Guides/Tips for a Cuba trip
January 12, 2011 11:16 AM Subscribe
How can I best find guide(s) and accommodation on a first trip to Cuba? Are there any other things I should be aware of? (I am not a spanish speaker)
I'm planning a trip to Cuba soon (possibly solo). I don't want to spend time in resorts, and I've noticed online that accomodations can be very inexpensive, so that looks very positive.
I'm considering doing some rail travel, and possibly hiring a driver/guide. The primary focus of my trip will be photography, as well as maybe spending some time in local drinking/eating establishments.
Given how limited Cuba's internet access is, I'm having trouble working out how to find accomodations and guides that I can trust. I thought maybe MeFi would have some suggestions in this regard. Should I be planning all of my accomodations in advance? Can I just show up and find someone to help with this?
Any suggestions appreciated.
I'm planning a trip to Cuba soon (possibly solo). I don't want to spend time in resorts, and I've noticed online that accomodations can be very inexpensive, so that looks very positive.
I'm considering doing some rail travel, and possibly hiring a driver/guide. The primary focus of my trip will be photography, as well as maybe spending some time in local drinking/eating establishments.
Given how limited Cuba's internet access is, I'm having trouble working out how to find accomodations and guides that I can trust. I thought maybe MeFi would have some suggestions in this regard. Should I be planning all of my accomodations in advance? Can I just show up and find someone to help with this?
Any suggestions appreciated.
Response by poster: While I'm *in* the US, I am not a US citizen. I am a dual Canadian/Dutch citizen who is currently a resident of the US on a TN visa. I don't believe that the US restricts the travel of non-citizens to Cuba.
As for getting there, it doesn't actually look that complicated. Fly to Cancun, then fly Cancun->Havana via Cubana de Aviacion.
One of the reasons I'm interested in doing this is because of the lack of US economic involvement there. I think it would be a fascinating place to take some photos and interact with the locals.
posted by jpziller at 11:28 AM on January 12, 2011
As for getting there, it doesn't actually look that complicated. Fly to Cancun, then fly Cancun->Havana via Cubana de Aviacion.
One of the reasons I'm interested in doing this is because of the lack of US economic involvement there. I think it would be a fascinating place to take some photos and interact with the locals.
posted by jpziller at 11:28 AM on January 12, 2011
My wife and her friends had a successful trip by buying a very affordable "all inclusive" package for a hotel in Varadero, staying there a couple days (a very nice beach) and then going into Havana on the public bus where there are B&B's run by the locals that provide a much more intimate experience.
posted by sporb at 11:43 AM on January 12, 2011
posted by sporb at 11:43 AM on January 12, 2011
I don't believe that the US restricts the travel of non-citizens to Cuba.
Actually, it does for those who it considers 'US persons' by virtue of their immigration status. Even if you don't get a Cuban stamp in your passport, you'll presumably get exit and re-entry stamps in Cancun, which serves as a flag for a CBP agent. There's also the suggestion that Cancun-Havana flight manifests get screened by the US.
It's ridiculous, but it's your call whether you want to put your visa in jeopardy: a travel agent based outside the US might be able to come up with a less obvious (though more expensive) route.
posted by holgate at 11:45 AM on January 12, 2011
Actually, it does for those who it considers 'US persons' by virtue of their immigration status. Even if you don't get a Cuban stamp in your passport, you'll presumably get exit and re-entry stamps in Cancun, which serves as a flag for a CBP agent. There's also the suggestion that Cancun-Havana flight manifests get screened by the US.
It's ridiculous, but it's your call whether you want to put your visa in jeopardy: a travel agent based outside the US might be able to come up with a less obvious (though more expensive) route.
posted by holgate at 11:45 AM on January 12, 2011
Response by poster: Looking at this further, I think you may be right. I didn't realize that I was considered a US person by virtue of living here. I think I need to do a bit more research before getting too excited about this.
