Most Canadians go to Cuba to enjoy the beautiful beaches at an all-inclusive resort and perhaps do a day trip into Havana. Over the year we have heard about the wonderful Cuban cigars, the tasty rum and some dissatisfaction with the food options.
Cuba was never on our radar screen for a vacation until our friends suggested a guided island tour as opposed to the typical resort offering and we jumped at the opportunity. We opted for a 9 night tour for just the four of us that included upgraded B & B accommodation, a local guide, auto transportation on the island and a couple of meals. Our airfare to Cuba, most meals and drinks, tipping and other incidentals were an extra cost to us. We felt the overall trip cost was very affordable.
GETTING INTO CUBA
There are restrictions to enter Cuba from the United States. If you plan to enter from the US, tourism is not a legitimate reason for travel to Cuba. Be sure you understand the restrictions or you may be disappointed. We flew from Canada to Cancun, Mexico and then did a return flight to Havana from Cancun before returning to Canada. We had no issues entering or leaving the Havana airport. You do need to purchase a Cuban travel document before entering Cuba. We purchased ours at the Cancun airport through our air carrier, Interjet. It cost 350 Mexican pesos each or about 18 USD. Be careful in filling out the form as any error or correction voids the form and you must buy another form and start over. Two of us made the mistake.
The form is stamped at immigration in Cuba and you must retain the form when you exit Cuba. We do not know the consequences of losing the form and we were not anxious to find out so we kept it safe. Give yourself lots of time at the airport to fly into Cuba. Interjet suggested 3 hours before departure at the Cancun airport and we had no issues by following their suggestion.
We found the flight to Havana had many Cubans returning from vacation or shopping trips and they were loaded down with baggage. We determined that Cubans can travel once per year (if they can afford to) and they are allowed to bring back 125 kilos (275 pounds) of purchases or equivalents based on an approved government list. We saw TVs, air conditioners and bags full of what we understood to be clothes, footwear and household goods. Aside from personal consumption, we were told that many of the purchases are re-sold in Cuba as a way to supplement their modest income.
CUBAN CURRENCY
Cuba currently has two types of currency – pesos used by the locals and a Cuban convertible currency “CUC” used by tourists – neither of which is any good outside of Cuba. Take them home and they are called souvenirs.
One CUC is the equivalent to 25 pesos although as a tourist the CUC is the only currency you need. We obtained our CUCs at the Havana airport and we exchanged Canadian dollars. The Cuban CUC is set on par with the US dollar to establish a medium of exchange. Cuba does not want US dollars and they charge a 10% fee to exchange US dollars. Our exchange went quite smoothly and we felt the exchange rate from Canadian dollars to Cuban CUCs was fair.
There are special places to exchange money in Cuban cities and there are also ATMs to obtain CUCs. Our friends used a Canadian bank debit card at an ATM and it worked fine. We have read online that Visa cards also work in the ATMs or you can go to a bank with a VISA or a Mastercard as long as they are not associated with a US bank. We simply took Canadian dollars and used the exchange houses.
We did not see places accepting credit cards to pay for meals, cigars, rum or souvenirs so we used cash only. Our accommodation was covered by our tour so we do not know if they accept credit cards or not.
CIENFUEGOS
After spending one night in Havana we started our tour by going to Giron to see a Revolution museum. It consisted mostly of revolution photos, a few military weapons and the sequence of events as Castro and Guevara took control of Cuba in 1959. The narratives were all in Spanish and our guide was able to give us a good tour by filling in the details. It was a good historical review but we needed the guide to provide the verbal history. I think many of the towns and cities in Cuba have revolution museums.
We also stopped at the Bay of Pigs for a quick swim and a restroom break. There was also a deep cave with swimming in the open area. It was quite an attraction for the numerous bus tours and there seemed to be quite a few Russian tourists.
We overnighted in Cienfuegos at the Casa Brisa Sur B & B. Cienfuegos is a UNESCO designated city of 150,000 on a southern coastal bay and has many colonial buildings. The Casa was very clean and fully functional with a good en suite bathroom that was fully stocked with supplies. The hosts made us feel welcome and the morning breakfast was all we needed.
