CUBA
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Cuba is different. The largest island of the Caribbean impresses with a unique variety.
It is tempting and provocative - full of contradictions and not easy to understand. For some forbidden and therefore even more attracting. A country full of culture, music, history and passion - sometimes like an aphrodisiac for the senses.
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Explore the green interior with endless sugar cane fields, the world famous tobacco landscape of Pinar del Rio, the wild Sierra Escambray, the tropical mountains of Baracoa and the Sierra Maestra with its revolutionary history. Discover Trinidad – a colonial gem and UNESCO world heritage, the historic city of Santa Clara and Santiago, heart of the Cuban “Son”.
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Don’t miss the Cayos. Lonely island dreams with pristine large white sand beaches, pure nature paradises with spectacular fishing and diving grounds: Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo, Cayo Largo and Cayo Santa Maria - just to mention a few.
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And finally Havana... queen of the night and nostalgia, with its beautiful restored colonial Old town, the streets with 1950s Chevrolets and Cadillacs, Hemingways favorite bars and unforgettable tropical evenings in legendary cabarets. Havana is an absolute must for which you should reserve at least 3 days.
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Forget about shopping paradises, designer stores and gourmet temples. You will not find them in Cuba. But you will find more: 1950s nostalgia and Fidel’s revolution. The sound of salsa and the glamour of Tropicana. The flavor of cigars and rum. Hemingway’s haunts and the history of Che Guevara. Culture, arts and Santería. And you can always feel save, wherever you travel in the country of
Fidel’s
“Socialismo Tropical”.
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"Cuba Real Tours" offers you a different and more sophisticated approach: when you enjoy a hand rolled cigar with a famous tobacco farmer, when you talk with “Jorge Jorge”, the butler of Mafia boss Meyer Lansky, or during a conversation with the young generation “Che”. When you learn the first salsa steps with your professional Cuban teacher, when you enter the world of Buena Vista Social Club and when your guide shows you Havana in a classic American car. Because the heart and soul of Cuba is always its people: friendly and cultivated, proud and passionate, young and always curious, old, but still dancing.
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Documents needed to enter Cuba
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Luggage
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Security
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Costs for restaurants, bars and nightclubs
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Dress
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Climate
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Power
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Taking pictures
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Health
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Food
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Currency
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Credit cards
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Documents needed to enter Cuba
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Each traveller needs a passport (valid for at least another 6 months when leaving Cuba) and a tourist card (valid for 30 days), which you can buy at the Cuban embassy in your country or via your travel agency. This card must be filled in and be kept together with your passport during the whole stay in Cuba. When you leave the country you must show this tourist card to the immigrations again. US passport holders: please ask your travel agency.
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Luggage
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Lock your luggage securely in order to avoid that items out of your baggage get stolen at the airport. Please do never carry valuables like cash, camera, jewelery etc in your check-in bag; valuable items should only be carried in your hand luggage. Sometimes the suite cases have already been taken from the luggage belt and are standing on the side. So check once in a while also on the floor and not only on the luggage belt for you suitcase. Sometimes the checked-in luggage doesn´t arrive in Cuba with the same flight the passengers do. Therefore it is recommended to carry with your hand luggage the items you need the first one or two days like T-Shirt, toothbrush, spectacles, needed medicine etc. The stores in Cuba do not offer the variety you might be used to. On domestic flights there are no bottles allowed in the hand luggage.
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Security
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Cuba is a quite safe country (some say the most safe on the American continent). Violence against tourists is rare and even at night one can move quite safe if there is enough light - avoid the dark streets and some areas though, best to ask the staff at the reception or guide. Nevertheless there is small crime like pick-pockets (beware also of the kids) especially where tourists gather e.g. Old-Havana and Malecon. You will often be approached e.g. "Hello, where are you from? What’s your name?" etc. Their goal is to offer any service for money (e.g. bring you to a restaurant, sell you cigars, rum or sex). Pedestrians should always give way to all vehicles in the streets because many Cuban drivers think, that they do not have to stop, when a pedestrian crosses the street.
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Costs for restaurants, bars and nightclubs
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Cuba is more expensive than most people might think, especially in tourist restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The reason is the American embargo and the high mark-ups on imported consumer products. The cover charge for a tourist disco is between 5 and 25 CUC depending on the programme and live band. The costs for drinks there are sometimes even higher than in Central Europe. Also in state restaurants the prices are at European level although not the quality of the food. A very good option to dine can be the so called Paladares (private family run restaurants) although they are not allowed by law to offer the same variety of food and drinks (e.g. no lobster) and also the number of seats is limited and therefore a reservation is strongly recommended at least at the most "hip" Paladares. Some of them have a romantic, very unique and original ambience or even "cult" status. Please note: Some locals in the streets or taxidrivers will also recommend private restaurants (in order to get a commission), but many of these recommended Paladares offer lower quality. The good Paladares do not have to rely on hustlers or taxidrivers to fill their restaurant. In the countryside and where there are only few visitors the costs for food and drink are usually much lower.
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Dress
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Light clothes made of cotton. Men should wear in the evening long trousers and shirt in good hotels and restaurants. Tie and jacket are not necessary - it can be very hot in the summer also in the evenings. Also at the Cabaret Tropicana long trousers (no jeans) and nice shirt are sufficient.
