Guantánamo Bay

Aerial view of the coastal (i.e. US controlled) southern part of Guantánamo Bay

Guantánamo Bay is a bay at the southeast end of the island of Cuba. The area surrounding its southern part hosts a United States Naval Base. The northern part of the bay is under Cuban control.

Get in

Guantánamo Bay with approximate area of US control marked

Access to the northern part of the bay can be made from Guantánamo city or one of the smaller towns on the bay itself such as Caimanera and Boqueron, which are to immediate north of the U.S.-held territory. Guantánamo city has trains to Havana.

Getting in to the U.S. sector is generally limited to those with business at the naval base. Non-U.S., non-military personnel have been to the base. Some are still there.

By plane

• 1 Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO ^IATA) Cubana de Aviación flies from Havana to Guantánamo City, which is close to the bay and near the town of Paraguay.

The U.S. sector is not served by Cubana de Aviación. The naval base's remaining airstrip, Leeward Point Field, does not have an international airport code of GTMO.

• 2 Leeward Point Field (NBW  ^IATA). Connected to Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL ^IATA) and Kingston, Jamaica (KIN ^IATA) by Air Sunshine. (updated Oct 2019)

By land

Hotel Islazul, Guantánamo city may be able to arrange tours to the American military for around $40 though this service is not always available.

Until the 1953-59 revolution, thousands of Cubans commuted daily from outside the base to jobs within. In mid-1958, vehicular traffic was stopped; workers were required to walk through the base's several gates. Public Works Center buses were pressed into service almost overnight to carry the tides of workers to and from the gate. By 2006, only two elderly Cubans still crossed the base's North East Gate daily to work on the base, because the Cuban government prohibits new recruitment.

In the past, Cubans fleeing the revolution found refuge in the US controlled territory. Later, both the U.S. and Cuba surrounded the naval base with mines. The U.S. has since removed their minefield, though the Cuban mines remain.

Get around

The U.S. naval base's main settlements are located near the disused McCalla Airfield on the eastern side of the bay's mouth. Ferries ply the water between there and the larger, functioning Leeward Point Airfield.

Buy

There is a small souvenir stand within the camp itself, selling small items to take home. These include goggly-eyed small fluffy toys, and clothing featuring the phrase "I went to Guantanamo Bay, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt. Allegedly."

Eat

Budget

Cuba's only McDonalds

• 1 McDonald's, Ackerman Rd. The only McDonald's on the Cuban island. 
• KFC. 
• Bundu Khan. 

Self-catering

• 2 Navy Exchange. 

Drink

• Iceland Juice, windward side. 

Sleep

• Navy Lodge (Building 2128), ☏ +1 757-458-3103, navylodge.guantanamobay@nexweb.org. Requires military ID and orders/ authorization to visit base. (updated Mar 2018)
• 1 Navy Gateway Inns & Suites, toll-free: +1-877-NAVY-BED (6289-233). Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. Free Wifi and laundry. (updated Mar 2018)