We took a tour of the central square and had our first use of the internet. We bought an internet card for $2 on the street and accessed the public Wifi in the square. The card is good for one hour and if you do not use it all you can start it up again at a different public Wifi spot. We did a walk down to the harbour for a beer and watched the sunset. Our guide recommended the Big Bang restaurant in the downtown that was within waking distance to the Casa. It was very good and reasonably priced.
TRINIDAD
We travelled via Santa Clara to Trinidad. The main three lane highway is quite good and not that busy. There a numerous old vehicles, tractors pulling wagons and horse drawn carts in the slow lane. Once we left the main highway the roads deteriorate noticeably and the driving is more difficult. Our driver did a good job but the ride is bumpy and he had to slow for horses and bicycles.
At Santa Clara we toured the Che Guevara museum which was mostly a good photo presentation with some personal context. Again the captions were in Spanish but we could get an understanding because the photos are self-explanatory.
It is a fairly long drive to Trinidad mostly because the secondary roads are not that good. The countryside is interesting with small farm lands and we crossed some nice valleys.
Trinidad is a UNESCO designated city of 75,000 people and is located on the south coast. We stayed at the Casa Lola B & B and it was comfortable and fully supplied. There was a big courtyard to enjoy a beer and to have breakfast. The staff seemed indifferent to our being there and it felt more like a hotel as opposed to a Casa. The location was excellent as we could access linen shopping, restaurants and the public square for Wifi and for the evening to listen to music and have a beer on the “steps at the square”. There was a money exchange house down the street and a government cigar store on the corner.
We took the opportunity to have a one hour salsa lesson. We had some nerves going in but it turned out to be one of the highlights of the vacation. A good teacher can make all the difference.
We had two nights in Trinidad and on our full day we went to the beach that was about 14 kms away by taxi. The vintage taxi ride cost $8 each way. The beach was nice and we paid for lounges under canopies to shade us from the sun. Well worth the trip.
VINALES – THE BEST OF CUBA!
It is a long drive from Trinidad to Vinales, about 7 to 8 hours. We basically had to go back to Havana and then travel to the south west. I think Vinales was my favourite part of Cuba because of where we stayed and because of the beautiful valley we were in. The Vinales Valley is a UNESCO designated area and the city has a population of about 25,000.
We stayed at the Casa Fernando Diaz and it was the absolute best. The room was nice and the bathroom was made of tile and crystal clean. There was a sitting area in the back for breakfast and to enjoy the night sky. The breakfast was good and the host made us feel very welcome.
Vinales is in tobacco country and they produce some of the best cigars in the world. We toured an organic tobacco farm and we found out that once the tobacco is harvested and dried, the government takes 90% of the crop for their cigar factories and the farm keeps 10% of the best leaves for their own cigar production. The farm produces about 5,000 cigars per year and they sell for $4 each. We purchased a package of 15 cigars.
They showed us how they hand roll a cigar and explained the overall process. They gave us a cigar to smoke and we also had a shot of local rum. It takes about five leaves to make a cigar and they remove the main vein to reduce the amount of nicotine in the cigar. Apparently the government factories use machines to make most of the cigars and do not remove the vein in the tobacco leaf.
The Main Street in Vinales had an outdoor souvenir market and was loaded with good restaurants. This area is a must see for anyone who wants to experience the real Cuba countryside. Throughout the country we saw oxen working the fields and many horse drawn carts and Vinales was no different.
We visited the above Botanical garden in Vinales. The entrance was free and we contributed a donation to help with the upkeep. We had a tour and the person was very knowledgeable and it showed the forethought of the two sisters who started the garden in the early 1900’s. We ended the tour by having a traditional Cuban rum drink made and served in a grapefruit. Delicious.
