Money matters. Please note that the ONLY currency that can be

used by foreigners is the CUC, Cuban Convertible Pesos, currently valued (Aug 2009) at US$1.08 to 1CUC. If you change US$ cash to CUCs, you will be charged a fee of 10%, so we recommend you take UK£, Euros or any other hard currency rather than US dollars (You lose a lot on the US$ exchange rate now).

Please always change your money in a bank or offiacal “Cadeca” change office. There are plenty all over Cuba. You will ONLY use CUCs, so do not be talked into changing money into local Cuban Pesos as you can only by local products in the street markets with this, fruit and veg etc.

BEWARE of this Money changing scam: There have been a lot of reports of local Cubans befriending

tourists by buying them drinks in local bars and then suggesting that they change money fast due to the

banks being closed for some public salsa festival or similar for a few days. They show their new friends the way to the bank and then suggest that they (The Cuban) changes the cash as they as locals will get a better rate. He then goes to the counter in front of the tourists and changed the money and gives them the local

currency. Everybody is happy - NO!! The Cuban gives the tourists Cuban Peso which are worth 1/24th of

the value of the CUC. So the Tourists end up with 5% of their money!!! Normally the tourists would not

notice until they have gone their separate way.

Credit Cards are not generally used in Cuba except in international hotels. There are VERY few cash

machines which are mainly in Havana and some tourism resorts, or provincial capitals. As a rule DO NOT

rely on credit or cash point cars - BRING CASH with you.

Credit and Debit Cards are charged in US$ just to confuse matters, and at what seams like a high

percentage; They charge you 11.24% on your CUC bill, but don’t panic 8% of this is the different between

the CUC and the US$, so you are actually being charged 3.24% handling fee. This is another Cuban Ministry of Frustration Production.

Phone calls. Some cellular networks now function in Cuba, but calls are expensive. GSM is sweeping the country and many popular areas and main highways are covered by GSM. The local roaming carrier is CCom which has roaming agreements with many international companies. Surprisingly Vodafone do NOT have a roaming agreement which is frustrating for their users. Most other networks, such as O2 and Orange, do work. You can rent a local Cubacell phone for around 3CUC per day, but you will pay a lot for calls. The code from outside Havana is (07); the international code for Cuba is +537.

There are little or no mobile Data services in Cuba except with some foreign Blackberry services, these are generally Spanish, Canadian, Mexican, Latin American, but some others too. Check before you go to Cuba.

Internet and e-mails. Available in most larger hotels in Havana and in ETECSA (Telephone company)

offices all around Havana. Ask at your hotel reception for your nearest available internet point. Wireless

internet cards can be purchased in many hotel receptions, however you will need ID to buy one. The fastest Wireless that I am aware of is in the following hotels:

Panarama Hotel in Miramar

Occidental Hotel in Miramar

Melia Cohiba in Vedado

Parque Central Hotel in Old Havana

Saratoga Hotel in Old Havana.

Hotel Nacional (often really slow).

Fun things to do in and around Havana:

Club Havana. A very smart new beach and country club on the outskirts of Havana just off Miramar’s 5th

Avenue on the way to Hemingway Marina. Visitors can pay $10 a day during the week and $15 a day at

weekends to use the facilities. The club has an excellent beach with safe swimming and water sports, large swimming pools, tennis courts, a gym, massage, a good beach restaurant/snack bar and a formal airconditioned restaurant. A great place to spend the day if you are staying in Havana and want to get away from the hustle and bustle. Tel. 2045705

Rancho Mi Hacienda. At Carretera de Bajurayabo, Campo Florido, Habana del Este, about 30 minutes from the centre of Havana behind the Playas del Este. Turn right (inland) at the traffic lights on the main road above Playas del Este; after 2 km you will see a sign on the left. You can spend a whole day here, swimming in the pool, horse riding or boating on the river. Sample Creole food, and listen to the typical farmers’ songs.

El Pateo. Cathedral Square, Havana. Perfect for a drink before lunch or dinner; live music from around noon to late in the evening. The courtyard restaurant serves good food, but stick to something simple.

The Hotel Nacional swimming pool is a great place to hang out for the day if your are staying in a house, apartment of smaller hotel without a pool. They charge 15CUCs per day, but this is taken off you food and drink bill, so actually it costs you nothing by the time you have had a few drinks and lunch. Ask for Cesar at the bar, he’s a great bloke!

Deep Sea Fishing - Call the In Cloud 9 office on 2045600 for help. Places to deep seafish from include:

Hemingway Marina, 30 mins west of Havana. Marina Tarara, 30 mins east of Havana. La Terazza Restaurant has one fishing boat in Cojimar, near Tarara, which is where Hemingway kept his boat. This is 20 mins East from Havana.

Saltwater fly fishing for Bonefish and Tarpon - This is available only two hours from Havana in Las Salinas and Rio Hatiguanico and can be arranged in advance via the office on +5372045600 - For more info on saltwater fly fishing in Cuba watch this video -

Havana Cigar Factories. Tours can be arranged through the lobby of the Saratoga Hotel opposite the Capitolio in Old Havana. They cost about 10CUCs per person and generally start between 9 and 11.30 a.m. The Partagas Factory is in Old Havana behind the Capitolio.

Coppelia Ice Cream - Calle 23, Corner L, Vedado

This has been famous in Havana for over fifty years and specialises in the best ice-cream in Cuba, if not the region.