Viva a La Cuba

Back from Cuba and I am ready to share all the details of my trip with you all! Did I fall in love with Cuba? Yes.

I’m so glad that I got a chance to go and visit Cuba now while it is still an untouched gem. My advice to you is to try to travel to Cuba within the next three years; as they are already starting to build up new hotels, and it will start to change. I was lucky enough to grab one of the deals with American Airlines, and got my roundtrip ticket for $236! If you do plan to travel please make sure to do your research, and make sure your trip falls under one of the 12 categories. An important thing to note is that for Americans travel for  tourism is banned still. If you have any questions or need any help planning your trip please do reach out! During my trip, I was able to travel to Varadero  Havana and Vinales. All very beautiful parts; Varadero is a beautiful town with amazing beaches, Havana is a MUST see and needs no explanation being in Havana at times definitely transformed me back to the 1920’s. Vinales is the beautiful countryside, I was able to go horseback riding, swim in a natural lagoon, and had the BEST mojito sweetened with natural honey straight from the farm!

 

How is the Food? The food in Cuba was good, but I must admit being a foodie I had very high expectations. I am used to the Cuban food that I have had while staying in Miami. The Cuban food in Cuba is nothing like the Cuban food I am used to, not to say that it isn’t good. I had some amazing dishes especially seafood. 🙂 I must say I will miss ordering a lobster for at least one of my meals a day and not have to worry about breaking the bank! A must with every meal one of the amazing mojitos or daiquiris you can’t beat the price of $3 dollars for a drink!Some of the restaurants I recommend in Havana are Vistamar, Sia Clara (super cheap and really big portions!)

How to get around in Cuba? Prior to my group and I leaving for our trip one of my friends was lucky enough to arrange a car service to get us from the airport to our hotel. The driver picked my group and I up at the airport and dropped us off at our hotel, and also took us to Havana the next day as well. If you aren’t able to arrange a taxi or car service before there are plenty of options once you get to the airport. All the beautiful vintage 1950’s Cadillacs, Chevrolet, Impala that you have seen all over the internet are the majority of the taxies! These cars were perfect for my group of friends since it was 10 of us. Each car holds at least 5 passengers, and are actually cheaper than the traditional taxi.

 

Where to Stay in Cuba? I was actually surprised at how many options I had once I looked on Airbnb. Yes, Cuba has Airbnb! We were able to rent a beautiful house in Miramar a great location (about 10 mins from the downtown area) and safe neighborhood. This was my first Airbnb experience and it was amazing. Our host was so nice and welcoming. If interested here is the Link to our Airbnb.

Is there Wifi? Shocking enough most Cubans do not have wifi located in their homes. As of last August, Wifi is now located in public places such as a park, and some buildings. Mostly all hotels have access to wifi and you can purchase a wifi card for 2 cucs and sign on for an hour at a time. You will be able to check approved websites, check your facebook and Instagram–but no snap chat, unfortunately!

 

Some places you must visit:

• Downtown area (Cathedral Square)
• Cigar Factories
• Murals all over Cuba
• Revel
• Flordita
  • be warned this is a big tourist spot and is usually very crowded! Come early grab a table and listen to the live music play. The food here is decent, I was able to have my first Cuban Sandwich ever here 🙂
• La Bodeguita
  • Amazing Mohijos here, another tourist spot. Be sure to write your name down, they are starting to run out of room so you have to get very creative

 

How is the Nightlife in Cuba? You will be able to find a little bit of everything at night in Havana. Live music, DJs, and musical performances. I had the chance to go and visit Fabrica De Arte and La Casa De Musica. Two spots you must definitely hit up if you are in Havana. I was actually surprised by how much American music was being played in the clubs. At Fabrica De Arte we heard everything from Trap music to Top 40 to  Reggatone ( Shaky Shaky Shaky). If you haven’t heard Shaky Shaky by Daddy Yankee you will! This song will get stuck in your head, so don’t fight it 🙂

 

 

Favorite Part of the trip;

Would you go back to Cuba?  Yes, I most definitely would! There is so much to see in Cuba, and as I said before the country will be completely different in 5 years so I plan to visit again.

Other helpful tips:

• Change your money into Euros before going to Cuba, there is a fee for exchanging American dollars
  • You can change your Euros right into dollars at the airport. I would suggest do half depending upon the rate and find another place to exchange money during your trip. (You can exchange euros at Hotel Nacional in the exchange place located in the basement)
• If you able to get a hold of a cheap international phone that you can add minutes on to.  Nothing fancy our group had a flip phone! This will be a lifesaver for you so you can make reservations, call cabs, and do whatever else you need to
• If you speak little Spanish download Google Translate it will make you feel like a pro. This came in handy for us when we were at restaurants and wasn’t sure what was on the menu. You take a picture of it and it will translate all the words into English! No phone service needed 
• If your trip allows you try and visit 2-3 different cities. Havana is a must see, but I really enjoyed my time in Varadero and Vinales. Next visit I plan to make a stop at Trinidad
• Bring things to give out to the amazing Cubans you interact with. Our group was able to bring clothes, toiletries, and school supplies to give out to the students at the school. It is such an amazing feeling to be able to give back! Apparently,canned tuna is hard to find in Cuba and people love to have it there. So if you have any room in your luggage make sure you pack some, and anything baseball related works as well.

Until next time!