Cuba

Buy

If you are planning to head to the U.S. after your visit to Cuba, keep in mind the 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.

Eat

thumb|A meal in Trinidad

Cuban cuisine has a partly deserved reputation for being bland, particularly compared with some neighbors like Jamaica. The national dish in Cuba is rice and beans (moros y cristianos), and the local spice repertoire rarely extends beyond salt and garlic. While the state-run restaurants many tourists ended up eating at had little incentive to improve flavor, the dining scene has improved considerably and the best food will generally be found in your casa particular or in privately owned and operated restaurants called paladares.

Black beans are a main staple in Cuban households. Cubans eat mainly pork and chicken for meat. Beef and lobster are controlled by the state, and therefore illegal to sell outside of state owned hotels and restaurants, however special lobster lunch/supper offers are plentiful for tourists. You may see turtle on menus in paladares, but they are endangered and eating them is illegal. That an item is listed on a menu does not, however, mean it is available.

Small street vendors typically sell sandwiches fruits (1 banana CUP1-2) small pizzas (CUP10-20) handed in whatever clean paper is around (usually approximately a 15-20 cm round piece with some tomato sauce and few flakes of cheese. They are OK.) refrescos (usually various juices) spaghetti in tomato sauce ice cream cream cakes

The quality varies from vendor to vendor.

Drink

thumb|Cuban rums Bottled water is sold throughout the country where one litre will cost you around ~US$0.80-1.20. You can by a 5-L bottle for ~US$1.90 and transfer it to smaller ones.

Cuban national cocktails include the Cuba Libre (rum and cola) and the Mojito (rum, lime, sugar, mint leaves, club soda and ice).

If you request a rum in a small country restaurant do not be surprised if it is only available by the bottle. Havana Club is the national brand and the most popular. Expect to pay US$4 for three year old white rum or US$8 for seven year old dark rum.

Cristal is a light beer and is available in "dollar" stores. Cubans prefer the Bucanero Fuerte, which at 5.5% alcohol is a strong (hence the "fuerte") darker beer. Cristal and Bucanero are brewed by a joint venture with Labatts of Canada, whose beer is the only Cuban beer. A stronger version, Bucanero Max is also available - primarily available in Havana.

There are also smaller brews, not available everywhere, such as Hatuey and Corona del Mar. These are sold in CUP.

Similar to restaurants - there are two types of establishments you can go to drink in Cuba: Western-style bars with near-Western prices, a good selection of quality drinks (and sometimes food), nice decorations, semi-motivated staff and often live music, typically found around tourist hot-spots such as Old Havana and tourist hotels. Here you will mostly meet other tourists, expats and a few Cubans with access to hard currency, but do not expect a 'local'…

Stay safe

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.

Drug laws are incredibly harsh in Cuba, as are the laws against prostitution and the importation, distribution and production of pornography.

Stay healthy

thumb|Bar in [[Varadero]] 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 student or on work permit), it might be a useful idea to bring a small jug/sports bottle water filter with a few cartridges along to further purify the water.

Cuban milk is usually unpasteurized, and can make visitors sick. Additionally, tourists should be wary of vegetables washed in tap water. Meat sold on the streets (esp. "jamon") often even looks barely edible, but meat served in the casas is usually OK. Despite the warnings, most Cuban food is safe to eat and you do not need to be paranoid.

The island is tropical and thus host to a number of diseases. Some recommend an aggressive program of inoculations when planning a trip to Cuba, but most travellers come with little or none. Hepatitis B and tetanus shots are recommended by most travel clinics. Hepatitis B is generally spread by direct blood or sexual contact, the inoculation course requires three injections…

Respect

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.

Cubans are generally friendly and helpful people. They make about US$15 a month: if they can help you, they probably will, but they may expect you to return the favor. If you are invited into a Cuban's home for supper, take the invitation. You will really be treated like a guest of honor. It is a great way to get a feel for the culture. Of course, ordinary Cubans are not permitted to host this type of event, but it goes on as a matter of course.

Avoid having political discussions or inquiring more about local politics; although political discourse has been a lot more open than before, political discussions can make Cubans uncomfortable and suspicious about your intentions. Cubans abroad might be more open to having political discussions.

Tourists are considered being "walking wallets" by many locals working in tourism (esp. taxi drivers and merchandise sellers); if you aren't proficient in Spanish, be prepared to constantly say "no quiero", "no hablo español", or variations thereof.

All of your actions may be projected onto tourists in general - consider this, when you are asked for shampoo and soap by the locals (because they were told that tourists leave those products behind when going back home).

One way to help local Cubans is by staying in casas parti…

Connect

Cuba is, by design, one of the most expensive and difficult places in which to communicate.