Cuba

pjproby · 21-02-2015 2:32pm #1

We would like to travel to Cuba for about 10-14 days later in the year perhaps November towards the end of the hurricane season. Ideally we would like to spend a couple of days in Havana and a few days at a beach resort and perhaps Trinidad in between. I am interest in good value mid price rather than luxury accommodation. I would love to hear from others who have been there.

moby2101 · 21-02-2015 6:14pm

Hi,

November is a great time to go.My wife and I were there in November a few years ago after a particularly bad hurricane..weather was amazing.

We spent 4 nights in Havana and 7 nights in Varadero.
Stayed in NH Parque Central http://www.hotelparquecentral-cuba.com/ in Havana.
You couldn't get a more central location. Great atmosphere, fantastic rooftop pool and the food is good quality..

I mention food straight from the get go because unfortunately the food is dreadful..
It still amazes how bad the food is, it's reasonable quality but completely taste free!

Havana is amazing, but beware it's expensive..do all the recommended sightseeing, it's all good.

I'd highly recommend hiring a private guide, check with the Hotel concierge, a private guide for a day generally including tip will set u back about 30euro.

Best restaurant is La Guarida, book before you..its busy..its very average but it's a beautiful old building and they name check all the famous movie stars who have eaten there over the years.
Varadero has to be one of the best beaches in the world, it's as good if not better than any beach in the Indian ocean or Caribbean.
The hotels (..do some research on TripAdvisor) are very average, we stayed in Royal Hicacos, food was dire..
The beach more than makes up for the crap food and crappy hotel

Cuba is amazing, you have to go before it becomes completely westernised, which it undoubtedly will once the US embargo is finally over.

Enjoy!

barry55555 · 21-02-2015 7:45pm

I was there about 15 years ago but I guess it hasn't changed that much since.
I went May and the weather was great.

At the time the cheapest way there was through Madrid. Iberia have daily flights to Habana.
You could also spend a day or two in Madrid which is a great city.

I would recommend you try get full board/all inclusive and stay at a good hotel.
In Habana I stayed at the Melia Cohiba which was very nice and even got an upgrade to a suite due to a check-in delay. Its was located on the Malecon and also close to the famous Riviera Hotel and only a short taxi ride to centre. Food was really good there also.

The first restaurant we sampled outside the hotel was the best rated in Cuba at the time but I cant remember the name. Lunch cost about $30 each with no meat on the menu, without drinks, and we were both ill for the next two days. Even supermarkets had very little and very poor quality meats on the shelves.

Within minutes of leaving your hotel you will surely be approached by people asking you for the time or any other reason to start a conversation. Just pretend you cant speak English unless you want them to be your new best friend/tour guide with the sole intention of extracting as much cash from you as possible.

Cubans pay in peso or Cuban dollar and tourists pay in US dollars. So if a Cuban is charged 1 peso (5 cents) a tourist must pay 1 US dollar. This happens all over Cuba and not just tourist areas. Don't accept change in peso as you wont be able to spend it.

Varadero is very nice and again I recommend all inclusive with unlimited drinks and snacks. Varadero is closed to non residents which mean less hassle from locals. I don't mean to sound bad as its their country but the begging is constant. Everyone wants to sell fake "Cuban cigars" (from Haiti or Dominican) or beg for cash. Truth is its hard not to feel sorry for them.

Make sure u get an illegal taxi (old American cars) and try get one to be your tour guide. Always haggle with Taxi drivers as initial quotes are even more expensive than Ireland.
Don't buy cigars off strangers and try find official cigar shops that can be well hidden. Get lots of small bills for tips, taxis, beers etc. Bring a pen if u intend to send postcard as they can be hard to find.

Most of my comments are negative but once you avoid these you will really have a great time. Cuba is a beautiful country,the people are so friendly, great weather, amazing buildings. Try get away from the tourist areas and see the real Habana.Enjoy

wow sierra · 21-02-2015 8:07pm

Went there in 2007 and did a whistle stop guided tour with www.Exodus.co.uk.

Basically you stayed about one or two nights in each town but got to see the whole Island and experience a bit of the real vibe of the place. You can do tours like that and do homestays to get a really good introduction to the place but I did it while staying in nice hotels. Most of the restaurants we went to in the towns had live bands playing Cuban music - think a more basic version of the Beuno Vista Social club - it was great.

