Tag: Girls who love travel

Cuba is amazing, it’s like stepping back in time. The architecture, although mostly crumbling is fabulous and a throwback to pre-revolutionary times. Horse and buggies, the most delightful rainbow colourful classic cars, bikes, coco-taxis (think tuk-tuk but more spacious, bright yellow and shaped like a coconut!), bikes and buses all share the same roadways. People are outside all the time either using a wifi hotspot outside a hotel or park or salsa dancing in the street, just because. You can get a delicious rum cocktail quite literally anywhere, it’s safe and the people are friendly. If you haven’t been then get going soon!

Visa requirements for U.S. and non U.S. citizens

There is a whole lot of misleading information out there about travel to Cuba from the U.S.A. To clear up a few of the myths here is a shortlist of required information.

Yes, both U.S. and non U.S. citizens may board a flight bound leaving a U.S. airport for Cuba. In fact, non residents abide by exactly the same immigration laws as U.S. citizens in this respect.

U.S. citizens may apply for a visa online ( https://www.ivisa.com/cuba-blog/how-to-get-a-cuba-visa-online), however there are some airports where you can purchase a visa at a kiosk which is, in fact, what I did. The entire process is embarrassingly easy and convenient. In Fort Lauderdale International airport the kiosk was located directly next to the Southwest Airlines check in counter. You pay $75 (no cash payments, card only) and they present you with a flimsy looking piece of paper which is your travel visa. Make a mistake on this at your peril, you will either be forking out another $75 or rick getting turned away by a pedantic immigration officer.

As of June 5th, 2019, the Trump administration have banned travel to Cuba on cruise ships. I met some unfortunate people who met the sharp end of this when their cruise abruptly turned away from Cuba in light of the new ban.

Accommodation, navigation, internet and currency.

I stayed in Havana for three nights near Prado de Malecon using a couple with Superhost status on Airbnb ( https://www.airbnb.ae/rooms/11625231?source_impression_id=p3_1561009092_5QKdDY9k32AQGVrx ). For those of you who have not used Airbnb, the site lists local hosts and their properties which you can make a reservation to stay in. These range from a private room in someone’s home to an entire apartment. Prices are generally considerably lower than listed commercial businesses of a similar standard. The advantage of staying with local hosts is they are invested in creating a great guest experience and you get to read reviews and communicate through the site before meeting. Yeni and Roly advised me to download the app Maps.me ( https://maps.me/ ) which was quite frankly a lifesaver as you cannot access it once in Cuba. Download the maps before departure so that navigation will work offline when you are in Havana.

For getting around, the buses are cheap and frequent, taxis are as in every country, generally a total rip off. I spent the majority of my budget on taxis I was paying the foreigner rate in. Rent a bike if you are anyway active it is a real pleasant way to get around the city and you generate your own breeze!

The internet is an interesting and relatively new phenomena in Cuba. If a property advertises Wifi then be aware that this means there is a hotspot – to actually get internet time you need to buy ETECSA cards giving you an hour or time per card for 1 CUC (approximately $1) or double that if you are purchasing it from a third party. You can usually find Wifi around the public parks and hotels and resorts, which is why you see people hanging around on the street on their devices. ETECSA vendors will display the logo pictured below, or most resorts and hotels will sell them. On arrival at Havana international, if you go to the arrivals lounge you can purchase cards as well as use an ATM or exchange currency.

If you are a U.S. citizen then forget about using your bank cards to withdraw cash from the ATM, and unless you want to pay an extra 10% charge on currency exchange, I would recommend you purchasing Canadian dollars to exchange in the airport. Do make sure you have enough to last your entire trip. I was able to use my (United Arab Emirates) HSBC card with no problems at numerous ATMs in Havana, however my ADCB bank card was not accepted, so again I would recommend bringing Euros or Canadian dollars as a back up.

