Cuba Traveler's Information
Visa / Touristcard
Cuban
rules say: you have to book an accommodation for the first night. If you
booked a flight, no accommodation and ready to fill in your visa, this
visa will ask you in which hotel you are staying ... fill in any address
of a hotel or casa particular and look real innocent going through customs.
The experience tells, it is also ok to fill in an address of a licensed
casa particular. However, if customs has a strict day they can demand
to book a hotel, if you didn't, they will make a reservation for you.
You can order your visa through the Cuban Embassy or Consulate in your
country and some travel agencies and flight companies
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| Luggage, Bags, Clothing & other stuff |
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A
well locked suitcase, or a lock on your backpack is best. You can also
decide to plastify your backpack or soft weekender at the airport of your
departure. Remind
when you are traveling with more people and rented a car, bring soft bags! In Dec / Jan it can be chilly at nighttime. So bring something warm too
in these months. Bring clothes with you which you might not like anymore, and give it to
Cubans at the end of your vacation, clothes are expensive for a Cuban.
Anti
muscito stuff, some areas are overloaded with these bichos.
Leave you're jewelries at home, you don't need them on this Island.
Cubans need not only ballpoints, soaps, clothes, toothpaste, toys ...
but everything which for us is normal. Medical stuff is needed as well,
even glasses. Please take some stuff with you to donate. |
| Customs |
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Havana airport is more relaxed than Varadero or Holguin, but
remind this ... All your stuff is getting scanned!!! Every suitcase
is passing the x-ray!!!
Check
out the Cuba-custom website to see what is and what's NOT possible
to bring in.
Money
can do some help sometimes ... But if "they" decide it
is not allowed ... it just isn't allowed ... sorry! Besides this
not ALL aduana people are charmed for getting bribed
Remind that when bringing in new stuff, you might have to pay tax.
There
is a 25 CUC (convertible pesos) airport departure tax
- Cuban customs website >>
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Electricity
Cuba has 110 volt, some more luxury hotels also 220
Sockets are
as shown in the picture, same as in the USA.
To make it yourself easy ...
Buy your travel adapter through the Amazon advertisement at the right.
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Photo Equipement
Take everything with you from home, rolls are available at dollar stores
(if you still uses those), but the quality is not as good as you are used
to have, mostly only 100asa. It is smarter to bring a small digital camera and some memory cards, Havana and Santiago de
Cuba are less safe as it was in the past. Many people are being robbed
from their camera. Burning a
CD is possible in some stores in Havana and maybe some other cities but
don't count on it. Better bring extra memory cards or an image tank to
store your pictures on.
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Crime
It is a wise thing to read our crime page
- Crime
in Cuba >>
Internet
There are possibilities to go on the internet in most hotels and there
are small offices from Etecsa all around the island. Internet in Cuba is slow so forget uploading your pictures through the Cuban Internet connection.
You can bring your laptop without problems with the Cuban customs.
Wireless is only possible from some top-end
hotels like Saratoga and Melia Cohiba in Havana.
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Infotur Tourist Office
Infotur is a tourist service that can be found in many places throughout
Cuba. They provide tours, excursions, transport around the Island,
postcards, maps, printed guides, posters, magazines, newspapers
and souvenirs.
They also sell pre-paid phone cards which are good to stock up on
since a $10.00 card only gets you a few minutes when making an international
call.
They can confirm airline flights as well. Disabled access is available.
Address:
521 Obispo, La Habana, Cuba
Cuba Weather
- The whole
year through about 28 / 29 C degrees. The East of Cuba is always a few
degrees warmer than the West
- Most rain
fall in May till October, during these months short but heavy rainy
showers can fall, mostly at the end of the day.
Areas like Baracoa and Moa in the east of Cuba do have to most rainy
days, because the mountain which come from the Atlantic Ocean
The dry season is from Novenber till April.
- Most sunny
hours in July and August, Cuba has short days in winter, at 18.00 it
is getting dark. In summer the sun is very powerfull.
- Dec /
April Colder then usual, specialy at night
- June /
September Hot humid, every end of the day a rainy shower
- June /
end of November Huricane season (possible)
- High and
low (tourist) season December / Januari, Easter, July / September
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Money
First
of all: Don't exchange money in the street ...
EVER! |
Foreigners and
money exchange
After
November 8 2004 Cuba only except convertible pesos (CUC). This means
you have to bring Euros, CAD, Pound Sterling (whatever hard currency)
with you to exchange it into CUC (convertible pesos).
Besides this you can bring your credit card with you to
get money from the bank in Cuba.
For
the local people The Cubans
Pesos Cubanos
This currency is more or less only used by Cuban citizens.
Of
course you, as a foreigner also can exchange your CUC (convertible
pesos) into the "normal" national currency CUP. This CUP
you can use for bying at local markets.
- More detailed explanation Cuba and money>>
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Recommended Cuba Forums and Discussion Boards
Cuban Events
January
- 1 - Liberationday
- Feria Internacional de Artesanias,
Pabexpo, Havana. Kind of International fair
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February
- First 2 weeks - Jornadas de la
Cultura Camagneyana
- End - Carnival in Habana
- Every second year - Habana International
Jazz Festival
- First half of Feb. - Feria Internacional
del Libro, Fortaleza de San Carlos. A book fair.
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March
- Festival de Monogolos y Unipersonales
(Havana), A competion for actors, writers, producers and dancers,
from the whole country. Some foreigners are also giving monologues.
- Taller Internacional de Teatro
de Titeres (Matanzas), Performances of the most important puppet
theatres, with seminars, acts and workshops.
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April
- Semana de la Cultura (Baracoa)
- Electro-acoustic Music Festival
Varadero
- La Huela de Espana (Havana), Gran
Teatro de la Habana en Castillo de la Real Fuerza. A Festival
for Cuban/Spanish Culture, concerts, classical dance, Flamenco
and Theatre.