Definitely recommend Trinidad - beautiful Colonial style town, and the sight and sound of the locals dancing salsa outside on the steps - I found this video and I want to go back. I would recommend staying in Trinidad for a week rather than Varadero because you can stay in your nice hotel and lounge by the pool but still be in this truly amazing historic town. There's a fab island we took a trip to from there too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1fCNb_kfqY

Googles your friend - get all the info before you decide. Also when I was there you couldn't spend US dollars anywhere. You might get away with Euro but they didn't take Sterling either. I just changed my money in the Airport when I got there.

Just reading the post above reminded me of the Cuban cigars. We went to a factory where they made the real ones and it was pretty amazing looking at the process from the leaves to the final thing - really skilled work. Oh and if you can at all learn as much Spanish as you can before you go - instead of Billboards like we have they have huge signs with political slogans. Plus it lets you talk to the real locals - I found after the two weeks I was beginning to understand a fair bit. And nearly knew the words of the Che Guavara song I'd heard it so often.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-agiAnRYrrU

barry55555 · 21-02-2015 8:28pm

I assume your talking about the Partagas cigar factory.
In the Melia hotel I stayed in the had a man hand rolling cigars for customers in lobby.
He advised and I agree that if you plan on buying cigars get machine rolled rather than hand rolled. They cost less and are more evenly rolled.
I found a great cigar shop near my hotel. It was on ground floor in residential building behind large wooden doors with no sign outside. They can be hard to find but worth looking for.
Spanish is not essential but does help away from tourist areas. I have a high level of Spanish which did help.

Bowandarrow · 23-02-2015 12:40am

Just booked my flight this evening for 3 weeks in April. Going to do a 2 wk intrepid tour and then a week solo, split between vinales and varadero.

I have no Spanish ill hopefully have some of the basics by then but I'm wondering will vinales be a problem with the language barrier.
Thanks

Idol · 23-02-2015 9:37am

I was in Cuba two years ago, travelled around the country from Havana to Vinales, onto Trinidad and then a week in Varadero. Stayed in Casa Particulars in Havana/Vinales/Trinidad, which I would highly recommend as great way to meet the locals and learn about the culture.
I didn't have much spanish myself and wasn't a problem anywhere as most people speak English, especially the younger Cubans. We stayed in Vinales for 2 nights and one one of the days we got a local to bring us to a small beach nearby in his Chevy which was amazing!

leecurlywurly · 23-02-2015 11:09am

Hi,

Visiting Cuba in April and looking into the visa. Can this be obtained at Havana airport upon arrival?

Paying 50e at Dublin's Cuba embassy seems a rather lot of money...

anastach · 23-02-2015 11:50am

Hi,

Unfortunately, you can't get a visa on arrival. Have to go to the embassy.
Also be prepared Cuba is not cheap in general.

Just got back on January. Happy to provide any tips if you want.

leecurlywurly wrote: »

Hi,

Visiting Cuba in April and looking into the visa. Can this be obtained at Havana airport upon arrival?

Paying 50e at Dublin's Cuba embassy seems a rather lot of money...

leecurlywurly · 23-02-2015 1:48pm

anastach wrote: »

Hi,

Unfortunately, you can't get a visa on arrival. Have to go to the embassy.
Also be prepared Cuba is not cheap in general.

Just got back on January. Happy to provide any tips if you want.

Hi,

Thanks, I spoke to the Cuban embassy in Dublin and they said it can be obtained at Havana airport however I have decided to get it here before I go for the peace of mind!

Thanks!

lintdrummer · 23-02-2015 9:16pm

Heading to Cuba myself over the Easter holidays. We're only doing 10 days there because we're travelling via Toronto so we're spending a few days there too. We've got 2 nights booked in a hotel in Varadero on arrival and are going to wing it in Casa Particulars after that. Hoping to see Havana, Vinales and Cienfuegos / Trinidad if possible. It'll be tight but looking forward to the adventure!

Could anyone who got their visas in the embassy in Dublin advise whether I can go alone and get my partners travel card as well as my own? The application form says that there is an additional fee of €25 if "an agent" gets a visa on someones behalf, so wondering if that will apply in this case?

HamsterFace · 23-02-2015 9:22pm

Is the food really that bad!?

HeidiHeidi · 23-02-2015 9:34pm

I visited cuba for two weeks in December 2013.

