Tip 1: How do I get there? Isn’t it illegal?

I walk up to the booth in the row of Mexican immigration officials and hand over my passport. As he flicks through it, I casually ask “is it possible to not stamp my passport, I have to travel through the US?”. He flicks to the front of my passport and says “But you are not from the US, it’s OK”. “But I have to travel through there tomorrow and I travel there quite a bit on business so I don’t want to risk any hassles” I say. He sighs, flicks through to the back of my passport, looks disappointed, and says “well as a special favor, I shouldn’t be doing this, can you just wait over there until I call you back” and leaning forward whispers “$20, in the back”. Ah ha, the rumor was true. I passed over my “fee” and was waived through sans passport stamp.

So what has driven me to indulge in bribing immigration officials? Cuba, that fascinating Caribbean paradise with the strange twist – subjected to an incredible 47 years of economic blockade. When I told people I was going to Cuba, the first question was usually “but isn’t that illegal”? Well no, not strictly, but it certainly can have bad consequences (although I’m hoping that in the not too distant future this might have changed.) If you are from the US, it is not technically illegal for you to go to Cuba, but it is illegal for you to buy or pay for anything in or from Cuba, because of the blockade – if you go there you are breaking the blockade and the US government can fine or jail you. If you are not from the US but are traveling back home via the US with any Cuban goods, or want to travel to the US in the future, then you don’t want to flaunt that you have broken the blockade as well – you can be refused a visa to the US for instance, or have your goods confiscated. But it’s not deterring too many people, including Americans who have been traveling to Cuba by the hundreds of thousands each year already, before any restrictions are lifted. They mainly travel via Canada or Mexico – Toronto and Cancun are common stop offs, and then get a separate flight direct to Havana from there – you can book on the internet through non US websites in advance. And in Cancun you can get your Cuba visa at a booth at the airport as you check in. All visas are a loose piece of paper, nothing will ever show in your passport. And a quick $20 “fee” will make sure there is no missing gap in your passport where you’ve clearly left Mexico but apparently haven’t arrived anywhere else – a classic sign you’ve visited Cuba. The best advice about visiting Cuba and not getting into trouble in the US appears to be “don’t flaunt it”.

Tip 2: The Currency and Money

There are two currencies in Cuba, as a tourist you are going to be using the convertible peso (also called CUC). The standard currency which Cubans get paid in and use for basics and non-luxury items is the Cuban peso. Cubans need to have convertibles if they want to buy luxury goods. One convertible is worth about 26 cuban peso’s. Don’t bother taking any USD to Cuba; they will only exchange CAD, GBP or EUR. There are money exchanges (Cadeca’s) everywhere, although it may not always be predictable when they are open or even when they might run out of money and close early! There are ATMs in a couple of main towns, but we found it very unpredictable which cards they would accept or deny, so don’t rely on them. I only took cash, all Euros, and I’d recommend taking enough cash with you so that you are sure that if nothing else works, your cash will get you around. If the Cadeca is closed, if it’s a public holiday, or if you just can’t find anywhere to exchange money, go to the flashiest hotel in town – it will have a money change, it will be a whole lot quicker and it’ll only cost you a couple of percent more.

Tip 3 – How to Get Around

If you want to get further than Havana, your most likely transport is the tourist bus, Viazul, or as we called it, the pogo bus. The buses are generally new, comfortable, with reclining seats and air conditioning – just a shame they put so much suspension in them. Cuban roads are pretty uneven, so we spent a lot of time in the air above the seats. The buses run frequently between all the main towns you will want to visit. The tickets are priced in convertibles. There are other buses in local pesos that are much cheaper but tourists are not supposed to use those buses, as they are subsidized by the government. Cuba is a very large island, so you might want to fly between centers to save time, particularly if you are planning to travel far and wide. It can make sense to fly from Havana to either Santiago or Baracoa at the other end of the island, and then make your way back by bus. Just be careful around peak periods and major holidays, or you may find yourself doing some 12+ hour bus trips because the flights were booked out (and 12 hours on a pogo bus is less fun than it sounds).

