Havana Travel Forum

Hi. We desperately need a visitor to Havana to take some photographs of a Cuban home in central Havana (arranged with the resident). It will need about an hour of someone's time and a digital camera. UK contact - chaldons at tiscali dot co dot uk. Thanks.

Hi
I'm getting into Havana @ about midnight next week.
Are there airport taxis at this time and about how much would they cost to get to old habana.... are there other options like minibuses or metro ?
Thanks in advance
Kikili

Hello,
I am planning to visit Cuba as the first stop on my solo world trip, which I'll be starting in late October / early November this year.

I've already started to think about where to stay, and would prefer to stay in a casa particular in Havana, if possible, but all the rooms available seem to be double or family rooms, and I am travelling alone. Does anyone know of any places with single rooms available? If not, are there any places you know of with dorm rooms? I hope to avoid paying a single room supplement, if possible, and don't mind sharing rooms.

I plan to stay in Havana for at least 2 weeks before moving on - so if anyone knows of similar places in other Cuban towns, could you let me know?
Thanks,
Suzanne

Hi,

I am thinking about heading to cuba later in may early june by myself. I have traveled quite a bit. Nicaragua, Argentina, Chile, Mexico..

I don't speak all that much spanish just enough to get me by.

Would this be safe?

Thanks for any experiences or feedback!

Hello,

Me and my friend, both around 30 year old men are arriving at the start of June for 3 weeks stay in Cuba, and would like to book a hotel (cheap if possible) in advance for the first 3 nights till be get our bearings. Would it be best to contact the hotels directly or use booking websites ? Also what would the daily budget be if we were to stay in casa particulars , do some travelling and enjoy the nightlife.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Regards
Tom

Hi,

I am traveling to Havana in September and I'm now in the process of planning my trip. Before leaving I'm doing some research. I would like to get in touch with people living in Havana. The Miramar or the La Sierra area would be ideal.

The reason for asking is I have to go there for work to do research on a company that used to be located on 5ta Avenida. I will not mention the name because I do not want to advertise altough the company does not exist anymore. I would like to chat or email with people in the vicinity before I go. It will help me a great deal. Any help is appreciated! You can reach me at William Lamotte at Hotmail dot com.

Thank you very much in advance!

William

Hi VT members.
Does anyone know the existence of any book market, or used books in Havana? My search is more about cuban authors.
Thanks in advance.
Pedro

Hi all. I'm going to Cuba on Saturday (yippee!) but am getting increasingly confused about the money. Most guide books are out of date. I have read in a couple guide books that ATMs are sparse and some need a 6-digit PIN and therefore UK cash cards won't work. I spoke to my bank who advised me to take a credit card in case (although if a debit card won't work then neither will a credit card!). So, was just wondering, what is the current deal with Cuban ATMs - how common are they? (probably covering Havana, Trinidad, Santa Clara and Cienfuegos). I'd rather withdraw cash as I need it, instead of taking over all my UK pounds and exchange over there and carry a fortnights worth of money with me. Presumably ATMs give out convertible pesos?

Hola VT Cuban members!
i'll be in Havana these days and i wonder if some local members would like to join to have a cerveza. saludos. Pedro

Hello,

We are in Cuba just for one week. We have already booked the first 3 nights in Havana old town centre. We would like to spend perhaps 3 nights elsewhere before returning to Havana for our flight home.

Trinidad seems a good place to go but it seems to be quite a distance and not easy to get to. Any advice please?

We don't want to spend lot's of time on the beach but would like to snorkel while there.

Would we be better off doing day trips from Havana or going to Varadaro or perhaps to the West?

Any advice most welcome, thanks.

Matthew and Julia (on our 20th anniversary trip!)

Hello, I´m going to fly to Havana and my boyfriend´s gonna fly to Varadero. I need to get from the Havana airport to Varadero (to the airport or to our hotel). Does anybody know about any direct connection? And is it safety for alone girl? Thanks a lot for answer. Barbora - Czech rep.

I will be in the states later on this year with family and a couple of us are planning to go onto Cuba - Is it possible to travel from Miami to Havana by boat/plane or by another route maybe Mexico??

I will be traveling to Cuba first of march for two weeks. I will be staying in Havana, but want to travel elsewhere as well. Wondering if there are any other solo travelers there during this time. Just checking if anyone feels like meeting up for a mojito or a trip to Santiago for the day. Whatever anyone is into let me know

Does anyone know if there are certain restrictions traveling with your dog from the states to cuba ? Are dogs prevalent in the city. Is it like Europe that small dogs can go to restaurants / bars ?
thx

I am looking for some assistance in booking flights from Tijuana to Havana for later this months. Does anyone know of a travel agency that can assist me?

