SOME INFORMATION BEFORE YOU GO !

(Information updated on October 25, 2023)

In addition to your valid passport and a return flight ticket, you will need :

  • The mandatory tourist card (visa) and the best way to obtain it is to contact novelacuba.com. If you fly with a Canadian airline, the Cuban tourist card is distributed free of charge on board.
  • You need to fill in the Cuban Dviajeros form online at :

www.dviajeros.mitrans.gob.cu

Remember to print it out before you fly.

  • You will need a printed certificate of your health/repatriation insurance.
  • And while you’re at it, make photocopies of your passports too.
  • Money : Cuba is currently going through a very peculiar economic situation! It’s essential to take plenty of euros in cash* (€1,000/1,500 per person in small denominations). The CUC, the old tourist currency, no longer exists, only the CUP or Cuban peso, officially worth 120 pesos to 1 euro. This is the exchange rate applied by all banks and exchange offices (Cadeca). But commodity prices have risen so much that Cubans will buy you euros for 200 or even 250 pesos**, under the table. You can also pay for many services directly in euros (cabs, restaurants, bars, casas particulares, etc.). If you change money on the street, beware of counterfeit bills..

*Make sure the euro bills you take with you are not torn or damaged, as no one will accept them in Cuba.

** This unofficial rate varies according to supply and demand.

  • Credit cards: You can use your credit card to make purchases in MLC stores in foreign currency! In general, Visa and Mastercard cards are no problem. But don’t forget to tell your bank the dates of your trip, so that your card isn’t blocked after your first transaction in Cuba on suspicion of fraud. And have your international withdrawal limit raised if necessary.

  • Assume that you won’t find anything in Cuba, so don’t forget your flip-flops, sun cream, mosquito repellent, soap, 1 or 2 rolls of toilet paper, your medicines, whatever !

  • If you want to rent a car to visit Cuba, do it before you leave, because you won’t find one on the spot! Once again, we recommend novelacuba.com. Be aware that travel times in Cuba are long. Much longer than you’d think from a map of the island. Expect an average speed of 70 km/h, as Cuba is a slow place! As for petrol, there are now pumps reserved exclusively for rental cars, which makes your journey much easier.

  • The chauffeur-driven car option is interesting because it’s only slightly more expensive than a normal rental car. This way, you’ll be less tired from driving, because even if there’s little traffic, you’ll have to be very vigilant at the wheel because of the many potholes, the chickens themselves, the donkeys, the horse riders, the people crossing anywhere, the lack of signage, etc… And you’ll all be able to enjoy the scenery to the full. One drawback, however, is that you lose a bit of freedom, as the driver tends to choose the route! Another thing is that you don’t drive at night in Cuba, and mileage has nothing to do with journey time !

  • Whatever your means of travel, remember to download the maps.me application and its map of Cuba onto your phone before you leave. In fact, this application works very well in Cuba without an Internet connection!

  • If you’d like to discover the eastern part of the island, Santiago de Cuba, Baracoa, etc., Air Caraïbes offers one flight a week from Paris to Santiago de Cuba and Havana. On the outward journey, you can get off at Santiago, from where you can explore the island on your way back to Havana, where you can catch your return flight. NB: Air Caraïbes has not yet resumed its flights to Cuba.

 

 

On arrival at Havana’s José Marti airport:

  • Don’t change money at the exchange office, take a cab directly to the casa, where we’ll make sure you get the best exchange rate. This applies to all casas particulares! And don’t change all your euros at once, but as you go along. If you change on the street, beware of counterfeit bills.

  • Of course, the problem is the same with vending machines, which only give you 120 pesos for 1 euro!

  • Official cabs are yellow with a black checkerboard on the side and the fare from the airport to the city center is €30 for 2/3 people. You can pay in euros.

 

OUR EXACT ADDRESS

Casa Norma Cuba

Calle San Rafael #809

Entre Oquendo y Soledad (Pensez à donner cette indication au taxi, c’est important!)

Centro Habana

La Habana

Tel : +53 7877 4239

  • Voltage throughout the island is 110, but we have 220 at home! You’ll still need a 2-pin flat adapter, USA model.

