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Trip to Cuba: Memories of yesterday (I)

Trip-to-Cuba

Viaje a Cuba

I start my trip to Havana excited to learn and see the origin of the best tobacco and the best cigars in the world.

I move to the past trying not to dwell too much on the injustices that are seen on the island, I prefer to stay with the kindness of its people, their joy and their great imagination. They make this a fascinating country.

Since this year, when asking for the visa in Spain (or your origin country) the tourist tax that was previously paid when leaving the country is already included, that is to say, it is no longer necessary to keep the 25 cuc.

The arrival is a bit disorganized but it is still serious or that is the impression they want to give us on our arrival since it is still a country governed by the military.

After the formalities and the photo that you do de rigueur enter the country, on our arrival we ran into a first army of people who want to help you in any way, trunk (eye always going to get something even a few meters), cab, money exchange, house, etc … my advice is not to pay much attention and dodge people. They are not usually annoying if you tell them a simple “I’m not interested, thank you”. The cab to Havana costs between 20 or 25 cuc, no more, and it is better to take an official cab (the airport is far away).

The next step I advise you to do is to change currency. This is very important. At the airport is the easiest place to change currency. The official currency is the peso, although the Cuban dollar (cuc) works better:

25 Cuban pesos = 1 cuc
1 cuc more or less is 1$ a little more right now is 1,10

The bills should be as small as possible, so it is easier to pay for cabs, guaguas (bus), coco cab… etc.

Viaje a Cuba Viaje a Cuba[ Viaje a Cuba

The way to move around the island will depend on your budget, the best is to hire an official cab for the whole day and forget about schedules and stops. Public transport is also good and very reliable, there are many cabs, from modern to classic cars adapted in their own way, to move around the city. The latter are very cheap and stop depending on the area or the people they are carrying. Per trip the normal price is 1 cuc.

To negotiate the price for a whole day with a cab driver it is very important to know if the car is diesel or gasoline. A fair price per day for a diesel car would be about 50 cucuc and 60 cuc for a gasoline car. At the airport you will see a lot of people offering transportation. Do not trust them as most of them do not have a permit and even less a car, they are only on commission.

The lodging is very varied from very modern hotels like the Iberostar to apartments or houses that, thanks to small changes that are taking place in the country, can be rented at a very good price. On this occasion my option was to rent a room with private bathroom inside in the Vedado neighborhood. A fairly quiet place and close to any place in Havana.

The price of the apartments and houses usually range from 30 cuc, which would be the simplest, to 150 cuc, which would be a house with a swimming pool. The latter are in the Embassy District.

VERY IMPORTANT:

Enter TrypAdvisor to see them. It is very reliable because Cubans take it very seriously and are very hospitable. If you are interested, I can leave you the email of the person who rented it to me. It is a very good family, they get involved in everything to please you and make your stay very pleasant. They make tours of the city, highly recommended because they know everything: the history and new places that are opening both shows and food. Her name is Gilda and her husband Angel. Very cultured people who are in charge of explaining all the history of Havana.