HAVANA, CUBA

In the beginning of March, Tyler got an e-mail from Spirit Airlines saying that if we booked by the end of that day and took the trip sometime in the next month, we could get flights to anywhere that they fly for 99% off. He read that e-mail at 10pm and then at 11:30pm he said "Hey Em, you want to go to Cuba for your birthday?" and that was the end of that! :) We didn't know Spanish, had no rooms to stay in yet (we had never even used Airbnb!) and had no clue what we were getting ourselves into other than the few things we'd read online. So here is Cuba, presented by unexperienced travelers who didn't know what we were doing. It was our best vacation yet and we can not wait to go back!

 

HAVANA, CUBA in a nutshell:

The people: Incredibly kind + welcoming. There is absolutely no animosity towards Americans. They go out of their way to let you know you're welcome and that you're not their enemy. They had a maturity when it comes to politics that I wish Americans could adopt. We had a lot of conversations with people about Cuban culture, Cuban attitudes towards Americans, Cuban history, etc. and it may have been the best part of our trip. So here's tip #1: Learn Spanish so you can talk to people! We went hard learning on the Duo Lingo app before we went and much of my high school Spanish came back to me. When in doubt, use the offline version of Google Translate (download before your trip - internet is not existent here). It saved us many a times. 

The food: We were underwhelmed with the really expensive places that the Lonely Planet guide recommended so after trying one or two of them, we ended up going the route of asking our hosts for suggestions or going restaurant to restaurant until we found a place with reasonable prices. Our favorite spots ended up being hole-in-the-walls that served lobster for $6 and mojitos for $2 and it was divine.  Like, best lobster and mojitos we've ever had in our life, divine. Hidden gems. El Rinconcito is the name of the restaurant with the best mojitos, located in Vedado off the Miramar on Calle 17. We had the Carne Ropa and Lobster there and it was amazing. The best lobster we had was actually at a beach restaurant that I don't remember the name of. It was off the coast of Playa de Santa Maria and they served 4 (!!!) lobster tails for 15 CUC.

Navigating: Download the offline version of the Havana map. It was a life saver for us! As far as cabs go, you can definitely get around anywhere in Havana (Centro, Old Havana, Vedado) for no more than 5 CUC but it takes haggling and after a couple of times doing that, we realized it wasn't worth it. The Cuban people are amazing and they have to try harder than us to make a decent wage. Cuba is still a fully Marxist, Communist country and the people make very little there (the government takes 80% of their paycheck!!) We learned that the average Cuban lives off off 30 CUC a month (diapers cost 20 CUC a month). We ended up deciding that we could handle the extra $5 per cab ride and stopped the haggling. We consider ourselves thrifty and definitely don't identify as rich but going to a country like that really puts things in perspective. We may be the 99% in America but in the world, we're in the 1%. Needless to say, Cuba changed us in more ways than one!

The city: So fun to explore. Most of my photos are from exploring Old Havana (known as Habana Vieja there). The city is totally the picture of "hustle + bustle" - painters painting, kids playing sports in the street, street vendors serving food or flowers or rum in coconuts, live music playing, taxi drivers honking at their friend they see driving next to them, everyone outside their homes talking with each other or helping each other with something.  I remember our first taxi ride from the airport to our Airbnb - my eyes lit up and my heart was exploding at the life and the community I could see from afar. You'll see in most of these photos people hanging out in their windows or doorways (if they're not already outside conversing with people) and if you peek into buildings or doorways there is always something going on - people cutting hair or dancing to salsa or laughing with friends. We later came to learn from one of our hosts that Cubans have learned to make the most of their situation and enjoy life. They don't have the option of getting super rich + successful like we do in America and it's probably a totally ignorant thing to say, but it seemed so freeing to me. I admired their way of life so much. 

One caviat : you will get approached by scammers in Havana and you can just politely tell them no, thanks. They'll try to get you to sit at a restaurant nearby and once you arrive, the waiter pulls out a tourist menu with inflated prices (they make commission off these). This is like .001% of the population and it's definitely annoying but most of the people are amazing! 

The beach: You have to go to the beach while in Cuba. We loved it so much that we spent two of our 6 days in Cuba there. We are adventurers on vacation but we also like to split our time actually relaxing and not doing anything and the beach was the perfect excuse for that. Playa de Santa Maria is the one we went to (and probably the most popular one). When you get dropped off, it's usually pretty crowded but if you walk a couple blocks in either direction, you can find privacy. You can rent a chair there or you can bring your own towel (our host lent us some).

Currency: CUCs are their currency and 1 CUC is about $1. We exchanged most of our money at the airport because of what we had heard (that it's really difficult exchanging elsewhere during your trip) but I think things have modernized a bit because it was pretty easy to exchange money at local banks while there. You have to check when they're open but even when they were closed, there were locals exchanging at the same rate as the bank and we can confirm that it was not counterfeit :) Speaking of money, for 6 days in Cuba, we only spent $700 for both of us and don't wish we spent more. We spent 10 CUC a day (5 CUC each) on breakfast the Airbnb host offered, ate snacks for lunch, and ate out for dinner every night. The rest of the money was spent on cabs, drinks, art fair souvenirs, cuban cigars, and some cover charges for places we went to. Airbnbs we booked ahead of time and paid $30-$50 a night. We totally feel like we lived life to the full there but I think we're thriftier travelers than most.


Packing Must Haves:

-SUNSCREEN. The sun is intense there.

