Traveling to Cuba: Some Logistical Considerations
For many Cuba travelers, the appeal goes beyond that of a quick, relaxing vacation. While it’s possible to travel resort-style with minimal planning, many want to dive deeper into Cuba’s culture, music, and history. This might imply a longer stay in Cuba, so it’s helpful to consider some of the logistics before you go. Here are some tips!
Staying with local hosts
Many Cuban families rent out space to travelers. Locally, these are known as “casas particulares.” This won’t be new for you if you’ve used Airbnb (which is widely used by Cuban hosts). Hosts may be present in the home or mostly off site depending on the listing. We specifically booked stays where hosts were generally around and accessible if we had questions. Good hosts can provide excellent local insight and logistical help during your time in Cuba. Our host families were absolutely critical connections during our travels in Cuba, especially early on in our trip.
The potential option of breakfast and other meals is another benefit of staying with a local. This is nice if you don’t feel like searching for a restaurant every time you go out.
Alternatively, you can also choose to stay in a hotel. Remember that some countries prohibit their citizens from staying in Cuban government-owned (or partially owned) hotels. We recommend checking your local regulations.
Neighborhoods
With the exception of Havana we’d recommend staying close to the historic centers of the towns you visit to make for easy walks around. In places like Viñales and Trinidad it’s easy to find casas particulares that are very central slightly off the beaten path.
On the other hand, in Havana we enjoyed staying in the relatively residential and tranquil neighborhood of Vedado. In Vedado you can still find many restaurants but without the touristic vibe you’ll encounter Havana Vieja. We spent a few nights in Havana Vieja, the touristic center, for our final few nights in Cuba. It was a nice way to ensure we got to do everything we wanted in that part of town before we left. However, we generally preferred the longer stretch of time we spent in Vedado upon first arriving in Cuba. We had much more space to stretch out both inside and outside the house. Plus, we felt we could better observe elements of everyday life in Cuba.
Our recommendation: read through listings and reviews of hosts and find one who is likely to be accessible for questions (whether during breakfast or otherwise). When you arrive, pick their brain about life in Cuba and the various logistical questions you’re likely to have.
Getting around
La Nave App
An app called La Nave is now available in Havana (not so much in other cities) but you’ll need a phone that drivers can reach you on (see Phone and Internet below) because they’ll often call to confirm price and pickup point. Also cash is generally the only available payment method even if the initial ride request happens digitally. The service is available for cars and motorcycles. The latter is a fun way to move around and your driver should provide the helmet.
Taxis
Traditional taxis are widely available, sometimes in the obvious yellow but quite frequently in the form of classic cars of diverse colors. You don’t have to book a tour to ride in one of Cuba’s ubiquitous classic cars from the 1950s, 1940s, and even 1930s. They are all over the place and are often used as taxis and colectivos. Usually the fare is agreed in advance, and although most drivers charge a fair price it is not uncommon to find higher than normal quotes. We recommend asking in your lodging how much you should pay to move in the city. Taxis are the easiest way to move around, and they are quite inexpensive.
Colectivos within cities
Here’s where it gets interesting. Colectivos are shared cars with generally set routes along main streets where they can be flagged down, and they usually take the form of very old cars! Take a ride in one. You’ll feel a sense of achievement and get a window of insight into Cuban society that most tourists don’t get.
The process may seem a bit scary but colectivos are a part of everyday life for many Cubans. Ask your host which streets colectivos operate on near you. You’ll see locals holding out their finger or fingers to indicate the number of passengers in their group. Look down the road for a classic (usually) car. They will often already have a passenger or several inside. Signal the driver. Be ready to tell them the cross street you’re headed to so they can confirm they’re going there. Hop in. The fares in late 2023 were around 100 Cuban Pesos.
In our experience colectivos were exclusively in the form of cars from the 1950s or earlier. They had often been refitted with newer engines but had flaws like a loose window roller or a finicky door handle (if your colectivo has seatbelts consider yourself lucky). For a visitor in Cuba, using a colectivo can be a memorable experience.
NOTE: Colectivo drivers may be open to dropping you at a specific destination outside of their normal route after they drop other passengers off. However, this is not the norm and in such cases you’ll need to discuss the price. Generally you’ll use colectivos to get to a point along the main street they run on, much like a bus or subway would get you closer to your destination but not exactly there.
Intercity transport
Colectivos also operate between cities in Cuba. They’re cheaper than private taxis but more expensive (but also faster) than taking a bus. As with colectivos running within a city, you’ll be sharing with other passengers but with more convenience. When you use a colectivo to get to another town you’ll generally book in advance and they may take you from door to door. For example, our host in Cienfuegos helped us book a colectivo to pick us up and take us to Trinidad.
Tip: Colectivos between Cienfuegos and Trinidad may offer the option to stop at El Nicho. This is a park with beautiful waterfalls and swimming holes and it was a highlight of our trip!
Buses are an inexpensive option to move between main cities in the island. You can travel by bus between places as distant as Havana and Santiago de Cuba. Tourists mainly use Viazul, and the tickets can be purchased online or in-person. The former is recommended to ensure your place.
