Organizing a trip to Cuba can be a bit challenging, especially if you are traveling to Cuba on your own. As a Cuban himself told us: Do not look for logic in Cuba, there is none. One of the best advice we can give you is that you have to travel to Cuba with an open mind, without analyzing; but also, without waiting for answers. You have to keep what is good about the country and accept the contrasts of this unique country, one of the most colorful in the Caribbean. In this guide we tell you 10 essential recommendations that you should know before traveling to Cuba on vacation, a country that hardly lends itself to improvisation: Take good notes, they will be very useful!
HOW AND WHEN TO TRAVEL TO CUBA?
One of the most important things to know before traveling to Cuba is how and when to go to Cuba and what is the best time to take a trip to the island of Cuba.
How to get to Cuba?
From Spain there are direct flights to Havana and Santiago de Cuba with Iberia, Air Europa, Cubana de Aviación and World2fly.
In our case, we flew to Havana from Madrid with an offer from the World2fly company at a price of €450 per person (roundtrip). You can see similar prices and compare airfares in search engines for flight deals to Cuba such as Skyscanner.
What is the high season in Cuba?
The high season to travel to Cuba is from October to April. During these months you will experience the most pleasant climate, with less humidity and little rain, since it is the dry season on the island. The days are cooler and more pleasant and the temperatures are not excessively high.
Is it advisable to travel to Cuba out of season?
The cheapest time to travel to Cuba is during the European summer; that is, June and July. Although it coincides with the rainy season that runs from May to September, you will find occasional storms, but they will not spoil your vacation. Of course, it is the time of greatest heat and humidity: keep that in mind, because it can be suffocating.
When not to travel to Cuba?
One of the most important things to know before taking a trip to Cuba is to try to avoid the rainy season and hurricanes. That is, avoid traveling to Cuba in the month of August and in the months of September and October.
2HOW MANY DAYS OF TOURISM ARE RECOMMENDED TO TRAVEL TO CUBA AND HOW TO MOVE AROUND CUBA?
You will need a minimum of nine days to travel to Cuba. This is what we could call the basic package, which is what most travel agencies offer to go to Cuba, which organize cheap packages of combined trips to Cuba with a stay in Havana and Varadero and that include flights from Spain, hotels, transfers and stays on the beaches of Cuba with all inclusive (click on the link for more details).
We recommend at least a 10-day route in Cuba, in order to get to know beautiful colonial and Caribbean cities like Trinidad and Cienfuegos in more detail. Although if you have 15 days of vacation in Cuba, much better.
In addition, you will have time to take an excursion to Viñales and discover its tobacco plantations and you will be able to finish with a stay on the fantastic Cuban beaches, such as one of the idyllic Cuban Keys or on the beaches of Varadero (although I personally advise you to enjoy The first option). We ended our trip in Cayo Santa María and it was amazing.
Also, when organizing a trip to Cuba you should also think about whether you want to travel to Cuba on your own or with an organized trip.
TRAVEL ADVICE: ORGANIZED TRIPS TO CUBA: If you prefer to opt for an organized trip to Cuba, this 9-day organized tour to Cuba can be a good option and it is also very cheap. If you don’t have so many days and you prefer to do Havana and Varadero on your own, this 5-day circuit with transportation and accommodation through the most beautiful colonial cities in Cuba is highly recommended. And if you have more vacation time, this 15-day trip through Cuba and its colonial cities is very complete. This type of organized trips in Cuba are very cheap and include transfers, guides, accommodation, transportation and some meals and are perfect if you do not want to complicate too much in organizing a trip to Cuba, since you only have to book the round trip flights .
But, if you prefer to travel to Cuba on your own, you should know that the main means of transport to travel in Cuba are the following: Bus, rental car and private taxi. There are also collective transfers, which are very cheap, apparently, although we did not use them during our trip.
Tips to have internet in Cuba: Time lines
Regarding the internet service, you should know before your trip to Cuba that you will only have free Wi-Fi in 5-star hotels and in some parts of the city, although in the latter, as you can imagine, the network is not at all reliable and during our trip we realized that each time they are less existing.
An advisable option to have internet in Cuba during your trip is to buy a temporary line through an ETECSA wifi card, which is the national telephone company. The island still does not have other telephone and internet operators, so to connect to the internet in Cuba, it is necessary to have a Nauta account, either a temporary account or permanent access.
This card contains the username and password with which you can log in when you open your Internet browser.