Any more answers & tips are certainly welcome, however.
posted by jpziller at 11:53 AM on January 12, 2011
Any more answers & tips are certainly welcome, however.
posted by jpziller at 11:53 AM on January 12, 2011
(To be precise: the US doesn't prohibit travel to Cuba, but it prohibits transactions -- spending money or receiving gifts -- without a Treasury license.)
On the immigration issue, there's clearly a sliding scale of clout that the US can wield, or claim to wield -- such as the unenforceable OFAC regulations that prohibit Dutch-citizen permanent residents from buying and smoking Cuban cigars in the Netherlands -- but you should plan your trip under the assumption that every 'uncomplicated' route to Cuba via a third country is one that CBP is aware of, and avoid giving a border agent reason to make your life miserable.
posted by holgate at 12:01 PM on January 12, 2011
On the immigration issue, there's clearly a sliding scale of clout that the US can wield, or claim to wield -- such as the unenforceable OFAC regulations that prohibit Dutch-citizen permanent residents from buying and smoking Cuban cigars in the Netherlands -- but you should plan your trip under the assumption that every 'uncomplicated' route to Cuba via a third country is one that CBP is aware of, and avoid giving a border agent reason to make your life miserable.
posted by holgate at 12:01 PM on January 12, 2011
I just came back from Cuba in December and it was amazing. I'm a US citizen and it's really not a big deal to travel there without US permission, even with my US passport. They won't stamp your passport in Cuba and at immigration in the US (I flew direct from Cancun to Denver) they didn't even look at the stamps in my passport, let alone notice that I had two entry stamps to Mexico. I understand that Obama cut the budget for investigating travellers to Cuba so even if they did notice I doubt they want to spend the time to pursue the issue further.
I'm a major planner and was worried about not being able to make reservations but it's seriously not a problem. I was able to book a hotel room in Havana for our first night (the Lincoln Hotel). I wanted to stay in Casas Particulares the whole time but it's easier to have a hotel the first night because 1. we arrived late at night and 2. the taxi drivers will know where a hotel is. The next day we looked for a casa that had been recommended on the Cuba Junky website but couldn't find it anywhere. Legal casas are designated by a symbol on the door that's easy to locate so we rang the bell of a place that was close to where we were looking. The casa turned out to be owned by a lovely couple who we stayed with for several nights. When in doubt, just see what the casa offers, how much it costs, and if you don't like it there are lots more out there to choose from.
At the two other cities we stayed in (Vinales and Trinidad) we did the same thing looking for casas recommended on websites. In both situations they were already booked but the owners were happy to recommend other casas they knew and both turned out to be awesome, if not better than the original one we wanted. My partner and I both speak minimal english, but with a few key phrases we got around great. Cubans are crazy friendly and will go out of their way to help you.
Things have a way of working out when you travel in Cuba, in hindsight I think not planning where we stayed allowed us to get out and meet people and let awesome travel things happen.
posted by shornco at 12:07 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm a major planner and was worried about not being able to make reservations but it's seriously not a problem. I was able to book a hotel room in Havana for our first night (the Lincoln Hotel). I wanted to stay in Casas Particulares the whole time but it's easier to have a hotel the first night because 1. we arrived late at night and 2. the taxi drivers will know where a hotel is. The next day we looked for a casa that had been recommended on the Cuba Junky website but couldn't find it anywhere. Legal casas are designated by a symbol on the door that's easy to locate so we rang the bell of a place that was close to where we were looking. The casa turned out to be owned by a lovely couple who we stayed with for several nights. When in doubt, just see what the casa offers, how much it costs, and if you don't like it there are lots more out there to choose from.
At the two other cities we stayed in (Vinales and Trinidad) we did the same thing looking for casas recommended on websites. In both situations they were already booked but the owners were happy to recommend other casas they knew and both turned out to be awesome, if not better than the original one we wanted. My partner and I both speak minimal english, but with a few key phrases we got around great. Cubans are crazy friendly and will go out of their way to help you.
