No of course you haven't, I know you and friends go to Cuba on a regular basis so will be more aware of what's happening there.
It's unfortunate and from what I read becoming a bit of a problem, hopefully it won't put people off visiting the country. I think once you have visited Cuba and seen how little material possessions most Cubans own or can obtain you can understand the temptation that we 'rich' tourists provide.

Off to Cuba on the 14th August to the resort of varadero for the first time. ( finally been torn away from Fureteventura)
A few questions I have that may seem a bit daft to the regular travellers to cuba but for me they need asking are.

The resort itself and the town seems apart from each other is it walkable or is it a taxi ride.

Is the it an expensive place to visit ie I have kids who want Tshirts and gifts to bring back for half the school.
I ask as I will be all inclusive but have not a clue on how much cash to take.

and finally I want to go to Havana but not with the likes of First choice and there organised trips.
Is it possible to catch a bus or train or what price a taxi.

Cheers
Chester

chester wrote:

The resort itself and the town seems apart from each other is it walkable or is it a taxi ride.

Varadero is set on a 20km long peninsula. It's walkable if you are feeling energetic! The downtown area is accesable by taxi (not cheap) or by one of the many busses that go from one end to the other every few minutes. You get a ticket on the bus that is valid for the day and you can hop on and off at your leisure. It was 5 convertable pesos last time I was there, it's no doubt more than that now.

It's not an expensive place to visit, but don't expect to be doing lot's of shopping for designer gear. I'm sure you are aware of the political and economic status of Cuba. You can get a bus in to Havana, but I wouldn't recommend it. All excursions are run by the state owned Cubanacan company. Book on one of the organised tours through the hotel or your rep. I was quite impressed with them.

Darren

Hi, as Darren says, regardless of who you book through, the actual tour/excursion will be with one of the 2 state owned companies - either Cubanacan or Havanatur. You should avoid the local buses like the plague - converted 3 ton army trucks. Very cheap but very uncomfortable and I would always worry about the safety issues - just having one pass you in the street is bad enough with the exhaust fumes they pump out! It's probably possible to get a Via Azul bus (inter-city expresses aimed at the tourist market) but as Darren suggests, I don't think it's a good idea for a first time visitor. For one thing, you would need a reasonable level of spoken Spanish to get around under your own steam.

RE the shopping this could be the year that the kids get disappointed! It's very difficult to find suitable stuff to take home as gifts unless their schoolmates are into Che Guavara! Plenty of t-shirts featuring the iconic photo but apart from that it will be very cheesy, tacky tourisity stuff - palm trees and cartoon monkeys! - and of quite poor quality. Nobody goes to Cuba to buy clothes unless it's traditional men's guajira shirts and the shoes are of very poor quality. Traditional handicrafts are freely available and in Havana there is a regular craft market which sells handcrafted stuff of a reasonable quality - turned wood trinkets, embroidered clothing and tablelinen, crocheted and knitted articles, jewellery made from shells etc but it's all quite homespun and the 'silver' and black coral jewellery is pretty but the 'silver' is far from 'pure' being eked out with base white metal. On the whole none of it is the sort of thing that is likely to the fairly sophisticated tastes of British kids.

Overall, you'll find that Cuba will be very different from Fuerteventura despite the obvious Spanish influence. Firstly, once outside of your hotel you'll find that very few people will speak much English and away from the hotels there simply isn't the tourist infrastructure you'll be used to in the Canaries. Food away from your hotel will be basic and with limited choice, local bars won't have any imported beers or spirits etc. Secondly, the poverty is heartrending and housing conditions for the bulk of the population are truly horrendous. But everybody under the age of 50 has wonderful teeth and literacy levels are amongst the best in the world because their education and health services are excellent. I don't want to put you off - I think Cuba is an amazing country and it really is worth trying to see something of it outside of your resort hotel but it can be quite a culture shock for people used to holidaying in the Med or very Europeanised destinations like the Canaries. Go and enjoy the fact that it really is so different. And if you learn a little Spanish before you go the goodwill that will generate will go an awful long way.

And you need to accept and understand that compared to the locals you are rich beyond the dreams of Croesus and they know this. I have never stayed in an all-inclusive resort hotel so can't advise you about how much cash to take but I think you should be ready to tip staff and it is common practice to take small gifts of the things that are hard to come by locally. Decent toilet soap is rationed, cosmetics harsh and often made of suspect ingredients so the chambermaids will greatly appreciate a tip in kind like that just as much as money. Decent mascara, nail polish and remover (they use pure industrial strength acetone!) is none existent and worth far more to them than the cash equivalent.

SM

PS And be prepared for the weather to be very humid!