The food wasn't that bad! You certainly wouldn't be going there for a gourmet experience, but it was perfectly fine (and I don't even eat seafood, my pal thought she'd died and gone to heaven, eating lobster for dinner every night for about a tenner).

The weather was WAY hotter than I'd expected. I had 3/4 length jeans, polo shorts, that kind of thing. I nearly died of the heat and humidity. And there is almost literally nothing to buy over there - what you will need, make sure you bring.

We stayed in Havana, Trinidad, Cienfuegos, and Vinales. Of those, only Cienfuegos disappointed. I really, really just didn't like it. It was just meh - nothing wrong with it I could put my finger on. Others we met raved about it. But Trinidad - OMG! Make time to just hang out there, it's amazing! (I thought it was a bit like a film-set, very artificially preserved, when we got there first, but I got over that fairly sharpish).

We mixed our accomodation between hotels and casa particulares. The casas won hands down. Hotels were expensive, and that didn't mean the plumbing, electrics or air con necessarily worked any better than in the casas, with were about a fifth of the price. If I were going again (and I really do hope to do so, before it all changes utterly, to see the south half of the island) I'd stay in casas all the way. Except for the Hotel Nacional which we treated ourselves to for our last few nights in Havana - it was an experience! A very expensive experience, but I don't regret it for a minute. But if and when I go again I'll be finding a casa in old town.

Currency, we brought shedloads of euros, changed them as we went along, and carried everything in a money belt under our t-shirts.

My experience of it was that if you use casas (for meals as well as accomodation, restaurants were fairly expensive from memory), public transport (very efficient), then apart from getting there Cuba could prove a very cheap holiday.

Having said that, we didn't go near Varadero, which I can imagine would be fairly expensive.

Gah, now I want to go back there again, NOW :mad:

Bowandarrow · 24-02-2015 12:29am

I've seen on a few tripadvisor boards about air canada giving visas on route not sure if this would be for just canadians or everybody. Just booked flights yesterday for april aswell will ring them tomor and update

HeidiHeidi · 24-02-2015 12:34am

My visa cost 22 quid, I got it in about 10 minutes at the embassy in Dublin having filled out the form beforehand.

DainBramage · 24-02-2015 12:40am

I just returned from Cuba in the past week and it was fantastic (received some advice from posters here before going, thx again). My 2 cents if anyones arsed:

Visa is euro25 not 50. Get it direct from the embassy, not an agency who will rip you off. Takes about 5 mins there.

I believe its the airline that seek the visa in advance , not Cuban Immigration. (Air France asked to see it checking in.)

Prepare for long lines at Havana immigration and at currency exchange outside.

Didn't find the food that bad, we stayed in Casas and a resort and it was fine everywhere.

It's not the cheapest, eg for taxis, booze etc.

Try and stay in Casas at some point, all seem to have a fixed price of 25CUP pp/pn. Its a great experience.

a few punters in Havana trying to flog cigars also my friends and I were asked several times by kids for things like pens, cigarette lighters and even for our t-shirts!! It was good natured though and that was about the height of the begging I saw.

Certain items will be very expensive or hard to obtain in Cuba. For example I forgot my sunglasses and tried to buy a cheapo pair in Havana. None to be found. Eventually found a shop selling cheap plastic rubbish worth a fiver here, 25CUP there. Bring all toiletries, sunblock, condoms etc with you.

One negative- much is made of the Cuban health system and its supposed high standard. This is no doubt true in some respects like doctor/patient ratios and other areas.
But our experience- My friend got very ill and went to a large hospital in Santa Clara. It was mayhem and like something from the third world. filthy wards and operating rooms with patients, medical staff, visitors all just milling around with what seemed like no order. electicity kept going off. No water- we had to go buy some. (we were not being over privileged gringos demanding the best in a foreign country, it really was bad.) To balance we then had to get a lot of medication- antibiotics etc . This was all basically free thanks to the socialist regime. Also if you are somewhere like Varadero there should be top class clinics.

Other than that Cuba is a brilliant country and I envy anyone going there. I particularly enjoyed Vinales and the surrounding countryside, Trinidad is also great. Varaderos beaches are beautiful.
Any other queries, shout.

