Cuba hints and tips please!

[Brighton23]

Long time since I've frequented these parts so first off hello to any that know me!

I'm looking for any helpful tips, advice, insight on things to do and see in Cuba as I'm off there for two weeks on the 26th April.

Itinerary so far looks like this:


3 nights in Havana
Fly to Isla de Juventud for 4 nights
Fly back to Havana and travel to Vinales for 2 nights
Travel to Trinidad for 4 nights
Back to Havana for 1 night before coming home


If anyone knows the Isla that would be great as information is sparse but it seemed a cool place to go for a more relaxed and authentic Cuban experience. Also anyone who can enlighten me as to how currency exchange etc works over there (ie. what currency to take travellers cheques in) would be great.

But as I said, any advice on things to do or see that will fit in with my itinerary would be great!

Thanks in advance!

[Desbo]

Ooh, I love Cuba! :D

Havana is an amazing city - for a proper Cuban experience, the best place to stay is in a Casa Particular, which is like a B&B here. We stayed here at Villa Babi (http://www.cubaccommodation.com/housedetails.php?idhouse=307) for $25 per night. She'll give you loads of useful information, her brother can pick you up from the airport - he even let us know when Cuba were playing baseball, then gave us a lift to the match!

After staying at Villa Babi, we stayed in a hotel for 3 nights for 3 times the price and didn't like it as much.

We also stayed in Trinidad at another Casa Particular, also recommended by Babi (one of her friends place - really big!). We stayed there for 4 nights, but I'd say that was too much. It's a beautiful little place, but it's really small and there's not a great deal to do, so can be done with a 3 night stay, or 2 nights if you get there in the morning.

I haven't been to any of the other places you mentioned, but alot of the people we met said that Santiago de Cuba is well worth a visit - more or a Caribbean feel to it.

Tips: Take lots of bars of soap to Trinidad - they are a great way of paying cubans for things - especially the women who work in the cigar factory in exchange for cigars. Cuba are still on rations, so they only get one bar per month (i think?), and the only place you can buy soap is in the dollar shops for tourists only.

In Havana, look after your wallet, and don't believe anyone with any sob stories, or anyone who says they can take you to a cheap proper cuban bar - they are conning you! They'll show you a local menu, then when it comes to pay, the tourist menu comes out!

Take US dollars only (luckily for you the exchange rate is 2 to 1 at the moment).

All in all, Cuba is one of the best holidays I've had and I would recommend that anyone go as soon as possible, before it chages - there's nowhere on earth like it!

If I think of anything else, I'll add it later..

[Brighton23]

Thanks Desbo! My itinerary has changed a bit now after a little more investigation. We're now skipping Isla de la Juventud in favour of a little cayo. So the itinerary now looks like:


Havana, 3 nights
Vinales, 3 nights
Cayo Las Brujas, 2 nights
Trinidad, 5 nights
Havana, 1 night then home


We're staying in a Casa in Vinales but the rest is in a variety of hotels, ranging from a 5 star in Havana to a wooden cottage on the Cayo.

I've done some investigation on currencies and it seems US Dollars is the worst thing to take now as their not accepted anywhere and you pay a huge premium for converting them to Cuban convertibles. Apparently the best to take is now sterling or euros.

Only one week to go, can't wait :D

Thanks again!

[chilango]

Whe I went 2 years ago the US dollar had a 10% surcharge on exchange for the Cuban Convertible Peso (tourist money) which otherwise was 1 to 1. Given the strength of sterling vs the dollar at the mo, it may be worth taking US dollars if the Cuban bureaux de change aren`t giving sterling the same strength againts the convertible peso. Dunno how you'd find that out though.

[PA68]

I just recently got back from spending three weeks in Cuba. It's a great place. I hope you enjoy it.

Vinales has some gorgeous scenery. Make sure you take a trip up to the hotel Jazmines to take advantage of the view. I hthnk you can get use of the pool for the day for a small fee which would be a pleasant place to spend th eday if you have nothing else planned.