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Climate
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You can travel all year round in Cuba. The dry season is from november to april, the "rainy" season is from may to october (often only a short shower in the afternoon, most days are sunny and without rain although they call it the "rainy" season). Hurricanes may occur from june to november. Average temperature is 25 degrees, maximum temperature in summer between 30 to 34 degrees with high humidity (80%). In the eastern part of the island (Santiago, Baracoa, Holguin) it is usually 3 to 5 degrees warmer and therefore year round nice and warm. In the Havana area and western Cuba (Pinar del Rio) the temperature at night in winter can sometimes drop to 14 degrees (especially from december to february) and it can be coolish-humid. During the day the temperature is always above 20 degrees celsius all year round. The caribbean side (Trinidad/Cienfuegos) and the island of Cayo Largo (in the Caribbean Sea between Mexico and Cuba) is usually slightly warmer than the atlantic coast (Cayo Coco, Cayo Santa Maria).
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Power
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In the better Hotels you can find 220 voltage, but many still do have 110 volts or even both (110 volt plugs and 220 volt plugs). It is recommendable to buy an adapter for American plugs, because they are not easy to find in Cuba.
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Taking pictures
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Good films and good batteries you better buy in Europe, since they are rare and also expensive in Cuba.
Cubans like to be photographed but sometimes may ask for money afterwards, therefore it is always recommended to ask permission before you take pictures.
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Health
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No special vaccination needed. Cuba has many good doctors but due to the embargos there is a lack of medicine. Though for tourists there are many different pharmaceuticals and some special clinics available. In the upmarket hotels you will usually find doctors. Medical treatment for foreigners in hospitals is very expensive (like in USA). Therefore we strongly recommend to check your personal insurance situation carefully before you travel.
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Food
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A sensitive subject. Let’s face it - Cuba is not a gourmet-country. The food is simple and based on chicken, pork, beef and fish, prepared in a simple manner. Most expensive is seafood. Unfortunately many recipes were lost during the revolution. In state restaurants they often serve food which was frozen before and therefore isn’t fresh. Cuban chefs have rarely the oportunity to gain experience abroad and therefore are still missing the skills regarding the preparation of the meals. Often the meals are more expensive than in Europe but unfortunately the quality is lower. Dressings are almost unknown and salads are simple (Cuba is no "salad-country" and also no "bread-country"). There are few restaurants and private Paladares which reach the European level - but the few are very good an have a very special ambience. Otherwise you can eat quite good in the big hotels managed by foreign chains (e.g. SOLMELIA). You sould not drink the water from the tap.
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Currency
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The Peso Convertible (CUC) is the only valid and useful currency for tourists (and also the EURO in some privileged beach areas, like Varadero, Cayo Santa Maria, Cayo Coco/Guillermo, Cayo Largo and Guardalavaca). Since November 2004 the US-Dollar is not allowed anymore as legal tender in Cuba. In addition - since april 2005 - the CUC has been "upgraded" against the USD (1 CUC = 1.08 USD) and one even has to pay an extra fee of 10% when changing USD into CUC, so those who bring in USD loose in total 18% against the CUC. We therefore recommend to bring EUROS (or Pound Sterling or Swiss Francs) to Cuba, because with these currencies you change according to the actual exchange rate (and you do not have to pay an extra fee). It is recommendable to change into small bills, because you will always need one, three, five or ten CUC bills as it is sometimes difficult to receive change (e.g. from taxidrivers etc.) and it is sometimes quite difficult to change 50-CUC bills (or even 100) outside of the hotel areas and when, then you might have to show your passport and it will take more time till everything has been written down properly. The official currency for the Cuban population is the Cuban Peso (MN = "moneda nacional" or "Peso Cubano"), 1 CUC = 24 MN. But to change the Peso Convertible (CUC) into normal Cuban Pesos makes almost no sense, since you only get very few things for it (as fruits in local fruit markets where you could also use CUC in case you want to). When leaving the country you can always change CUC back into USD (1:1) or Euro (current exchange rate). Do not change on the black market; it is illegal and usually you will be tricked. Better to use banks (slow) or (with faster service) in exchange offices (Casa de Cambio = CADECA).
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All products in supermarkets or restaurants and bars which you have to pay in CUC have also to be paid in CUC by Cubans. Some think that the CUC prices are only for tourists and the locals can buy the same product or service with the (much weaker) local Peso Cubano, this is not the case! See also below chapter "Tipping".
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Credit cards
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Cuba is a cash-country. Credit cards will only be accepted in some (good) hotels and very good restaurants. Often though the machine doesn’t work or the employee doesn’t know (or doesn´t want to know) how to handle it. Therefore we highly recommend to carry enough cash all the time - especially in the countryside since banks are rare or don’t exist outside the tourist areas. Credit cards which are issued by American companies (e.g. American Express) or charged via American Banks (e.g. Citybank) won’t be accepted anywhere in Cuba (because of the American embargo). There are a few ATM (automatic teller machines) for Visa or Mastercard but do not rely on it. You can get cash advance at the bank with a commission of about 12% (same comission as when you are using credit cards to buy something) - another good reason for you to carry cash instead. Postbank, Eurocheque or other Bank-Cards can not be used in Cuba.
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