FAQIn order for you to have at hand the basic details to plan your trip to Cuba and to make the most of your stay, we offer you useful information and tips about how to manage the island: tourist entry requirements, health matters to take into account, customs regulations, visitor payment methods, currency and the main bank holiday dates, amongst other things. |
- Clima
- Salud
- Currency
- Transportation
- Corriente eléctrica
TROPICAL .... TROPICAL....
Climate in Cuba is moderately subtropical. Weather does not vary much, even though the rainfall pattern defines two seasons: the dry season--considered as winter, which takes place between November and April--and the rainy season-- with all the characteristics of a Caribbean summer, which lasts from May to October.
Cuba has a health care system that is unique in Latin America, the achievements of which are based on primary health care, covering the entire population, with one doctor for every 158 inhabitants and a rigorous epidemiological awareness. Medical attention is free; infant mortality rate is 5.3 per every one thousand live births; and life expectancy is 77 years.
MONEY
The official currency is the Cuban Peso. However, when tourists pay cash, they have to use Pesos Convertibles (CUC). CUC can be obtained in banks, bureau de change, airports and hotels.
You should take into account when changing dollars into Pesos Convertibles, a currency that maintains a convertibility of 1 to 1, that you will be charged a surcharge of 18%. This is why it is more convenient to travel to Cuba with other international value currencies, such as Euro or Canadian dollar, that only have an exchange tax of the 8% in relation with CUC.
In the island it is also possible to pay with traveller cheques and international credit cards, as long as they have not been issued by the USA.
TRANSPORTATION
At the hotels’ entrance and in the main tourist places, the traveller will find a varied taxi service offer: modern cars with higher rates, but also old Lada vehicles that run from one side of the city to the other. One of the most enjoyable ways to move around Havana is, no doubt, the cocotaxi, a kind of motorbike with two semi covered seats at the back.
There is also a tourist bus, Havana Bus Tour, a double decker bus (the top deck is open). Similar to the buses that run in many cities in the world, it offers the hop on / hop off system and covers the routes of the main attractions of Havana and it even gets to Plazas del Este.
If your idea is to tour the island, you can also hire a car or use a tourist bus, such as Buses Viazul.
110 volts and 60 Hz. There are outlets with flat plugs in most places, so it would be good to bring an adapter to another system in case you bring electrical equipment. You can use 220 w. in some hotels.