LA HABANA (Havana)
We spent a total of 4 nights in Old Havana and overall it was not our favourite part of Cuba. There is a lot of structural concerns with buildings and, outside the core tourist area, the streets are dirty with lots of garbage laying around and falling out of overflowing bins. It seems that Old Havana caters to the cruise ships and outside that core area there is a general lack of interest in maintenance. Although the streets are very dark at night, we did not have any safety issues as we were careful to walk as a group.
We did enjoy number of places and sights and for that reason Havana is worth the trip. (For us it will be one trip only) The convertible, vintage car tour was very good and we toured for about an hour and went to revolution square and seen a good part of Havana.
There is a huge marketplace on the harbour and it was full of souvenirs and local art. This is worth a walk around and a couple hours is more than enough. Right beside the marketplace was a large bar under renovation. When this is completed it looks to be a good place to spend some time.
We did a tour of the rum museum and the guide did a good job outlining the history of rum production in Cuba. This is a must do in Havana.
A gem in Havana is “Fusterlandia”. An artist, Jose Fuster, started doing tile work on his residence and it took off as he covered his own property and the adjacent property owners ask him to tile their gates as well. The work is spectacular and it is quite crowded with tour buses. Perhaps go early to avoid the crowds.
One evening we went to the Tropicana production show at an outdoor theatre about 30 minutes from Old Havana. The price was $95 per ticket and similar to a Las Vegas show and cost. We went early and had drinks and appetizers in the restaurant. The value and food was very good.
The show was entertaining and they provided a full bottle of rum for the four of us as well as a glass of champagne. It was a very enjoyable evening.
We enjoyed roof top drinks and a roof top supper on two different occasions. The supper was hosted by our tour company and the chef provided a true feast. We started with a mojito making lesson and followed with a three course meal that was superb.
Havana has a natural entrance to the harbour and it was protected by a fortress built by the Spaniards. We did a brief tour of the fortress and the views of the city are worth the time to go and see.
I mentioned that Havana has a fair share of dirty streets and decaying buildings. The public bathrooms leave something to be desired. The attendants do charge for their use; however, most bathrooms have no toilet paper or toilet seats. Many of them do not flush and they lack any sort of towels to dry your hands, assuming there is any water available for the sinks.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
We were very glad we made the tour of Cuba as we learned far more about the country than we knew before.
The quality of the food available to the tourists is as good as any we have had on our other vacations. I don’t think the people of Cuba have the same quality and that is a true shame. We understand the people are issued annual ration books and they attend the various government stores each month to access bread, rice and beans, and some meat. Vegetables are hard to come by as they go to the tourist resorts and tourist restaurants. We were told the government supplies are not enough to live on and the people must buy extra food.
Apparently a doctor in Cuba makes about $40 per month and other work pays less. The people must earn extra money from business ventures or providing services. The business ventures require a government license and most relate to tourism such as taxis, B & Bs, souvenir shops, restaurants or guiding. We met a museum guide who said he made about $70 per month and this would have included tips.
Many buildings and roads in Cuba are in very bad condition and require an immense amount of capital to get them in proper working order. The bathroom facilities are abysmal and train and bus transportation for locals is almost unworkable. People who have cell phones just got internet on them in December 2018.
Oxen pulling ploughs in 2019 does not seem to be an innovative way to enhance crop production. It seems that agriculture is in a bad time warp. Cuba has workable land and a labor force but there is a disconnect to be more productive.
We always hear that Cuba has a very high literacy rate and I have to wonder how educated people cannot come up with innovative ways to produce more food and create greater economic benefits for the people. The current system simply does not work.
The country will have an updated constitution at the end of February 2019 and it is going to name Socialism as the political and economic system for Cuba. It strikes me as odd that a country where everyone is supposed to be economically equal that they must rely on the capitalism of tourism to sustain the people. Make no mistake that capitalism exists in Cuba and the people we met do want to get ahead.
Can everyone be economically equal in Cuba? Yes, if they want to continue the race to the bottom all together. The people deserve better.
My second cup is now empty……………………….
Very informative post. I loved your photos. Thank you.