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 it in the next version on the heap of pitfalls. (a heap of pits, is that possible?). Keep your money on you!
What’s Cuba like at the moment? This is a page that I will have to edit every month because today’s circumstances are not next week’s. A lot is changing at the moment and that is happening very quickly.
For example, last month’s fuel shortage with long queues for the gas stations has now been resolved, but that could be different next week. And it was. We have shortages again and long lines at the gas stations with gasoline. Thanks to 7 Turkish floating power plants, we have had no power cuts for 4 months now. As soon as Cuba does not pay the bill, they will sail away and the power cuts will, of course, return. The Turks gave a little warning last week, cutting the power for a few hours.
Since March 1, the problem of petrol shortage for tourists has been solved. There are now two types of gas stations: Pesos stations where there is no gasoline and where you pay in pesos and dollar stations where you pay with a dollar card. The latter have petrol and no queue because the dollar cards with which Cubans could pay are not yet available. (that’s Cuba)… So you fill up as much as you want as long as you have a credit card!
MONEY
The official exchange rate of the USD is 110 pesos and on the street you currently get 290 pesos for a Dollar. That was 200 two months ago and 150 six months ago. This is yesterday’s exchange rate on the black market. (actually it’s not… but close.) Those are rather big changes with considerable implications for your costs. In addition, inflation is sky high and prices are not rising gradually but by leaps and bounds and different companies use different conversion tables so that prices have really become completely opaque. So it is very important to keep your eyes open at the moment! Understand money and the principle of Cash is King before you leave!
TO EAT
The food situation is dire at the moment. There just isn’t enough! As a tourist, with your hard currency, you will not notice that, except that restaurants cannot always serve everything they have on the menu. (People who know Cuba will think this is a good joke, you probably will too by the time you’ve been here for three days.)
If you’re thinking of cooking for yourself, be prepared to spend hours searching for the ingredients and spending more money than eating at a restaurant.
TOURISM
Individual tourism is making a comeback. Where three months ago we mainly had organized bus trips, I see more and more travelers. (Those bus tours are notably filled with tourists.)
That is good for the country. There is currently (not) enough petrol and there are even cars for rent. There is an abundance of Casas Particular and they are far from full. Because it is still quite quiet with foreigners, it is great to travel at the moment so.
ACCOMMODATION
Not a problem. Although the Casas all want to be paid in Euro or Dollar or any hard currency for that matter…
Here’s how to book a Casa Particular if you want to be sure… No need to do so at the moment!
SHORTAGES
There is virtually nothing here at the moment… Let that sink in and take everything you need with you. Not for sale (during this update):
Deo, detergent, coffee, chicken, toothpaste, salt, sugar, conditioner and soap just to name a few. This list can change tomorrow but I really only update it once a month.
MiPyMes to the rescue
A rather new Phenomena are the MiPymes. Small, private enterprises importing all kinds of goods per container. All over town you will find little super markets selling basic goods. Where, for example cooking oil, used to be only available on the black market, now the Mipymes can import it legally and sell it! This is driving down prices. How long this will last? Maybe we have to retract this paragraph during next months update :-).
So make sure you have panty liners with you when you use them! Writing a post on this blog takes me about four days on average (not full time though!). As I write this, the shops are now all stocked with toothpaste and that can therefore be removed from the list above for the time being… So you can see how quickly the current situation is changing.
TRAVEL ADVICE:
Personally, I think it’s a perfect time to go to Cuba. The condition is that you are well prepared. If you arrive here with only a Credit Card and a bag of ‘no clue’ you’re lost!
In any case, understand the money before you leave!
Recommended reading: