So I'm planning a one week trip to Cuba. I'm a single

Update:

Looked at tours, and while they can make the trip easier, they seem pretty expensive.

I'm gonna do 5 days 4 nights. Think I'm just gonna book the plane ticket online, and try to find a "casa particular" on AirBnB.

Good so far?

>>1227357
You need a tour. Exchange. Are you cuban? If you aren't visiting your family, you need the tour. There's a reason it's expensive...it contains kickback tax to the government you're still supporting. Airfare has always been cheap.

>>1227408

Nope just white American. Born here.

So I've been reading some of the blog articles about it. They said travel is looser than it has ever been. They said when I get to Havana I need to go to the Visa line, pay $50 and check one of 12 boxes for reason of visit.

They said "cultural interest" is just fine.

The vibe I'm getting online is you don't need the tour.

All the tours start at $2k and I can't pay that shit.

Right now I'm looking at $500 for the plane ticket. $35/day for an AirBnB room, $350 for random misc stuff.

I'm trying to stay right at $1,000

Are flying into Havana? I've only been mid-island, Cayo Coco area. Some pretty amazing snorking/spear-fishing spots there.

>>1227485

Yeah was gonna do Atlanta to Havana.

The currency thing is kinda tripping me out. Apparently I need to convert USD to pounds. Then pounds to their national currency, then from national to their convertible currency.

Jesus. I'm sure each transaction will have fees.

I've also been told not to buy the street food as it will make you sick.

>>1227502
No, you can convert dollars directly to commie monopoly money, if you're okay with taking a 10% hit

The food is fine, just don't eat in government-run places, those will taste awful and give you the runs

Ask your host for advice on where to go and what to do, there are a lot of Canadians on /trv/ that will steer you the wrong way because they get "special treatment" and dont realize everyone is scamming the shit out of them

Don't buy rum or cigars except through your host or your host's sources

If you're gonna be in Havana you should walk the old havana part, if you get bored of the urban exploration ask about:

>Expocuba
Monument to the "achievements" of the communists, a rusted decaying complex where you can see some pretty curious shit like soviet planes and such, it's neat

>Parque Lenin
Near Expocuba, on the outskirts of Havana. Amusement park with a bunch of bootleg soviet disney rides. Before I left it was literally falling apart but I hear it's been renovated

>Parque Botanico
If you're into biology and nature it's a pretty awesome place. The Japanese garden has some weird ass food but it's gorgeous

>Tarara
Old beachside gated community that turned into a child soldier training complex, which was then abandoned in order to house the Chernobyl kids and open some tourism spots. Best beaches in the province. No Cubans allowed unless a hefty bribe is paid.

>Playas del Este
The people's beach, go here to scope out some fine Cuban booty. Don't assume any girl (or guy) you see here is a hooker because you will get shanked. The "real traveller" beach experience

>El Morro-Cabaña
Old spanish forts with a lot of history, really interesting museums and a neat cannon-firing ceremony at 9PM simbolizing the closing of the city gates

>>1227580

Thank you so so much!

I guess may last question, what am I looking at budget wise?

I was thinking:
> $500 plane ticket
> $35 a day airbnb
> $30 a day food
> $30 a day minor fun (and taxis, airport too)

Am I missing anything?

>>1227580
Interesting, tell me more, I am gonna be 3 days in Havana starting this Saturday

>>1227408
>You need a tour. Exchange. Are you cuban? If you aren't visiting your family, you need the tour

You don't need to be on a tour.

>>1227463
>They said when I get to Havana I need to go to the Visa line, pay $50 and check one of 12 boxes for reason of visit.

Are you flying Jetblue? You buy the $50 tourist visa when you check in for your flight. I believe American Airlines procedure is different since they outsource visa processing. Either way you purchase the visa before you get to Cuba

On your cuban immigration forms you can simply check "Tourism". Cuba does not care that you are an American tourist.

