Cuba

Today as I am enjoying sitting on the deck looking at the ocean, blogging and logged into my online class (eye roll), I am also reminiscing on my trip to Cuba.

Last year for my 29th birthday, I went to Cuba. Let’s just say, Cuba was amazing! This blog is going to give you some tips for your travels to Cuba. Some of which I wish I knew before I went.

You must have a visa. Due to some restrictions given by Trump, it is now a little harder to travel to Cuba. There are many ways that you can successfully travel there without any issues. No matter what way you choose, you will need a visa. Because of all the changes, I chose the visa “support for the Cuban People”. There are other reason that you can choose but this was the best one for me.
Don’t go during the summer months. It is HOT!!!! Hot is an understatement. It is HHHHHHOOOOOOOTTTTTT. Like you only want to be outside for like 5 minutes at a time. Between mid November and March is the cooler dry season but May and June is the wet season.
Everyone there is friendly!!! Like amazingly friendly. You really do not meet a stranger! I loved the hospitality shown to me while there. Just be careful of anyone trying to invite you to a carnival. Apparently there is “always” a carnival. I was told that because Cuba is such a poor country, people will invite you to these carnivals or give you tours for money. Now don’t get me wrong, there are really carnivals, but at certain times. Research them. They would like stop in the middle of what they were doing to give us a tour. Then at the end, they would be waiting for money. We learned a little Spanish enough to politely decline and tour on our own.
Exchange your money in the states. If you exchange your money in Cuba, their rates are higher and then you get taxed on that rate. You end up losing more money. The US dollar isn’t really accepted there. Some places will take it and some don’t want anything to do with it. But you can sometimes find some people who will exchange your money with no fees even though it is rare. We were at the airport coming back home and trying to exchange our money back. This random airport worker came up to us and exchanged our money for no fee. Just make sure you know the currency exchange so you don’t get ripped off.
Do some research before you go. Cuba is not a place where you can just wake up and decide to go to an amusement park. Cuba is more of an exploration island. There aren’t amusement parks. There are a lot of historical places, restaurants and beaches. The exploration is awesome!
Internet is a luxury. You will have to buy a wifi card and can only use it in one place. Because I needed to reach back home for some things, I purchased a wifi card. Because internet is limited, it could only be used in one of like 10 areas on the island. It is not rare that you would be driving by and see a group of people standing in one area on the phone. It was kinda weird because Im used to accessing the internet everywhere! So whenever I wanted to reach back home, I had to leave my Airbnb and go to a particular part of a hotel to access the internet.
Lodging was kinda weird. This was due to the fact that I went a few weeks after Trump made that travel ban. So there was a notice sent out that we could not stay in certain places that are governed by the Cuban government. So I decided Airbnb was best because it fit under our reason for our visa (support of the cuban people). My host was amazing! Because I was traveling during my birthday, he gave me a birthday gift and texted me on the phone they allowed us to use.
Technology isn’t the greatest as I mentioned earlier about the internet. So it is best that you download a map so that you can navigate while you are there. I dowloaded Map.me and it got us to where we needed to go.
Due to the restriction in trade, the food was not that good. There is so much you already cannot eat and then the food that you can eat is kinda blah. We ended up finding a 24hr cafe that fit our needs for the trip. Just in case you are wondering, Do not drink the water! I actually expected the food to be amazing but this was also due to my lack of research before I went.
The beaches are really nice!! There a many beaches and my advice would be to visit them all.
Traveling around the island, you will need a taxi. The taxi rates are pretty reasonable. Just know you will be riding in some kind of 1950’s car. With no AC!! So just be ready to take a ride back into time. It was a pretty cool experience seeing all the cars!

There were a lot of things that I enjoyed on the trip. The culture is so different. It was like going back in time. These are just some things and thoughts that I think that everyone should know before they go on a trip to Cuba.

-Mz.Mari3

#yearof30

#30for30