Things To Know Before You Travel To Cuba

Our Story

Cuba had been on my radar for along time, so when I finally got the chance to take the family the planning began.

Now we looked at our options from New Zealand, we researched and learnt a lot of interesting Cuban facts. We also spoke to a travel agent who suggested that flying direct from a U.S.A airport may not be the right option as you could face some difficult questions about the purpose of visiting Cuba.

The first thing I learnt was to make sure you have a visa for Cuba before you arrive, this is a must as there are only a few countries in the world who don’t need one.

We were told we could either do it ourselves for $100nz each or a travel agent would do it for around $180nz per person. Yep, not going to happen.

This led us to find the best and easiest way to travel to Cuba.

Now you can stop reading here and scroll down to the bottom of this post to read our 14 top tips or you can read on and enjoy our story, or adventure of getting to Cuba…

So… as we were spending time in the States first, it didn’t take long to see that Cancun would be our best choice. Here we could get a direct flight and a Cuba visa at the airport.

Yes, there were direct flights from various airports in the States but I really didn’t need the questioning.

To be honest this could be scaremongering or people not having the complete facts. But we didn’t really want to find out.

Plus, and here’s a great tip, you can also get a Cuban tourist visa at Cancun airport for only $25us per person.

As Cancun, mainly Isla Mujeres, had been on our bucket list of places to visit. We choose this option. However, we did decide to take a direct flight back to the States, my reason…

Well, we have already been and we’ll use the ‘Support for the Cuba people’ Category. See, you can travel to Cuba if you follow one of the 12 categories. Read here for a better understanding.

At the time we visited, we heard that the number of categories was down to 4 but who really knows.

To be honest these might just be for Americans traveling to Cuba however its always good to read about them and have one up your sleeve, just in case.

We opted to fly ‘oneway ticket’ Interjet from Cancun to Havana, cheapest at the time of booking.

Sure enough, as we went to check-in, two officials were waiting at the entrance to the check-in line. $100us or the equivalent in Mexican Peso’s, 5 minutes of our time as they filled our Cuba visa’s out and it was done.

Too easy! We then queued, checked in and headed through immigration.

Arriving at Jose Marti International Airport was one of the best airport experiences of my life. And trust me I have visited many airports around this world.

For starters, it’s the first airport I have been to where immigration/Passport control has a queue for families. This was awesome as it made standing time rather short.

My wife also loved it as the Cuban immigration official was an ‘Enrique Iglesias’ look alike.

Security was quick and painless, though it was a little unusual. We weren’t even asked to show our travel insurance policy (more about this in our top tips).

All the security guards appeared to be female, under the age of 30, all had mini skirts and wore patterned stockings.

The only downside was a wait for our luggage, around an hour. Bags seemed to appear in groups of 2 or 3 every 2 to 3 minutes. I think this is part of Cuban time.

Our final task, just head down the ‘Nothing to declare’ line. We were stopped and an immigration official asked us for our blue form.

We had no idea what a blue form was or where we were meant to collect it from. We just said we didn’t receive one, she just looked at us, then looked at our bags, smiled and said ‘No worries, enjoy your visit to Cuba’.

I think the form was their ‘customs declaration’.

We booked our accommodation (Casas particulares) through Airbnb and our host arranged for a taxi to pick us up from the airport and drop us at the apartment.

Our taxi driver met us as we exited immigration and he showed us where to change our money. These are pretty easy to find.

We changed our Euro’s into the Cuban currency (CUC – Cuban Convertible Peso) as our taxi driver wandered off to get his car. He returned in a 1956 Buick in mint condition.

We then spent the next 40 minutes cruising into Havana, Carlos gave us a tour of the city, explaining building, history, his personal views about the Cuban Government and his family.

Again I’m glad we organised this before we came, another one of our top tips when you travel to Cuba.

It was just the perfect way to start an adventure. It cost us $30us and was worth every cent.

You can also use bank cards in Havana, there are a couple of ATMs on Obispo Street. This is one of the main tourist streets. Here we used one of our visa debit cards with no issues.

At the end of our trip, we flew directly from Havana to Houston.

Upon arrival in the U.S, we scanned our passports and the screen read; Your flight was from Havana, Cuba. We thought, here we go, time for questions.

However immigration never asked one question, they smile, asked if we had a great time and wished us a happy stay in the States for our last few days.

Important Read First

On July 6th 2023 the US Government considered Cuba to be a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST). This means if you have visited Cuba from the 12th January 2021 you can’t apply for the ESTA document to enter the US if you are a citizen of the participating visa wavier programrme.

Instead you will need to apply for a B2 Visa by completing the online Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-160.

See here on the Travel.State.Gov website.

This visa process takes time and is expensive as you will need to be interviewed at a US Embassy or Consulate possibly within your country.

In New Zealand it costs $185us dollars so for a family of 4 it can add up. Make sure you do your research. Fingers crossed that the US Government change their mind… one day.

Before you arrive in Cuba please make sure you have a Cuban tourist visa if your country is required to have one. Most countries are required to have one but here is a list of countries that don’t. Tourist Visas can be issued through the airline you are flying on (please check before booking) or through a Cuban Embassy.

