Cuba Travel Guide

A tourist visa card (visa de tarjeta del turista) is necessary for travelers from most countries. This visa, which is really little more than a piece of paper on which you list your personal information, costs US$15-25 (or €15-25) from most destinations, depending on where purchased. Costs US$50-100 from the US. It can be purchased at the airport in Cuba on arrival, but many airlines will require a valid tourist visa card before you board a flight. It is usually valid for 30 days and can be extended once for another 90 days at any immigration office in Cuba (for ~US$25) - beyond this you would…

If you are planning to head to the U.S. after your visit to Cuba, keep in mind Cuban products cannot be brought into the U.S. due to the embargo, and they will be confiscated by customs if found. This rule applies even if you are just transiting.

Maps

OpenStreetMap still has the best coverage of Cuba. For reliable offline maps, GPS navigation, comprehensive trails and map information, consult OpenStreetMap, which is also used by this travel guide, and by many mobile Apps like OsmAnd (advanced with many add-ons), Mapy.cz, Organic Maps (fast and easy to use by the original developers who left Maps.me after new ownership degraded the app), or use OpenAndroMaps for South and Middle America with apps like Oruxmaps or Locus.

Spanish is Cuba’s official language. The local dialect shares similarities with those of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Spain’s Canary Islands (a nod to Cuba’s historic Canarian immigrant heritage). It differs notably from mainland Spanish and Latin American variants like Mexican or Argentine Spanish. Key linguistic quirks:

Cuba is a very safe country, mainly because the Cuban government severely punishes crime. Strict and prominent policing, combined with neighborhood-watch-style programs (known as the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, or CDR) generally keep the streets safe from violent crime.

]] Cuba is considered very healthy except for the water; even many Cubans boil their water. That said, some travelers drink untreated water without ill effect. The best solution is bottled water and lots of it, especially for visitors who are not used to the temperatures over 30°C/85°F. Bottled water (agua de botella) is easily found and costs between ~US$0.65-2 for a 1.5-L bottle, depending on the shop. The mineral count (total dissolved solids) of bottled water is quite high compared to elsewhere in the world, so if you are planning to visit Cuba for an extended period of time (e.g. as a stu…

Cuba is, by design, one of the most expensive and difficult places in which to communicate. The Internet is characterised by a low number of connections, limited bandwidth, censorship, and high cost. Ordinary Cubans had access to Internet from home by 2017 and by 3G wireless by 2018, but the cost remains prohibitive for many (US$7-30/month for 600MB-4GB of mobile data, when most Cubans earn US$30-50/month).

Compared to other countries in Latin America, Cubans tend to be straightforward and have a preference for getting to the point. This said, Cubans generally take measures to be polite and courteous in conversations.