Suite Cuba

Advices

A few years ago Cuba was considered a paradise in terms of Safeness. Today, although it continuous being one of the most safest countries in the world, the difficult economic situation and the development of the turism has provoked an increase in the standard of criminality. You should take some measures in order to avoid you unpleasant moments.

• In the main cities of the island, specially in Havana, is not advisable to walk very late at night on streets poorly lit or on outlying areas (as in any big city in the world).

• Be suspicious of any person that approaches you in the street offering Cuban cigars, proposing girls or merely trying to strike up a conversation without any sense. These people are known in Havana as Jineteros or Jineteras (jockeys in Spanish) and they are specialized in living at tourist’s expense and in many occasions are professional con artists and are also prostituted. Get rid of them with this simple phrase No, gracias (no thanks) and if this does not work and he or she becomes a nuisance, switch over to ‘No moleste’ (Don’t bother).

• If you decide to pass the above suggestion, and you buy cigars in the street, you must know that the Custom officials at the airport will only allow you to take out of the country 23 Habanos without having to show the official purchase receipt (a standard box contains 25 cigars). If you exceed that amount, you will be required to show the original purchase receipt and to hand a copy of it to the customs office at the exit point. The cigars must be contained in original cases with all official seals, including a new holographic seal which rarely is present in the boxes bought in the street. Any failure on the above, the product will be seized by Cuba’s customs office.

• If you have a local ¨friend¨, she or he would be admitted at your accommodation, however, your friend will be required by the landlord to show an ID card as a security measure.

• If you are going to travel to the internal provinces, specially to Trinidad and Cienfuegos, you will find many Jineteros from the same entrance of the town trying to divert you to a place of their interest. They can use the most varied strategies, from passing for the landlord of your booked accommodation and taking you to another place, to tell you that the owner of the house reserved by you has just died and that house is not renting any more. So, if you are travelling by rent car you must check the address of your accommodation very well (if you travel by bus, the owner of the booked lodge will be waiting at the station with a poster with your name).

• Be aware of the suspicious low prices in the internal provinces, most of times they hide an illegality (is impossible to charge lower prices because of the high taxes). If you rent an accommodation without a proper license you will take the risk of being thrown out of it if the house is inspected and hardly you will recuperate your advanced money.

• In Cuba there are currently two legal tender, the Cuban Peso CUP (not convertible) and the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC). Since November 2004 is forbidden the use of USD to pay for the goods and services received in Cuba. Tourists have to pay now in CUC which is officially rated 8% above USD. Euros are also acceptable in Varadero and the keys of Jardines del Rey (Gardens of the King). If you are planning to travel to Cuba you should avoid to bring USD since this currency is currently charged with 10% besides the fixed 8% undervaluation with the CUC, e.g.. you will receive 80 CUC for 100 USD. We suggest you to bring Euros or GBP which are easily exchangeable without any deduction (Most hard currencies can be changed into CUC at CADECA (Casas de Cambio or Houses of Exchange), banks and hotel exchange desks.)

• Credit cards and traveller's checks issued by US companies are not negotiable in Cuba.

• Cash advances are possible on MasterCard and Visa credit cards (and some other credit cards) provided they are not issued by a US bank. Anyway you should avoid paying small amounts by credit card as this procedure could be slow and your password will be required. We suggest you to bring a reasonable amount of cash (not USD to avoid the 10% charge) to exchange into CUC at the same CADECA of the airport (you will have to pay at cash with CUC the transportation to the city and the reserved accommodation).

• Please be serious with us, and with the owner of the booked house. The landlord will reserve the accommodation for you; if you fail they loose money.

What to bring

• Some medicine you usually use. Sometimes certain medicines are in short supply.
• In Cuba you will only require light cotton clothing although you should always bring a lightweight sweater for the air-conditioned locations and if you are travelling in winter a windbreaker may be necessary. Shorts are appropriated for both men and women, but men are sometimes required to wear long trousers in certain restaurants, museums and churches.
• Sunscreen (at least SPF 15 minimum).
• Sunglasses
• A hat, although we suggest you to buy it here. You will be able to find beautiful hats everywhere in Cuba.
• Some insect repellent
• A Spanish-English dictionary
• Cosmetics
• A plug adapter, in Cuba the North American-style plugs and outlets are the norm. Nevertheless, most of the accommodations you can book in this Website are equipped with European-style plug.

Other advices

• Never drink water from the faucet, most of Cuban do it and nothing happened to them but you are not accustomed and surely will waste your precious time in Cuba in the bathroom.
• Although you will desire to show your nice Caribbean tanned skin in your cold country, you should avoid to expose your skin from 11.00 AM to 4.00 PM. Sun at these hours, specially during the summer, is harmful to your skin. If you are in the beach or a swimming pool during these hours make sure you are well protected in a shade of an umbrella and never do prolong swimming and, in any case, always use sunscreen.
• Remember the AIDS, we are not health promoter but always remember you should protect yourself. Bring condoms though you can buy them here everywhere. (Nevertheless Cuba has a very low incidence of this illness)
• Don’t exchange Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUC) into non convertible Pesos, you wont use them frequently,
• Remember to separate CUC 25.00 for the departure tax at the airport.