We flew out of Mexico (Cancun) and got our visa at the check-in desk at Cancun Airport. They filled it out for us and we paid around $100 US dollars, for our family, in Mexican pesos.

Also, you will need comprehensive travel insurance (including medical coverage) and will most likely be asked to show proof of this when you pass through Cuban immigration.

If you don’t have proof you will be asked to pay for local health insurance.

Finally, within our ever-changing world make sure to check the FCO travel advice for Cuba or other Cuban travel advice sites for up-to-date information on Covid and travel advice.

Your ‘Before You Travel To Cuba‘ Top 14 Tips

Bring what you need

The shops here can have quite limited stock on the shelves. As we were travelling with our kids and the youngest was one. We had to make sure we had everything from enough nappies, wet wipes to milk formula.

However, as we stayed with locals if we did need anything they were more than happy to help.

Cuba is not as cheap as you think

Look it’s not going to break the bank but don’t think you are going to get bargins everywhere you go. Make sure you do your research as prices change.

Flights

Fly to Havana from Cancun, visa’s are only $25us from Cancun airport. That worked best for us in our situation. You can also get flights direct to Havana from the States. We opted for Cancun as we had never been there and I really wanted to visit Isla Mujeres. However we did fly directly back to the States (Houston) from Havana and there was no issue at U.S immigration.

Transport from the Airport

If you can book a taxi from Jose Marti international airport to your accommodation. Request a vintage car, your AirB&B host should be able to help. Some even have this service on their listing. Otherwise, there are plenty of yellow cabs in front of the terminal.

Changing Money (Cash)

Change money at the airport, we used Euros as you get a better rate. However there are places to change money within Havana. ATMs are in Havana on Obispo Street, we used these. Just make sure your bank card to not connected to a U.S bank otherwise it won’t work.

Customs Declaration Form

Ask about the blue form ‘customs declaration’ at immigration if they haven’t given you one. We were lucky.

Cuba now only has one currency

There used to be two currencies in Cuba – Moneda Nacional de Cuba; The CUP (Cuban Peso) and the CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso) However, as of 1st January 2021 Cuba only using the CUP.

Talk to your Bank

Remember to tell your bank you are going to Cuba, the last thing you want is for them to cancel your Visa/Bank Cards thinking someone else is using them. We travelled with our Visa credit cards.

Travel Insurance

Make sure to have a copy of your travel insurance with you when you arrive. They stop people randomly (so we heard) and check. If you don’t have it they will make you purchase travel insurance there.

When to Visit Cuba

Visit Cuba in the dry season (December to March). This is a busy tourist time to travel around Cuba.

While in Havana there were a couple of cruise ships in and yes it was pretty full on.

The downside to travelling outside this is the heat and the mosquitos (so the locals say).

Learn a little Spanish

Learn Spanish before you arrive, it will take you a long way. While some people speak English in Havana, most places outside of Havana won’t.

A good understanding will ensure an even more amazing trip. We loved spending time with the locals, learning about Cuba’s history and their personal stories.

Getting Online

The internet is slowly developing in Cuba and if you’re trying to get on it can be challenging. We never really knew that before we arrived. Since we had a week in Havana we thought we’d use that time to plan the rest of our trip.

It didn’t go to plan, instead when we got online we took lots of screen shots of places we were going to.

There are restaurants and cafes in Havana that offer the internet and it’s reasonably quick.

This also happens outside of Havana, even in smaller towns there were restaurants offering internet access.

We just chose not to use it as it was so much fun travelling and enjoying our family time.

If you reaslly need to get online then you can also purchase NAUTA card that gives you internet access from any public wifi network.

You can purchased these cards through ETECSA Cuba.

We didn’t realise this until the day we left Cuba… oh well never mind.

In saying that, we loved not checking our phone, news etc. Instead we embraced more family time. But make sure you print off maps, bus routes, things to see before you arrive if you are going to limit your internet time.

Otherwise you could alway purchase a Lonely Planet travel guide book as a backup.

Accommodation

Book your accommodation before you arrive, at least in Havana (if that is your first stop). As we wrote above the internet/wifi in Cuba can be a challenge so booking accommodation via AirB&B etc might take a while.

We booked our accommodation in advance, usually with the help of our current host. However, you don’t have to as everytime the bus stopped in a town or city there were plenty of accommodation touts waiting.

It can be a little over whelming as the touts can be in your face which is a little scary for kids even when when you tell them you have booked accommodation already. Just be prepared.

Food in Cuba

Eating in Cuba can be a challenge at times. Sometimes in restaurants, half the items on the menu’s are not available. We visited a Burger bar in Cienfuegos and they had no burger buns.

To be honest we preferred to eat with our hosts than in restaurants. Most hosts serve, in their casa, breakfast for 5 CUC per person and these were always delicious and filling. Some even do lunch and dinner too. 

Our BBQ dinner in Trinidad was one of the most amazing meals I’ve ever had.

Finally Thoughts

Overall, it was a painless experience. All the warnings and challenges of entering Cuba and returning directly to the States came to nothing.

In fact, entering Havana was more enjoyable than entering most other countries we have been to. This set us up for a truly memorable trip, seeing this beautiful island country and meeting so many wonderful Cuban people.

We insteadly fell in love with Havana and Cuba was about to become our favourite country to visit… EVER!