Things have a way of working out when you travel in Cuba, in hindsight I think not planning where we stayed allowed us to get out and meet people and let awesome travel things happen.
posted by shornco at 12:07 PM on January 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
My partner and I both speak minimal english
Sorry, I meant to say we speak minimal Spanish.
Here's the Cuba Junky website
posted by shornco at 12:11 PM on January 12, 2011
Sorry, I meant to say we speak minimal Spanish.
Here's the Cuba Junky website
posted by shornco at 12:11 PM on January 12, 2011
I just came back from Cuba a week ago, and I (a US citizen) didn't have any trouble dealing with customs or border control. I also went with a friend who was an Argentinian national with a US green card. He was considerably more worried than I was, but in the end they didn't check either of our passports that closely. We both had two entries into Mexico without anything in between, but it's technically possible that you went to the US in between (and the US only sometimes stamps passports for entry).
As for the tour guides, we had a really great tour guide based out of Havana who was very knowledgeable and personable. I think most of the tour guides are very good, and the tourism industry in Cuba is just about the only industry that has a semblance of being well-run, so you're not likely to get ripped off massively. My Argentinian friend had good luck in staying with local homeowners- I think his experience was more 'authentic' and I certainly paid more than he did, staying at a resort-type hotel and booking through a travel agent.
You'll probably have more trouble than we did if you just show up, since we spoke Spanish, but they'd probably be just small hurdles. You might get overcharged here and there because of your limited ability to communicate, but still, we're talking a couple dollars here and there. Again, I'm confident that you COULD just show up and wing it, because as I mentioned, the tourism industry is fairly well-run. But whether or not you're comfortable doing that in a foreign country where you can't access the internet, use your cell phone, or speak the language very well, is a lot dicier.
posted by thewumpusisdead at 12:26 PM on January 12, 2011
As for the tour guides, we had a really great tour guide based out of Havana who was very knowledgeable and personable. I think most of the tour guides are very good, and the tourism industry in Cuba is just about the only industry that has a semblance of being well-run, so you're not likely to get ripped off massively. My Argentinian friend had good luck in staying with local homeowners- I think his experience was more 'authentic' and I certainly paid more than he did, staying at a resort-type hotel and booking through a travel agent.
You'll probably have more trouble than we did if you just show up, since we spoke Spanish, but they'd probably be just small hurdles. You might get overcharged here and there because of your limited ability to communicate, but still, we're talking a couple dollars here and there. Again, I'm confident that you COULD just show up and wing it, because as I mentioned, the tourism industry is fairly well-run. But whether or not you're comfortable doing that in a foreign country where you can't access the internet, use your cell phone, or speak the language very well, is a lot dicier.
posted by thewumpusisdead at 12:26 PM on January 12, 2011
A few more things I thought of: from what I heard the trains will be fun for novelty purposes if that's what you're into, but don't count on them for actual transportation if you need to get from point A to point B. When I was there another traveller had to give up on the Hershey train because it wasn't running. The Viazul busses are very reliable, comfortable, affordable, and easy to purchase tickets to.
The opportunities for photography are amazing! Seriously, everywhere you look is awesomeness.
Other than maybe hiking guides, you really don't need a guide to get around in Cuba. If you want them, and they can be useful for day trips and excursions, there are Cubanacan or Havanatur offices in every major town that are very helpful and always have English-speaking workers. If your main goal is photography you might want to be on your own because you will want to stop every other second to take a photo.
posted by shornco at 1:28 PM on January 12, 2011
The opportunities for photography are amazing! Seriously, everywhere you look is awesomeness.