Only the US government ever cared that you were going there for tourism and that policy is no longer enforced. I was not asked any questions about my reasons for traveling when leaving or entering the US.

>>1227342
Stay in a casa particular. Most owners of these places are wealthy by cuban standards and will treat guest with respect. Like 80% of the ones I stayed in offered home cooked dinner which was better than food in touristic restaurants.

Go by bus (viazul) to travel between cities instead of of playing $100 for a taxi.

Always keep like $10 worth of moneda nacional with you for a cheap bite in local stores. ($1 "pizza")

Book a tour on site to avoid paying a commission.

>>1227731
That will probably not be enough, Cuba is expensive by all measurable standards. I would not recommend you have more than $100 on you at a time but a $30 "fun" budget will not get you far if you're not Cuban

>>1227830
Whoops, guess I missed that one, sorry senpai, hope you had a good time

Anyone have any personal recommendations for a slightly longer trip? I'll be there for about 2.5 weeks with my girlfriend in August, we'll be flying into Havana and then unsure of what places to visit next. We enjoy almost every sort of destination, but nature, hiking, etc. moreso than cities

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>>1228859
Beware of buses, sometimes they will just not run or change schedules, its fucked up. Good thing we were traveling in a group of 5 so taxi was even cheaper than bus.

I wouldnt recommend cuba unless you speak spanish. Scammers everywhere, taxis trying to rip you off, hostels and casa particular trying to rip you off, wealthy my ass, they are still scammers.

Dont trust anyone, if someone acts nice to you expect to be asked for money, every fucking time. Dont follow anyone "for drinks" either.

Prostitutes are about $100 which i consider a ripoff, they are not that good and you will probably get better value in mexico.

Get cuban insurance, you will need it.

This is a very expensive place to travel alone, wouldnt recommend it at all. Taxi alone will cost you like 25 dollars, unless you meet someone at the airport that is willing to share.

Are you me, OP? If things work out with cash flow during the summer, I'm hopefully planning on going during Tech's fall break. idk where you're looking, but tickets are like $200 through spirit out of Hartsfield-Jackson.

Well guys I booked it. Really appreciate the help here. I'll be there May 10 - May 15. If an anon wants to meet up or is a resident there, please post something in this thread and we can exchange info.

I'm doing an AirBnB @ Hermosa Casa Colonial en Miramar.

My Spanish is decent and I've been to Mexico many times, so I don't think I'll have a hard time with the culture or upcharging.

I was shocked at how many Americans I asked about it were all, "omg you can't travel there, you need special forms, special permission, etc".

Called Delta directly, "Just fill out a one page form, pay $50, and you're in".

>>1231405

I would not fly Spirit as they charge "check on bag fees" That fee is like $40.

And that's each way.

So when a ticket says $300, the real price is about $400.

Also they are fucking assholes, and rude. Any food or drink on the plane is a charge. A ridiculous one.

I could do Spirit for $250, but ended up going Delta for $450, because I hate Spirit so fucking much.

>Cuba
>Expensive

Absolutely not. People there are poor so they will charge as much as they can get away with, they hope you are an idiot who will just say ok. Learn a tiny bit of Spanish, make some friends, and haggle and you'll find everything is extremely cheap. I'm talking bottle of havana club for 70p cheap

So what's the reality with the hookers there nowadays? I heard that they used to be amazingly hot and you could just proposition any girl walking around Havana that gave you eye contact, but now times have changed.

>How much do they cost?

>How do you find them?

>How hot are they in comparison the hookers that you'd find in Colombia, Brazil, Mexico?

>>1233440
In my admittedly limited experience with hookers while I lived there (never slept with one but knew many) you will know because they look ratchet as fuck and will try to gouge you for as much as they can

Honestly you are much better off trying to pick up girls regularly, since nothing is more attractive to the average Cuban girl than the possibility of escape via a rich boyfriend

In other words, playing gold diggers will probably yield much better results than prowling for hookers