These temporary cards work by the hour (1 and 5 hours) and are not expensive.
Cuba and its people: Santona in Havana. Tips for traveling to Cuba.
Permanent Internet lines in Cuba
However, my best recommendation to have internet in Cuba is that you directly buy a permanent line, used mostly by inhabitants of the island, which works through rechargeable plans with a maximum validity of up to one year. These lines can also be purchased at ETECSA points, they cost 1,000 pesos and have 2.5 GB of data and 30 minutes of calls.
You should know before your trip to Cuba that the greatest advantage of these permanent lines compared to the previous ones is that you do not have to be aware of recharging the balance for hours. In addition, you can check the available balance on your phone at any time.
After our trip we gave the chip to a local resident, since these lines can continue to be used for a year and the data is rechargeable.
Finally, you should know that it is essential to present the original passport to open a Nauta account.
And if all this seems too complicated to have internet in Cuba, a few days of digital detoxification are not bad either. 😉
7 OUTLETS AND ELECTRICITY IN CUBA
You should also know before traveling to Cuba that the electrical current works at 110 volts and the plugs have 2 parallel flat legs.
In some hotels in Cuba they usually have some 220 volt sockets with European type round legs. But in most of them, even though they use 220 volts, the plugs used are flat-legged, so a power adapter is essential.
To travel to Cuba I recommend one that has built-in USB ports to charge your electronic devices, you will find them very cheap on Amazon (click on the link). These that we recommend are the ones we travel with: They do not take up any space and are suitable for any part of the world.
8 IS IT SAFE TO TRAVEL TO CUBA?: TOURIST SAFETY IN CUBA
The eternal question before traveling to Cuba is: Is Cuba dangerous? Especially considering the insecurity that exists in the closest Latin countries: Cuba is totally safe!
tips-to-know-to-travel-to-Cuba-safety
Havana is full of activities and nightlife, so you will see a lot of people in the streets and in the restaurants even until late at night and there is no danger.
In addition to all this, it is worth knowing that crimes are heavily punished by the Cuban government and that there is a strong police presence in the main tourist places, for all these reasons Cuba is a very safe country, even at night, with a crime rate very low.
Most crimes against tourists are based on small scams and scams. However, it is advisable to take small precautions and distrust a priori, everyone who approaches you. Still, Cubans are friendly, curious and sociable by nature and most will do so just to strike up a conversation with you. In any case, I advise you to also consult these recommendations for travel to Cuba from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Spain in terms of security in Cuba.
9 DON’T DRINK TAP WATER
Another of the most important things you should know before traveling to Cuba is to avoid drinking tap water at all costs, even to brush your teeth, and drink only bottled (and sealed) water.
Also be careful with the ice in juices and cocktails. It is advisable to make sure that they are made with mineral or filtered water: Traveler’s diarrhea is the most common disease when traveling to Cuba and with a little caution, it is easy to avoid it.
Mojito and Cuba Libre, typical Cuban drinks: Tips for traveling to Cuba.
10 WHERE TO STAY IN CUBA?
The most economical and cheapest way to stay in Cuba is in private Cuban houses, especially if you are looking for a cheap trip to Cuba. These houses are state regulated and have an official badge.
Private Houses in Cuba
They offer room service with bathroom included and in most cases, breakfast. But watch out! because there are many illegal lodging houses. How to distinguish them from the authentic ones?: You will know if they do not offer the official emblem (a kind of anchor) in a visible place on the outside.
Colonial Hotels
Another good option is to stay in classic state hotels, many of them are historical palaces converted into hotels and have a lot of charm, such as the Hotel Santa Isabel, a luxury palace where we personally stayed in Old Havana, close to everything and with all the facilities (and with free wifi).
Another alternative is to sleep in Havana at the mythical Hotel Nacional, which has always housed celebrities of all time. You can see here the offers of hotels in Cuba.
Where to book accommodation in Cuba online?
You should know that international reservation pages such as Booking.com or Expedia are totally blocked in Cuba and do not allow reservations.
We made our accommodation reservations in Cuba before our trip through the Logitravel website, a Spanish agency that is authorized by the Cuban government and is the one that we personally recommend. You should know that they issue a kind of voucher that you must print before your trip and that you must present at the reception of your hotel upon arrival (as in the old fashioned way).
And these are the 10 most important tips to know when traveling to Cuba. We hope they will help you on your next trip to this unique country in the world, due to its history, people and that very special way of understanding life: knowing how to transform adversity into overcoming and not into resignation.