Hola!

As some of you may know I just got back from a splendid trip.  I was in Cuba with my better half to relax and hang out.  We booked our trip with Sunwing travels, and it was pretty awesome.  They start off your trip by giving you champagne on the plane!

Map of Cuba

We stayed in Iberostar Tainos in Varadero for 7 days, and had a great time.  For those of you wanting to travel to Cuba, make sure you book at hotel that is 4 stars or more.  Keep in mind that in Cuba, the standard of living is quite different from North America.  So a 4 star resort really is only about 3 and a 3 star is really about a 2 or 1.5.  So book a 4 at least!

Iberotstar Tainos at night

We made friends with the bartender and the life guard and ended up going with them to Havana (instead of taking a tour), and also bought cigars and rum from them.  We saved a lot of money this way, so make sure you tip the resort staff.  Also, have the courtesy to say "Hola" "Gracias", and ask them how their day has been.   It goes a long way since many tourists don't even acknowledge them.

A few tips for travelling in Cuba:



1) Cuba has two different types of pesos.   As a tourist you use the CUC, the Cuban covertable peso. Make sure you don't get gypped and receive the other peso when you get change or exchange money (it is worth a lot less!).
2) Exchange money as you go.  If you exchange $500 CA to CUC and only spend $300, when you covert it back into Canadian you will get less, you may only get say $150 back instead of $200.
3) Get tons of one pesos so you can tip
4) Sunscreen tons of it
5) The water is safe and you can drink it.  But best to do bottle water
6) The food is bland everywhere in Cuba, prepare for it and if you want bring snacks from home
7) Got shirts, shoes, pants or old mobile phones you don't use or want anymore? As long as they are in decent shape you can use them to barter for goods.  Seriously! Ryan exchanged a pair of Reef sandals for a box of cigars!
8) Cuba is pretty safe for tourist espeically in Varadero, there are tons of police and they make sure tourists are ok (because that is a huge industry in Cuba).  Havana is a bit more chaotic, as all big cities are, but in Varadero, you can wander around alone at 3 a.m. and you will still be safe.
9) Credits cards can be used but they have to belong to an Canadian bank (i.e. CIBC, Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank, TD, etc.).  Some Canadian banks have affiliation with the states and cannot be used (i.e. MBNA, Chase and etc.).  You will need your passport to use your credit card
10)  When you leave Cuba you have to pay a 25 CUC tax for each person.  Make sure you have money left over!

 Where have you travelled to? Any tips?