  • Many guests ask us how we can help the Cubans, and it’s very simple: medicines (painkillers, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, etc.), soap, toothpaste and/or school supplies. At Casa Norma Cuba we support the work of Prof Lilita, who puts her experience and knowledge as a retired schoolteacher at the disposal of pupils aged 6 to 9 in her home town of Ciego de Avila, free of charge, to help them with their studies. She provides tutoring every day in her own home (her living room and dining room have been converted into classrooms) from 4pm to 8pm for up to 25 children. She asks no contribution from parents, and has no financial aid to buy the school materials she needs every day to accomplish her task. So, all erasers, pens, markers, notebooks, squares and rulers, etc. are more than welcome! You can get to know Prof Lilita by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW3XpYhJU_k

  • Please avoid bringing your free perfume and cream samples from perfume shops. Not only do they solve nothing, but worse still, they’re an additional source of waste and pollution.

 

 

OUR SERVICES

 

Airport arrival : airport welcome and cab transfer to the casa = €30 (1 to 3 people), €40 (4 to 6 people)

Dinner at the casa : example: Cuban-style lobster, rice, yucca and crudités, dessert = €20 per person (drinks not included)

Crêperie : yes! We also offer sweet and savoury Breton crepes.

2-hour city tour in an American convertible with guide, followed by a 1-hour guided walking tour of the Old Town = €70 per person based on 2 people

Erwann’s guided tour of Centro Habana, behind the scenes of Havana, the real life of Cubans as seen by a Frenchman, duration 3h30 = 20 € per person

City tour in an American convertible :

  • 40 € per hour based on 1 to 4 people

Accommodation on the island : we can book casas in Viñales, Playa Larga, Trinidad, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara, Remedios.

Transportation around the island : we can book private or shared cabs to take you to your various destinations.

 

 

WHAT TO DO IN HAVANA !

 

Habana Vieja : the historic center, the colonial town

– the Museum of the Revolution

– the Museum of Fine Arts, dedicated to Cuban art (you can skip the other Museum of Fine Arts, dedicated to universal art, which is of little interest)

– the Navigation Museum in the Castillo de la Real Fuerza on the Plaza de Armas

– the Museum of the History of the City of Havana in the Governor’s Palace, plaza de Armas

– the Prado Promenade

 

Centro Habana: located between Old Town and Vedado, this was the shopping district of the early 20th century! Before the revolution, the streets leading to Vedado were filled with shops and bars, and there were even department stores on Galiano Avenue!

– the Egrem studio, calle San Miguel between Lealtad and Campanario, to listen to Cuban music. Be there at 5pm, it starts at 6pm and lasts until 9pm.

– a cigar factory (Uppman, Partagas, Romeo y Julieta, etc…) for which you must first buy a ticket at a state travel agency, located in the lobby of one of Havana’s major hotels (Hôtel Nacional, Hôtel Parque Central, etc…)

– the promenade along the Malecón

– the Callejon de Hamel (Wednesday and Sunday mid-day)

 

Vedado : the residential district where all the great sugar and cocoa fortunes had their homes in the early 20th century!

– the Museum of Decorative Arts

– the Casa de la Amistad (a superb Venetian palace dating from 1920, in its original state!) there’s a cafeteria in the garden for a break, and if you tip the guard at the entrance, he’ll open the doors to the dining room, smoking room and grand salon!

– chez Belkis, calle 2 #607, between streets 25 and 27: this is Havana’s best-known flea market, a very large private house literally filled with antiques, right down to the bedrooms!!!!

– Every Wednesday at 5 p.m., there’s a peña at the Union de los Escritores y Artistas de Cuba, a concert in the garden of one of these grand Vedado mansions. Calle 17 corner rue H.

 

Miramar : the American quarter, now the expat and embassy quarter.

There’s no need to go all the way there for a walk, just take a ride in an American convertible and ask to drive through!

We also recommend a visit to Hemingway’s house, Finca La Vigia, on the outskirts of Havana!

