Havana Ladies – photo by Bryan Ledgard on Flckr CC

Preparing to Visit Cuba – For Americans

In case you weren’t aware, it is now legal for Americans to visit Cuba, even as independent travelers. In fact, several major US airlines have regular direct flights from various cities around the US to/from Cuba.

However, there are some very critical issues you need to know about and prepare for before you go. These issues make preparing a trip to Cuba as an independent traveler is a lot more involved, time consuming and critical than travel to most other countries of the world. Especially if you’re an American. And doubly-so if you’re a budget traveler.

All the critical pre-planning is due to several specific limitations inside Cuba, particularly for Americans. Following are the main issues you need to be aware of and detailed information about how to deal with them.

Crucial things Americans need to know before visiting Cuba

A. Visitors to Cuba with banks in the USA cannot access cash inside Cuba!

That means once you – Americans – set foot in Cuba you will not be able to access any money until after you leave the country. Your credit cards, debit cards and ATM cards will not work in Cuba. The only money you’ll have is the money you bring with you.

While travelers from Europe, Canada and some other countries may be able to successfully use their credit cards, debit cards and/or ATM cards, Americans cannot.

That means that you need to take all the money you will need for your entire trip in Cuba. If you run out, you’re up shit creek.

And that, in turn, means that you need to calculate how much money you will need. You need to find out the costs of all your accommodation, all your food and drink, all your transportation, all your entertainment & explorations, all your museums visits and any miscellaneous needs & wants.

You need to know the prices of all these things for the duration of your visit. BEFORE you go.

Luckily, you can easily research all of that online or buy purchasing a current guidebook to Cuba BEFORE you go to Cuba.

I’m not going into every cost here in this article because those costs vary greatly for each traveler, depending on what kind of accommodation and meals you’re seeking, what you want to see and do, where you want to go, how many destinations you want to visit, how long you’ll be in Cuba, and so on.

But I will mention a bunch of websites where you can find out all the information specific to your own visit.

Of course, another alternative is to just take a huge amount of money, more than you could possibly use, to ensure you don’t run out. If you’re taking in currency that you’re going to use after Cuba, then that could work well. (for example, if you live in the US and are flying to/from Cuba)

Old Havana – photo by szeke on Flckr CC

B. Internet access in Cuba exists but it is very expensive and very slow

If you can and want to pay for Cuba’s expensive, slow internet, then you can actually use the internet while in Cuba.

However, you will NOT be able to pay for anything online – like buses, rooms or merchandise – while inside Cuba. You’ll be able to research information, look at maps and probably check email, etc. But you wont’ be able to buy anything or make any reservations.

If you do decide to access the internet within Cuba, then you also need to factor in the costs of being online into your budget. Which means you need to find out the cost of using internet there and calculate how many hours you want to be online during your trip.

On the other hand, if you don’t want to deal with Cuba’s ultra-slow and expensive internet, or if you decide to make your visit to Cuba an opportunity to go off-grid for a while (like I did) then you may as well count on not accessing the internet. At all, for your entire visit.

If that’s the case, then stop right now and take some time to stop to think about the ramifications…

After arriving in Cuba, you wont’ be able to use Google maps. You wont’ be able to research destinations, activities, restaurants or bars, bus schedules or prices, accommodation options. You wont’ be able to connect with friends & family via emails, social media channels or chats.

So that means, once again, that you need to plan out everything you want to see and do during your trip to Cuba. You might want to locate places on a map, mark them and print out some maps to take with you. These could include museums, forts & castles, plazas & parks, other attractions, your accommodations, restaurants & bars & cafes.

A great way to make it all much easier and less crucial is to buy a current guidebook to Cuba that details all the great things to see and do, has maps of Cuba’s main cities and regions, recommends accommodations and restaurants, points out great clubs and bars, etc. Then you’ll have the information with you, in hand, during your visit.

Most likely, your phone will not work from inside Cuba either.