-Toilet Paper. And bring it in your bag you explore in. Most restaurants have bathrooms but a lot don't have tp.

-Water bottles. You don't have to fill your suitcase by any means but pack 2 or 3 for when you first arrive. I opened up our suitcase at the airport while in line for currency because I was so parched after traveling. Some Airbnb's have water bottles waiting for you in a fridge in your room but just in case, it's good to have some on you until you can find a place that sells them. 

-Snacks, particularly protein-heavy ones. We packed nuts and protein bars and LIVED off those while exploring during the day. It'll save you a bunch of time and money and allow you so much more exploring time!

-Airy, flowy clothes. It's hot here. Bring a sweater or two for nighttime but otherwise, pack light clothes and probably sway from bringing jeans. Tyler wore them every day and was fine so if you're a jeans person, go for it. But I was uncomfortable in anything but linen pants and sun dresses.

-Good walking shoes, or at least ones that won't give you blisters. You'll be walking a lot there. I bought some Naturalizer sandals before the trip but ended up mostly wearing my $10 target sandals and was fine. They weren't constricting and that's what mattered. 

-Emergency kit: Ibuprofen, Bandaids, Tums, etc. You never know what'll hit you there and you want to be prepared because unlike here, they don't have convenience stores anywhere.

 

More from our trip...

Here is Airbnb #1: Nayller's Place. We were lucky because Nayller only comes to Cuba a few times a year (he married a Frenchman and now lives in Paris) and he felt like a dear friend after just 3 days. He spent so much time talking with us about Cuban culture and French culture and helping us navigate the city (and serving me endless amounts of Cuban coffee, aka my love language). He even invited us to his mother's birthday party, where we ate homemade Cuban food, and had Cuban cake and listened to Cuban music. It was the very best Airbnb experience we could have asked for. And it was beyond gorgeous, with decorations that are droolworthy and a little balcony where we could people watch and sip our coffee on.

The first morning we were there, we met some girls at breakfast who were also staying there. They're Moroccan but live in France! (I think we experienced equal parts French culture to Cuban culture while there) We shared food, lots of laughs and a love for Game of Thrones and having no itinerary for the day (or the trip, for that matter), decided it would be fun to take them up on their offer to have us come to the beach with them. We went to Playa de Santa Maria and yes, they really do serve you coconuts with rum for $2. It's a magical place.

One of our favorite memories is talking to Ernesto on our way to our second Airbnb. He was hanging out in his apartment window with his cat and he was so friendly we had to stop and talk to him. He didn't know any English so it really put our Spanish to the test! He invited us to come inside his apartment and while I would probably never go into a stranger's apartment in America, I felt so safe in Cuba (crime is so almost non-existent there and is punished severely when it happens) sooo we lugged our suitcase inside and continued our conversation! He showed us a motorcycle owned by his grandfather that came from NYC in the 50's and showed us his grandfather's car from the 50's too, still in mint condition. I took photos of his apartment because it was truly a glimpse of an average Cuban home, not an Airbnb that is more polished. It was so fun to get a little glimpse into everyday Cuban life.

Here is Airbnb #2: Lisette's Place. This place was a dream. These blue stairs led to our room and our own private terrace, where we would sip our coffee or spend time reading our books. It gave us an amazing little getaway from the city when we were done exploring.

The last place we stayed in was Vedado but I didn't get any photos of it because we were too busy exploring and then getting packed up to leave. Here are some photos of the neighborhood. It's technically considered part of Havana but has a totally different feel. It's feels more quiet and "suburban" -- during the day, that is. At night, this neighborhood comes alive and has the best nightlife scene. We went to a Jazz Club called El Zorro y El Cuervo, where you can listen to live Jazz while sipping 2 complimentary cocktails all for $10. Get there early though (around 9:15 or 9:30) - the line was a block long 30 minutes before opening time at 10pm! Another place to go to while in Vedado is Casa de Musica. You can listen to live music here and salsa dance - or just watch salsa dancing. :) There's also a ton of good restaurants here!

We found this "playa" of sorts in Vedado, though it was really just oceanfront and concrete. Nevertheless, it was gorgeous and had restaurants nearby serving cheap mojitos and snacks so we stayed and watched the sunset.

One of the favorite parts of the trip was spending the day at the historic Habana Riviera Hotel. It was originally owned by a member of the mob and was used as a vacationing resort for the mafia, where famous singers/musicians (ie: Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole) would come to entertain.  It was absolutely fascinating to walk through a place that hasn't changed a bit since it was built in the 50's. The diving board you see below is the same diving board used by the famous guests that visited 60 years ago. 

With that said, we had every intention to just visit for 10 minutes, snap a few pics, and leave but when we arrived, we realized we could stay and gosh are we glad we did. Little did we know, it was also a fully functioning hotel, with a masseuse on deck (an hour massage for $20? yes, please!), a cafe (where I had the world's best chicken and pina coladas delivered right to my lounge chair), and a clean, empty pool to swim in. It happened to be my birthday that day and it was the very best way I could think to spend it.

Cuba is a magical place and if you're thinking of going, go soon. It's changed a lot already since the embargo was lifted and old, historic buildings (like the hotel above) are already beginning to be renovated. We felt like we came at a time where it was just modernized enough to make our travel easier but not so much that the cultural charm was gone and we are so thankful we went when we did! Please feel free to send me any questions. I know I didn't cover everything so there's probably questions to be had! :) Adios!