There are a few important things to know about taking a bus in Cuba. Firstly, Viazul asks that you arrive an hour before the scheduled departure. We heard from others that their buses had left before the scheduled time so this may be important. Then again, your bus could depart late as well! Also, Viazul only sells a certain number of tickets online. If tickets appear to be sold out, there’s still a good chance you can purchase them on-site. We had generally comfortable rides using Viazul in Cuba, and in most cases more or less on schedule. The main downside was arriving at the station or pick-up points so early.
Money
There is more than one exchange rate in Cuba! Understanding this can help you save a quite substantial amount of money. As of 2024 the amount you’ll get for each dollar is more than double the official rate when you exchange your money on the informal (but widely and easily used) market. Ask your hosts if they are willing to exchange your dollars, euros, or other currency and compare rates with quotes you see in more traditional exchanges.
Often restaurants and other establishments are more than happy to accept payment in foreign currencies (most commonly USD, EUR, and CAD). In such cases, assuming they are privately-owned, they are likely to treat such currencies at the “informal” rate described above. They may give you your change in the same currency, local currency, or even a mix of both. In fact, you could even handle some of your currency exchange this way, paying in foreign currency and receiving change in pesos.
No matter the currency, we strongly recommend bringing enough cash for your travels and change to Cuban pesos as you go. Most establishments won’t accept international credit/debit cards. US banks might restrict the use of their cards in Cuba, so likely they won’t work there (check with your bank). Transfer agencies such as Western Union might not operate well either. For instance, in February 2024 Western Union suspended remittances to Cuba from the US. Although we never used banks in Cuba, we observed long lines at banks and ATMs (as in potentially hours-long).
We only used credit cards when it came to Airbnb bookings (we had to use a VPN for this, more below), and Viazul online bookings. For everything else we used cash.
Phone and Internet
The availability of international roaming in Cuba varies by country and operator. In our case, Cuba is one of the few countries where our US provider offers no coverage. However, you can easily get a SIM card with data at one of the Etecsa offices in major cities. In 2023 we paid about $5 USD for a SIM card with about 4 GB of data. The signal was generally good enough in most places we traveled. This was crucial, as most lodgings do not have (or have unreliable) WiFi.
You can also get an Internet card to use at city parks and some lodgings with a modem. Although this is cheaper than the SIM card, in our experience it was less useful. The boundaries for WiFi in parks might be small and you might not feel like waiting in the hot sun to check your email.
Lastly, some US-based companies (e.g. Airbnb and some banks) have their access restricted from Cuba. To be able to use these websites, you will need to purchase a VPN and have it installed prior to traveling to Cuba. In our case we used “Express VPN” and were able to do lodging bookings and other online chores while in Cuba.
Food
Above we highlighted the fact that some hosts offer breakfast. This will often consist of at least fruit, juice, eggs, bread, and coffee or tea. This a good way to ensure one balanced meal before venturing out. This is not to say that food is scarce in general but since certain items are indeed scarce you’ll sometimes find that a restaurant doesn’t have something listed on their menu. And generally speaking the food in Cuba may be a bit heavier that what you’re accustomed to, for example if your diet normally includes a variety of vegetables.
Pork will probably be the most common meat item you’ll see though beef, chicken, and fish can be found as well. Don’t expect a rich variety of vegetables. Be prepared to be told that a menu item is not available at restaurants. Shortages abound in Cuba. If you like Lobster, you will be able to satisfy you appetite in Cuba as it is usually inexpensive and deliciously cooked.
Drink bottled or pre-boiled water.
If you have a kitchen available and want to venture into cooking, note that supplies are scarce and expensive since most items are imported. There are small stores where you can get the basics like oil, salt, pasta, rice, tomato sauce, usually in a single brand. As for vegetables, there are plenty of vendors but variety is limited. So yes, you might be able to cook but you’ll need to be flexible with your menu and allow time to gather ingredients.
Essentials
Getting essentials in Cuba is not just a matter of a quick trip to the store. Industry is underdeveloped so Cuba relies heavily on imported goods. However, due to the economic restrictions imposed on Cuba, supplying stores is an ordeal.
There are two types of stores where visitors can get essentials: government-owned and privately owned. (A certain amount of private entrepreneurial activity is now allowed). Government stores can be found in medium and large cities and they sell imported soap, shampoo, sometimes diapers, canned goods, cookies, liquor, and some other basic items. As of 2023, they required payment in credit/debit cards (again, not all banks may allow payments in Cuba). Getting essentials in privately owned stores can be hit or miss. You get what they can get which is usually beer, random soap, toilet paper, sometimes antiperspirant and basic cooking items.
By most accounts, medicines are scarce. We observed many pharmacies with shelves that were quite bare so plan accordingly.
Usually host families provide toilet paper and most of them include bar soap. None of the places where we stayed provided shampoo.
Tips: Bring your essentials including basic medicines and toiletries and perhaps a few snacks for those first days while you get your bearings. And consider bringing extra for your hosts.
