You should know these things in advance when traveling to Cuba

A unique country in the world. It once stood at the forefront of the world's political turmoil. It was a busy and crowded alley. It was poor and backward, but it had a world-class medical system. Today in the 21st century, the entire country is still... Public ownership is implemented, and every household goes to the store every month to make purchases with food stamps. It is Cuba, mysterious and uniquely charming.

Practical Guide

Visa: I have always heard from travel journals that everyone buys a $25 travel card. But no one asked me to buy it at New York Airport or Havana Airport, and I didn’t see any place selling it, so I went straight to the customs and told him that I didn’t see any tourist cards for sale. He confirmed that I was a Chinese citizen and let me pass without saying anything. When I left Cuba, I asked about the tourist card. I said I didn’t buy one and they didn’t say anything to let me out. When I returned to the United States, the customs asked me where I had been and I told the truth. There was no obstacle at all.

While chatting with an American aunt at the airport, I learned that the tourist card is actually kept for file records by the US government, not the Cuban government. It is for US citizens, and the Cuban side does not care. Therefore, it is actually visa-free for Chinese citizens! You can save 25 dollars!

Air tickets: The United States has just opened direct flights between major cities and Havana. In the off-season, a round-trip ticket to New York and Havana costs just over 200 US dollars. Hours of direct flight, it’s not a bad idea to include Cuba as part of your U.S. itinerary. Domestic flights from Shanghai to Beijing to Havana have also been opened, and tickets can be purchased for less than RMB 5,000 in advance.

Currency: It is recommended to exchange Canadian dollars or Euros in advance. If you exchange US dollars for CUC locally, a 10% penalty will be deducted. Airport taxis charge CUC, US dollars or Euros, but not other currencies. Other places only accept local currency. The queue at the money exchange desk at the airport is very long. Latin Americans are generally lazy and slow by nature. If you don't want to wait in line, there is an ATM at the airport where you can withdraw CUC directly. You can first withdraw $50 to take a taxi. After arriving in Havana, go to the cadeca currency exchange office to exchange money. You will queue up. The business hours are 9:00-4:00. Banks can also change money and close later, but the lines are longer and the exchange rate is lower.

Language: Almost no one speaks English. Even the English skills of tourism personnel are limited to greetings and bargaining. It is strongly recommended to download a Spanish dictionary on your mobile phone.

Preparation: There is no mobile network in Cuba, so you must download an offline map app called maps.me and download the map of Cuba in advance. It can determine the direction with an offline compass, which is very useful! Wifi is not available. You need to buy an Internet card and go to designated hotspots in the city to use it. There are not many hotspots. Generally, there are hotspots in large hotel lobbies. This Internet card does not allow you to log in every time, and it will be disconnected from time to time and requires you to log in again, which costs $2-5 per hour.

Luggage: The airbnb home does not provide shampoo or the like, so it is best to bring your own toiletries, towels and umbrellas, as there is no place to buy them here. Hair dryers are generally available in homes. I went in mid-March and it was cold in the mornings, evenings and cloudy days, so I needed to bring a set of long sleeves and long pants. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes, as transportation in the city is mostly by walking. It is recommended to bring plenty of band-aids (too much walking in shoes will abrade your feet) and gastrointestinal medicine (it can easily cause diarrhea), as well as a hand sanitizer to disinfect before meals and after using the toilet. Bring mosquito spray! There are a lot of mosquitoes in Cuba, a painful lesson! Girls bring enough sanitary napkins, a bloody lesson! You can wear eye masks and earplugs. The sound insulation and light protection effect of Cuban houses is very poor, and it is easy to have trouble sleeping at night. Although it is very convenient to take pictures with mobile phones, it is still recommended to bring a good camera. Photography in Cuba is more fun than tourist projects.

Accommodation: You can choose to stay in a well-established hotel with a wifi area in the lobby; airbnb/B&B guest

Booking/hostelworld, the commonly used hotel booking website, does not have Cuba. To book a well-established hotel, you probably have to go online Their official cafe is generally occupied by middle-aged and elderly people. If young people are not afraid of trouble, it is recommended to stay in a local house. The conditions and facilities are definitely not as good as a hotel, but it is not bad to be able to penetrate into the lives of the Cuban people. Just choose a hotel with good reviews on airbnb. You can get a good stay for $30 a night. The host provides breakfast and itinerary recommendations/reservations, but most of the hosts do not speak English. Personally, I think the location of accommodation is quite important. In Havana, I stayed next to the Old Town Museum

Revolution. The location is very good and you can walk to all the basic attractions. Although Havana is not as big as our concept of a big city, it is still quite big when measured by legs. I will be exhausted after walking all day long, and taking a taxi is not cheap (no matter whether it is a classic car, a tricycle, or a yellow rental here, it is called a taxi, and you have to negotiate a bargain) . The city of Cienfuegs is very small, and the guesthouses are all on a few streets. Trinidad is a small city, and the roads are all paved with stones, making it difficult to walk. It is best to book a house in the center, not in a remote place, otherwise the car may not be able to drive there. However, the houses here have wooden doors and poor sound insulation. You can still hear music outside or neighbors talking at one or two o'clock in the evening. There are two major outlets in Trinidad: Live

Music

Show where a group of people sit on a large staircase (very slow and difficult to climb with too many people), and the one inside the only five-star hotel in the village Cafe (quick, air-conditioned sofas, less crowded).

The rule of the coffee shop is that you can only buy an Internet card for a glass of water. The cheapest coffee is 2.75 CUC and the Internet card is 1.5 CUC, which is cheaper than 3 CUC elsewhere.

Transportation: You can basically walk around the city! You don’t need to arrange a pick-up from your home airport because their price is high ($30). Remember the address and take a taxi directly to Havana Airport. Go to the old town and negotiate for $20-25. Tricycles/classic cars/yellow taxis are basically the same price (except for open-top ones). Negotiate the price first before getting on the bus (bargaining). In the old city, the price is generally within $5. Old Town is $10 to other places in Havana. What's more scary here is that people don't wear seat belts when driving in the city, and the traffic rules are ineffective. If you drive past, you will be turned back on the same spot, but everyone drives very slowly and is quite modest. The most convenient way to go to other cities is to ask your host to help arrange carpooling. It costs $25 per person from Havana to Cienfuegos. If you take the bus, you have to take a taxi back and forth to the Viazel station outside the old town to buy a ticket and take the bus, plus the ticket price is more expensive than carpooling. And it takes less than three hours to get there by carpool, and four or five hours by bus.

In fact, Cuba is a very suitable country for traveling alone. Its public security is very good, public security is very good, public security is very good! Locals will greet strangers on the road and kiss each other affectionately. They will enthusiastically give directions to tourists and try to help tourists solve their difficulties. There is no need to worry about robbing and stealing things in the street. In a communist society, mutual moral supervision is required. People do not like to quarrel and do not fight, and the crime rate is very low.