Can you travel to Cuba from the United States? Even with the travel restrictions loosened, there are certain rules you have to follow, but yes, you can travel to Cuba from the US. I have been dreaming of traveling to Cuba for the last few years. My dad first introduced me to the idea, and I knew I had to go the moment I saw photos of it. Here’s the cost breakdown and what you need to know to travel to Cuba:
Cost to get there:
Flight on Southwest – $250-ish
AirBnB: Havana – 1 night at $98/night ($14/person), Trinidad – 2 nights at $56/night ($16/person – disclaimer: this isn’t the place we stayed in Trinidad, but I couldn’t find it so this will have to do), Havana – 2 nights at $200/night ($57/person)
Airport transfer – $20-25
Currency Exchange Rate: 1-1
Time Zone in Cuba: GMT -4 (1 hour ahead of Central Time)
Key Phrases (Spanish):
Please – por favor (pour fah-four)
Thank you – gracias (gras-e-aus)
Hello – hola (ola)
Goodbye – adios (odd-eos), hasta luego (ahsta loo-egg-o)
What’s the best thing to eat in Cuba?: To be honest, the food in Cuba wasn’t that great. It was a lot of “comida tipical” that you’d get at a roadside soda or cafe. It was usually meat, plantains, rice…and overcooked lobster. Oh, and ham and cheese sandwiches. Lots and lots of “jamon y queso.”
What’s the best drink to get in Cuba?: Mojito! It’s the drink of Cuba and they make it with fresh sugar cane. You also have to go to El Floridita and get a daiquiri. It was Ernest Hemmingway’s favorite drink at one of his go-to drink spots.
What activities do you have to do in Cuba?: Take a trip to Trinidad. Make a pit stop at Cienfuegos on the way. Grab a cocktail at the rooftop bar of the hotel and enjoy the sunset. There just might be an impromptu salsa lesson going on.
Make a stop at the beach in Trinidad. Get there early and snag a spot under a thatched umbrella. Trust me, you do not want to get sunburnt there.
Talk to the locals and take a horseback ride through the countryside. You’ll make a stop at a restaurant (aka someone’s house) and enjoy a fresh cocktail with hand-pressed sugar cane juice. As you keep going, you’ll pass a coffee plantation and grab a fresh cup of coffee and some hand-rolled cigars. They’re $1 each and the best we had on the trip. You’ll end the day in a swimming hole with the option to cliff dive. (I chickened out. Don’t do that.)
Do you need to tip in Cuba?: 5% is pretty standard at restaurants. Hand your tour guide a few dollars a day ($2-3) and make sure to put an extra dollar into your cab fare.
What’s the best way to get around Cuba?: You have to ride in an old 1950s car. The really nice ones are reserved only for tourists and they act as cabs. You can take all the photos you want in them as long as you pay. Looking at you, Instagram models.
Know before you go:
- Cellphones won’t work there.
- Internet is hard to access and expensive and slow when you finally get it. Just unplug and enjoy it. Plus you’ll save your phone battery for photos.
- Your US debit/credit cards won’t work there. Yes, this means you need to bring plenty of cash to last your entire trip. If you book online using AirBnB, for example, you can pay ahead with your credit card.
- When exchanging currency before your trip, ask for Euros. US financial institutions cannot provide you with Cuban pesos. Don’t ask. Get the Euros and exchange those when you get there. It’s a lot more expensive to exchange USD than it is Euros.
- Go to a local hotel to exchange your money. The line is a lot shorter than the banks.
- Pack bug spray. Mosquitos. That is all.
- There are two types of currency in Cuba: CUC and CUP. The CUP (Cuban Peso National) is used primarily by locals. It has a 25-1 exchange rate with the USD. But don’t worry about that. You most likely won’t even see it. The CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso) is used by the tourism industry.
Have you booked a trip to Cuba? If you’ve been, what tips would you add?
Average Traveler | Travel Guide 