Anyone out there travelled to Cuba?

I am thinking of going in December-January for 3 weeks and would love some travel tips. I am not interested in luxury hotels or the like as I would like to travel around the country and from what I heard it is quite a safe place so best is to rent rooms along the way, allowing more flexibility. A clean bed and warm shower is all I need!

What about transport? Public transport efficient enough? Worth considering? Or better rent a car?

Any places worth visiting? Places not worth visiting?

I am quite the adventurous type and have travelled a lot, alone and with friends. I would like to live the culture as much as possible, eat fish mingle with the people there, enjoy life around the sea and water sports etc

Any suggestions appreciated

do you like pork? do you enjoy lard? Then you'll love it. Other than that I don't have any suggestions as I have never been there. But I did live in Miami for a number of years, so I know something of the culture -- and especially of the food. Cuban food is the best stuff on the planet, right next to Thai.

Not Cuba, but highly recommend Costs Rica at that time of the year. It's an amazing place, the food is delicious, the people are very friendly, it's easy to get around and cheap. You can stay for $4 USD a night if you are up for sleeping in a hammock. My hubby and I left after 2 weeks vowing to return in 2 years and open a B&B on the beach - we liked it that much. Wherever you decide to go, have fun!

Wow....this all sounds great!!!! I will start planning ym trip and wait for further advcie from you.

Sleep in a hammock? That sounds ok to me

Keep the advcie coming please!! And THANK YOU!

I have been to Cuba many times...it is a great place and you will have a good time there. The Cubans are so nice and friendly.
Do you speak any spanish? If not ...then maybe you learn a little..it will make it easier for you. Very few Cubans speak English..and if you want to mingle with the locals then Spanish will definitely help.

Renting a car is really expensive and not really worth it...costs 60-100 US$ a day...maybe more because you are going in the high season.
There are Buses between all major cities. The bus is called "Viajul" and it is only for tourists (and for rich cubans who can afford it). Fare is around 20-50 $ depending on where you want to go. Public transport in the cities is not dependable...but you can take taxis and they are quite cheap.

You can stay in B&B rented by Cubans...you don't need any hotels. These B&B are called Casa Particulars and they can range from small tiny attic room to a huge Spanish colonial house...you can look for them on the Internet and reserve online...but do not pay anything till you arrive there. Cost around 20-30 US $ per night for a room.
I have quoted the price in US $ because it is 1:1 with the Cuban CUC.
Remember there are 2 currencies in Cuba - CUC - Convertible Pesos..which is used by tourists.
And the cubans are paid in Peso Cubano.
1CUC = 24 Cuban Pesos.

Never ever change money on the street...coz your Euros or CHF can be easily duped in to cuban pesos....
Also take Euros with you....you will get a better rate than CHF.

I would recommend - Havana - Pinar Del Rio - Cienfuegos - Trinidad- Santiago De Cuba.

Check out the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Forum- Cuba thread for more information.

Don't put too much validity in this to put you off or anything, but a friend of mine was over there earlier this year with her BF and they were robbed at knifepoint, either by the police or imposters in police uniforms on a regular road west of Havana. Passports, money and all their camera gear was taken. When they informed the "real police" about it, they weren't that interested in investigating the crime. She came back pretty shaken up by the whole experience. I know that this could happen anywhere, but you did ask....

Interesting thought. Even though the Euro is weakening, it may still be worth changing CHF to Euro and then Euro to target.

Hmmmmmmmm

My friend was also robbed at knife point in Cuba. He has travelled there a few times and said it has changed somewhat over the last few years, especially the Cuban people's attitude to wealthy foreigners.

Whilst I agree with you that it is nice to go to these countries and see it for how it really is, do you realise that Cuban shops aren't really stocked up with food like our suoermarkets and by going there and emptying the shelves you not doing the Cuban people any favours.

And what about the duration of the stay? I can stay for a max of 3 weeks....but is this too much? I would like to travel around (maybe not around all the island because then it is stressful and not enough time to enjoy the places where one stops).

Also about these casa particulars, can I just go there and look for them or do I need to book them in advance?

Sorry, what I said wasn't particularly helpful. My friend who was robbed works for a travel website and knows central America and the Caribbean pretty well. He says it is as safe as your average holiday destination in that area. Years ago Cuba had a reputation for being safer than the rest, now it is simply as safe as the rest.

A few different points-of-view...

First, don't expect much of the food. The quality of the locally available products is not the same as what they get in Miami. My experience in Cuba was that the food was somewhat bland and monotonous, and the meat was generally tough.

Many people run small restaurants out of their homes, and the food here was generally much better.

If you're heading to the beach resorts, avoid all-inclusive meal packages like the plague. They're horrible.

