Take sterling notes. Clean, no rips or scribbles. Travellers Cheques are more trouble than they're worth, and ATMs are very few and far between, and certainly non on Cayo Coco which is only a handful of hotels. You can usually get money at a Cadeca with your debit card, as long as it has no US affiliations.
The airport Cadeca is in departures. Check your money and the rate they give you, and ask for a receipt.
Unless you're planning on doing a lot of trips you probably won't need much cash. Some tour operators will take a credit card for excursions.
Your hotel may also have a Cadeca. If they don't, you can change money at the reception, although the rates in some hotels aren't brilliant.
Any card you use will normally attract a fee from the card supplier for a foreign transaction.
Just back from the latest trip and whilst it probably won't be relevant to most people here, the design of CUC notes has changed slightly and one of the 10 CUC notes left over from a previous visit was questioned as to whether it was still legal tender. It was slightly paler than the latest notes and you couldn't feel the security imprint that newer notes seem to have in them. On the other hand, without realising it at the time, I did spend it at some point. I can only assume that one night in a busy dimly lit bar the waiter accepted it without question!
Also, whilst it has never happened to me, when changing currency it is worth checking the receipt the cashier asks you to sign before you do so and also re-counting the notes out to confirm the amount of currency you have received BEFORE you leave the desk. A couple of members of the group thought that they might have been shortchanged at the main Bank of Cuba in in Parque Cespedes in Santiago but once you have left the counter there is no comeback.
The current rate of exchange is approx 1.5 CUCS to the £1 sterling with 24 National Pesos to 1 CUC. Most visitors will have no need of Moneda Nacionale but if you fancy some street purchases of fruit or peanuts then you should change no more than a couple of CUCS unless you want to end up being left with lots at the end of your trip. Even if you do want to be able to buy a twist or ten of mani (home roasted peanuts) from the street sellers then you might as well hoard your small CUC coins instead. The street sellers seem to adopt a rough and ready exchange rate of anything between 1 CUC equals 100 MN pesos to 1 CUC equals 10 MN pesos. Either way don't expect change - they'll automatically give you as many twists as they reckon your coin will buy. The first is a very good exchange rate for you - it values the MN at only a quarter of the official rate which tells you a lot about the real value of MN pesos compared to the CUC. The second means that you will have paid more than twice what the locals will have done but, if I've got the maths rights, 10 twists of peanuts or a mango for approx 6.5p isn't exactly extortionate is it? It became quite a game for us - offer 10 cent CUC coin and see just how many twists or ripe small bananas we got in exchange!
SM
Also, whilst it has never happened to me, when changing currency it is worth checking the receipt the cashier asks you to sign before you do so and also re-counting the notes out to confirm the amount of currency you have received BEFORE you leave the desk. A couple of members of the group thought that they might have been shortchanged at the main Bank of Cuba in in Parque Cespedes in Santiago but once you have left the counter there is no comeback.
The current rate of exchange is approx 1.5 CUCS to the £1 sterling with 24 National Pesos to 1 CUC. Most visitors will have no need of Moneda Nacionale but if you fancy some street purchases of fruit or peanuts then you should change no more than a couple of CUCS unless you want to end up being left with lots at the end of your trip. Even if you do want to be able to buy a twist or ten of mani (home roasted peanuts) from the street sellers then you might as well hoard your small CUC coins instead. The street sellers seem to adopt a rough and ready exchange rate of anything between 1 CUC equals 100 MN pesos to 1 CUC equals 10 MN pesos. Either way don't expect change - they'll automatically give you as many twists as they reckon your coin will buy. The first is a very good exchange rate for you - it values the MN at only a quarter of the official rate which tells you a lot about the real value of MN pesos compared to the CUC. The second means that you will have paid more than twice what the locals will have done but, if I've got the maths rights, 10 twists of peanuts or a mango for approx 6.5p isn't exactly extortionate is it? It became quite a game for us - offer 10 cent CUC coin and see just how many twists or ripe small bananas we got in exchange!
SM
Hope you had a great holiday 
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