Ten minutes by bus beats 25 minutes in HAV heat
The free Interterminal Shuttle Bus at José Martí (HAV) links terminals 1, 2, 3 and 5, mainly for same‑day domestic–international or charter–scheduled connections. It’s officially complimentary, but flyers on FlyerTalk report it “doesn’t run very often,” with waits long enough that some just grab a paid taxi instead. Use it when you have slack in your schedule, not for a 60‑minute dash between T1 and T3.
The bus runs airside-to-landside between terminals, but signage inside HAV is weak: there’s no published timetable and almost no clear wayfinding in T1, T2, T3 or T5. One traveler in the “quick and dirty guide to HAV” thread said they only learned about the shuttle after asking multiple airport staff, then still gave up and took a cab. Build the buffer here; assume you won’t spot a sign in the first 5 minutes.
Frequency is the main problem. A FlyerTalk poster reported waiting “around 30 minutes” for the inter‑terminal bus before giving up and walking part of the way between terminals. Others describe the service as “hit‑and‑miss,” with some lucky catches in under 15 minutes and other waits stretching past half an hour. If your connection is under 2 hours and you still need to clear immigration or customs, this bus is already a bad bet.
Using it is simple in theory: you exit your arrival terminal, walk to the curb area where other buses stop, and look for a plain airport shuttle serving T1, T2, T3 and T5. In practice, regulars say they ask at the info desk or any police/airport official for “autobús entre terminales” and confirm which bay to stand at. Expect a basic local bus, not luggage racks or air‑conditioning strong enough for August at 2 p.m.
What regulars do: frequent HAV flyers on FlyerTalk budget at least 3 hours for inter‑terminal connections involving T1 or T2, and often default to a regular taxi if the bus hasn’t appeared in 15–20 minutes. With terminal distances over 1 km in the humid heat, walking the whole way with bags is rough, so many split it: start walking, then jump on the shuttle if it passes.
Watch out for: no visible timetable, no reliable announcements, and occasional crowding if a charter and an international arrival hit together. If you land at T3 around 17:00, when multiple long‑haul flights arrive, expect a full bus and maybe standing with bags. Always keep some CUP or small EUR/USD cash handy in case you need to pivot to a 10–15 USD taxi instead.
Practical tip: if you’re connecting T1↔T3 or T2↔T3 and your next flight closes check‑in 60 minutes before departure, skip the shuttle and head straight to the taxi rank; save the free bus for layovers of 3 hours or more.