I stayed in Trinidad for 4 nights which was just enough for me. If you get bored kicking around town then Playa Ancon is pretty close. You could rent a bike and cycle down there in 45 minutes or so. Just don't get sunburned like I did. The sun is pretty strong there. First time my legs have seen the light of day in 4 years and they won't be out again in again a hurry:rolleyes:

Everyone seems to turn up at the Casa De La Musica in Trinidad in the evening and there a pretty good Cubans to tourists mix, If you;re up for a late night then there's a nightclub in a cave about a 10 minute walk from the Casa De La Musica which is pretty cool. As around and somone will point you in the right direction.

Only bit of advice I have is to watch your money. Always make sure you get the correct change and that it's in the correct currency (convertibles as oppsed to moneda nacional). Short changing is very commonplace. Take bank notes in good condition (no tears or writing on them) to avoid hassle in changing them too. You'd be suprised the fuss a small tear in a note causes.

And don't forget to drink loads of mojitos. That's the most import thing to remember!

Have a great trip!

[littlebabyjesus]

Advice on the casas particulares is spot-on. Try eating in family-run restaurants - paladares - as well. You won't avoid paying tourist prices and probably shouldn't try to - in a paladar, Cubans will pay around a dollar for their meal, but if you're only paying five or six dollars, you really shouldn't complain. If you invite Cubans to eat with you, though, insist on paying the local rate for them. They may object, but be firm.

Every town has a casa de musica, and they are always worth checking out.

It's not a violent place, but pickpockets are everywhere, so watch out for those - if you're wearing loose clothes, don't keep a purse/wallet in an outside pocket.

Cubans always appreciate any form of detergent - washing powder or just washing up liquid will go down very well.

And whatever you do, don't take AMEX travellers' cheques.

[rubbershoes]

havana will be a more cuban experience than Isla de Juventud. afaik cubans aren't allowed on the island, expect for those that work there.

havana is excellent though

[Oula]

Isla de la Juventud is an amazing place. It is not a place where cubans are not allowed - those are the tourist Cayos. When we were on La Isla we didn't see any other tourists, just cubans. As a result of this there was no hassle and Cubans were willing to just chat to us without trying to get money off us. In fact , a local artist tried to sell us some jewelery and when we didn't want to buy them he just gave them to us as a gift (beacuse he was "rastaman" and love was what made the world go round).

We only went there coz I wanted to see the Model Prison where Casto was kept which is a panopticon and it was closed for refurbishment! But it was my favourite place I went, although it was a real fucker getting there.

In Trinidad we just wondered around taking photos of the buildings. It was amazing. Unfortunately the pope died as we arrived in Trinidad so there was no music or dancing for three days - so we missed all the music in Trindad that everyone goes on about.

[chilango]

Unfortunately the pope died as we arrived in Trinidad so there was no music or dancing for three days - so we missed all the music in Trindad that everyone goes on about.


I may well have been in trinidad at the exact same time :eek: !

[bashthefash]

Check out the Revolutionary Museum.

And the Hotel National for great cocktails in an amazingly 'opulent' 1950's setting

[sparklefish]

Check out the Revolutionary Museum.

And the Hotel National for great cocktails in an amazingly 'opulent' 1950's setting

That place looked incredible, we just went past it, I really wanted to go in but we only had 3 days and that's not really enough for Havana.

The Hotel Inglaterra is another good place for drinks. You can sit outside and watch the world go by and there is usually a band there. The mojitos are yummy.
You must go to the place de la revolution, it's where Castro made all his famous speeches and there's a museum too( is that the revolutionary museum or is that in the centre of the city with the others bashthefash?).

If you want some entertainment then the Tropicana nightclub is a fantastic night and is in an amazing setting but It's probably not everyones cup of tea.

You do get a bottle of rum and a meal with your ticket though and we left shitfaced.

[trabuquera]

1) DO NOT take US$, no matter how tempting the £/$ exchange rate might be, because Cuba charges an extra 8% for charging all foreign currency PLUS a special 10% applied only to the US$ - which means if you take US $ you'll have lost nearly a fifth of their value by the time they've been converted into CUC. Don't bother with travelers' checks either because they're a pain in the backside to change and you don't have time in Cuba to waste. Take £ sterling cash and done.