Thank you both for your replys to my questions.
I am going totally open minded and ready for the culture shock I am not expecting it to be like anything i have seen before ( nearest I can think of is Russia in 1979) but thats the draw for me.
although I have an All Inc hotel I intend to get out and see a bit of the real Cuba and mix with the people which is what I do most of the time when away. ( bit of a anti tourist mixer ).

I think the kids will be happy that they can get T shirts for themselves and there pals I had been told that souviners where near
impossible to find for kids.

Already got some bits to take to hand out to any local kids i see Jel pens in ultra bright colours and a few England footy T,shirts.
Must get some soap and smelly stuff for the girls.

thanks again for the info

im new to this.im going to Cuba in October.guardalavaca.can any one give me any advice.i hear weather not to good in October?what's standard of all inclusive food and drink.any tips or advice appreciated

stacy walker,

Welcome onboard

Have a look through this thread, you'll find loads of information. Also refer to the hotel section (top left corner) for reviews of the hotel you are staying at.

Darren

Stacy,
When we went to the area, the locals told us it was warm enough to swim in the sea every day of the year, so it should not be a problem. You haven't mentioned the hotel you have selected and they are of different standards, or as one local put it, all are good but some are better!

Try a search using the name of the hotel you are staying in and you should find a thread containing lots of useful info. All the trips are run by the one company (government) so bear in mind that there may be useful info about trips under the other hotel threads. Our trip picked up at 5 or 6 hotels for example.

It is worth checking the threads as well as the reviews as there is often a lot more relevant info in the threads.

We went in June and according to the weather reports it rained everyday, however, much of it bypassed us and when it did hit us it was a welcome relief!
When we think of rain we think of UK rain where it is cold wet and windy, preceded and followed by cold and windy weather, whereas most of the rain we have encountered in the Caribbean is warm and short lived, whilst the sun normally dries the ground while you are still heading back to the pool!

We stood out in the Playa Pesquero bay for about half an hour one afternoon watching a thunder and lightning storm over to the West. We were in glorious sunshine and it was like a daytime firework show!

Regardless of the weather you should have a great holiday so enjoy yourselves.

cheers steve we are staying at occidental playa turquisa yeah ive checked threads and hotel got mixed reviews cheers though

Stacy,
You can see the hotel on Google Earth at 21.06.30N 75.53.37W but it is low resolution, however just alongside is a high resolution area which shows the dolphinarium in the middle of the river mouth.

We were more or less commited to the Occidental but on the day I decided to book, Eclipse dropped the Playa Pesquero prices for some reason. All the other hotels stayed the same so we took advantage!

The main trips off the top of my head were :
Day trip on a catamaran snorkelling and then swimming with dolphins -was on sale while we were there and good value;
Day trip to some animal sanctuary island once "owned" by Castro and used for entertaining visitors. The people who went did a horse riding trip and got bit by something on the legs needing medical treatment;
Day trip to Holguin -visit a cigar factory - wander around Holguin for an hour or so - take a train ride through Cuban countryside - have a nice meal in a farm/museum. We enjoyed it;
Day or overnight trip to Santiago. Overnight means you can go to the nightclub;
Plane trip to Havana -couple of days I think and again you get to the nightclub;
There was a "Dolphin trip" where you went to the dolphinarium - saw a show and had a swim with the dolphins but we thought the other trip was much better value;

One thing we noticed was that the Cubans do not overcook their veg like we do and so it can seem slightly raw and cool to us. I mentioned the low temperature to our rep and she immediately cornered the buffet manager and made him check the food temperatures. Never happened anywhere else, and I was only commenting not complaining!
The trick with all the AI buffets is to wander around to decide on your meal and locate the trappings you want such as veg etc then get the freshly cooked food first as you have to queue for it to be cooked. Once that is on the plate skip around to add the trimmings.

The Cuban workers are probably related to the ones in the other hotels and ours were always pleasant even though we are not "tippers" as such. We tip at the end of the holiday. We have always found that being pleasant and courteous to the staff works better than tipping and treating them like servants!

Regarding the latest on this hotel, raise the issue with your TO, if they are having to rehouse people they should be aware of any problems and whether they are being addressed. It used to get good reviews and there are a lot of holidaymakers between now and your holiday so they should have resolved issues.
If I remember correctly, we stayed in the Dom Rep one June but in May there had been heavy rain and storms. We had a brilliant holiday but on our return found the reviews from people who had left just before we arrived. They complained about filthy pools, rampant ear infections, cold food and stomach bugs caused by the pools food etc etc. We are not pool people and spend our time on the beach but we did not see any signs of similar issues and I nearly fell over one poor worker who was cleaning the edges of the pool in the dark with a toothbrush, well that was what it looked like!

