CAN I TRANSIT IN LAX STRAIGHT OUT OF CUBA?

Damien Leis from Australia contacted Experience The Real Cuba in May 2014 looking for travel advice to Cuba.  He wanted to fly from San Juan, Santo Domingo to Cuba and then onto Los Angeles and wanted to know if he could reliably transit in LAX straight out of Cuba.  I contacted Damien after his trip to Cuba to find out about his Cuban travel adventure.

WHAT MADE YOU CONTACT EXPERIENCE THE REAL CUBA?  

I found the information on the Experience The Real Cuba blog to be real and down to earth, great quality. This type of information is very difficult to find anywhere else on the web, even the large sites like Tripadvisor and Lonely Planet. Dealings with ETRC were very personal and the support and response times to queries were excellent. All this is very important for travellers from Australia who generally feel that Cuba is a mystical place and therefore take extra precaution.

WHAT KIND OF INTERNET SEARCHES DID YOU DO?

The normal Google and Bing searches. I enquired with travel agents in Australia who offered zero information on Cuba.

WHAT WAS THE BEST FLIGHT IN / OUT OF CUBA?

We decided to fly via the Bahamas (Turks & Caicos Air to Nassau, Bahama Air to Havana), this gave us an opportunity to see that part of the world as well!

Booking flights online into Havana is a little tricky, there are a lot of smoke and mirrors. It takes some effort to get the best deal without going around the world. I also got caught out by the 72hr booking window with Cubana Air.

WERE YOU ABLE TO GET A CUBAN TOURIST CARD FROM THE AIRPORT IN NASSAU?  

Obtaining the Cuban tourist card was easy in the end. We flew Bahamair from Nassau to Havana, we paid/obtained the Cuban tourist card at the check-in counter at the same time as receiving our boarding pass (about USD$16 each or similar), it was a mere formality.

DID YOU GET A CUBAN STAMP IN YOUR PASSPORT?

Yes, they stamped the passports of all three of us on arrival in Cuba! I was expecting (hoping) that they would not stamp my passport. I read that not stamping passports in Cuba was normal and they only stamped if you asked for it.

WHAT WAS YOUR CONCERN ABOUT HAVING A CUBAN STAMP IN YOUR PASSPORT?

My concern was that my return flight was via LAX whereby I needed to clear U.S. customs and re-check all baggage. However, even with a Cuban stamp in my passport there were no dramas (we flew Puerto Vallarta Mexico direct to LAX).

I met a New Zealand lady in Cuba who was on her way to a conference in Florida, I understand that she was going via the Bahamas to avoid any U.S. immigration issues. I think it only gets complicated if you wish to fly direct into the U.S. from Cuba, as they treat you as a U.S. citizen and therefore need a special purpose permit to go to Cuba. Its only 'charter flights' flying direct between U.S. and Cuba and they wouldn't let you on without the required permits in any case. I was coming from the US Virgin islands and the best way I found to get to Cuba (without a permit) was via Bahamas or Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic).

DID YOU DRIVE AROUND CUBA?

No, however I would not hesitate to drive in Cuba in the future (it doesn't seem that complicated). We ended up using a driver that was arranged by the Casa ($25pp and $15 for our 3yo son) to travel from Havana to Trinidad and then Trinidad to Varadero.

HOW DID YOU GET FROM VARADERO TO HAVANA?

In Varadero we were tempted to try the Viazul bus and actually arrived at the Viazul bus terminal with plenty of time. We were approached by a taxi driver who asked how much we were willing to pay to get back to Havana, he then approached a group of other drivers who took the fare (40 CUC), which turned out to be a lot more convenient given that we were travelling with the baby and luggage.

HOW WAS YOUR CUBAN EXPERIENCE?

I believe that Cuba ticks all the boxes. We always felt safe in Cuba, the people were warm, architecture, history, cleanliness and value for money makes a total experience. We travelled to the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Cuba and Mexico (west coast) and Cuba was my highlight. Havana is King.

Thanks to Damien for sharing his Cuban travel experience.

As for me, I have been to Cuba at least 15 times and my passport has never been stamped. I was therefore very surprised to learn that Damien and his family's passports were stamped; which is why I wanted to share this information on the Experience The Real Cuba blog.  

I am interested to hear from other travellers coming from Cuba:

• Did you get a stamp in your passport?  
• Did you transit in the U.S.? 
• Did you have any problems transiting in the U.S. with a Cuban stamp in your passport?  

