(Sorry it’s so long.)
Stella and I recently went to Cuba on vacation. Before going, we looked up as much information online as we figured we needed and, as a direct result, avoided many unpleasant situations. So, to return the favour to the online community I figured I would write my own little review of holiday-ing in Cuba. Keep in mind as you read this that neither Stella nor I had done anything remotely similar to this before; we were both newbies when it came to vacationing abroad. Any advice I give will be coming from someone who has only ever done this once, so use what I say as a starting point for your research into this country and not as the definitive word.
First, a brief list of pros, cons, and tips.
Pros:
- Very sunny!!!
- Amazing beaches
- Great SCUBA diving areas
- Friendly people (for the most part)
- Fascinating history
- Lots to do (but usually costs more)
- The dates of our trip (early March) meant that the heat was not unbearable
- The time of year also meant that we didn’t have to deal with mosquitoes which arrive sometime in April, I think.
- Low crime rate
- Amazing opportunities to see old, vintage cars in operation
Cons:
- Lower quality resorts (I am told a 5 star is equal to about a 3 star in Mexico)
- Bland food (bring something to ‘kick it up a notch’…or even just ketchup)
- Outside the resort areas the bathroom situation is not good. No toilet seats and you must tip for a ration of toilet paper.
- Things tend to be a bit more expensive than they should be, but you can barter with (some) people.
- Add about $100 – $200 per week for tipping alone. (I don’t know if that’s a lot or not.)
- Outside the resort areas there is quite a bit of poverty.
- If you are from the U.S. you will need to pretend not to be (they really don’t like Americans)
- No-smoking areas DO NOT exist at all. Smoking is everywhere and all the time. (I guess this is a ‘pro’ if you’re a smoker.)
Tips:
- See a travel clinic and get advice on traveler’s diarrhea. (And take the advice given!)
- Take everything you might possibly need with you as there are few (if any) places to get ‘things’.
- Keep the exit tax ($25 per person) aside right from day one and don’t spend it.
- Keep a reserve of money aside for an emergency. (Doing so saved our vacation.)
- Look up the history of Cuba before you go.
- Bring ketchup.
- On the tours, make sure to grab a roll of toilet paper from the hotel/resort to bring with you.
- Keep in mind that it is a poor country, so don’t hold back on tips. They really help people out.
- Keep in mind that one convertible peso actually can go a long way for a Cuban, so don’t tip too much. (That is, unless you’re not following the previous tip, in which case you should tip a lot when you do tip. In my opinion, however, it is better to tip a little bit of money more frequently than to tip a lot of money but only occasionally.)
Details
Tours
Stella and I did the Havana Colonial Tour (the full day without the show at the end) and the Jeep Tour. The other tour we hear good things about was the Catamaran Tour. As much as I would have loved to have swum with the dolphins, I am glad we did the ones we chose. We did the tours later in our vacation, and I think that it may be better to do them nearer the start of the vacation simply because they are a great way to meet other people from your resort.
Havana Colonial
We chose the Havana Colonial over the Havana Special for one main reason: it’s not as long a day. A lot of the tours start at 7:45 AM, you can’t avoid that. However, the Havana Special includes a show at the end of the tour so you don’t get back until around 2 or 3 in the morning. Stella’s tummy had been acting up so we decided against the late night and, in retrospect, I am very glad we did. If you don’t mind staying out late, and have nothing to do the next day, then by all means, go for the special. (The show at the end is supposed to be world-class.) We are not those people, however, and we are very glad about the choice we made.
The Havana Colonial takes you through the most historic sites in Havana and is geared more towards people who want to learn the history of the city (and the country) and who like to take pictures of monuments than it is towards people who want to go shopping. If you want to shop in Havana (and it looks like it would be a blast to do so) you really need to take a cab from your hotel to the city and not a tour. The tour does include stopping at a “souvenir market”, but not for very long at all. We were there for 45 minutes and really needed at least 2 hours minimum to see everything there – let alone do our shopping. However, for what it is, I do recommend the Havana Colonial.
