Cuba

This is a short guide I compiled for a friend based on my own experience … hope this is of help.

Tips for Cuba

Take with you

1) A good map of Cuba (as detailed as possible 500.000/1 is a minimum) as they are not easy to find in Cuba
2) A guide (Lonely planet, DK or Rough guide) as recent as possible
3) Cuban Music! Amazingly enough we had very hard time to find any “old” Cuban Music as they call it there … meaning Buena Vista Social Club type of Music … They sell every where modern type salsa …Music is important if you plan to travel by car (check to see that the car you rent is fitted with a CD player … otherwise an MP3 player plugged with an FM transmitter (about 30 USD in any IT shop) could do the trick as you can pick up the signal and listen your MP3 music from the radio on board
4) Take with you basic Meds , bug repellent and of course sun block cream (35+)
5) American express is forbidden in Cuba. Other cards work but dollars work better … make some at a bank in Havana. Money in Cuba is the Peso … they have the Peso Convertibile (1 peso= 1 dollar) and the peso Cubano (1.00 EUR = 41.2829 CUP) … but Tourists are not supposed to use it … US dollar works everywhere / Euros only in big hotels
6) A second suitcase to carry the stuff you are going to bring back!! See at the end…

Where to stay (if you want to see Cuba)

You should stay in Hotel Nacional for the first couple of nights there in Havana city (80/90 USD a night usually) … try a nice mojito or other cocktail late afternoon in the internal garden with the live (Cuban of course) music playing … The front desk is very helpful and can make reservations and suggestions … on about anything. Don’t miss also the Cigar shop of the Hotel where there is usually a very good torcero that rolls cigars to be sold on the spot … ask him to roll you a panatella and smoke it on the spot !! Spectacular taste … buy from him the cigars he rolls!!

For the rest of the journey through Cuba you can stop everywhere it pleases you … and just ask for a ”casa particular” basically you stay at locals that have a room for guests … they provide the clean sheets, a bathroom and most of the times breakfast and even Lobster in the evening …

for casas particolares see
http://www.webhavana.com
http://www.particularcuba.com
http://www.casaparticularcuba.org

Its perfectly ok to see 3-4 places (casas) before you make you mind … and it is worth doing that in most of the cases … some guides also refer to good casa particolares, usually full though probably because they are in the guides.
Stay away from the Hotel Horizontes Chain … expensive and for tourists only … very bad service usually

All inclusive “don’t go out” type of resorts in Varadero and other places are not to be considered if you want to see Cuba …Staying at locals is much better, very safe and cheap (20$)

How to get around

There are trains and buses but it is rough … It is of course a good way to meet locals (haven’t done it my self).
The best way is to rent a car in la Havana (there is an agency next to the Hotel Nacional) The most reliable company with the largest service network in Cuba is Transtur … a plain vanilla Hyundai rents for about 50$ a day. Not a very good match to the fantastic old American cars you can see everywhere but was much cheaper to rent and more reliable, the later being very important for a long trip in Cuba…

Make sure you ask for a map of Cuba with all the Transtur service stations marked. We blew 2 tires so make sure there are good spare tires (2 is better) and a working hand crane and tools to change it. Locals will stop by and help out in need!
Try to bargain a bit, especially if you take it for many days. better reserve in advance as prices rise depending on car availability
With nice Cuban music and a stock of cigars … this is a road trip not to be forgotten!

Be careful driving in particular by night … there is no lighting on the road (even highways) and often locals still travel on the highway with buffalo or horse drawn carriage / wagon!!
There are so few cars in some places that locals just play baseball on it…

There are no sign posts on the road, so a good map is essential (a compass could be handy as well if you are adventurous). The best way I to ask locals … given that you speak some Spanish of course (English is spoken by few in Havana and other major cities)

Places to see

Havana is very beautiful… take some to stroll in the Malecon (sea front) the place de la cathedral and neighbouring areas (Havana Vieja) are very nice … Go in the afternoon In place de la Cathedral , grab a nice mojito and enjoy the live music played by Las Piscinas … if they are still performing there … a real bliss

Trinadad further in the south is amazing … you need to stay there a couple of days and go out at night in casa de la musica or casa de la trova

Santiago de Cuba must be fantastic as well but we didn’t manage to get there by car. One way would be to drive down there and come back by plane to Havana, and then go see a bit of the north as well (Pinar del Rio) .
There is a crocodile park the La Boca Crocodile-Breeding Center, in The Zapata Peninsula National Park… where you can taste crocodile mezze ;-)