In terms of money, I'd skip Euros and instead take US dollars. Officially, as a tourist you're supposed to be using convertible pesos, but in practice everyone takes greenbacks.

As others have pointed out, renting a car is not great. The roads are dangerous ('relaxed' standards of driving, often vehicles moving without lights, potholes, spotty availability of petrol) and it's much better to leave them to the locals. For in-town transport, taxis are cheap and plentiful; for longer distance there are internal flights or busses.

Three weeks isn't too long. If I had three weeks, I'd do a week in Havana, a week in Varadero (relaxing), and a week exploring.

You'll need to book your accomodation ahead of time. It's been a long time since I checked, but certainly in the past you had to have confirmed reservations (and a return flight ticket) to be allowed into the country. Now that tourism is a little more established, this might have changed, but worth checking just to be sure.

Overall, the country is very safe and crime against tourists is rare. The people are all very friendly and welcoming, and you should have a great trip.

Thanks everyone, including the OP for asking the question. I'm planning to go in November

With the Cuban Tourist Card, You can stay in Cuba for 4 weeks and can extend it further for another 4 weeks total 2 months.

3 weeks are not too much...the beauty of Cuba is that you will fall in love with some town and you will want to stay there longer. In my case it was Trinidad..I have spent 4 months in Cuba this year....and all of it in just Trinidad. That's the most beautiful town for me.

Also remember to buy the Cuban tourist card before you leave. If you are flying with a Charter flight then some of them give it to you. But if you are flying with Air France then they don't sell on the plane and you have to show them that you already have it at the Airport. I always went from Germany and bought it at a Ltur Travel Agency Shop. You can check with Edelweiss Airlines, they fly to Varadero.

Also a tip for flights...via Germany you will get much better deals. Check out Ltur.de, Airberlin.de, condor.de.

I have been there 9 times....wandered around Havana during daytime with SLR Camera...spent late nights on Havana street..took non official taxis...nothing ever happened to me. I only carry a little cash in the evening and leave all my expensive camera's locked up in my bag in the room.

I would advise you to book Casa Particular for the first night in Havana (if you are flying to Havana)...if you going during Christmas or New Years time......the rest you don't need to...you can either get a recommendation from the casa owner or after arriving at the bus station you will get enough offers.

If you need any recommendation for Casa Particular in Havana and Trinidad, then PM me I shall send you some addresses.

Never ever take US Dollars. Now the best that you will get for 1 US Dollar is .89 Cuban CUC centavos. Because there is a penalty on it. No one takes US Dollars there...except for Banks.

While I was there I exchanged only Euros. And the calculation is quite strange in the bank. If you have Euros and the exchange rate is 1 Euro = 1.38 CUC then you will get 1.38 CUC...same for British Pound.

But if you have canadian Dollars or CHF then you will not get 1 CHF x 1.38 (whatever the rate is)....but much less. Certain Currencies they don't multiply.
I tried to ask the banker but he was not able to explain to me in words that I could understand.

Also now more and more Cubans are renting out their homes and recently the government has reduced the taxes on Casa Particulars...as a result there are more Casas available for Tourist.

An average Cuban person is not going to be affected by you buying anything from the supermarket. Actually there is not much that you can buy as a tourist anyway.

Also you may not support the communist government and might even not go there but it will affect more the normal Cuban people who are a little better ever since the island opened up for Tourism.
Tourism helps the government but it helps more the locals living there.

A Cuban Family renting a Room in their B&B have to pay 200 CUC (200 US $) to the government regardless of whether they have tourists or not.

If you stay in a Casa Particular then you pay around 20 -25 CUC per night. An average Casa needs to have tourists for at least 10 days to pay to the Government..which is not the case sometimes in low season.
The only money that they earn from the tourist really that goes to them is by offering breakfast and dinner.

We had our honeymoon there and we never been in a situation where it was all porc. Actually they have very very good food but be very careful to what you eat because if they wash veggies and fruits wit tap water you have a huge chance to have an attack of tourista.... The bed and the bathroom will be your only sightseen for a while.....

This has definitely changed since I was last there, then (which is admittedly more than 10 years ago). It sounds like Euros are the way to go.

Thats true...bring with you all your possible medicines for Stomach upset..you are bound to have one.

Also suncream...clothes etc...there is not much that you get there except for Rum...Cigars and Beer.

If you like Sea food then you will have a good time. You can enjoy a meal with Lobster or shrimps for less than 10 $ in a B&B.

Guys, thank you so much for the information you are posting It is all so helpful especially with regards to currency to take along and places to stay at. I think it will be casa particulas for me because I also thibnk that it is a good way to meet the locals.

My spanish is not perfect but I can communicate most things through.

Someone told me about an organization called Servas and that I should consider it when looking for rooms to rent. Anyone of you heard of it? I tried to enter the website but there is a network error or something and I can't access it.