As Hurricane Irma slides through Atlanta, my lights are out but I’m thankful to God for shelter and the necessities. With limited amount of battery I decided what better way to end my night then to reminisce and write about “MY EXPERIENCE” of the beautiful island of Cuba.

*** Before I comment any further about Cuba, my prayers have and are still with everyone effected by these horrible weather conditions over the past weeks, days, hours, etc. The aftermath will be costly and tough, but I know God to be a restorer and I believe he can meet every need without a second thought. I’m praying he will do so.

Now back to Cuba…

Beside my family, close friends and the fellas at work, I did not tell many people or make an announcement about my travels to Cuba. First, I feel like this is the one place I was not looking for excessive advice about. second, I did not want anyone discouraging my travels or hyping the trip to be something then I ended up not satisfied. When it comes to my travels I like to arrive to my destination then share the journey. I’ll Yelp if necessary lol.

For those who have asked me about my experience in Cuba and I gave you a bunch of information, I hope this blog helps for your future travels. And for those who may be interested, I hope you become convinced to go. A quick DISCLAIMER, I am not a travel agent nor am I affiliated, endorsed or partnered with any company/organization to share this information. These are my suggestions coupled with my experience from my trip.

1. Flight – Initially when I announced to my friends in March that I wanted to go to Cuba in August. Everyone I asked seemed pretty willing to take the trip with me and I trusted that each person would be ready financially when it came time to make payments. So once everyone confirmed, the first step was finding flights as early as possible so it would be affordable. I will suggest if you are a certain on a location to travel to, try to book your flight as early as possible. The cost to Cuba roundtrip ranged at that time in the high 200’s – mid 300’s dollars.

2. Visa – You will need a VISA to get into Cuba! You will need a PASSPORT to get into Cuba! You will need HEALTH INSURANCE to get into Cuba (which was included in the purchase of the flight with Delta airlines). As for the visa it is $50 and it could be purchased over the phone or on the day of your flight with Delta airlines. You will have to choose from 12 Categories the reason for your travels to Cuba. I will not tell you which one to choose BUT I will say that Tourist travel to Cuba is prohibited. Please read the following and make a decision on which is best for you: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/cuba_faqs_new.pdf

3. Airbnb – I have used this site a few times for traveling and have not ran into any issues with host, money problems, cancellations, etc. Before I make any purchase or join an Airbnb invite I like to review the listing, see what others have rated and said about the place and is it in a reasonable location to meet my needs wherever I am going. If I am booking and have questions, I never hesitate to ask the host just to be sure things are clear. READ! READ! READ thoroughly before purchasing anything, especially a large purchase for a group of people at a stranger’s home.  When looking for a place to stay in Cuba, my friend suggested to get a place with a pool because we would be going in August (supposedly the hottest month in the year BUT with global warming idk what’s going on. Ok I digress). Also, finding a place with A/C was also just as important, especially on days when we stayed in.

4. Location – Considering that it was important to be close to Old Havana and the airport, La Habana was the perfect location to stay. It was about 15mins drive into the city and 25mins drive from the airport. The neighborhood we stayed in was safe, the locals were friendly and we could walk anywhere we wanted without feeling uncomfortable. Some people may prefer to stay in the city or further out, but I felt for a group the location was perfect and peaceful.

5. Packing – Packing for Cuba is relatively easy because it is consistently warm. When I went in August, it was extremely warm usually around 90° F. I would strongly suggest looking at the weather before traveling but expect to wear  short sleeves, pants and having a lot of exposure to the sun. Dress comfortably if you plan on walking around and wear sunscreen if you plan on being outside for a long time. No matter you skin color, it is possible to get sunburned. And pack some sanitary wipes and tissue, just in case you find yourself out and there are none. 

6. Money – Take enough cash to spend in Cuba because your debit and credit card won’t be any good. Honestly, I don’t remember seeing an ATM. The U.S. dollar is not a hot commodity, so make sure you exchange your money before hand. Cuba has two currencies. The Cuban convertible peso (CUC) and the The Cuban peso (CUP). The CUC is 1:1 to the U.S. dollar. Before going to Cuba, I read it was best to exchange my U.S. dollar to Euro in America and then from Euro to CUC in Cuba. When it came time to do so I exchanged my U.S. dollars to Canadian dollars and when I got to Cuba I exchanged it to CUC. In August when I traveled the Canadian dollar gave me more than the Euro would in CUC. Before making a decision on which to go with, ask the foreign exchange staff which currency would be best to exchange in Cuba. When returning if you have left over CUC you can buy souvenirs/Cigars/Alcohol at the airport or you can exchange your money back to U.S. dollars. Be mindful through all this exchange you will lose some money due to fees, so take what you think you will need.