Does anyone know the name of 4 piece Jazz band that played there on 28th November. Mad drummer and Keyboard player also a Sax and Double Bass player.Want to buy a c.d

Can you post information and maybe photos of marinas in or near Havana, Cuba.
Perhaps there is a marina where one can live aboard the boat. The marina would need a shower and bath room. Perhaps it should have a pump out station. Maybe a restaurant nearby. Hey, thanks. Maybe I can come to Havana.

I want to take a trip this coming 2nd week of November 2008. Im thinking of going to Havana or San Juan, Puerto Rico. I am most interested in sightseeings, taking pictures of old buildings, churches, etc. Im confused where to go between these two cities. I heard wonderful comments to both so it's quite hard for me to decide. Where can you suggests?
Thanks a lot.
By the way I am asian-canadian.

I am going to be in Havana for New Years eve this year. I would like to know what might be a few good ideas for a great party. Will there be any outdoor or street parties? What are my best options? We are staying in Old Havana.

Can you recommend a 2 bedroom casa particular in Havana? I'm looking for independent apartment preferably in an apartment building. I will be traveling with to Havana Nov 5th. I'm looking for privacy and independence to go in and out and. Thanks

Does anyone have experience of car hire in Cuba. I have tried the link on the VT page, but without any luck. It seems that most of the American agencies do not take bookings for Cuba.

Hi
we are travelling ot cuba for our honeymoon and plan to stay in Havana 3 nights, Trinidad 4 and Las Brujas for 6.
Is it possbible to travel to all of these places by bus?
Is it easy to drive around cuba? Other drivers considerate? Road conditions? signposts and maps easy to follow?
TYrying to decide the best way to get around given we havent got loads of time and want to have things fairly easy and not hassled.
all help welcomed
thanks
K

Hi
Where would you stay and why please?
thanks
K

Can anyone tell me any details about the carved horns that I saw at the artisans markets?

I'll be staying at The NH Parque Hotel in Havana.
Anyone knows about the voltage there and the type of plugs?
I am coming from Canada/US.

thanx.

I am travelling alone to Cuba for two weeks on December 27th

I will be in Havana for New Year and wondered

First, is there anyone else out there doing something similar?

Second, where should I go for New Year celebrations?

I will be traveling to Cuba through gateway city Mexico City. With the new requirement for US travelers to have a passport for entry/exit to Mexico, Has anyone traveled to Cuba through Mexico since January 2008 and if so, what is the situation with Mexican officials stamping your passport upon entry/exit into Mexico?

Thanks,

Hey guys/gals :) Just bought a ticket to Havana, Cuba for mid-august, and now I need to figure out some minor details.. My idea was to spend a couple days in Havana, see the city, then hop in an old american car (preferably a convertible!) and drive around the island. Some thoughts on the towns/places I wanted to visit with my trustworthy camera are (besides Havana, obviously)
- Santa Cruz
- Matanzas
- Drive up to see Varadero (don't plan on staying there)
- Cardenas
- Guama, then playa Larga
- Cienfuegos
- Trinidad
- Santa Clara
(time permitting - Sancti Spiritus)
- Camaguey (and I've heard about Anabanea (sp?) lakes somewhere on the way to Camaguey - can someone tell me where that is? I hear it's beautiful
- Back to Havana

The questions are -
1) if my total trip is 10 days, giving me 3 days in Havana, do I have enough time to do this trip and come back to Havana?
2) should I book a hotel in Havana at least for the first day (budget isn't an issue, really, but I would like to make this trip a bit more authentic and stay at casa particulares)
3) speaking of casa particulares - irrespectively of my wishes to make this an authentic trip, I would like air conditioning :) Do most/some CP have that?
4) how feasible is it to get an old US convertible in Havana for a week or so? How much should I expect to pay for car hire/gas? (Just don't want to take much more money with me than I would realistically need)
5) Better idea to look up casa particulares in the towns I intend to visit (since I will need to stay somewhere :) or just solve this issue on the spot?
6) data/gprs connection in Cuba - probably a right-off-the bat "NO" question, but will my blackberry work in Cuba? Havana and major cities? Anywhere at all?
7) probably some more questions will follow, but already would like to thank anyone offering any useful info

Rod
P.S. My spanish is kinda-sorta limited :) I can probably get by with a dictionary, but Russian and English are fluent. i'm NOT an american, btw.

Is there a parking lot near the hotel where we can park our rental car? Is it safe to park the car in old havanna for our visit for 2 days?

Hi Everyone - I'm trying to book a one way flight from Havana to London but every airline online is not allowing it. Is this the norm?