Advice and Tricks for Visiting Cuba as an American in 2020

Vinales Cuba

Cuba. The one country that had been on my list to visit for ever, but seemed so out of reach. The trip to Cuba now ranks as the best trip I have ever taken. We did go through a tour company named Locally Sourced Cuba, which helped a lot with transportation and setting up accommodations. As an American, there are some things you need to know before you go and these are my top tips and trick for traveling in Cuba in 2020.

1. Cuba is still a developing country.

This is the most important thing to realize before traveling down to Cuba. WIFI is extremely hard to come by and is pretty expensive, there are NO elevators, roads are in need of extreme repair, and everything is very basic. However, this really does open your eyes to the way other people live and makes you grow as a person and a traveler. If you go, do not expect luxury and I promise you, you will be pleasantly surprised of everything in Cuba.

2. Make sure you understand the Visa you need.

As an American, there a just a few visas you can legally travel under. My partner and I chose to travel under the "Support the Cuban People". This means we spent the week we were there support private business. You are required to keep receipts for 5 years, however no place make more than 1 receipt if you are lucky enough to get one. I ended up using my phone to take photos of the receipts we did get so I didn't need to ask for another one. We always made sure to ask if restaurants were private or government owned. Locals are more than happy to point you towards private businesses instead of government owned ones.

3. Bring enough cash.

American credit/debit cards do not work in Cuba. You have to bring enough cash to last you the whole trip. You can expect to spend around $20-30 a day in food, as well as $5-10 in tips. Our tour recommended $50 a day which was more than enough for us.

4. Be prepared every day.

If you decide to not take a tour and go on your own make sure you know how you are going to get between cities. Taxis are pricey and buses fill up fast. Know what you want to do every day so you can plan on when you need to get transportation. I saw many people get burned by the lack of transportation between cities because they didn't plan ahead and buses filled up. Also, always buy water when you can. Bottled water can be hard to find so make sure you don't pass up on buying water.

5. Bring the right suitcases and travel accessories.

Most of Cuba still has roads that were built before 1950s and are not being repaired. Walking to you casa with a rolling suitcase is extremely difficult because of the cobblestone along with the fact that to get to your stay you sometimes have to climb extremely steep narrow stairs. I traveled with the Mother Lode TLS Weekender bag and I highly recommend. It was very easy to get around in Cuba with it compared to a rolling bag. Here is the link for you to check it out: https://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/mother-lode-tls-weekender-convertible/143101?productid=10362789

6. Get used to being without your phone.

You do not have phone service in Cuba. Do your research before you go. Know the scams people try to run, research the things you want to do, print out restaurants and download the Google Translate Spanish offline version so you communicate with everyone. It is actually great to live in the moment.

7. Enjoy every moment.

Honestly Cuba is such an amazing place and it is stuck in time right now. It is an incredible experience. Smoke a Cuban cigar, horse back ride to a tobacoo plantation, hike to the waterfalls, and site and listen to authentic salsa music.