Tip 4 – Accommodation – Casa Particular’s

There may be a few five star establishments in Havana, but other than that, the hotels, all government owned and run, tend to be disappointing, and are not very numerous outside Havana anyway. But that’s OK, because you are much better off looking for a Casa Particular to stay in. The Casa’s are a bit of an experiment in capitalism, they are homes licensed to operate a room or two as a bed and breakfast, as their own business. With the effect the blockade has had on life in Cuba, including housing, the accommodations are going to be more homely than flash. Some are beautiful old houses, some are more basic, but all house proud families who work hard to keep them clean and as well maintained as they can without supplies. Remember that families who actually have spare rooms to rent out are likely to be better off than the average Cuban, they will often have staff who do the cooking and cleaning for you while you are staying there.

The rooms are well equipped, usually with an ensuite bathroom and often opening onto a patio, a rooftop terrace or a balcony. Most rooms also came equipped with a bar fridge stocked with bottled water, cola and rum – you will pay for your usage though. There’s usually a ceiling fan and air conditioning, which may or may not work – even if there are no power cuts. And there will be a hot shower, although the exposed wiring hooking power directly to the shower head to warm the water up will be a bit off-putting! The real charm is in your hosts and their staff, the opportunity to meet locals in their own homes. Some places had family members who spoke good English, some visitors can speak Spanish, and sometimes you have great fun swapping English/Spanish dictionaries backwards and forwards learning word by word! One lovely moment for me, while staying at a casa particular in Trinidad on Christmas Eve, was being asked to come and watch the daughter in a local Nativity play, and we were able to take photos and send them back to the family once we got home.

Tip 5 – Eating & Drinking

Its not all rice and beans, although that is a fairly standard part of any meal. If you want to eat well, eat at your casa particular, they will generally supply breakfast, and dinner if you want it too – prices were pretty standard everywhere, dinner would range from the equivalent of $7 for chicken or pork, to $10 to $12 for fish or lobster. That will get you a soup starter, the main meal and a dessert. The standard of home cooking was usually really good – some friends stayed at the casa where the host was a retired chef, not surprisingly their meals were superb and we were all a bit jealous. It a strange way food in Cuba is what northern California aspires to – it’s all organic, not through choice, but because the blockade means the big chemical companies can’t sell their products to Cuba; and most of what you eat will be very fresh and have been grown or caught very locally. Every house seems to have chickens and pigs and veggie patches, but that’s a necessity if you want to eat better than your monthly government rations.

The other good option is also an experiment in capitalism. Paladare’s are family run restaurants, usually in the front rooms of the family home, licensed by the government – one of the rules is that they are only allowed to have 12 seats, although many will ignore this – which is fortunate because there can be some long queues to get into the more popular ones. If you are lucky you may be served beers or rum while you queue outside, which makes the waiting much easier. The paladare will have a small menu of traditional or rustic Cuban cooking, and all the ones we tried were delicious.

And then there is the national obsession – ice cream. You’ll find a Coppelia (ice cream parlor) in most towns, and they will all have boards advertising dozens of delightful flavors. Unfortunately, probably only 2 or 3 of those flavors will be available any particular day, but whatever is available, try it, they are all delicious.

And to accompany all the good food and music you will probably be indulging in some good local beers (Buccanero and Crystal) and of course rum. We quickly realized the best way to buy rum in bars was the way the local’s did it – buy a bottle of rum with friends with four cans of cola, and mix your own. A bottle of Havana Club will be the most expensive, and will set you back $4, while 4 cans of cola at $1.15 each will cost you just a little bit more. The more upmarket or touristy places will have all the margaritas and mojitos you could possibly want, and in the more local places your only choice of mixer may be cola – it’s fair to say I found them all very enjoyable. Another Havana Club, thanks barman!

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