Havana malecon -photo by Bryan Ledgard on Flckr CC

C. To visit Cuba legally, Americans must follow particular rules and guidelines

President Obama loosened restrictions for Americans visiting Cuba. Trump later made visiting a bit harder and more confusing. But, even so, Americans can easily and legally visit Cuba. You just have to follow some guidelines to make your trip completely legal.

The clearest and most thorough explanation of the guidelines for 2018 I found at the website of fellow travel blogger, Mathew Karsten, aka ExpertVagabond, on his article for Americans visiting Cuba.

Basically, planning your trip entails two main points. First, you have to declare yourself as visiting Cuba under one of 12 pre-approved programs. Secondly, you have to avoid using any services, restaurants, bars, hotels, stores owned by the Cuban government. You can find out all the details in Matt’s article here.

international currencies

Some other important things to consider while planning a trip to Cuba

D. Exchanging American dollars into Cuban currency levies a 10% charge

– other currencies don’t 

If you take American dollars to Cuba, when you exchange them into CUC (pronounced ‘cook’), you will be charged a 10% ‘penalty’ in addition to 3% commission.

But if you take Canadian dollars, Euros, British pounds, Mexican pesos or other currencies, you will avoid this 10% fee. And that could save you upwards of $100 or several $100 US over the course of your visit.

So, if you can take another currency, it could be well worth your while. One option is to fly out of Mexico instead of the USA, where you can get Mexican pesos from an ATM machine (even at the airport, for instance) before flying to Cuba.

E. Flights to/from Mexico are much cheaper than to/from the USA

Mexico is incredibly close to Cuba, especially Cancun, on the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Flights to Cuba from Mexico City and Cancun are super cheap. Think $100 -150 US, tops.

Depending on where you’re flying out of the USA, it might be more economical to fly to Mexico first and then from Mexico to Cuba. And take into account being able to get Mexican pesos for your trip, instead of taking $US.

Flights to Cuba from San Jose, Costa Rica, and some other major cities in Central America are also often extremely cheap. If you happen to be traveling in that area or can combine a trip there with a visit to Cuba, it could be a great time to fly to Cuba instead of from the USA.

F. Airlines flying from Mexico to Cuba charge only $20 US for a Cuban Visa

Another great reason to fly out of Mexico instead of the US, is that you’ll pay much less for your Cuban visa.

Unlike getting a visa to most countries, the Cuban visa is issued by your airline, at the check-in counter before you board your flight. When you fly out of Mexico, the Cuban visa costs a standard $20 US. Flying from the US it’s more expensive because…

G. Airlines flying directly between US and Cuba charge passengers much higher prices for a Cuban Visa

If you fly from the US directly to Cuba, you will also pay for your Cuban visa to your airline before you board the flight. But the US airlines charge anywhere from $50-120 US for the visa!

You can find out what each US airline charges at this website page. Or you can call your proposed airline to ask them.

casa particulares are often inside historic buildings in big cities – photo by Rob Oo on Flckr CC

H. The general rate for budget accommodation in Cuba is $20-30 US per night 

But there are now some cheaper options for real budget travelers

Budget accommodation in Cuba

Budget accommodation in Cuba generally amounts to staying in a bedroom or small apartment set-up in private homes. Essentially, you’ll be staying with Cuban families.

In Cuba this type of accommodation is called ‘casas particulares’ aka ‘private homes’. Cubans have been running these guest houses for several decades to cater to Europeans, Canadians, Mexicans, South Americans, ‘wayward’ Americans and other international tourists who’ve been visiting Cuba for years and years and years.

Some casas particulares have been in business for 20 or 30 years. And nowadays, as tourist numbers are steadily increasing, there are hundreds of them in each city around Cuba.

These rooms are set up for two or more guests and priced accordingly. The usual range is $20-30 US per night for a room. For two or more travelers, that’s a very low price per person and fits well within budget travelers’ expenses.

However, if you’re a solo budget traveler, like me, you don’t get a lower rate. If $20 US per night is within your means, then no problem. But if you’re budgeted more for the $5-10 price range, like I am, then that can be a huge expense.

This is actually the main reason I haven’t visited Cuba until now. (more on that below)

You can now book online for rooms in casas particulares on several websites!