Jeep Tour
The Jeep Tour differs from the Havana Special in many ways, one of which is the fact that you are constantly on the move to do things and not just sitting and listening to a narrator. First, everyone is divided into groups of four and given a jeep. Then, all the jeeps caravan to the different locations where you are given the tours. While I don’t recommend driving in Cuba, if you are paired with someone who doesn’t mind it then it’s all good. If you really, really don’t want to drive, just say you can’t drive stick (all the jeeps are manual transmission).
The places you tour are a “real” farm (I’m not totally sure how real it is compared to others where tourists aren’t always poking around), a tourist farm (one set up specifically to accommodate tourists), a reef (via snorkeling) if the weather permits, and a cavern (where you can snorkel if you didn’t get to at the reef). It’s all go-go-go (and incredibly bumpy!) as you are constantly trying to keep up with every other jeep and don’t spend too much time in any given spot. It’s also the most ideal setting to be able to give stuff away to Cubans in need. Which brings me to…
Giving Stuff Away
Stella and I both read in a few places that giving stuff away was a great thing to do so we planned on doing this. What we discovered, however, was that there are good ways to do this and bad ways to do this. It didn’t seem very appropriate to give ‘stuff’ away at the resort (they are already getting the tips anyway), but we didn’t realize that there would be opportunities beyond this. When we went on the Jeep Tour there were sections of road that had mothers with young children lined up along the sides just in case anyone in the jeeps was giving stuff away. This was the perfect opportunity, but we had left our ‘stuff’ in our room. When we did the Havana Colonial Tour, however we brought everything we had to give.
If you are in the middle of the street in Havana (and likely elsewhere) and it looks like you might be one of those people who give things away, you will be mobbed. Consider yourself warned. Stella reached into my backpack at one point to hand something out and we were swarmed by kids all trying to take anything they could from my pack (which contained more than just stuff to give away). She panicked (thankfully) and managed to close the pack and say that there was no more. Later, after depositing everything except what I had to give away on the bus, I tried this again. My hands contained the toothpaste, gum (wonderful combination), and other things for just long enough to let the children understand that it was stuff I was giving away and then the kids mobbed me and ripped the packages open trying to all get at the same items. (When I got back on the bus everyone’s face was plastered against the window watching. I had become the sight to see, apparently.)
Once, we tried giving a lady a toothbrush and toothpaste set by taking out a bad containing 5 such sets and giving her one. She took the one we gave her and the bag before we could stop her. She did it very smoothly without us realizing really what was happening, but she also seemed very, very poor so we didn’t say anything or try to get it back at all. However, the experience lead me to realize that you should never have a bag of stuff you are giving things out of because the bag will just get taken before you can distribute everything fairly. Rather, give things out one at a time. If you must give things away from a bag, make it a bag that’s attached to you somehow. No one would have reached into my wife’s purse, for example.
So, where to go to give things away:
- DO NOT give things away on the side of the street, even if you feel safe from being mobbed.
- On the Havana Tour you will go to a museum dedicated, in part, to the literacy movement. This is a great place to give away pens, pencils, and other stationary to the ladies at the museum.
- The Jeep Tour is a good opportunity to give things away because you are handing it out of your jeep window to one person at a time. (Pedestrians do not have right of way in Cuba, so they will not walk in front of your vehicle.)
- If you feel generous, a nicer gift for the person who turns down your room each day may be an idea. Just leave it on the last day with the tip. Keep in mind that they are used to a slightly higher standard of living, so go with things like Body Shop items as opposed to no-name, dollar store things.
- There were cleaning ladies at the airport, just outside the washrooms (who doubled as the people you tip) who took an interest in my wife’s bag when she opened it to get something. This is another good, non-mobbing opportunity to give things away.
Now, what to give away?
- Well, like I said about the museum, pens, pencils, and other stationary are good things to give away at that spot on the Havana Tour
- Cubans seem to really like gum. However, I did notice a lot of bad dental hygiene (only outside the resort areas, though). I would avoid gum if I was heading down there again just because of this.