- Taller Internacional de Teatro
de Titeres (Matanzas), Performances of the most important puppet
theatres, with seminars, acts and workshops.
- Festival Internacional de Percusion
(Havana), Concerts, courses, readings and documentairies about
Cuban percussion instruments.
- 1-15 Bienal del Humor de San
Antonio de los Banos, Museo del Humor, San Antonio de los Banos.
Fetival of humor, with exhibitions, readings and performances.
- Festival de Arte Danzario (Havana
and Camaguey), Festival for all kind of dancing, Readings, seminars
and workshops, the teachers and dancers will be Cuban and from
other countries.
- Los Dias de la Danza, Festival
of performing Cuban dance groups. May 29, the International day
of dancing, is the day the Premio Nacional de la Danza, a nacional
reward, will be hand out in the Teatro Mella Havana.
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May
- 1 - Primero de Mayo (Labor Day),
Meetings, parades, processions trough the whole country. The most
important will take place in Havana at the Plaza de la Revolution.
- First week - Romería de
Mayo (Holguin)
- Half May - Fierro
Internacional del Disco Cubadisco, (International music album
fair in Pabexpo Havana).
- Festival de Arte Danzario (Havana
and Camaguey), Festival for all kind of dancing, Readings, seminars
and workshops, the teachers and dancers will be Cuban and from
other countries.
- Fiesta Nacional de la Danza (Santa
Clara), The best dancers will perform through the whole province.
The festival will end with a big party in Santa Clara.
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June
- End - Fiestas Sanjuaneras (Trinidad)
- Festival of Caribbean Culture
- Half June - Festival de Boleros
de Oro (Santiago, Moron, Havana), Concerts of the best Cuban and
foreign Bolero singers, readings as well.
- 1 till 15 - Encuentro de Bandas
de Concierto (Plaza de la Revolution, Bayamo) Performances of
National and International bands. Readings, workshops.
- End of June - Fiesta del Gallo
(Moron), Parades in the sign of the rooster, the symbol of the
city.
- Every other year at the end of
June - Jornada Cucalambeana, Encuentro Festival Iberoamericano
de la Decima (Las Tunas), Most important festival of the Rural
Cuban Culture. Concerts and performances of poets, musicians and
repentistas (impromptu). Readings and litarairy meetings, exhibitions
of local activitie and theatre.
- Carnaval in Havana, a parade of
decorated cars driving from Hotel Nacional to Calle Belascoain
and music performances of comparsas (prosession group who prepare
this the whole year). During the weekends free concerts at the
Piragua.
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July
- Last week - Carnival santiago
de Cuba, Parade of decorated cars through the streets of the city,
music of comparsas and a show of the Tropicana at Santiago.
- 25-27 July - Celebration of the
National Rebellion, every year in a different city. The official
tribute because of the Moncada barrack attacks at July 26 1953.
Fidel Castro will always speech at one of the Revoltion Squares
in a Cuban city. Lots of concerts etc around the country.
- Festival de Titere (Havana) puppet
festival in Havana Vieja
- Fiesta del Fuego (Santiago de
Cuba)
- Festival Internacional de Musica
Contemporanea de Camaguey, Big festival about todays music, with
concerts, workgroups and a roundtable for discussions about Cuban
music en foreign composers.
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August
- 13 August Fidel Castros birthday
(1926)
- End of August, ones in 2 years
- Festival Internacional de Musica Popular "Beny More"
(Cienfuegos) Festival of
the popular Cuban music and its most important representatives,
with readings etc about Beny More.
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September
- 8 - Festa de la Virgin del Cobre
(Santiago de Cuba)
- Second half of September - Festival
de Teatro de la Habana, 2 times a year event with performances
of dance, opera, puppettheatre, streetacts and pantamime.
- Metamoros Son (Santiago), Festival
of Son, 2 years event.
- Festival de Teatro de Camaguey,
National Theatre competition, a tribute to Gertrudis Gomez de
Avellaneda.
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October
- 10 October - Day of Cuban Culture
- Havana Festival of Contemporary
Music Trinidad (10 days)
- Second half of Oct. - Fiesta de
la Cultura Iberoamericana (Holguin) Festival about the Spanish
culture with concerts, exhibitions, readings and festivals.
- Second half of Oct. - Festival
Internacional de Ballet de la Habana, Teatro Garcia Lorca Havana.
A wide open view on classical ballet, organised by the Ballet
Nacional de Cuba.
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November
- End - Semana de la Cultura Trinitaria
Trinidad
- Salon de Arte Cubano Contemporeano,
Centro Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana (twice a year).
A expo competition of modern art with rewards to win. Next to
this expo,, discussions and readings.
- Festejos de San Cristobal de la
Habana
- Festval International de Coros,
Sala Dolores, Teatro Heredia (Santiago de Cuba)
- Second half of Nov. - Festival
de Raices Africanas "Wemilere", Guanabacoa. African
parties.
- Festival Cubadanzon, Teatro Sauto,
Matanzas. Performances of danzon orchestras and dancers, courses
and trades
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December
- First half of Dec. - Festival
Internacional Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano (ICAIC) International
Festival of Latin American Film Habana. The most important Cuban
movie festival with lots of foreign famous people. The cinemas
show the newest Latin American movies.
- First half of Dec. - Fiesta Guantanamera,
Guantanamo. Demonstrations en readings about Afro Cuban religions.
- Dec 17 - Dia de San Lazaro, Santiago
de las Vegas, El Rincon. Religious Cubans go to the church of
Rincon....a lot from far away by feet.
- 8 till 24 - Parrandas di Remedios.
Cuba's most popular nacional party.
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