The true story is that I almost never prepare my trips in advance not to spoil the first expectations. Mistake, big mistake in Case with Cuba!
Cuba is an exceptional country everybody has heard of but very few discovered. We like cuban music, we like mojito, we know cuban cigars are the best of the best even if we’ve never tried them, salsa is the heart and passion of the Cubans. Havana is all about mafia, flashy cars, gambling, Hemingway… but in the past.
I was visiting Cuba in May 2019. The main thing you should know before going there: if you have forgotten something necessary (like sunscreen, mosquito spray, for example - things are number one to have in Cuba), don’t expect to buy it there. The Sun is strong, mosquitoes are hungry, shops are empty. You don’t go to the shop to buy what you need. You buy what they have. And they have rum and cigars.
Number two: no internet. Download Google maps at home. No internet at the airport (as well as air conditioning), most likely no free internet at your hotel, unless you stay in Kempinsky. Internet is the treasure number one (after sunscreen, of course). It is soooo expensive, that you will find even american rates funny. There are two possibilities: you can buy an 1-hour card for 10 euros/ dollars which you can use in the public wi-fi hotspots. Maybe it will be enough to send a message to your mom that you’re fine. The Internet is slow, one hour will pass by quickly, you will be sweating with a crowd of other desperate tourists in the park but you will not be lonely. Second possibility: you need to find a long long queue at the post office to buy a local sim card. 60 CUC = 60 Euros (80CUC from a guy on the street but no long hours of queueing. No need to look for him, he will find you). Now you have a cuban number, but you still need to buy the internet. Surprise!!! 10 CUC per 1 Giga. International websites like booking, skyscanner are banned there. If you need to make any money transaction, to buy a new air ticket, it’s impossible. So, book everything before going to Cuba. It is fantastic how simple things which we have easy access to become so valuable there.
Third discovery: Forget about public transport. It is a mystery. All over the country, you will meet people hitchhiking not for fun, it is the only way to move around. The taxi from the airport will cost around 35 dollars cash. Oh, yes…
Number four: cash only. Credit Card you will use only to withdraw money from ATM.
Cuba appears to be rather expensive because they have two official currencies: CUC and CUP. The second one is for locals, the convertible is for us, guests. The rate is equivalent to Euro, so, when you see the prices they don’t look that cheap. The only cheap thing there is rum.
Okay, we have spent 3-4 days in Havana, we amazed by its beauty, colors, welcome. Now we want to go to Varadero to see the crystal clear water with white beaches. The public bus will cost you 10 CUC (Euros). But you need to buy the ticket in advance because it is the only bus. So, you take a taxi to go to the Bus Station , because it is far from the historical center- 10 CUC, you buy the ticket to Varadero - 10 CUC (3 hours drive), you take a taxi to come back to the hotel - 10 CUC and the following morning you take a taxi to the Bus Station again - 10 CUC. So, taxi 30CUC in total, bus ticket - 10 CUC. Okay. Few hours later we are on Varadero Bus Station with suitcases and…surprise again! You need a taxi to get to the hotel because the Bus station is at the end of the world, and you want to see the sea. Now taxi will cost a lot, lot more than 10 CUC. No public bus. Just hungry drivers who need money. And money is you.
Don’t get it wrong, please, they are nice people, Cuba is an incredible country, which really deserves to be discovered. It will shock you, it will teach you to have more value to the simple things, but it will charm as well. You are their thread to the rest of the world, knowlenge, curiosity, opportunity. Most of them will never be able to travel, but they can discover this world through us, local guides, travelers, adventurers.
The best way to know it better is to stay at local people’s homes. They call it “Casa Particulare”. The average price is 20-25 CUC (Euros) per person per night with breakfast. You will be sleeping on the vintage bed, surrounded by antiquities, having fresh mangoes for breakfast, coming from the black market, because you will never find it in the shops. But they look happy.Â
As a local guide, I was proud to have an opportunity to put new places on Google maps. It was a challenge, but I hope it will help you, traveler, Â first of all to know your way. People are very nice in Cuba and always helpful. There is no way you gonna be lost and someone wouldn’t come to help. But sometimes it’s just good to know.
I will never forget the face of a man whose Tabacco Plantation (Casa Manolo tobacco plantations) I added on the map. He was happy like a child: “I am on Google now?! People can see me there? Wow! Thank you so much!”, and he gave me some cigars as a present. I don’t smoke, but it was so nice anyway. I felt so happy hoping, that his place will be discovered by others (he speaks 4 languages by the way) because 80% of the harvest plantation owners have to give for free to the state factories making cigars for the export and only 20% they can sell for their profit. The owner of Casa Particulare in Vignales (I also added her, Las Mary Villa) showed me that plantation, I have shown it to the world. This how the global community works. Each voice is important in this chain.
This is just a small bit of information about Cuba, where I have spent 3 unforgettable weeks and definitely will go there again. But with the sunscreen for sure.
