Traveling To Cuba From Argentina.

[mariposa]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]Mariposa, So how do you handle the currency situation ,,, must take all cash, no USA CC can be used? Carry around the cash with you, or leave it in a rental family appt. without safe? Inside your shoes?[/background]

Yes we always traveled with lots of cash (Canadian, not U.S. dollars, and euros), especially since we were buying lots of art.. (And yes, left the money in a family apartment. We always stayed in the same casa in Havana and trusted the people completely.) Plus a non-U.S. visa card. The latter not to pay anything with a credit card (don't count on that) but to be able to get cash advances as needed. That works very well.

 

[germano]

Visa and Mastercard not issued in the US work in most ATM's and also some bigger hotels accepts them. We had some US dollars and had no problems exchanging them to "pesos convertibles" (CUC). 1 CUC = 1 USD. The CUC is what you will use in most restaurants, hotels, stores etc.
The other peso ("peso cubano") that Cubans get paid with makes a nice souvenir (especially the bills with Ché on it) but you can't really buy much with it.

 

[mariposa]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]The other peso ("peso cubano") that Cubans get paid with make a nice souvenir (especially the ones with Ché on it) but you can't really buy much with it.[/background]

We always exchanged some of our currency to pesos Cubanos (and 5 bucks go a long way). You can buy lots of stuff with them. Like, you can get a roast pork sandwich or a "peso pizza" for lunch, like the Cubanos (and the pizza is better than Argentine pizza, but pleeeaaaase let's not go there!!!), instead of always eating at restaurants reserved for tourists, buy a "peso beer" in a peso joint like the Cubanos, instead of the export brands in tourist bars, buy bread in a real Cuban bakery, shop at the vegetable markets, take the city buses or the ferry across the harbor to Regla, etc etc......

 

[germano]

[/size]You can buy lots of stuff with them.

When was the last time you were in Habana Vieja? I found only very few places that would accept the moneda nacional.

 

[mariposa]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]When was the last time you were in Habana Vieja? I found only very few places that would accept the moneda nacional.[/background]

Well I don't limit myself to Havana Vieja, and I wouldn't recommend to any one else that they should. There is a lot more to Havana than Havana Vieja, and there is a lot more to Cuba than Havana (and I am not talking about the tourist beaches).

How long? It's been 2 1/2 years since the last time .

 

[germano]

We are going in August, few nights in Havanna and a week in one of those resorts! Am fine with that as I really don't intend to do much more than swim in that lovely sea and drink rum.

We did the same thing a couple of months ago. Relax a few days at the beach and then a few days in Havana. The beaches are beautiful!

 

[germano]

Well I don't limit myself to Havana Vieja

I had the same experience with the cuban peso in Centro Habana, Vedado etc. and was sometimes surprised to see even locals pay in CUC in stores. There is probably a difference if you have traveled many times to Cuba and start to explore other parts of the city. But in most cases when traveling to Cuba for the first time and wanting to see the main attractions of Havana you might not be able to pay many things with the cuban peso.
With other cities, I agree it is a different story.

 

[sleazemerchant]

[/size]

We always exchanged some of our currency to pesos Cubanos (and 5 bucks go a long way). You can buy lots of stuff with them. Like, you can get a roast pork sandwich or a "peso pizza" for lunch, like the Cubanos (and the pizza is better than Argentine pizza, but pleeeaaaase let's not go there!!!), instead of always eating at restaurants reserved for tourists, buy a "peso beer" in a peso joint like the Cubanos, instead of the export brands in tourist bars, buy bread in a real Cuban bakery, shop at the vegetable markets, take the city buses or the ferry across the harbor to Regla, etc etc......

This is slightly misleading/ not very useful information you are providing here. Yes, MN (moneda nacional) can be used to buy ice cream, what you are referring to as "pizza" and "roast pork sandwiches" and really nasty tobacco products/ beer. The "pizza" and "roast pork sandwiches" you are referring to are barely fit for human consumption and the "roast pork" is not roast pork but some hyperprocessed formulation made from otherwise unsalvageable portions of swine. The ice cream, priced at 1 MN (4.5 cents USD) is probably ok.

 

[mariposa]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]This is slightly misleading/ not very useful information you are providing here. Yes, MN (moneda nacional) can be used to buy ice cream, what you are referring to as "pizza" and "roast pork sandwiches" and really nasty tobacco products/ beer. The "pizza" and "roast pork sandwiches" you are referring to are barely fit for human consumption and the "roast pork" is not roast pork but some hyperprocessed formulation made from otherwise unsalvageable portions of swine. The ice cream, priced at 1 MN (4.5 cents USD) is probably ok.[/background]

The peso pizza is yummy, i I had it many times, all over Cuba. Same with the peso beer. There are various different beer brands (all locally produced), depending on which region you are in. I don't eat meat but my husband had the pork sandwiches, with the meat freshly cut off a roast pig carcass that was still warm. Nothing processed there. But that was not in the obvious parts of Habana Vieja that have become a tourist theme park. You just have to know where to go!

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

We did the same thing a couple of months ago. Relax a few days at the beach and then a few days in Havana. The beaches are beautiful!

Which resort did you stay in if you don't mind me asking? What did you use for currency? Am wondering if we are best (or indeed able!) to use Arg credit / debit cards or if we can change pesos to Cuban tourist money.