Club Tropicana

I highly recommend experiencing this colourful and over the top cabaret. Never have I seen so many perfectly formed bottoms gathered in one place! These are the most well known and longest running shows in Havana, the costumes and sometimes lack of them are truly mesmerizing and at one point the dancers come out with what can only be described as three storey chandeliers balanced upon their heads. How they can sashay and glide across the stage is astonishing. I reserved and paid in advance of my trip through their website ( https://www.cabaret-tropicana.com/en/ ) . The food is not going to earn any Michelin stars but the champagne and quart of rum quickly takes your mind off of it. At my table was an American family whose matriarch, now in her 60’s was on her first trip back since her emigration to the U.S.A. at 8 years of age. It was encounters like these which really contextualized the dramatic history of the Cuban people for me.

HOrseriding in Vinales, Cigar country

Another recommendation for solo travellers is to browse and utilise Airbnb experiences. Here you will find a variety of tours or experiences with locals. In my opinion, you get a better quality of interaction to commercial tours where you can feel like the guide is simply being paid to impart information. You also glean an interesting local perspective on cultural and historical influences. This trip was rated the top one on Airbnb experiences ( https://www.airbnb.ae/experiences/247222? ) and it did not disappoint. The Havana local guide, Dan, was a former teacher of English to Cuban students and his ability to include all group members and create a warm group atmosphere was evident. This experience was also one of the few that arranged a pickup, verging on Germanic punctuality, from your accommodation and is a great choice on your first day in Cuba to take all the thinking out of it.

We were taken to Vinales which is cigar country, where the local farmers tell you about the process and then roll a cigar for you to try. You can also buy directly from the farmers themselves and sample their delicious rum coffee. It cost 5 CUC for 10 cigars which was a steal.

The trip is a day long affair but is broken up at perfect intervals to allow you to visit a cave, through which you take a little boat ride through, an impressively large mural across a limestone rock face, horseriding through the country and of course a great value lunch at a high point where can admire the scenery.

Bike trip around the streets of Havana

There are a multitude of Airbnb experiences offering a guided bike trip around Havana. I chose a 2 hour one which fit around the rest of my schedule. One stop was the Afro-Cuban neighbourhood which has in recent years become an art district, at one point, our guide told us, the African population was growing so much the Cuban government put a stop to the influx through fears the population would threaten the balance with local Cubans. Chinatown was another community which shrank drastically after the revolution. The Chinese who had come to labour and build infrastructure such as railroads had created a large community and local businesses in Havana. After the revolution, when much of the privately owned properties were absorbed by the government, many Chinese left to seek opportunities elsewhere.

Cuba in a convertible and Mafia memories

No trip to Cuba is complete without the obligatory classic car photo opportunity. It’s all about the Insta! A word to the fashion and Insta conscious – forget having beautiful hair and outfit in a convertible (pictured above)! However if, like me, you want a twist then I would recommend the Airbnb Experiences: Revisit memories of the Mafia in Cuba ( https://www.airbnb.ae/experiences/94418? ). For starters, my Experiences host, Michele, is an Italian who moved to Cuba, married and became a permanent resident. Having an English speaker with an Italian accent tell you about the historic mafia influences in pre-revolutionary Cuba definitely adds a level of authenticity.

You are driven, with up to 3 other guests, around in a beautiful vintage convertible to some infamous hotel locations built with mafia money. After the revolution, just like those Chinese owned businesses, all the mafia properties were absorbed by the government. Michele paints a picture of the past at each location you would be unaware of had you simply been wandering around admiring the sights by yourself. He points out a former brothel, La Salon Rouge which boasted the best prostitutes in all Havana and which the chief of police would frequent and often take prostitutes for lavish private parties. I am shown the swimming pool of the in the shape of a coffin, a grim reminder of what might happen to those who stood in the way of the grand plan of Mafia business expansion across Cuba and the Caribbean. The trip is topped off with a free cocktail and cigar at a nearby bar.

Never enough time!

My trip was amazing! Things I didn’t do which I would have liked to try, were a cooking lesson in a Cuban home, salsa classes and generally I would have liked more time to drink delicious cocktails! Don’t be like me – I made the mistake of leaving souvenir shopping until the day of my departure. Unfortunately all the souvenir places (look for Arte markets) opened at 10:00 in the morning and I had to leave without spending all those pesos! Go for the unique cultural experience! Expect great cocktails, friendly locals, average food and embrace the forced offline time when you don’t have internet!