At the Playa Pesquero we had flying cockroaches in one of the rooms and when I found the night manager, he just said that from little children they are taught to stamp on them and they do not cause health issues.

A lot of people would have freaked but to us it was just another holiday experience and the issue was completely dealt with the next day. On the other hand if I was given soiled and stained sheets there would be much ado probably ending up with the sheets wrapped around the manager in reception!

If you are worried and it has not been resolved by the time you leave, arm yourself with the safe and sound booklet, collect evidence and complain loudest. If you get relocated, the other hotels in the area such as the Playa Pesquero, Playa Coste Verde, Blau Coste Verde are all good hotels with nice beaches.

Good Luck with your holiday.

One thing we noticed was that the Cubans do not overcook their veg like we do and so it can seem slightly raw and cool to us. I mentioned the low temperature to our rep and she immediately cornered the buffet manager and made him check the food temperatures. Never happened anywhere else, and I was only commenting not complaining!

Cubans do tend to serve food at lukewarm temperatures and I have notice the same thing in Andalucia in bars frequented by the locals. Having asked some Cuban friends about it they did confirm that they found the British obsession with piping hot food a bit strange! They were all convinced that it was bad for the digestion. And I have to admit that in the heat and humidity of Santiago in July I have appreciated why tepid soup is to be preferred But of course I'm usually eating 'en famille' and hence sitting dow to food that has been thoroughly cooked and then allowed to cool before being served immediately rather than something that has been sitting around for some time in an underheated bain marie. In a buffet situation I think that Steve's advice is sound, especially with regards to meat dishes.

Re cockroaches, I've never come across flying ones in Cuba - my one and only encounter was with one marching across the pavement one night and it was so unusual that I confess I did give out a little startled scream (only a tiny one I promise!) but this aroused the curiosity of a couple of locals and much ribaldry and innuendo from them on account of the fact that 'cucharacha' is also local slang for a certain part of the female anatomy! The implication was that I'd screamed not because of the cockroach but because my companion had been a naughty and touched me where he shouldn't have done! In other words, cockroaches aren't seen as a particular problem but will be dealt with in a fairly matter of fact way. Cuban insecticides are pretty lethal! And possibly a lot less safe than those used here, so it did cross my mind that I'd prefer to take my chances with the cockroaches!

SM

Just reread my quoted comment and so it does not get taken out of context, the bit that had not happened elsewhere was the instant response and reaction. I have been to many other AIs where the food is stone cold but even vociferous complaining is met with the sponge effect.

I can assure you these flew, I heard the screams from the kids. One of the insects was on the wall above the curtains so they decided to welt it one. It took off under it's own steam as did they! Took some time to find it when we persuaded them to go back into the room and show us where it was last seen. Then just as I was about to hit it and its friend with a shoe they took off and flew under the bed!

The kids stayed awake that night!

I've come across flying 'roaches a couple of times while in Cuba but that's part of the local wildlife so not much you can do. I've seen more on the eastern side of Cuba than in other parts. The hotels I've stayed in fumigated every couple of weeks to keep the numbers down.

Darren

Apparently ours had come out a couple of weeks early, but once I had confirmed they were not a health hazard, the episode was just a new exerience with different local wildlife. As mentioned the problem was resolved the next day, or at least we never saw them again for the rest of the holiday.

Well back from my first trip to Cuba and I loved it cant wait to go back.
Havana is a city that has to be seen to be believed its amazing.

Hi people,

Going to Cuba in March (first time). Someone (who hasn't been to Cuba, but claims to know everything!!!!) has just told me I have to be very careful what books I take with me as some are not allowed.... can anyone confirm this?

Any other up to date tips on what I can and can't take into Cuba would also be much appreciated!!

Thanks
L

Cuba has now changed you can take almost anything, I say they are pulling your leg.

Went last year back again July this Can't wait superb place wonderful people take loads of gifts with you to dish out soaps etc very welcome as are most things.

Cuba has now changed you can take almost anything, I say they are pulling your leg.

Cuba has changed but there are still certain things that you'd be well advised to be cautious about. It's unlikely to be your holiday reading of choice but you'd be well advised NOT to take anything with you that was published/written by rightwing, anti-Castro ex-pats based in the US. There's a good chance that any evangelical literature published by far rightwing Christian organisations in the US wouldn't be smiled upon either. Showing active support for any of the organisations that have actively campaigned, or worse, to subvert the current Cuban Government is something that will draw unnecessary attention to yourself. My copy of Che's Motorcycle Diaries memoir received positive comment from the security staff - something similar about Batista or one of his cronies certainly wouldn't

SM

Also any form of porn (even soft lads mags) can cause problems.