Cuba Blog Post

Random tips for traveling to havana, cuba

1. Check out the state.gov website if you have not already.

2. Hotels to consider in Havana
Hotel Seratoga
   Iberostar Parque Central
   Plaza Hotel
   Hotel Nacional
   Inglaterra

We stayed at the Hotel Seratoga (pictured above). We found a great deal at HotelsClick.com. There were some nice boutique hotels that was in the middle of Old Havana and looked really cute and nice from the outside like Hotel Florida or or Habana 612.

3. It was safe and people were very kind to us Americans. Crime is low and there are police everywhere. I think punishment is quite severe if people do bad things, so people will tell you it is safe. Obviously, don't flaunt money and valuables like anywhere else. But people walked around with their cameras around their neck in the touristy streets and it was fine.

4. Common and frequent dupes and hustles: there are people out of work and they will try to draw you in by claiming they work for your hotel.

5. During the summer months, it is hot!! There is a reason why linen and airy clothing exist for the Caribbean.

6. There are some touristy places that people say you must have a drink at, I think it is fine to check it out and take a picture, but probably not worth having a real drink. Historically, it's where Ernest Hemmingway and famous poets would have drinks but now just very touristy spots.
La Floridita
Bodeguita del medio

7. Riding around in a vintage car: The hotel can arrange for you to have this. Request a convertible (and color if you like). Do this early in the day or late in the day so it is not so hot! We went in the middle of the day (bad idea). Have an idea of the places you want to see. I thought there would be a classic route, but not really. Otherwise you can walk around near the Malecon and take a pick of all the taxi drivers cars, colors, style, etc. They will all charge the same, $35-40 CUCs per hour.

8. If you don't want your passport stamped, you have to ask them. I don't think it's a big deal now, but it was in the past.

9. With regards to souvenir purchase, if you buy any art, painting, sculpture, etc ask about either a receipt or certification. Apparently, if it is not an official art of Cuba you just need to pay tax at the airport. But if it is official (I have no idea how they distinguish, probably by the cost and size of the painting and whether the painter is a registered artist or something), you need a certificate to leave Cuba with it.

10. Bring more than enough cash, even way more than you think. Better to be safe than sorry like us. The banks do not accept American cards and we ran out of money. The currency conversion when we went was 1 euro to 1 CUC and our hotel was able to exchange for us both Euro and USD.

HAVANA highlights

Walking around the Plazas in old Havana:
Plaza del las armas
Plaza San Francisco
Plaza de viejo - there's a coconut ice cream stand called Coco Glaze, must try! It was amazing!

Museums:
We visited the Revolution Square and the Revolution Museum.
We would have liked to visit the Bellas Artes Museum

Catching a sunset in the Malecon.

GEMS we would like to see next time

1. Vinales outside of the city
2. Fusterlandia. The artist Jose Fuster sorta copied Gaudi of Barcelona.
3. Night cabaret, like the Tropicana (65-95 CUC per person)
4. Camara Oscura (the only one of its kind in Latin America and the Caribbean!)

notes on Restaurants

I'll * what we did try and think is worthwhile. We were limited on funds so that made eating a true hit or miss. There are places called Paledares (basically privately owned homes turned into restaurants). They range from super cheap to super posh. Mostly main meals won't be any higher than 20-25 CUCs at the nicer places, so nothing outrageous. But certainly outrageous for locals.
   * El Carbon (best meal we had)
   * Los Nardos
   La Guarida (came highly recommended)
   San Cristobal
   Dona Eutimia