Please feel free to share your travel experience with us so other travellers can benefit from your Cuban experience.

EXPERIENCE THE REAL CUBA – SUPPORTING CUBAN BUSINESSES

Experience the Real Cuba offers Casas Particulares in Cuba as well as cultural activities and programs in Cuba supporting local Cuban private businesses.

To find out more about Casas in Cuba and our courses and programs (Spanish lessons, Dance lessons, Music lessons, Photography Experiences, Art & Pottery workshops) check out our website:

www.experiencetherealcuba.com

Driving in Cuba

Plaza de Armas, Havana Vieja

Cuban Cars, Havana

Plaza Vieja, Havana, Cuba

8 TIPS - DRIVING IN CUBA

After spending 1 month in Trinidad, learning Spanish, I went back to Havana to meet a friend from London and one of the items on her list of ‘things to do in Cuba’ was to hire an old Cuban car; a Ford or a Chevrolet dating back to 1959.  She thought it would be cool to drive ourselves around Cuba!  Well I could just imagine what my family in Trinidad would say, ‘estás loca?’

She had read in the Lonely Planet that you could hire an old Cuban car, but in fact they were referring to the ‘Grancar’.  We soon discovered that these cars weren’t for hire for us to drive, neither within Havana and certainly not to take with us on the road on our great Cuban adventure. So we headed towards the Hotel Parque Central, we paid 30 CUC for 1 hour and we sat back and enjoyed the experience of being in such a wonderfully maintained old car whilst seeing another side of Havana.  The car was immaculate and sparkled inside and out, the owner very proud of how he had managed to carefully maintain such a beautiful car. 

A couple of days later we hired a car.  Our plan was to go to Viñales then onto Maria de La Gorda, Soroa, Trinidad, Camaguey, Santa Clara, Caibarien, Cayo Santa Maria and back to Havana in about 10 days.  We felt so excited to be leaving Havana, driving down the Malecon in our little hire car.  We were heading towards the Autopista Este-Oeste for Viñales, however two hours later, instead of being close to arriving into Viñales we were still driving around the outskirts of Havana.  The last road sign we had seen for the motorway was way back at the Plaza de Independencia.  We stopped a couple of times to ask people for directions, but the directions never lead us to the motorway and we could not even begin to figure out where we were on the map. 

Finally by pure luck, we arrived onto the motorway, only we had no idea whether we were heading back to Havana or towards Viñales.  We drove in one direction, but since there were no signs we soon got nervous, thinking we were going back to Havana and there was no way we wanted to go back to Havana after spending 2 hours trying to get out.  So we decided to get off the next junction and try getting back onto the motorway going in the opposite direction.  The only thing was the junctions we came across seemed to head into the unknown distance; there was no evidence of a road crossing over or under the motorway.  The motorway consisted of 3 lanes in each direction but there wasn’t a barrier in the middle of the motorway; just a grassy causeway.  We had laughed when we had seen other cars crossing the middle of the motorway but now it seemed like our only option. So like naughty school girls we thought we would ‘break the rules’ and we carefully drove across the middle of the causeway and onto the other side.  ‘Did anyone see us?’  Who cares, we are in Cuba and anything seems to go!

Even though we had crossed over the motorway we were still in doubt as to whether we were going towards Viñales.  We had passed a police control point but it was on the other side, so we drove a safe distance away from the police, crossed the motorway again (we were experts now) and we drove back to the control point.  Mr Policeman was friendly enough and informed us that Viñales was in fact in the opposite direction.  I asked politely if it was ok to cross the motorway and he told me to go ahead!  So what should have been an easy 2.5 hour drive to Viñales ended up being an adventurous 4 hours!

That was the first of many adventures whilst driving through Cuba, but generally some of the things you need to consider when driving in Cuba are:

1. Having a map does not necessarily always help when you are lost.  We could never identify where we were on the map.  For example the map did not help us when we wanted to take the exit off the motorway to go to the Yumuri bridge when we were driving back to Havana from Caibarien.
   
   
2. There are no or few road signs.  We often had to take chances and hope for the best especially when having to make quick decisions as to which way to go.
   
   
3. Things take longer in Cuba.  Journeys always took longer than expected because we either kept getting lost and going around in circles or the distance was longer than we expected.   This often meant that we sometimes didn’t do everything we hoped to do as we never made it.
   
