planning a trip to
Cuba
Here is what you need to know: Cuba Travel Guide
Cuba is a place full of surprises. Its history is complicated yet fascinating with the colonisations and later on its revolutions.
But now, that the trade embargo is over, Cuba is a country worth visiting.
For us Cuba was a family try and unless most of our trip it was organised.
It was an educational trip, well organized, lots of old cars and amazing places.
Let’s discover the Cuba Travel Guide
About
Cuba is a country in the Caribbean Sea, comprising the island of Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud.
Its land stands on 110 860 km² (104th biggest country) and is home to 11.2 million people (82nd most populous).
Cuba ethnic are numerous, the main one is Mulatto (Spanish/African), 37% White, 11% Black and 1% Chinese.
Though, the native people of Cuba are no more as they were killed during the colonisation and were Red skin.
The blue stripes denote the three old divisions of the island, the white ones represent the strength of the independentist ideal.
The red triangle stands for equality, fraternity and freedom as well as for the blood split in the struggle for independence
The lone star symbolizes the absolute freedom among the peoples.
The Cuba Libre is one of the official drinks in Cuba, made on Coke or Coca-Cola and Rum (mostly Bacardi).
It originated from Cuba in the 20thcentury after the country won the Spanish/American independence war.
It first became popular across Cuba and the United States and is now one of the most common drink around the world.
Though the origin of the cigar is unknown, Cuba is most probably the best-known producer of cigar in the world. And while you may not be a smoker, buying some cigar from Cuba can be a great souvenir.
Cuba’s cigars are top class because the island has the perfect environment for growing cigar tobacco. Its soil allows the plants to produce very high quality leaves.
An old and vintage car is something that you see on most of the picture or postcard in Cuba. Even though the island never had a car manufacturing industry, they relied on automotive imports to populate the island’s roads. During the Spanish/American War, the first car ever imported to Cuba was a La Parisienne from a little-known French manufacturer in 1898.
However, after 1919 Cuba was the largest importer of US cars until 1959 when the Cuba revolution and the Import embargo happened. By this time Cuba had over 140 000 cars.
What to expect?
Language: The official language is Spanish. While refers at Cuban Spanish, it’s a dialect from Spanish that fortunately if a Spanish Speaker can understand for most of it.
Food: Most popular food in Cuba are made of rice and beans. Cheap and filling. But Cuba also offers some of the best sea food ever!
Transportation: The best transportation in Cuba would be buses from city to city. You can also hire taxi to get from one city to another and ride in a vintage car!
Money: The currency in Cuba is the peso. But there are two pesos, called Cuban pesos and Cuban convertible pesos. The convertible is only for tourist while the other one is for the locals. Rate are completely different but as a traveller, 1€ is worth 1.12 CUC
Plugs: The plugs in Cuba are type A, B, C and L (US). The standard voltage is 110V with a frequency of 60hz.
Safety: Nowadays Cuba is safe. Petty thievery can happen as everywhere else but nothing to be too worried about.
