It’s all a matter of opinion, but here are some things that I learned that I hope will help you if you are planning to visit Cuba. The people of Cuba are very poor, and tourism is their main source of income since the collapse of the sugar cane market and then the withdrawal of Russian support, and the continuing ridiculous American blockade, and every tourism pound helps, so I do hope you decide to go.
- Don’t do a fully inclusive beach holiday, you might just as well be anywhere and it’s not what Cuba specialises in. The food, the activities etc will probably disappoint you. Travel around and see the country instead.
- Havana and Trinidad are the must-see places. Trinidad was really amazing – chaotic, musical, fun.
- Health – I ate prawns every day and wasn’t ill at all. I washed my teeth in the tap water, had ice in everything, no problems.
- Food – I did love the Camarones Enchilada (prawns in tomato and red peppers sauce, not hot) and the Ropa Vieja (pulled lamb or beef). Generally the food isn’t very exciting, not exactly India or Italy, but with these two things you can more than survive! Prices vary from $2 to $15 so shop around – the food is the same quality everywhere, it’s just the prices that vary. You can eat in Casas (people’s homes) – often they have great rooftop eating areas with good food. Prices vary!
- There’s no crime and no hassle, so you can wear your regular watch, you can wear a T-shirt with American writing on it, whatever you like, no problem. You can walk around in the evenings, I can’t guarantee it, and always be sensible, but certainly we never felt threatened at all.
- Money is easy too – cash machines everywhere and they worked, and banks and some hotels will change dollars if you need to. We didn’t really use credit cards but I’m pretty sure you can.
- Internet – you have to buy a card for $2 which gives you an hour of using the net. Quite slow but fine for emails, and you can upload short videos to facebook. The internet is only available in the parks and squares – you’ll see where because everyone is sitting there on their phones! We bought our cards from the guys who hang around the parks selling them. You are supposed to queue up at the official kiosks but they were always out of stock whenever we tried to be law abiding. Apart from the parks there really is NO coverage at all. Download your google maps to your phone before you go.
- If/when you watch a band in a restaurant or coffee bar (the best thing about Cuba!) they’ll come around at the end with a basket and offer you their CD. If you don’t buy the CD, which is fine to turn down, you MUST put in two or three dollars or they’ll get quite upset. It’s their only pay for the gig, and they ARE brilliant, so have a few dollars ready to give them.
- Taxis cost about $1/minute so a 10 minute ride is $10. This was for a family of 4 but probably the same regardless of numbers travelling. We also used a bus and it was 25c for 20 minutes!
- Everything called “Hemingway” or to do with Hemingway costs extra.
- A beach marked as a yellow sandy beach on google maps is not necessarily a beach. It can easily turn out to be a rubbish strewn patch of grass!
- Take toilet paper with you when you go out. In a bar or restaurant it’s rare to find the holy trinity of Seat, Paper and Flush, even in really nice restaurants.
- If you want to give things away to poor kids, or even the people who run your Casa (B&B) then toiletries are the thing. Shampoo, make-up, etc are all very scarce and welcomed in Cuba, even if half used.
- The best part of Havana is the old town, just follow the sound of the music to whichever bar or restaurant it is in. I liked Obispo Street best. Look out for the bicycle taxis at night – they zoom along silently and give no quarter. The famous sea front road, The Malecon, is just a road in the day time – over-rated I thought. Maybe it’s a carnival in the evenings, I don’t know.
- Go at Christmas – the weather is fine. In the summer it’ll be bakingly hot.
- Rum is very cheap, cocktails are only 2 or 3 dollars. I liked the local one Canchenchara.
- New year’s eve is spent with families in Cuba, so there is nothing happening at all! This one of the many weird things about Cuba – see a full list of oddities here.
enjoy!
CC
PS Ropa Vieja:
