Going to Cuba

[bad ideas actualised by alcohol]

So I want to go to Cuba.
It's not really because its "socialist", but more on advice from a friend who has been there and said it's the most beautiful country she has ever been in because it doesn't have things like we. (mcdonalds etc.)
So any advice for going to Cuba.

[Obs]

Make sure you speak at least rudimentary Spanish, never take tourist cabs (they're safe, but expensive as hell, and the local cabbies won't charge you extra for being a foreigner), and if you're already in Havana, don't order a mojito unless it's at La Bodeguita del Medio.

[brigadista]

one of the places i liked was Baracoa south of santiago de cuba - and there is a local delicacy there called cucurucho, made from coconut, sugar and guava, wrapped in palm leaves. you could by it in the nearby mountains from local people - who were selling it at the bus stops.

Also if you like coffee Cubita coffee is some of the best coffee i have ever drunk- up there with jamaican blue mountain.

avoid varadero - its like a beachside tourist ghetto with all the vileness that involves in a caribbean country

the moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba has a good exhibition about batista years and the revolution -

its now a school and when i visited it seemed poignant that there was this exhibition about the revolution and outside we could see an hear the schoolkids rehearsing their drums- the end of the exhibition had a big picture of all the pupils.

it really helps a lot if you speak spanish

i am glad that i did not just stay in havana - going to the country gives you a different view and the people are different - like all cities vs country i suppose.

the revolution museum in havana is worth it just for "rincon de los cretinos"..

cuba is truly very beautiful your friend was right -its main beauty being the people:):)

if you go let us know what you think -

[Offbeat]

Make sure you tell us allllll about it when you come back. :)

[bad ideas actualised by alcohol]

It will take at least a year for me to gather the money but when I go I'll tell you all about it. ;)

[bad ideas actualised by alcohol]

Ok so the flight is pretty expensive but I was wondering if the prices of things in the country are cheaper than other places?

[Magón]

Don't just hit up the tourist spots, actually bother to get away from that and see the actual Cuban people to. Learn from them what Cuba is like, rather than the hot spots tourists always visit.

Learn a decent amount of Spanish.

Don't think you can travel from one end of Cuba, to the other all in one day. You can't

[Arlekino]

I always wanted to go to Cuba but my partner don't so I decided book holiday to Cuba and make surprise for my partner. I am planing go November.

[Brosa Luxemburg]

If anyone here is American I suggest being very careful because you can get in a hell of a lot of trouble for going to Cuba (even though many Americans do anyway).

[Prometeo liberado]

Its way more expensive than you think. And like Magon said, you cant go end to end of the island in one day. Took me 15 hours to get from Havana to Santiago DE Cuba.

[bad ideas actualised by alcohol]

How come it takes that long?

[Obs]

How come it takes that long?
That's how big the country is.

[Magón]

If anyone here is American I suggest being very careful because you can get in a hell of a lot of trouble for going to Cuba (even though many Americans do anyway).

Sometimes if they know you're American, they won't stamp your passport. When I took a friend, they didn't stamp his but did mine since I had a Mexican passport, and my friend had an American.


How come it takes that long?

Among being bigger than you'd think, roads and geography are a pain in Cuba.

[Susurrus]

I've been there a couple times myself, and it's quite nice. Go and see the Hemingway house if you can, and I've heard the Che memorial in Santa Clara is really nice.

Personally, I much preferred the countryside to Havana, as so much of Havana is tourist-centric. I went with a church that has a sister church in a small town and brings supplies unavailable to average Cubans from the US. Therefore, I got to stay in their houses for most of the trip and get to know them, which was nice.

If you go to Havana, i recommend the Hostel attached to the Episcopal Cathedral there as a place to stay, as not only does it have fairly cheap and good rooms, but also the cathedral will host important events(ie I got to see Elian Gonzales and Raul Castro there once) every so often.

I also recommend the Union Francesa de Cuba(Calle 17 esq. 6, Verdado, La Habana) as an AMAZING place to eat. Comparatively cheap for tourists, very fancy style restaurant on the bottom floor with great fancy dishes that are delicious and nice graffiti all over the walls, on the top floor there is a grill and pizzaria that is equally as good foodwise and has an overview of Havana to boot.