What to eat

Lobster, Lobster , Lobster … so cheap you wont believe it (we paid 20 dollars I think) and gorgeous …
Cubans have an art for drinks … not so much for “haute cuisine” …
There are some very high class restaurants in la Havana, serving European style cuisine but I prefer eating lobster in small family owned restaurants…
Restaurants tend to close very early (9 – 9:30)

Night life

There is plenty in la Havana … some very chick and expensive some more popular … both are fun (avoid the casa de la musica in la Havana only … too noisy and expensive)
Otherwise most towns have music nights and cafes … you should ask for casa de la trova or casa de la musica … they also sometimes play live on the main square or dance places and people just drink and dance … this is where you get your free salsa lesson ;-)

Generally Cuba is very safe … some marriage proposals are to be expected but that’s about it … in Havana as in any big city things are a bit different but again very safe (much more than the average big European city) and police is everywhere, you will notice that once locals start talking to you and are driven off by some other Cuban guy …

There are few beggars in big cities … they usually ask you to buy them food from the supermarket for their kids then they sell it back to the supermarket …

Where to swim

I think Playa Larga (close to The Zapata Peninsula National Park ) was really nice … I would definitely stay away from Varadero and the such … nothing Cuban about them … the only people you get to know is other tourists like you but much older usually …

What to bring back

Of course Rum and Cigars! : the “Habana Club 15 Años Gran Reserva” very rare and very expensive outside Cuba… Cigars are sold on the street as originals for half price … it is better to buy I guess in the factory (Partagas is my favorite) or in hotels in cigar shops … Locals smoke local cigars … Usually a cigar sell for tourists at 2-5 Dollars a piece (Partagas) to much more of course depending where and what you buy … locals buy 26 cigars with a dollar!! (They are not to be compared of course in quality with those for tourists and export…)

Go to the open-air market and fairs (Havana, Trinidad etc) and buy papier-mâché toy cars, music instruments and fabulous necklaces made of beans!!! (1 $ a piece)

There is also an Art market in la Havana where local artists sale their paintings and old books … great fun!

I am sure you are going to have a great time!!

Oh! and don’t forget to bring a camera and a lot of storage cards!

I’m looking to head to Cuba in late March and probably traveling by myself. I’m male and speak Spanish fluently. I’d love to get a more local flavor, and since I’m traveling on my own, be able to spend some time with local Cubans.

I’d like to fly through Mexico, likely Cancun, are there any agencies that someone would recommend to help with travel? Also, any websites or contacts that would help with casa particulares in Cuba?

My mother’s originally from Cuba, so visiting really helped me appreciate more about my mom’s side of the family. It was great hearing everyone speak Spanish the same way my family does!

The people are warm and friendly, and the whole country is jam-packed with character. DO have a home-cooked meal at a casa particular. DO smoke a cigar and drink a mojito even if you’ve never had one before. DO try the food on the streets. DO try talking with the locals. DO salsa dance when you have the chance.

get your Cohibas from licensed vendors, sit back, and enjoy the smoke of a lifetime – most of mine were obtained from the Melia Habana where I stayed. It’s not that the cats selling them on the street don’t have the autentico, but knowing you have the real deal = priceless.

This is where I found out that chickens roosted in trees! Hey! I’m a big city girl! Who knew? Not me!

I would like to experience Cuba now to see the effects the embargo has had on the country and get a first hand look at their history.

In general – don’t get drawn to places like Varadero! You might as well just go to your nearest beach for that. If you go to Cuba, definitely go for the cultural if not political sights.

Also, this goes out to anyone from the U.S.: don’t go there with any wrong preconceptions the U.S. government told you!!! Cubans really do have feelings, they really are one of the best peoples around, their politics aren’t completely inhumane, and really – don’t just judge with any anti-Cuban misconceptions before you get there.

My native country it will always have a place in my heart

All my life I have heard and lived with stories about this country, Fidel Castro, the revolution and Che! and how evil the state was. Being there for the first time has been an emotional eyeopener. I want to go there, maybe stay a little bit longer because in this country and this people, abandoned by almost everybody, man and land, there is a warmth, a will to live & laugh, to get the most out of it without much complaint, that you cant imagine – without seeing for yourself; together with the beauty and the sound…....I could easily live here for a while
In any doubt – go there or see my photos – if you want to know…ask!

One day I hope to live it up at the legendary night clubs of Havana and enjoy the pre-revolution architecture of Trinidad. It would be nice to see a place so close to the US, but still unspoiled by white influences. Definitely have to sample the rum, mojitos, and I may even try a cigar.