Vigia, located on the outskirts of Havana! It’s a beautiful place, and hasn’t changed a bit since Ernest Hemingway left.

!

Alternatively, if you want to go to the beach, there are the Este beaches located 1/2 hour from the city center. A tourist bus (line #3) leaves every 30 minutes from the Parque Central plaza, opposite the Hotel Inglaterra, and return transport costs around 200 pesos per person. Get off at the last stop, Hotel Atlantico, where you’ll find the hotel’s beach, but if you turn right and walk a little, it’ll be quieter! But don’t wait for the last bus back into town (around 6:30 p.m.), or you may not be able to get on!

Good to know: in August, Cubans are on vacation and go to the beach!!!! They’re usually very noisy and have a nasty habit of leaving their garbage behind! But hey, you’re here to discover Cuban life, right!

 

 

Restaurants in Havana

 

HABANA VIEJA

Al Carbon

Ivan & Justo

5 Sentidos

Doña Eutimia

Habana 61

Paladar los Mercaderes

El Del Frente

Jama

CENTRO HABANA

La Concordia

San Cristobal

Michifu

La Guarida

Nazdarovie

Malecon 663

Locos por Cuba

Biky

VEDADO

Café Laurent

Porto Habana

Casa Fragnol

L’Atelier

El Cocinero

 

 

WHAT TO SEE IN CUBA!

 

Viñales

  • I highly recommend horseback riding or walking with Yoany, a young farmer who will show you around his valley, his permaculture farm and his friends’ tobacco fields. He’s a fascinating guy and speaks French. Yoany can also take you up a mogote just before dawn to see the sun rise over the valley. Just let me know and I’ll call him to make a reservation.

Careful, no delicate shoes, the red earth will destroy them completely!

  • A 2-hour drive away (the road is a real dirt track) is the superb beach of Cayo Jutias, where there’s just one bar in the center and nothing else! A marvel!

  • Day trip to Cayo Levisa, an islet reached by boat, perfect for a day at the end of the world!!!!! Passport required. NB: the island is closed to the public for the moment.

  • And if you have the time, go as far as Punta Maria La Gorda, a wild and beautiful place at the end of a disastrous road. There’s only one hotel, which must be booked from abroad, and reservations are compulsory for access to the peninsula. A diver’s paradise!

 

Playa Larga

  • The village of Playa Larga is very ugly, so opt instead for the village of Playa Caleton, located on the other side of the beach and facing the sea. The beach is very pleasant and diving is available in the area.

  • Watch out for mosquitoes and “jenjenes” on the beach between 5pm and 8pm.

  • From Playa Larga, you can also discover the Cueva de los Peces and Caleta Bonita, great places for fishwatching! Or, if you prefer the countryside, take a guided walk through the Cienaga de Zapata reserve, home to the Cuban hummingbird.

 

Trinidad

  • En route to Trinidad, stop for lunch in Cienfuegos to see the central square and the Punta Gorda district! A quick tour and off we go!

  • Trinidad is a magnificent colonial city with convents, museums and cobbled streets.

  • There are also a LOT of tourists, but fortunately all the streets in the center are pedestrianised!

  • The town is pleasant in the evening, with lots of restaurants, bars and music (the steps behind the church)… NB: since the health crisis, it’s been much quieter.

  • You can also get out of town to visit the Escambray massif, a nature reserve, the Topes de Collante park or the El Nicho waterfalls! Be careful, it’s hot and the walks last a long time! Bring your own bottles of water.

  • In Trinidad, there’s also a beach option: Playa Ancon, the best-known, is half an hour from town, but Playa Maria Aguilar is much better and less crowded. Beautiful sunsets and no mosquitoes.

 

Cayo Santa Maria

  • Here, you can choose an all-inclusive hotel right on the beach! It’s always nice, especially at the end of a trip, but even the most expensive hotel will never be up to the standard of a hotel in Asia! It’s best to book an all-inclusive hotel from France!
  • Or you can choose to stay in a casa in the small colonial town of Remedios and drive to and from the beach during the day (1h/1h30 one-way)
  • It’s a 5-hour drive back to Havana!