Oh, and don't forget to check out the Hotel Nacionale. Obviously you probably won't be staying there, but the place has been kept open to non-guests since even before the revolution, and, apart from being a nice place to look at the bourgeois splendor, has a well-stocked leftist bookshop and giftshop, and various amenities like a place to rent a computer, and stuff like that.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Good place to stay would be just outside of Havana, if you're wanting to go to the capital that is, to the east - in the playas del este (beaches to the east..). I stayed in Guanabo, a nice little beach town with a stunning beach and lots of very friendly locals - it's a lot easier to talk to ordinary Cubans (About more sensitive stuff...!) if you're out of the city.

Having said that, even staying in Havana is an experience. Despite the city looking tatty and dangerous, it is one of the safest places around. The police are fairly good - pretty friendly with the locals, as are the local politicians. Beware of the male jineteros (hustlers, who will get you not by force but by taking you to a 'bar' where you're charged like 10 dollars for two mojitos that cost like 1 dollar each normally, and the bar and the jinetero split the surplus (lovely bit of Capitalism there!). And also beware of the female jineteros....if you're male, then you'll be hustled in the form of prostitution.

I fear the hustling problems (and possibly crime) will have gotten worse since I went two years ago, owing to capitalist reforms which inevitably are creating a larger class of have-nots, especially in Havana.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Oh also, best website around for info/booking places is www.cuba-junky.com . The bloke who runs it, Pototo (real name), is a really nice chap and will accomodate whatever you need. I strongly suggest you stay in a casa particular (a room/house rented out by ordinary Cubans), they are cheaper, more interesting than hotels, will obviously be a more native experience and normally you'll get a tasty, well-priced dinner as well, and they'll (depending on who you stay with) most likely be happy to give you a leg-up in terms of getting around. I stayed in Centro Habana with a bloke called Manuel (Casa Manuel D'Armas or something on Cuba Junky), he and his son took me around the city for an afternoon the first day I got there to show me around, and then another day we went to a music show and hung out drinking beer afterwards. You'd never have a cats chance in hell of mixing like that if you stayed in a hotel.

[Book O'Dead]

So I want to go to Cuba.
It's not really because its "socialist", but more on advice from a friend who has been there and said it's the most beautiful country she has ever been in because it doesn't have things like we. (mcdonalds etc.)
So any advice for going to Cuba.

Yes. If you're a guy that likes girls, check out the pretty women hanging out at Havana's 'Malecón'. Sweet.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Yes. If you're a guy that likes girls, check out the pretty women hanging out at Havana's 'Malecón'. Sweet.

I didn't see many of these, only a few couples and some schoolkids.

Was very tempted to get a ride in one of those scooter-cabs that goes up and down the Malecon, but apparently they're pretty illegal for tourists and very dangerous.

[Magón]

I didn't see many of these, only a few couples and some schoolkids.

Was very tempted to get a ride in one of those scooter-cabs that goes up and down the Malecon, but apparently they're pretty illegal for tourists and very dangerous.

The scooter cabs are dangerous. They're always getting hit and swiped. A couple of times when I've been down there, there has been a big crowd of people after one of them got hit by a small pickup. Didn't have a passenger, just the cabbie. Guy ended up living even though he got send over the hood of the pickup. Others haven't been so lucky. Another time a passenger and cabbie were killed after being tossed aways when they got hit by a drunk driver.

I stayed away from them just to be safe.

[KurtFF8]

Don't just hit up the tourist spots, actually bother to get away from that and see the actual Cuban people to. Learn from them what Cuba is like, rather than the hot spots tourists always visit.

Learn a decent amount of Spanish.

Don't think you can travel from one end of Cuba, to the other all in one day. You can't

Well depending on the time limits, I would actually suggest seeing some of the tourist spots. For example Old Havana is quite an interesting part of the city even though it's very focused on tourism.

And in Viñales is beautiful, yet full of tourist spots (for a reason)

[Arlekino]

avoid varadero - its like a beachside tourist ghetto with all the vileness that involves in a caribbean country
Ah I booked on October 31 well is too late, just how I can travel to Havana for the day or other places?
Thanks if any give more advice.