Cuba? Tips and Hints?

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Richard K

check the sites below. Lots of good info. For your first visit Varadero is great. Don't miss Havana.

jubyduk

Bring toothpaste tubes, bars of soap, pencils, erasers, pens, maybe some used t-shirts.... instead of a tip for the maid, they'll appreciate these necessities.

Watch the faces of young kids glow when you offer up a pencil / pen or anything else that's useful for school.

Even better, hard to find stuff that would be ridiculously cheap where you live like used CD's of anything disco, Celine Dion, anything American like cheap jazz / Blues compilations...

Varadero (the town) is cool for a good time... take a (short) cab ride to the little fishing village at the very tip of Varadero, with rudimentary Spanish, ask to see how they earn a living... befriend a local family with a gift and maybe they'll invite you over for a home cooked meal of fresh Lobster!!!

(I had a great time!)

Fletcher

If you're going to Varadero, find a cabbie that speaks english. Tell him you want to go to Cardenas to find women. He'll take ya right to them. Take some panyhose and perfume. Don't forget to buy condoms before you leave Canada. Good luck, have a great time. I always do.

bob shark

Stay in Veradero, at an all inclusive resort, if you like beaches
and resort activities,.... if you like culture and nightlife, and want to mingle with the Cubans, Stay in Havanna

There are tourist tours available at all resorts and hotels for sight seeing.

summerxrolls

Veradero you can get an all inclusive for less than 300 out of Toronto here with air plus read reviews on all the hotels http://redhotescapes.com/

jenjen

Go to Havana, the capital city. This is the real Cuba, not some tourist resort.
Cuba is a very interesting country with alot of history. The government had this idea to seperate the tourists and the locals, and they achieve this by having 2 currencies - the tourist peso and the local peso. However you can exchange tourist pesos for local pesos. Note, you cannot get hold of Cuban money outside of the country - you have to exchange money upon arrival - I would take some cash with you to allow you to do this.
There are different buses, restaurants and accommodations for tourists and locals. However there is a wonderful system of Casa Particulars which is when a local opens their home up for tourists to stay - you stay in their spare bedroom and eat with the family if you choose. All Casa Particulars are regulated by the governement. You will see the sticker on the house front door. Its a wonderful way of meeting and integrating with the locals.
Walk around the centre of Havana - there is so much to see - museums, churches, cafes, bars, seawall, fort etc. Its incredible. The country is stuck in the 1950's - all the cars are old, the locals are still on food rations, the housing is dilipated, and there is nothing from the USA there at all - no coke, no Hilton, no McDonalds. Its truely mesmorising.
Oh and there is virtually no internet - a 1 hour card will allow you to open the internet and perhaps log in to your email but not view any email as it will time out - the connection is ridicilously slow.
About 3 hours to the south east of Havana is Trinidad, a small cobbled town which again is interesting. About 3 hours to the west is Vinales which is a mountain town - incredible scenary & walks. About 3 hours from Vinales is Punta Gorda which is a beach hotel - a bit isolated but if you scuba dive, its perfect.

Dont go to an all inclusive resort if you want to experience Cuba - you could be anywhere. Experience the real Cuba - its incredible! Have fun!

Ell

Get blazed

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