to take us back outside, the ride was amazing, when exiting the caves you get an incredible view. Awesome place to explore!

The Cuevas de Santo Tómas belong to one of the biggest cave Systems in Central America (more than 40 kms). The two/three top levels of the system are open for public access. More geological details can be found in the Internet by searching Cuevas de Santo Tómas or Cavernas de Santo Tomás.We have been there in January 2015 – and liked it very much. It is a very ‘original’ cave system, not much technology (lights, pathways etc) installed. Some details:• From Vinales, go by car or taxi (an oldtimer convertible ;-). Road is excellent shape. Easy to find. For the fittest: Bike might be an option, too!• With your own car: As everywhere in Cuba, there will be a watchdog for your car. I paid one CUC. • Entrance fee to the Cuevas: 10 CUC per person. Only with a tour guide (this is included in the fee). Helmet and lamp are provided, also included in the entrance fee. • Better have ‘closed shoes’ (although we have seen people with Flip Flops)• It is a short maybe 10-15 mins walk up the hill (quite a steep path) – then 60 to 90 mins in the cave, way back 10-15 mins. • Overall, you do not need more than 2,5-3 hours for the whole trip from Vinales and back.• Restrooms are available – but VERY basic, also a kind of tienda - with focus on locals, not the tourists.PS: Seems as if some of the feedback here does not describe Cuevas de Santo Tómas but instead describe the Cueva del Indio ... (the most distinct indication: there are no boat trips at Cuevas de Santo Tómas).

interesting 1 hr visit to a cool cave, some hike is involved, but not difficult, the visit to Cueva del indio is equally interesting and different, we did it at closing time, (cueva del indio), so no people around

If you have been to any large cave system in North America or Europe then this may not impress you. However, they are intereresting and are part of one of the largest cave systems in Latin . It costs 10CUC for a 90 min. tour. Helmets and lights are provided. It iOS a short walk to the cave and the most strenuous part is the trail up to the entrance ( about 150 steps up) They were totally dry when we went through. Good footwear is nice but in our group, a girl was in floppy sandals did just fine. Some 6 yr olds in the group did absolutely fine also

Yup, there was a water buffalo named Tomas in the parking lot when we exited the cave. He was saddled and 3 of our party, myself included, rode him. So cool!

Well ... since we have quite nice caves in Slovenia I really wasn't impressed by this ones. Yes you get half the way by foot and half by boat, but there is not really much to see.Needles to say Cubans don't really know how to take care of natural treasures. Keeping constant light on in the caves has resulted in algae grow which makes walls around lights green. Not really what it should look like. To dam a river to raise the level of water in the cave just so you can drive inside with the motor boat is not really the right way to conserve the cave either, not to mention gas powered motor boats as well. The ceiling is already black from the exhaust.

Our group of four - two couples - was guided through the cave by Jesus - an informative and highly educated man who has guided Scientists through the cave in the past. We walked through his farm to one of the cavern entrances and explored one of many passages, entering several large caverns. The cave is largely well preserved with little damage. This was not the commercial tour at the regular entrance, but we paid the same price and felt we had a bargain. We were very impressed and enjoyed the day. Our casa and our taxi driver set this up. (Casa Milagros y Yamile)

You can only visit the Caves with a guide, which is rather expensive. it is a 1 hour walk. first you climb a lot of stairs outside the rock, upto level 6. There you go inside and will see a surrealistic rock scenery of stalactites and stalagmites. another stair leads to level 7 where there are also a lot of rocks to see.Then you turn back to the entrance. You may be so unlucky that you have a confrontation with the next big noisy group and hardly be able to pass. And after 50- 60 minutes you are outside again. Not quite satisfied. It was nice to see, but not that spectacular, and too expensive for what yoy get for it.

We took a taxi from Vinales. Our driver waited for us. That was about 25 CUC. Entrance fee is 10 CUC per person.I think they wait until there is a fair sized group (ours was about 10) and then they start a tour. Each person gets a helmet with a head lamp. You walk over to the mogote that the cave is in. Then you climb up. It is pretty steep, but easily done. If you are not used to walking stairs you will be huffing and puffing at the top.The tour goes through several rooms. You come out the other side and then return back the same way you went in.We found it very interesting.We only went into one other small cave. We did not take the Indian Cave boat ride.

This was a fun morning out with our two teenagers. Starting at the office in the center of a tiny village (office opened at 9.30am at the corner of a big building; very rudimentary bathrooms for emergencies only just up the hill, take paper) in lovely countryside about 15-20 minutes' drive from Vinales, we were equipped with helmets and our passports were checked (as everywhere), we paid our fee, and the small group of tourists set off with our guide. We left our sweaters in the office - no need to bring them, as the caves are hot. The guide was charming and funny, with that light-hearted, self-deprecating Cuban sense of humour, and made us all laugh. We clambered up a rocky path to get to the entrance, and then spent a fun hour scrambling through tight passageways, down rocky faces, into dark caves and finally to a glittering cavern which may not compete with other well-known world caves (as some reviewers have pointed out) but which doesn't make it any less worthwhile. If you're a family that's used to hiking and adventure sports, this is a bit of adventure and excitement, without too many worries about safety, and brings some variety to your travels in Cuba. The guide was safety-conscious and patient. Definitely recommended.(NB Santo Tomas is not the cave with a boat ride, as some reviewers indicate.)