- Along those lines, toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, etc., all seem to go over quite well (except in one case where a kid got some floss and gave a look to Stella that said “Are you serious?!?”).
- Two thing that we were actually asked for were soap and shampoo. Should’a brought more of that.
Friendly People
Most of the people you meet will be very friendly. Most of the people you meet will think you have lots of money. I am not sure whether the friendly atmosphere was a result of wanting tips or a natural friendliness (it’s hard to tell) but don’t be surprised if you see the opposite. Four times I noticed people ranging from elderly to young children giving the tour I was on the finger. From what I gather there are very mixed feelings about the tourism industry in Cuba; apparently some people really don’t like it.
That said, keep in mind that the crime rate is low, so you are generally pretty safe. Also keep in mind that ripping off tourists is not a crime, so be prudent. And most of the Cuban people do seem to realize that if you enjoy yourself you are more likely to come back and do it again.
Oh, and if you’re American, don’t tell anyone. It is not like other countries where you simply don’t get treated quite as well if you are from the U.S., in Cuba they actually seem to really, really, *really* dislike America. They have pictures in the airport of Cubans who are in American jails with the caption of “Heroes of Cuba”. And yes, Americans can go to Cuba despite it being illegal for them to do so – the ones I talked with were enjoying themselves very much from what I could tell – because you do not get your passport stamped. No one back home in the U.S. will be able to tell you’ve been there because there won’t be a record of it. That said, it *is* illegal, so I can’t endorse it.
Tipping
I always try to figure out how much should be tipped for what before I go and I usually don’t find the information I am looking for. So, I am going to post what I think seemed to be about right for the amounts to tip in different situations. (Also, bear in mind that these situations are – mostly – in an all-inclusive resort. 10% is apparently normal when paying for a meal, for example.) All $’s are Cuban Pesos.
- Quick Service (eg. getting a drink or exchanging a beach towel): 25 – 50 cents.
- Regular Service (eg. tipping the maid, waiter at a meal): $1
- Outstanding, Regular Service: $2
- Bus Drivers and Tour Guides: $1 per every 2 hours or tour/trip at end of tour/trip
- Toilet Paper: 25 cents
- Brief Entertainment (eg. on the side of the street): 50 cents – $1
- Dinner Entertainment: $1 – $2, more if it was really, really good.
Trying to get small change for tipping at the resort was very difficult. No one wants to give out change at all, even outside the resort this was true. If you gave a $1 bill and asked for change you would get a $1 coin. The only way, it seems, to get smaller change is to buy things. However, if you are not on the resort you can give $1 and ask for change for the washrooms. That will give you some quarters. I didn’t try this, but you might even be able to do the same thing at the front desk in the resort just prior to a tour.
If there’s anyone else out there who has been to Cuba and has discovered amounts other than what I’ve posted here are actually better, please, please leave a comment saying so. I still don’t really know if I was being cheap or if I was way over-tipping. The only really guide I have is that one of the tour guides said that $5 for guide and $5 for bus driver was pretty typical. (That’s where I figured out the $1 per 2 hours of trip thing as that tour had been about 10 hours.)
SCUBA in Cuba
This will get its own post soon, though I will say that if you want to buy the photos that one of the tour guides take (no need to bring your own camera – unless you want quality pics) it will be $20. Stay tuned for more.
Conclusion
Cuba is, overall, a blast and I highly recommend it. If you are prepared and have an idea as to what to expect then it will be quite enjoyable. Oh, and you should research reviews of the various resorts as well. It may be an idea, as well, to try to find one where people in your age group frequent so you don’t end up with no one to really ‘hang’ with. I think about the only thing I would do different again is that I would go with another couple. It was great to do this with Stella, but it would have been sooooooooo much more fun to have had someone else there to hang out with. (And it would have given Stella something to do while I went diving.)
Anyway, if you have been to Cuba and have experienced something different from what I’ve posted here, please post a comment to that effect (noting, of course, what that difference was). I would be interested in comparing notes.