Cuba - current situation?

[Ryan]

Why do you say not to stay in Havana, I would stay at a friends Casa for time there but would want to go back to Trinidad and likely Santiago but there’s no way I’d stay in hotels in Cuba so would be looking at Casa’s. If that doesn’t work I can’t see there being much sense in going to Cuba at all right now as cigars are just a bonus on top of the amazing country.


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I say not to stay in a casa in Havana if you have not been to Cuba before. If you have friends there that's very different.
A hotel in Havana in fine as prices are state controlled in hotels and very similar to what they were before the cuc was eliminated.

For example, a Hotel Nacional ham and cheese sandwich is (in November anyway) 150 cup, at 25:1 that's about $6 USD. When the cuc was around, it was 6 cuc or $6 for that sandwich. So no real change there. A beer in a hotel is about 100 cup.

However, prices in the privately owned places have changed. The privately-owned places make up most of the best bars, restaurants and night-clubs. There's only one state-owned restaurant i would eat in (El Aljibe) and two or three state-owned bars or clubs (Centro Cultural El Sauce and maybe Floridita for a drink)

If you change your money in the currency exchange places in Havana, you will get 25:1 to the USD.
Below are some examples of what prices are like at that rate in the private places.

Pizza in Espacios is 400 cup , $16USD, beer 250 cup, $10. A decent 2 hour dinner with a cocktail or two and coffee, 3,000 cup, $120. Taxi from Habana Vieja to the Nacional 300 - 400 cup or $12 - $14.

You can see how it gets expensive if you don't have a friend or two in Havana to help you with money. That will be the same in any city in Cuba.

Your friend with the casa, if you pay him when you get there, will be very happy to accept payment in EUR or USD, prices may even have come down a little. Check exchange rates before you go, from the site I listed above. Some friends will offer you half the going rate and tell you you're getting a deal as it's much better than the official rate.

Cigars in LCDHs and other official stores cannot be paid for in cash now. Credit card only and non-US ones at that. A little bit of good news is that because of this, custom rolls are paid for by credit card now too. Some stores were cash only for custom rolls in the past, for understandable reasons.

If you're visiting farms to buy farm rolls, farmers are very happy to accept EUR or USD cash.

[vanbobble]

I love Trinidad if you mean part of Cuba, it’s traditionally pretty easy to travel about so a good country to explore place to place


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yeah I have an idea of where it is. Before looking at Cuba I had no idea how big it is! I was planning on doing Varadero, Havana and Vinales. Maybe next year

[BullittBoy]

I would love to freshen up this thread - anyone got any recent feedback from holidays in Cuba?

It remains on my bucket list and I have a celebratory birthday coming up soon and wondering if now is the right time.

Obviously I am not ignoring the issues there or the devastation from the hurricanes - it just still remains one of the destinations I want to go to.

[Ryan]

I was there again last November (2022).
It has improved somewhat for tourists. There are more tourists now but still at less than 20% of what it was before Covid. Lots of big new hotels largely empty, and more being built.
Taxis are easier to get now. Most bars, restaurants and clubs open. It's easier to get around Havana than it was a year ago.

Money still complicated. There is a very big difference between official and unoffiiclal exchange rates. Change money with someone you can trust. A landlord is usually a good bet.

Still best to bring euros or USD. Most UK credit cards will work in the cigar shops where cash is generally not accepted. Check before you go that your credit card will work.
Not many flights from UK now to Havana, if any. KLM have stopped flights from Amsterdam and even Air France which used to have two flights per day from Paris - Havana, now often only 3-4 flights per week.
Mask wearing rules have been dropped.
Power cuts happen in Havana but not often. 30 minutes every few days. Hotels have generators so they're fine. If you plan on a B&B, find a place where you don't need to use a lift.
There are shortages of some things sometimes. Beer, water, toilet paper (bring your own in case you get caught short somewhere. Hotels and B&Bs will have it)
Treat Cuba like a camping trip. Bring everything you think you might need. Toiletries, medications, torch, bug spray, back up power pack for phone etc. Much of that stuff can be found, but usually not easily.

I'm going again at the end of February. It has changed a lot but still a great place to go, especially if you like cigars.
For Cubans, it has not been this bad in decades regarding inflation and shortages of necessities. There is a growing gap between the "haves" and "have-nots", thus crime is increasing. Violent crime against tourists is still very very rare. Cuba is safer than most of Europe in that regard, but pickpocketing and theft is on the rise. Mind your stuff, backpacks, phones on bar tables etc.
This might get worse, who knows where Cuba will be in 3 - 5 years. There could be big changes coming. If you want to go, go soon.

[BullittBoy]

I was there again last November (2022).
It has improved somewhat for tourists. There are more tourists now but still at less than 20% of what it was before Covid. Lots of big new hotels largely empty, and more being built.
Taxis are easier to get now. Most bars, restaurants and clubs open. It's easier to get around Havana than it was a year ago.

Money still complicated. There is a very big difference between official and unoffiiclal exchange rates. Change money with someone you can trust. A landlord is usually a good bet.

Still best to bring euros or USD. Most UK credit cards will work in the cigar shops where cash is generally not accepted. Check before you go that your credit card will work.
Not many flights from UK now to Havana, if any. KLM have stopped flights from Amsterdam and even Air France which used to have two flights per day from Paris - Havana, now often only 3-4 flights per week.
Mask wearing rules have been dropped.
Power cuts happen in Havana but not often. 30 minutes every few days. Hotels have generators so they're fine. If you plan on a B&B, find a place where you don't need to use a lift.
There are shortages of some things sometimes. Beer, water, toilet paper (bring your own in case you get caught short somewhere. Hotels and B&Bs will have it)
Treat Cuba like a camping trip. Bring everything you think you might need. Toiletries, medications, torch, bug spray, back up power pack for phone etc. Much of that stuff can be found, but usually not easily.

I'm going again at the end of February. It has changed a lot but still a great place to go, especially if you like cigars.
For Cubans, it has not been this bad in decades regarding inflation and shortages of necessities. There is a growing gap between the "haves" and "have-nots", thus crime is increasing. Violent crime against tourists is still very very rare. Cuba is safer than most of Europe in that regard, but pickpocketing and theft is on the rise. Mind your stuff, backpacks, phones on bar tables etc.
This might get worse, who knows where Cuba will be in 3 - 5 years. There could be big changes coming. If you want to go, go soon.

Brilliant thank you! Just what I was looking for!