7. Customs – Make sure to keep all your paperwork in your hands once you get off the plane in Cuba. Immediately after getting off the plane I had to walk towards customs to show my visa, paperwork, have my picture taken and my passport stamped. The line for this was about 10-15 minutes. It could be less or more depending on the amount of people in line. Then I had to go through this small security checkpoint, which took less than a minute, in order to get to luggage. Now coming back, make sure your liquids and cigars go into your checked bags because it will take time if you get pulled in customs (do not make the mistake to get pulled in customs in a foreign country, I don’t have advice on this one). Going through customs leaving Cuba is just like entering except the line is longer, it can take as less as 30-45+ minutes, so plan accordingly.

8. Transportation – One of my favorite experiences in Cuba would have to be riding in the classic cars around town. They are everywhere and seem to be a pretty reliable means of transportation. I do not know if there are Uber and Lyft in Cuba but I do know that finding/calling a Taxi is not a problem. I had previously planned with my Airbnb host to have transportation from the airport to the house we were staying at but if you do not have that option, there will be plenty of taxi drivers ready to bring you to your location. All our drivers were friendly and tried to communicate with us as much as possible in Spanish. If we clicked with a driver we would just ask them to be our driver for the day. So they would drop us off at our destination and we’d give them a time to pick us back up, and they came. My advice is be nice, negotiate everything and treat people the way you would want to be treated.

9. Wifi – There was no wifi in the house we stayed at, on the street, at the store, around the corner. To my understanding, it is illegal to have wifi in the house or business (please don’t quote me) BUT there is wifi at the park and in public places. We walked to the closest park and found a person selling wifi cards and had about an hour with it. It was very inexpensive and there were a lot of people around using their phones as well. Don’t forget your headphones. 🙂

10. Food – The food I had in Cuba was fresh and family style servings. I did not eat any animal meat but I enjoyed everything else and it taste fine, especially the fruit. Going to restaurants is just like anywhere, order what you want to eat and remember to tip. Most of the meals come with an option of a sangria, mojito or non alcoholic beverage and of course rice and beans for everyone. I personally enjoyed the beans  because it reminded me of Haitian style black beans. I tried the coffee and it was pretty strong, not my favorite but I’m also not a big coffee drinker (I do love me some Cafe Bustelo when it’s made for me in America haha). Here are some restaurants that my host gave me:

The location (restaurant names)

– Old Havana (“The Front”, “The Concord”, “O’Really 304”, “La Guarida”, “Spaces”)

– Vedado (“El Cocinero”, “Habitania”, “El flauta mágica”, “El atelier”)

– Miramar (“Sea View”, “La Fontana”, “De Camino”, “Fellini”, “La cocina de Lillian”)

11. Culture – Being in Cuba is like taking a step back into the past. They have preserved their culture, buildings and even cars. The people are friendly and it felt safe to walk the streets during the day and at night. The police officials did not harass my group, they did not stare at us, nor did they disrespect us in any way. The people we encountered in Cuba catered to us very well and made us feel welcome in their country. Here are some other places my host shared with me:

MUSEUMS (Mostly in Old Havana)

– Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

– Museum of the revolution

– Pharmaceutical Museum

– Palacio de Bellas Artes

– Ron Museum

– Museum of Orichas (Afro-Cuban Religion)

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Other important in other locations of the city

– Casa Vigia (Hemingway Museum)

– Museum of Decorative Arts

– Napoleonic Museum

– Old & Fifty’s Havana Tour- Old Havana

– Varadero Beach – On the Hicacos Peninsula

– **Valley of Viñales (Tabacco growing farms) – West of Havana (Plan ahead for the trip)

Overall the experience was wonderful and I would highly recommend people to visit the country.

Cheers to LIVING ON PURPOSE!

Liz