SIX THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE VISITING CUBA
We absolutely loved visiting Cuba! It was an amazing time full of laughter, friendship, and love. We felt like a lot more people would probably visit Cuba if they knew more about it and knew how to. These were the six things we thought everyone should know while planning a Cuban adventure!
UPDATE 2019: recent travel restrictions have been placed on traveling to Cuba – however you can still go to Cuba! How we went is still legal. If you have any questions or are planning a Cuban adventure, let us know!
ONE
PICK A REASON FOR TRAVEL TO CUBA
We were certainly naive when it came to planning this trip. Our first realization was that you must have a reason to go to Cuba! The US government does not allow citizens to travel to Cuba for tourism, and you may be subject to audits of your trip for up to five years. There are twelve categories of authorized travel to Cuba; we chose support of the Cuban people. In all honesty, it was very easy to “support the people.” More research showed that this simply means spending money at local vendors, listening to music by locals, not spending money at government owned/supported places, etc for six hours out of each day… on the weekdays. When getting your boarding pass for your airline, you will fill out the questionnaire to provide your reason. When you arrive at your gate, you will be given your visa to be filled out on the plane, which is to be kept with your passport at all times. While on the topic… it is also illegal to travel to Cuba without getting medical insurance. Luckily, when you buy your plane ticket with most major airlines, the insurance is included. Be sure to check for this when purchasing. The airport will stamp your ticket before you board your flight with the proof, which you must keep with you at all times.
TWO
WHERE TO SLUMBER?
Airbnb is the way to go in Cuba. For one, it is cheap! But also, most of the hotels/resorts are owned or supported by the Cuban government, making them a no-go. We read a lot of reviews on Airbnbs and made sure to stay with “superhosts” - some type of title Airbnb gives places that are better than others, I suppose. As a group, we decided that we wanted to stay in Havana for four nights and on the beach for two. We booked the Rainbow House and Oceanara as our two casas for Cuba. Another great reason to stay at an Airbnb is because of the host that comes with the house (but does not stay at the house). At both of the homes we stayed at, the hosts were amazing! They had suggestions on places to eat, nearby markets, things to do while in Cuba, and even made us breakfast several mornings and dinner one night. We actually had our host call and make us a dinner reservation. To me, it was helpful to have a nice person greeting and welcoming us into their home in an unknown place.
THREE
MAKE AN ITINERARY
Airbnb also has experiences for places that you are planning a trip, which was helpful in providing suggestions of places/things to do and see while there. Salsa lessons, cigar farm tour, dinner with the Cuban whisperer, and snorkeling were the things we decided to book in advance. This helped in making our itinerary for our trip in case some one were to question our intentions of travel before we got there… remember the whole “no tourism” thing. This also makes it easy if we were to ever get audited. I think it is helpful to print off the places Americans are not allowed to go to/spend money at. As mentioned, it is illegal for Americans to spend money at any place that is government owned or funded. Honestly, this was not a problem during our trip. There was never an “Oh I wish we could go there! Darn! It’s owned by the government.” Most of the places that are on the list are hotels, but I just think it is a good thing to have. The Lonely Planet Cuba and TripAdvisor were other good resources to us while planning our itinerary.
FOUR
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS …OR CUCs
Currency exchange. There are two currencies in Cuba, the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) and the Cuban Peso (CUP). The CUP is only used by the locals and is not accepted everywhere. The CUC is, however, accepted everywhere. This is what you will want to exchange to. Be mindful, the CUC and CUP are not equal.
$1 USD = 1 CUC = 24 CUP
After a lot of research, we decided to exchange to Euros at the airport in the States, then exchange to CUCs once we got to Cuba to save money. There is a higher tax exchanging from USD to CUC. In hindsight, I think it would have actually been cheaper to exchange in Cuba straight from USD to CUC… once you pay the fee at each place, it ends up being the same. We also thought we would save a little money by exchanging enough for a taxi at the airport, then exchange the rest at a bank in town. If you are fluent and arrive before the banks close at 3pm, you may save around $5. We were neither of those, but a nice girl showed us to a Western Union. It really was not worth the hassle for just a few dollars.
As far as how much money to bring, I would easily say 50-80cuc/day. Just be mindful, you only have what you bring! Credit and debit cards are not accepted in Cuba. We brought extra for emergencies but only exchanged what we thought we would use. Exchanging from CUC back to USD was easily done at the airport before we left.
Side note: why is the USD so ugly??
FIVE
GETTING AROUND IN CUBA
It was actually pretty easy to get around anywhere in Cuba. If staying in Havana everything is in walking distance. A lot of people like to rent vehicles while traveling, but cars are worth more than houses in Cuba… so I can only imagine the cost of renting one. While we were in Cuba, if something was not in walking distance we would take a taxi. Most places in Cuba do not have a “street address” like in the States. It’s usually “on this road between these other two roads.” Which is where this tip comes in: download Google Translate and Maps.me in offline versions. Communicating where to go to your taxi can get a little hairy without those apps helping. To get anywhere around the city or even right outside the city was 8-12cuc, depending on your bargaining skills. A lot of taxis are the vintage cars, which is fun! Most do not have air conditioning. Also, several of the adventures we booked in advance offered transportation included.
SIX
THE INTERWEBZ
So Cuba does have internet; however, it is a little more complicated than that. First, wifi is only available in certain locations: public parks and a few cafes. Second, you must buy an internet card to get on the wifi. They range from 1 - 5cuc/hour and can only be bought in certain locations. Oddly enough, the internet cards are not usually sold in the same place that the wifi is offered. We noticed that they are actually several blocks away from one another. Third, the lines are long. We spoke with several people that said they waited in line for over an hour to purchase an internet card! We actually did not buy an internet card, but we did have one given to us by a friendly traveler. The internet was not all that great, but it did allow us to place a call using Whatsapp. It was actually nice taking a break from the internet and just enjoying the moment. However, I will say since phone companies such as AT&T and Verizon do not offer international plans in Cuba, wifi is really the only way to make a call without spending a lot of money.
As I’ve said before, our trip to Cuba was full of good times! Since returning, we’ve had a lot of people reach out and ask how we were able to travel to Cuba. This list is a good starting point if you’re thinking of planning a Cuban adventure. Let us know if you have any other questions!