We get the question a lot….how did you go to Cuba??? Are we still allowed to travel there? While Cuba isn’t one of those destinations that you book a flight and just show up to, we are still able to travel there and here’s a few things that you need to know before your trip! If you want to know what to do when you get there, this is the post for you.

Traveling to Cuba as an American can be a confusing experience. The travel regulations are constantly changing so make sure you understand the new regulations before your trip. There were some additional regulations imposed in 2019 but lucky for you, you’re still able to travel to Cuba independently and I’m about to tell you how and what you need to know before getting there.

Cuban Tourist Card

The “Tourist Card” or Tourist Visa is required by Cuba for most visitors traveling to Cuba. There are some countries that aren’t required to have it but most have to purchase this before being allowed into the country. This is something that you can purchase in advance of your trip or at ticket counters/gates for specific airlines. There is a fee for the tourist card but it varies depending on the airline. Our flight was through United where the fee was $50 and you could purchase at the ticketing counter. It was a very simple process. I would advise that you go to the airlines site and look up Cuba travel to see if they offer purchase at the airport and how much the fee is. You need to have this card before boarding your flight so it’s imperative that you know how to get it! For Americans, there were 12 categories that you’re allowed to travel to Cuba under. The Trump Administration got rid of one of them but don’t worry there are still 11 other categories. You need to know which one you are traveling under as they’ll ask you to identify the reason you’re traveling to Cuba on your tourist card.

1. Family visits
2. Official Business of the U.S. Government
3. Journalistic Activity
4. Professional Research & Professional Meetings
5. Educational Activities and People to People travel (used to be the most popular option for tourists under Obama but is no longer an option under Trump)
6. Religious Activities
7. Public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitions
8. Support for the Cuban people (the one I used and is now the option that most tourists go to Cuba under)
9. Humanitarian projects
10. Activities of private foundations or research or educational institutes
11. Exportation, importation, or transmission of information or informational materials
12. Certain export transactions that may be considered for authorization under existing Department of Commerce regulations and guidelines with respect to Cuba or engaged in by U.S.-owned or -controlled foreign firms

As mentioned, our reason was support for the Cuban people. Be prepared to mention that over and over again as we were continually asked why we were traveling to Cuba. It was pretty funny because Correy and I eventually were saying it in unison (the customs guy couldn’t help but laugh). And just to be clear….Cubans welcome tourism from anywhere. Had no issues whatsoever on the Cuba side, the questions came while in the US, before and after the trip.

Bring Cash

Most major debit and credit cards don’t work in Cuba so please be sure to bring cash! There aren’t a ton of places to convert your money so the technique of only exchanging a little at a time does not work there! We fortunately had one right down the street from us so it worked out. I took about $400 cash to convert to pesos (there are two types of pesos that I’ll mention later) for my trip. Mind you I stayed about 4 days and used pretty much all of that. What I wish I knew before going is that dollars has a terrible exchange rate.

Travel Tip: Exchange your dollars to Euros before going to Cuba. Much better exchange rate when you get to Cuba!

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Now there are two types of pesos: the CUC (Convertible Peso) and CUP (National Peso). As a tourist they usually exchange your currency for CUC and it’s widely accepted across Cuba. The CUP is generally held by citizens of Cuba and accepted at markets and local areas of town.

You’d be surprised how fast your money goes when eating, drinking, and purchasing souvenirs. My rule of thumb is I’d always rather have more than run out during my trip!

Limited Wi-Fi

When you’re traveling to Cuba, make sure you’re going to Cuba with people you like! There aren’t a lot of places with Wi-fi so you’ll have to go back to the old-fashioned conversation methods to utilize your time. Funny story….when I went to Cuba, I went with my now boyfriend, Correy, but at the time we were only dating for maybe a month. I told myself that if we survived this trip then he was probably the one for me! LOL. It all worked out, and as you can see from this blog, he’s now one of my favorite travel partners! We learned a lot about each other on that trip!

There are a few places around town that have Wi-fi but you don’t want to be forced to be in those places to do everything. I’d recommend printing out a lot of documents that you need if you have reservations or having screen shots of reservation confirmations on your phone. To get around Cuba, before I left I downloaded a couple of apps to help navigate without service. Of course there’s Google Maps. You just need to download the city of Havana or whatever city you’ll be staying in, so you’ll be able to find your way around to places of interests. There are other apps that I loved called Triposo and Maps.me that provided recommendations of places and reviews (as well as directions to those places). It helped me out a lot when I was there as far as places to get good drinks and food!

Bring Extra Items to Donate

I know what you may be thinking…..I barely have enough room in my carry-on as it is?!?!? But hear me out, when you really understand the history and what the country has been through and is still going through, its hard for that not to pull on your heartstrings. There is extreme poverty and any little thing you can do is greatly appreciated. We brought extra items like clothes, toothbrush/toothpaste, lotion, etc. There was so much gratitude just from those small items.

Are you planning a trip to Cuba? Write your questions below! If you’ve been to Cuba before and have some other tips, please share in the comments!

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