Booking, AirBnB, Trinidadhosteles, HostelsCentral and several other websites offer rooms in casas particulares in most cities and towns in Cuba. Some casa particulares even have their own websites now!

* BUT, you’ll have to book these rooms when you are outside of Cuba before you go! You will not be able to make any purchases or reservations online from inside Cuba! (If your bank is in the USA)

Real Hostels in Havana and other cheaper options…

I recently discovered that there are actual hostels in Havana now! In fact, there are dozens of real hostels with dorm rooms booked per bed, all over the city. This is why I finally feel I can afford to visit Cuba.

You can find these hostels on HostelsCentral website – but for Havana only.

* Note that the ‘beds’ listed on this website for other cities in Cuba look cheap, but you actually have to book an entire room, which will double or triple the apparent price listed. It sneakily lists the price per person, but doesn’t mention that you have to pay for two or three people to book the room…until you start to make the reservation. Essentially, you’re booking a private room in a Casa Particular for a minimum of $18 US on up.

Havana is the only city in Cuba where I found actual hostels with dormitories where you can book a dorm bed. Everywhere else in Cuba, all accommodation seems to consist of private rooms in Casas particulares.

However…

On AirBnB solo travelers can book a room for $9-15 US per night

I was pleasantly surprised and relieved to find rooms in casas particulares in various cities of Cuba for just $9-11 US per night on AirBnB. At least during the low season month of October (not sure if the rates double in high season?) Of course there are also higher room rates.

General guidelines for room reservations:

* If you’re visiting Cuba during peak seasons, book any accommodation well in advance (say a few months)

* If you’re visiting in low season, you can wing it after arrival.

Since there are dozens of hostels in Havana and hundreds of casas particulares in every town & city, you can easily simply walk around and find a place to stay for $20-30 US.

* If you can only afford the $10 range, though, you’re going to have a lot more preparation work before heading to Cuba (like I did) !

Basically, you’d better book everything ahead or else check out AirBnB to note down the name, address and phone number of those places that offer these prices. This will obviously take a LOT more preparation.

vintage cars in HAvana – photo by Franck Vervial on Flckr CC

I. Cuban overland transportation is expensive!

Within Cuban cities and towns, you can catch taxi particulares – aka share taxis – which cost about 10 pesos (< 50 cents US) to get around. They operate like mini buses, picking people up and dropping them off along their routes.

Overland travel, though, is rather expensive. Tourists have two good options – Viazul Bus or Private Taxi.

Tourists can also apparently take regular overland buses, but they sound very irregular and extremely cramped & uncomfortable. I didn’t even check into using those. If you’re interested, you can certainly find out the info at some other travel bloggers’ websites.

Viazul is the primary overland bus available for tourists

You can find all bus schedules and fares at the Viazul website here. You can also get the addresses of each Viazul station in each city in Cuba there. And, if you’re outside of Cuba and/or have a non-US credit card, you can book the trips at their site too.

After you’re inside Cuba you’ll have to go to the Viazul office a few days before your trip to buy a ticket. In low season that should be fine, but in high season you might not get a seat!

If you’re visiting Cuba during peak seasons, book buses well in advance

If you’re visiting in low season, you can wing it after arrival. But you’ll have to visit the bus station office 1-3 days in advance and wait in lines to get a ticket.

countryside near Vinales – photo by Davidandnasha on Flckr CC

Other great sources of information on Cuba

I bought this great Insider’s Guide to Real Havana in Kindle format for $4 US, which I downloaded to my computer. So I have the info with me while traveling in Cuba.

It’s got a lot of useful information about costs, places to eat, how to take local share taxis, avoiding scams, how to get around Havana and other places from Havana, nightlife spots and so on.

Other websites I found with great information and advice include –

Viazul Bus – for bus schedules & rates

ExpertVagavond Travel Blog – Cuba Articles

Jenny Far Away travel blog – Cuba section

VisitCuba – only in Spanish

If you’re a budget traveler heading to Cuba then Happy Planning! 

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