Practical Information for visiting Cuba

Cuba’s money is complicated and changes; treat any specific guidance, including this, as needing confirmation close to travel.

Bring cash. The currency is the Cuban peso (CUP), and the exchange situation involves an official rate and a much more favourable informal one. Euros, pounds and Canadian dollars are all useful; US dollars are accepted in some places but have at times been penalised on exchange.

Cards issued by US banks do not work, full stop, because of the embargo — and this catches out travellers with a US-issued card from any bank. Other foreign cards work unreliably at best. ATMs are scarce and often empty.

Assume you will need to bring, in cash, every dollar you intend to spend, plus a reserve. Running out is a genuine problem with no easy remedy.

Tipping is important and expected: a euro or two for a meal, more for guides and musicians, who often depend on it.

Connectivity is limited, state-controlled and expensive by local standards, though far better than a decade ago.

ETECSA is the sole operator. Tourist SIM cards and data packages are sold at the airport and at ETECSA offices, where queues can be long; buying at the airport on arrival is worth the small premium. Coverage is reasonable in cities and along main roads and patchy in the countryside and mountains.

Wi-Fi is available in public squares and hotels, usually via a scratch card with a code, and speeds are slow.

Power cuts are frequent and long, and they take the networks with them.

Some sites and apps are blocked or unreliable. Download maps, tickets and anything you need offline before arriving, and tell people at home that contact will be intermittent.

Cuba has low violent crime and is one of the safer countries in the region for visitors. The difficulties are practical rather than criminal.

• Scams and overcharging are the main issue: short-changing, taxi fares agreed vaguely, and jineteros steering visitors to particular restaurants or casas for commission. Agree prices before, and count change.
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• Petty theft from rooms, bags and beaches happens; use the safe and do not leave things unattended.
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• Shortages of food, medicine and fuel are the real risk to a trip, and blackouts are routine and sometimes last many hours.
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• Hurricanes between June and November.
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• Roads are poorly lit and shared with cyclists, carts and livestock; do not drive at night.
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• Politics. Criticising the government publicly, or photographing protests or military sites, can cause serious trouble, and can expose the Cubans with you.

Cuba trains a great many doctors and the system is well organised, but it is under severe strain and medicines and supplies are genuinely scarce. Visitors are treated in separate international clinics, which are better equipped, and are charged in hard currency.

Medical insurance is a condition of entry and is checked; bring proof.

Bring everything you might need — prescription medication in original packaging, painkillers, rehydration salts, antihistamines, plasters, insect repellent, sunscreen. These are hard or impossible to buy locally, and bringing extra to leave behind is genuinely useful.

Vaccinations: routine cover plus hepatitis A and typhoid.

Mosquito-borne illness: dengue is present and outbreaks occur, and chikungunya and Zika have circulated. Use repellent day and night. There is no malaria.

Water: drink bottled or boiled water, including for teeth, and be careful with ice outside good establishments.

Ask before photographing people. Some, particularly the costumed women in Old Havana, are posing for a living and will expect a payment — agree it first. Never photograph military, police or airports.

Politics. Cubans may or may not want to discuss it. Follow their lead entirely, do not press, and be conscious that a public conversation carries more risk for them than for you.

Greetings are warm and physical: handshakes, a cheek kiss between women or between a woman and a man who are acquainted.

Casa particular hosts are licensed and must register your passport; this is normal.

Do not buy cigars on the street. They are almost always fake, and export limits apply to genuine ones bought with a receipt.

Dress is casual, but beachwear stays at the beach.

Drug offences carry very long sentences.

Emergency numbers: 106 for police, 104 for ambulance, 105 for fire. Response outside the cities can be slow, and English is unlikely.

Medical. Ask for a clinica internacional — the Cira Garcia clinic in Havana is the main one for foreigners — rather than a neighbourhood policlinico. Payment in hard currency or an insurance guarantee is required; keep every receipt.

Asistur is the state agency that assists foreign visitors with medical emergencies, lost documents and insurance claims, and is the practical first call for a serious problem.

During a hurricane, follow the civil defence instructions without improvising; the system works and evacuation is compulsory when ordered.

Consular help: embassies are in Havana. Keep offline copies of your passport, insurance and entry card, and note that replacing a lost travel card is much easier with a copy.