The current situation in Cuba April 2024

Alert! There’s a new trick to separate you from your money. The airport taxis sometimes have a kid hidden in the trunk. If you put your backpack with your money in, the kid has half an hour to find your money and take half… This pitfall isn’t in the book yet so we will put […]

Money and prices in Cuba

Money and prices in Cuba can be quite complex, following the history of the country’s currency system. Up until January 1, 2021, Cuba had the dual currency system, which included the so-called “tourist peso” (a misnomer). However, this dual currency system was eventually abolished. Thus creating a dual currency system (yes, that’s Cuban logic). Afterward, […]

Cuba Cheaper

Cuba is not cheap, but you can make it cheaper. Updated July 2018 To discover Cuba cheaply is quite impossible… You can go to Cuba cheap, but then you do not discover it. The cheap way to go to Cuba, without actually getting to know it, is to take an all-inclusive holiday package, which will […]

Reasonable budget for Cuba

What is a reasonable budget for Cuba? You can spend all the money you want in Cuba; it is not a cheap destination. It’s not Asia, and you definitely can’t live on 5 $ per day. We’ll explore a reasonable budget here. But before you go into determining your budget, you have to understand how […]

ATM in Cuba how-to and what-if?

Can I use an ATM in Cuba? The answer to that question varies… But the short answer is ‘Don’t‘ And that’s a pure economic answer. If you use an ATM it will give you Pesos at the official rate of 1 USD for 24. And 1 USD on the street is about 4 times that […]

Cuba Cheap

How to make Cuba Cheap Here are a few tricks to make Cuba cheap, although it will never become as cheap as Asia. Buy food at the market and preparing your meals will bring down prices of feeding yourself by 80%. Eat in MN restaurants and cafeterias. A meal for 1.50! Buy big 5 litre […]

Hostel or Hostal?

The concept ‘hostel’ is a bit confusing in Cuba.  Basically there are 2 types of accommodation in Cuba: Hotels and Casas Particular.  Hotels are state owned (at least 51% but let’s not get technical) and don’t live up to the international classification. Deduct at least one star for the real comfort level. So if you are […]

Things about Cuba you want to know before you go.

Things about Cuba you want to know before you take a plane: I’ve got a tough reality for you: Nothing that you know about Cuba is true. OK, I’ll admit, it is an island and they have a lot of old cars, but the rest of what you think you know??? Simply NOT true. (And […]

Rent a car

Last update April 2019 The second best way to explore Cuba is to rent a Car. If you want to rent a car, do so before you go. But you might want to read this post to the end (and our book) before you do so! Once in Cuba the agencies never have the car […]

Havana es Havana!

Havana: Nothing compares to it! Last update 12/2018 Some fun facts about Havana and a few must-sees just of the beaten track. The capital of Cuba is the biggest city in the Caribbean. ‘Havana es Havana’ say the Cubans, and it is hip and happening. The Old Lady is bent and bruised but just got […]