Bowandarrow · 25-02-2015 12:18am

Anybody who's been is 3 days too long in vinales, ill b travelling on my own and wondering will there be enough to do or could it be very quiet
Thanks

HeidiHeidi · 25-02-2015 9:15am

Bowandarrow wrote: »

Anybody who's been is 3 days too long in vinales, ill b travelling on my own and wondering will there be enough to do or could it be very quiet
Thanks

No! Could easily spend a week there.

pjproby · 28-02-2015 6:03pm

Thanks so much to you all for your information and advice.

lintdrummer · 01-03-2015 12:38am

Just to answer my own question from earlier in the thread: the €25 extra was charged at the embassy because my girlfriend wasn't with me when I went to get the visas. No big deal but something to consider for anyone traveling in a group as it would add a nice bit to the cost.

devondudley · 09-03-2015 9:10am

booked up for may. is the havana club drink tour worth going to. my friends said it was a great place but not seeing much info online for it

boredatwork82 · 10-03-2015 9:56pm

Can I ask you about the visa for Cuba,was there a form you had to fill out before hand, and what form of payment did you bring, credit card, cash or postal order? & did you need passport photos. Heading in may can't wait

HeidiHeidi · 10-03-2015 10:20pm

boredatwork82 wrote: »

Can I ask you about the visa for Cuba,was there a form you had to fill out before hand, and what form of payment did you bring, credit card, cash or postal order? & did you need passport photos. Heading in may can't wait

I got a form from the embassy (it's in an office complex on Sandwith St Lower, off Pearse Street, I had a nightmare of a time trying to find it!).

No photos, and I think you had to pay cash for it - it says it on the form anyhow.

Took about 10 minutes, not a bother.

boredatwork82 · 10-03-2015 11:22pm

cool, thanks heidi, did you need to bring copies of your flights and proof of health insurance, or just your passport and money ?

HeidiHeidi · 11-03-2015 12:11am

boredatwork82 wrote: »

cool, thanks heidi, did you need to bring copies of your flights and proof of health insurance, or just your passport and money ?

Can't remember tbh - but all the info you need is on the form.

I think it was just passport and money.

jadie · 12-03-2015 11:57am

visited Cuba in Jan. Word of warning bring all the toiletries you need and antibiotics, medical kit etc. The food is woeful. I ended up getting very sick from it. No snack food to be found, we brought cereal bars nuts etc, which turned out to be a great idea. If you like white rice, kidney beans and white bread you will be ok!! Even buying bottled water can be an ordeal. No shops really as such. Vinales is ok, I wouldn't spend a week there likewise Trinidad is nice but a few days are plenty. I wouldn't really recommend Cuba as a destination to be honest.

HamsterFace · 12-03-2015 12:49pm

jadie wrote: »

visited Cuba in Jan. Word of warning bring all the toiletries you need and antibiotics, medical kit etc. The food is woeful. I ended up getting very sick from it. No snack food to be found, we brought cereal bars nuts etc, which turned out to be a great idea. If you like white rice, kidney beans and white bread you will be ok!! Even buying bottled water can be an ordeal. No shops really as such. Vinales is ok, I wouldn't spend a week there likewise Trinidad is nice but a few days are plenty. I wouldn't really recommend Cuba as a destination to be honest.

Out of interest, what food do you usually eat? Home or abroad?

jadie · 12-03-2015 1:08pm

I'm not a fussy eater if that is what you are implying. I have travelled to a lot of places around the world and it was by far the worst food I've had. Well look some of it was ok I just think it was a lack of choice, flavour etc. It's a communist country with food shortages though so to be expected.

irish_goat · 12-03-2015 9:26pm

Would anyone have a ball park figure for a week's holiday in Cuba on the reasonably cheap side? Would be happy staying in casas, eating in local restaurants and then spending the rest of the budget on travelling around/museums and drinks etc.

jadie · 13-03-2015 11:31am

This website is fairly spot on I think. Remember there is a 25 CUC tax when leaving the country too. I also found that taking my money out by credit card that I got a better rate than the money exchange places.

http://www.neverendingvoyage.com/cuba-travel-costs/

hoooooooot · 25-03-2015 3:56pm

Seems to be more or less covered above but just wanted to be sure as heading in May myself, nobody changed currency beforehand? just brought Euro/USD and changed it there?

Seems difficult to change the money here and I assume VISA/Mastercard are out of the question over there?

Thanks

Cuba

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