Although up till now this wasn’t a travel blog, right now I’m traveling and I’ve noticed there isn’t a lot of current information about many places. So I’ll start with Cuba because my plane was delayed 2 hours and I have some time to kill at the airport. Also this was my second trip here and I feel like I have a good grasp of how stuff works here.
So I will write mostly just what I wish I had known before coming here and not a full introduction to the country because there’s lonely planet and others who did that already and im not getting paid to do this. I like to travel economically, both because then I can travel more but also because then I get more interaction with real locals, and not a masked, touristicized country. This is particularly relevant in Cuba because in addition to the natural tourist/local divide as in all countries, here there are 2 currency’s, local and tourist (although tourists can use both, more on that later or elsewhere if you need a full explanation).
~~~~~To get the most out of this, best read a more complete guide first to learn general stuff and then this~~~~
Money exchange: if you are coming from Mex city its best to change in the mex city airport (!!!). Yes I know this sounds weird but the exchange from mex peso to Cuban CUC is better if you buy your CUC at men city airport. It also saves you from having to wait (could easily be an hour or more) at the airport in Havana. If you are coming from other places it’s hard for me to say but unless the exchange is really horrible I would still recommend buying at least some CUC before arrival in case of a really long queue to exchange at the airport (these happen basically every incoming flight). DONT BRING USD$$$!!
In general the lines to the banks (and other things) are long and slow, so try not to need them often (exchange all your money at once, buy a few etecsa wifi cards at once (more on that later), it’s always possible to pass them on to the next needy tourist ๐ help someone out it will come back to you).
From Havana airport: you can take a taxi to Havana. They will try to charge you 30 or more, you can easily get 20 (20 CUC ~ 20u$d ~20 โฌ) , as always best go in a group and split it. OR if you arrive during the day you can take a wawa (local bus, costs 5ยข) from the nearest main intersection. It’s 3 Kms away from terminal 3, but close to terminal 2 and there are sometimes shuttles which run between terminals, so that can save you 20 bucks right there.
Getting around:
Within city:
like I said wawas are local buses, cost up to 1CUP (~ 5ยข), run during the day, are very crowded.
There are collective taxis which look like old American cars and have a set route they drive. Short ride is 10CUP long ride 20CUP (~40-80ยข). A bit harder to understand but cheap and work.
Obviously there are regular taxis, bici taxis, moto taxis, horse taxis… You get my drift, all will rip you off if you give them the chance (inc collectivos).
Between cities:
There are wawas, “machinas”, “Camion”, collectivos, and bus (viazul, the tourist bus company).
Viazul is expensive but modern. On a fast scale of 1-10 say 9 (only faster route private taxi or car). Collectivos are old American cars (1950s) with a bunch of tourists grouped together, the same price or a bit less if your tough as viazul. On the fast scale also 9. Machinas are huge old trucks with seats in the back, muchh cheaper, (for example from Havana -> Santiago de Cuba viazul ~ 60 CUC machina 15 CUC), on the fast scale maybe 7-8, but must take into account there is no schedule and waiting for other passengers so overall take quite a bit more time and are full (!). Camions and wawas are much slower and cheaper, mainly used for shorter trips, prob won’t be able to sit down, might barely be able to get in the door ๐. Fast scale: 2 ๐
Food:
The food here is shit. Don’t expect much good or healthy food, it’s 90% pig products, there is also seafood and other meat. I don’t eat meat, so I can’t say about the taste of those, suffice to say locals dragging a whole dead pig in a bag, in a cart, or on the back of a motorcycle are regular sights. There are pig heads hanging at the front of butchers shops, selling pieces of meat as is, in the warm, Caribbean air.
There are local cafeterias and tourist restaurants. Cafeterias can sell Pizza, pan con queso, pan con tortilla (omelette), pan con tortilla queso, arroz con frijol, cafe, helado is basically all the veggie options, cost 5-10 CUP(!). They sell avocados (really good!!!! ~10CUP) and bananas (and other fruit and veggies) in carts. Buy them, try not to get ripped off.
Tourist restaurants sell more stuff, still not many veggie options, will sell pasta and pizza for a couple CUC, and meat dishes anywhere between 7-20 CUC.
Drink: they sell pretty good “natural” juices, they have sugar but are cool, pineapple, mango, papaya, Guayava, anything really ~2CUP. In clubs they sell rum bottles for quite cheap, sometimes basically the same price as in a supermarket (here yes? 4-10 CUC, Depending which bottle you want), usually a bit more. Either way, you can, but no real need to pre game, just bottle up at the club and your good to go. Beers are also cheap, 1-2 CUC in the club, same as on the street.
Internet: internet is not bad in Cuba, but is also not free. You can buy 1 hour wifi cards at etecsa offices for 2 cuc, or From a local for 3 cuc. It gives you a user + password to put in etecsa wifi spots located throughout cities, easy to find, anywhere you see a bunch of people with phones and laptops and earphones? That’s a wifi spot.
Where to go: I was here for 3 weeks and crossed basically the whole country. There are guidebooks with everything and all the information, so just a few short words of what I recommend.
For the parties: Cienfuegos. Benny, cubanese both have crazy parties most nights. Trinidad also has the cuevos which some people like some don’t much, I had a good time there, but Cienfuegos is mejor en mi opinion. At least On the weekends most cities and towns have parties, try to find the local ones if you like, hint: they don’t charge cover ๐
To relax: there a nice slightly less known town called Gibara just north of holguin, which is quite Far East but if you pass the area I recommend it. They have nice beaches and a nice party on the weekend.
For the Beach: Santiago, baracoa would be nice but was hit by a hurricane so right now quite destroyed, both far but there are nice beaches in the area. Closer are the beaches around playa giron->Cienfuegos and prob just as nice.
For the Culture: I guess just try to meet the locals wherever you can, Spanish helps. I would recommend sancti spiritus for a day over Santa Clara, not too touristic but nice.
Nature in viรฑales – enough said
That seems like pretty much it, crazy stuff happens in Cuba, I didn’t put any stories but be open and shit goes down, although take what people say with a grain of salt (everywhere!). Enjoy!
Ps- this info is current as of November 2016. Stuff changes in Cuba, although very slowly I think. despite all the talking I felt pretty much the same this time as a full year ago, so I think should be right for a while.
Pps- one last word about money. For me Cuba was quite cheap to travel, I wasted like 300$ in 3 weeks, 50$ in cup the rest CUC (although I don’t anymore drink like I used to and drinking is super expensive). Like everywhere, Prices of everything can vary, but In Cuba because of the dual currency which is drastically different (1 CUC=25 cup) the variance is muchhhh bigger. For example I was waiting once for a ride And a collectivo stopped and said 10 CUC (it was like a 30km ride, we were willing to pay only a bit). We said no, moneda national and spoke in Spanish and paid 20 cup. In other words he said at first 10cuc=250cup and we paid 20. Real Locals might have paid 10, who knows. Same goes for food, you can eat a meal for 15+$ no problem. Make your choice depending on where you are in life, how much time you have, what’s impt to you.
hovermanbronz 