2) for a general feel of things take a look at the Cuba section of the Thorntree Q&A forum on www.lonelyplanet.com

3) I've never been to Isla de la Juventud but it's rumoured to have savage mosquitoes so take some repellent (and watch out for warning symptoms of dengue fever later on - there's been a recent epidemic of this in Cuba, which they're getting under control, but better avoided than suffered.)

[BCB]

A few things folks, would they accept Euros over there, also ive heard that it's possible to stay with a local family for a few days as well to get the real Cuban experience has anyone done that before?;)

[Oula]

Cubans can rent out a room in their house. These are called Casa Particulares. You can book in advance over the internet. I stayed in them all over Cuba and can recommend people if you PM me. It is a very good way to talk to cubans more and see what it is like in a Cuban home.

[Brighton23]

Thanks for all the tips folks! Didn't get a chance to reply before leaving...

We had an amazing time and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a beautiful place to go with amazing people and culture.

Loved Havana, so chilled out and the architecture is incredible. We stayed down by the Malecon so every evening consisted of rum on the seafront followed by a stroll into Centro to a decent Paladares.

Vinales was amazing, stayed in a Casa where the food was perfect and the hosts made us feel so welcome. Spent 5 hours one day on horseback with a local farmer who took us around the mountains, to swim in a cave, to see his tobacco farm and roll our own cigars and then back to his farm house for coffee with the family. After 5 hours, and having not ridden a horse for a long, long time I suffered quite badly the following day ;-) We went up to the hotel Jazmines for a swim one evening and the view is as you say (PA68) incredible!

We stopped off for one night in Playa Larga on the Bay of Pigs which was beautiful although the state run hotel was well ropey, but as it was only to break the journey we survived.

Then on to Cayo Las Brujas in the north. This was amazing, you drive 40 miles out on a road of bridges linking the Cays together. The one we stayed on had 20 bungalows all perched on top of coral overlooking the most amazing clear sea and white sand beach. As mentioned above, the only Cubans there were working in the hotel but it was so quiet that it didn't feel touristy, more like your own private retreat. And at £42 per night for a detached bungalow in such a beautiful setting was well worth it for a couple of nights.

Then Trinidad. We were a little disappointed at first as everyone had raved about it. The first night there we went to the Casa del la Musica and felt like we'd stepped out of Cuba and into the Costa, the place was full of tourists (yes I know we were tourists too but it was as if every tourist in town congregated there)! Figured out by the next night that it was better to avoid it till later and head to one of the bars full of Cubans which had better salsa and better mojitos! Having said that we did end up at the club round the back of the music house in a derelict building with no roof till 4am a couple of times. Spent a day on the beach at Playa Ancon managing to avoid getting burnt, and spent a day on a yacht to go to an island which was full of iguanas and did get burnt that day :-) The rest of our time in Trinidad was spent either wandering the town or driving back up into the mountains which are amazing!

Drove back to Havana on the second to last day in under 5 hours and stayed at the Nacional. It may look amazing and the foyer and bars are lovely but the rooms are ropey and after being sent up to one that smelt damp we complained and got upgraded to a suite with an incredible view of the Malecon. Loads more mojitos in the bar at El Bodeguito and our time in Cuba was over.

It's a beautiful country and it's so sad that most people only ever see Havana or Varadero. There's a lot more to do and the people are so friendly and optimistic that you can't help but get into conversations with them about their lives and country. Highly recommended if you haven't been, best holiday I've had in a long time!

[PA68]

Thanks for the trip report. Sounds like you had a great time.

Shame about the ropey rooms in the Nacional. I thought it looked well posh, but then I think that about any place where someone opens the door for me.

[Tequila]

Another source of information about Cuba is www.cubamania.com Has to be the best I've been to. Cuba is a a place worth visiting and for those who want to get a real feal of the country a casa is the best way to go.