Cuba in a month today! Any tips?...

[PoohBore]

does the partagas factory accept cards?

[whisky77]

Cards!

does the partagas factory accept cards?

Although it seemed the most "touristy" of factories, I still do not remember them having that facility.

There are very few places where you can use any cards.

[whisky77]

Discount?

I really want to know more about this trip.It seems to be very excited trip carrying toothpaste and shampoo to have an discount..

I think you have got the wrong end of the stick Sam.You give these things away for free due to the fact that the people have nothing.

The only thing you will not get a discount on is a smile as a thank you.

[tupacboy]

a big factor is the exchange rate. In may this year my parents got 1.25 cuc to the ? its now around 1.5 i got 2 years ago 1.72

Ic ic... but i figured with it being local, and no import tax etc.. it would be way cheaper... just surprising that it was higher

[moidoid]

wow... looking at that marty's list...

cigars are not cheaper there... kinda surprising to me..

Where are you getting them cheaper Tupac? My usual dealers can't beat the Cuban prices.

[tupacboy]

not sure if you get different pricing because of you being in the UK... but our sponser here is cheaper...

[Robusto]

I heard today that apart from pens, toothpaste, soap... a good thing to take and use as a tip is small packets of Paracetamol. I'll be popping to Supadrug at some point this week!

[PoohBore]

i forgot to mention that the official government uniforms for cuba were designed by benny hill. I saw a nurse in white stileto's, fish nets and a dress 2 sizes to small. Enjoy that thought-.

[whisky77]

Heels.

i forgot to mention that the official government uniforms for cuba were designed by benny hill. I saw a nurse in white stileto's, fish nets and a dress 2 sizes to small. Enjoy that thought-.

LOL.I saw a couple of female security gaurds who obviously went to the same shop.
They were wearing five inch heels as well, which I thought would be handy when trying to chase the criminals.

[stephan]

My trip to Cuba was over ten years ago but I remember...

Every cigar I smoked tasting better than anywhere else. The ambience just made them taste better!

Staying in a Casa Particulares. Much more real than any hotel! Huge rooms - colonial splendour! I also felt connected by staying with and speaking with 'my' Cuban family every day.

Copelia in Havana. It's great and I'd recommend getting there at an off peak time. Mid afternoon the queues can be long. It's a 50s ice cream parlour, architecturally interesting and favoured by locals more than tourists.

Getting lots of smiles and good mornings on my early morning jogs. I find it's one of the best ways of getting a feel for a new place.

Music everywhere! Bars with two customers had a five man band!

Staying away from touristy spots and then noticing the stark contrast when going to a tourist show. It does not seem like the same island.

Terrible food when eating out. At 'home' food was great (cooked by the people we were staying with), but every restaurant had tasteless rubbery food. I must have had ten lobsters in my quest for some taste and still no luck.

I wonder how much has changed and I will be interested to hear from you when you return.

[PoohBore]

at the hotel i stayed in when the waitress brought drink to you she flashed stocking tops every time she leaned forward to put them on the table!

[Stevieboy]

i forgot to mention that the official government uniforms for cuba were designed by benny hill. I saw a nurse in white stileto's, fish nets and a dress 2 sizes to small. Enjoy that thought-.

Hahahahahahaha Brilliant

[cbob]

Although it seemed the most "touristy" of factories, I still do not remember them having that facility.

There are very few places where you can use any cards.

I've been using my VISA and MC all over in Cuba for many years. I always use it at Partagas, even for things like events and I buy all my cigars and bus travel with my card. Any cigar store you would patronize will accept cards.

The only cards that are NOT accepted are ones from US banks and you should check to be sure because even here in Canada, some of our cards are actually on US based banks (CitiBank, some Master Cards).
"American Express"? It goes without saying.

There are also no ATM machines that take "bank" cards (account cards). You can use your credit card to get cash advances from banks and the few ATMs in Havana but certainly NO debit cards are accepted.

.

[cbob]

My trip to Cuba was over ten years ago but I remember...

Every cigar I smoked tasting better than anywhere else. The ambience just made them taste better!

Your opening line holds the key here.

Little is the same as it was in Cuba 10 years ago but I'll admit that you appear to have enjoyed a few of the pleasures that are still a joy in Havana.

If you had a Casa Particular with "colonial splendour" you were indeed lucky but many people still enjoy being out of the "hotel" loop.

Copelia is still a great place to go and it is getting a bit easier to avoid the embarrassing visits of a few years ago when "extraneros" were called into a seperate line and served first while block-long "colas" of locals waited patiently for one of two flavours. Curiously (or maybe not) Habaneros with CUCs prefer to go to Bim Bom where they usually have a big selection.

The food is much better "on a good month" but with the drastic reduction in produce and staples since the last big hurricanes, most places in Havana that don't have access to "tourist" markets have slim fare.
When I spent a month in Havana last November/December many locals were going hungry and if you wanted more than "rations" at your homestay you needed to shop for your host family at the CUC supermercados. Even then some hotels and markets were short of food.
There are many quite good small restaurants in Havana now and even the over-hyped Aljibe in Miramar that gets a write-up in every guide book still has a great "all you can eat" dinner for a low price that has not changed in several years.

.

[Robusto]

Must print this off this week and pack some Cream Crackers, too.