Money is one of the topical issues you should know. In Cuba there are local pesos and Peso Convertible – CUC. One euro is about 1.2 CUC. The only way to get to the city center is to take a taxi just after landing in Havana and leaving the airport. We advise you to change at least some euros to the CUC at the airport. Care should be taken, because we have received advice and also write on the Internet to change at the airport, as an example. 10 cups, the cashier recalculates and stays only 9. We didn’t sneak on this hook, but we advise you to be more careful. In Cuba, some places can be paid in euros at tourist sites, but the cost of a product is much lower when paying for a CUC. Therefore, we advise you to exchange all the money in specialized banks, and it is imperative to have a document, because without it, money does not change in banks.
Cuban local pesos are usually not available anywhere, and are not usually shared by the local population. The guide in Havana has also convinced you that you do not need local pesos, and if you do, you will turn your prices into 25 by 1. However, we at HavanaSi have tried to avoid tourist destinations and to go to remote locations. There, only the local Cuban pesos prevail. We bought the CUC and the return was rejected by the CUP. That’s how we got local money. For example, when visiting Santiago de Cuba, ice cream cost one CUP, which is about 5 cents. Mmm … o and ice cream tasting … So settling on local pesos is really possible, and prices are sometimes slightly lower.
The food we were most afraid of. And it turns out unnecessarily. The food in Cuba is really normal. In 3 weeks, no one in 4 people had any major stomach problems or nausea. However, we always used a local disinfectant – the rum. We advise you to choose food responsibly, if you hesitate about the freshness of the meat, stay hungry and choose another option. We have heard a lot of chicken being cooked first and then roasted, but we only got this chicken a few times. Yes, such a dish is not the most delicious. Seafood – it seems that this food quickly goes down and should be avoided when traveling. However, we often picked up various seafood soups, pizzas or pasta with shrimp, and every time we were really satisfied and full, as the abundance of seafood in Cuban dishes is really surprising. We ate not only the local hosts who lived in restaurants or restaurants, but the local street sales people. Food on the streets is normal, but as always, you need to be scared and responsible. A little rum, and you will not get sick.
It should be remembered that Cuba’s current situation as a bread in Smetona’s times … shelves in many shops are half-empty, and the choice of food itself is very poor. There were a lot of shops to bypass what they wanted, and sometimes we didn’t get anything. Of course, the situation is improving, the Americans have eased the embargo, so in the near future a wider choice of products can be expected. Various vegetables and fruits can be bought from local turkeys and from individuals transporting them in bats. Local fruits and vegetables revitalize and resemble the true taste of food when there were no chemicals. Bananas, pineapples, mango, watermelons, tomatoes and other goodies have such a natural taste that even now saliva accumulates in the mouth, just thinking about it.
In general, the choice of food is poor, but good, just choose very responsibly. Prices are not high for locals. However, if you eat in tourist destinations, then prices are similar to those you pay in simpler restaurants in Vilnius.
Traveler Memo:
13. Preferably change from Euro to CUC
14. Change money only in specialized banks
15. Choose food responsibly and don’t be afraid to eat from local kiosks