Other than maybe hiking guides, you really don't need a guide to get around in Cuba. If you want them, and they can be useful for day trips and excursions, there are Cubanacan or Havanatur offices in every major town that are very helpful and always have English-speaking workers. If your main goal is photography you might want to be on your own because you will want to stop every other second to take a photo.
posted by shornco at 1:28 PM on January 12, 2011
Response by poster: Well now I'm just confused. The best thing I'm thinking now is to wait until my TN expires (two years), and travel while I'm not considered to be a US resident, only renewing the TN visa after I've done the travel that I want to do.
I'm not sure if I'm being too chatty in here, but my concern with that is that US trade will be opened to Cuba by the time my TN expires, which makes the trip somewhat less attractive from a photography standpoint, I think.
posted by jpziller at 1:41 PM on January 12, 2011
I'm not sure if I'm being too chatty in here, but my concern with that is that US trade will be opened to Cuba by the time my TN expires, which makes the trip somewhat less attractive from a photography standpoint, I think.
posted by jpziller at 1:41 PM on January 12, 2011
I've been to Cuba 3 times, most recently in September 2010 (US citizen, flew directly from Miami to Havana each time, as it was for a sanctioned athletic event). I really don't think that the end of the US/Cuba embargo is going to mean an immediate McDonald-ization of Cuba. My understanding is that Cuba currently retains 51% ownership of any foreign-owned hotels/businesses, and also requires the investor to pay for some repair/reconstruction of another property. There's a square in Havana called Plaza Vieja where all of the old buildings were being restored, and in front of each one they had a sign up with a before & after photo; it was really lovely. So, I don't think that US corporations are going to be all that interested in trying to get franchises started up in Cuba on those terms, and I don't expect that the Cuban government is going to capitulate to US investor demands the second the embargo ends.
If you have a credit card that is drawn from a Canadian or European bank, then, you can be more spontaneous about your travel plans. The main difficulty of the embargo from the US tourist perspective is that US-based ATM & credit cards can't be used, so, you have to bring as much cash as you plan to spend and make sure not to go overbudget.
There were a bunch of Canadian tourists at the hotel I stayed at, so, I would bet that searching for travel info via Canadian tourism websites/forums would get you more hits than trying to find functional Cuban websites.
I don't think there will be massive changes in the visual landscape of Cuba within the next two years. I did notice some changes in 2010 compared to what I saw in 2005, but, they were relatively subtle things. So I wouldn't consider that as a huge factor in your decision on when to go, I think you'd be better off focusing on the financial & visa issues.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:03 PM on January 12, 2011
If you have a credit card that is drawn from a Canadian or European bank, then, you can be more spontaneous about your travel plans. The main difficulty of the embargo from the US tourist perspective is that US-based ATM & credit cards can't be used, so, you have to bring as much cash as you plan to spend and make sure not to go overbudget.
There were a bunch of Canadian tourists at the hotel I stayed at, so, I would bet that searching for travel info via Canadian tourism websites/forums would get you more hits than trying to find functional Cuban websites.
I don't think there will be massive changes in the visual landscape of Cuba within the next two years. I did notice some changes in 2010 compared to what I saw in 2005, but, they were relatively subtle things. So I wouldn't consider that as a huge factor in your decision on when to go, I think you'd be better off focusing on the financial & visa issues.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:03 PM on January 12, 2011
> They won't stamp your passport in Cuba
They stamped mine. It never caused a problem, but if you think it might... well, just don't presume they won't.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:13 AM on January 13, 2011
They stamped mine. It never caused a problem, but if you think it might... well, just don't presume they won't.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:13 AM on January 13, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
You'll also need to buy health insurance when you get there. Cuban state requirement. They'll sell a policy to you upon arrival.
Basically, this ain't your standard Latin American country that you can book a flight and just pop down for a week or so. Even getting there from the US is kind of tricky, and routing yourself through a foreign country doesn't alleviate any of the legal problems.
I'm going to recommend that you get professional advice, i.e. contact a travel agent.
posted by valkyryn at 11:24 AM on January 12, 2011