   
4. You can't rely on local directions.  Asking for directions from people on the street was fun as the Cubans we met were very friendly and seemed quite helpful, but in all honesty I did question whether they really had any idea what they were talking about.
   
   
5. Having enough petrol is a must.  Fill up before you start a journey or stop to fill up when you do actually see a petrol station as there is no guarantee you will find one during your journey.  The biggest scare for us was realising we didn’t have enough petrol to get back to Havana.  It became obvious to us that we weren’t going to find the Yumuri bridge, we were driving around in circles in a rural area so we got back onto the motorway hoping to find a petrol station along the way.  We came across a restaurant first so we stopped and asked and luckily for once we got some reliable directions from someone and they directed us to a small town off the motorway and we were able to fill up before getting to Havana!
   
   
6. Driving in Cuba is relatively easy and safe.  We found it easy as there was little traffic, but we had to dodge the pot holes, the people walking on the motorway or waving you down with money in their hand, cyclists, people on horses, tractors, cattle etc. 
   
   
7. Driving in Cuba at night can be tricky.  We did't find it so easy purely because of the unusual traffic we came across.  I found myself tensing up as visibility was difficult, you only have your car lights to rely on, as you often find yourself on roads with no lights or they are very poorly lit.  We came across cars, motorbikes, cyclists with no lights.  People walking or riding horses wearing dark clothing, they do not have bright yellow arm bands or tops to help spot them on the dark roads.  So you do have to concentrate and drive slow when driving at night in Cuba, which can be exhausting.
   
8. Hiring an old Cuban car can be a challenge.  Thinking about it now, I think our original idea to drive an old car in Cuba was a bit optimistic.  We had no idea of the legal implications at that time, neither of the practicalities i.e. how to handle the gear controls.  We wouldn’t have known what to do if we broke down or if we had a punctured tire, as it certainly did happen to us in Piñar del Rio.

I suppose one thing I did learn from our little adventure is, never assume anything and expect the unexpected!

EXPERIENCE THE REAL CUBA – SUPPORTING CUBAN BUSINESSES

Experience the Real Cuba offers Casas Particulares in Cuba as well as cultural activities and programs in Cuba supporting local Cuban private businesses.

To find out more about Casas in Cuba and our courses and programs (Spanish lessons, Dance lessons, Music lessons, Photography Experiences, Art & Pottery workshops) check out our website:

www.experiencetherealcuba.com

Cruzing Cuba

Driving in Cuba

Grancar Cuba

Old Car in Cuba

IS CUBA SAFE?

I often get asked this question, especially from the parents of students about to go to Cuba and in my opinion it is the safest country I have ever visited.

Before going to Cuba I had this vision that crime was ubiquitous in Cuba, I’m not sure where I got this idea from, but I have noticed that many people, before knowing Cuba, think the same.

Upon arriving into Cuba for the first time, I felt nervous, but I soon realised that I didn’t need to be.  Walking the streets of Cuba, you obviously feel disorientated, but as soon as you get used to your surroundings, you couldn’t feel safer.  All you have to do is sit down on a park bench, people watch and you will discover how fascinating it is.  If you’re lucky someone will join you on the park bench and before long you are comparing stories and putting the world to rights.

Cubans are not very aggressive; they are generally a happy go lucky bunch, you don’t find gangs of youths with a menacing presence, instead they are listening to music, laughing and joking or paying a compliment (piropo) to whomever walks by.  It’s not a violent country; no-one has access to guns or other lethal weapons.

Saying that, as with any place in the world, you should always be street wise and be aware of your surroundings.  I’m not a woman with many material possessions, but what little I do have, I don’t like to flaunt it.  I often go to Cuba with as little as possible so I can at least try and blend in with the crowd.  

I have heard of other people losing belongings, for example, I met a Dutch girl who lost her mobile phone on the overnight Viazul bus from Santiago de Cuba to Trinidad.  We were all sleeping, it was very dark, but I remember this girl leaving her bag wide open on the floor in the gangway, obviously not a wise thing to do in any country.   

Another guy I met, told me that he was out late at night in Havana, completely pissed, on his own, walking the streets, when he got mugged by a group of youngsters.  For some reason he had all his worldly possessions on him; his mobile phone, his passport, all his travellers’ cheques, cash, credit cards, camera etc.  They weren’t violent but they took advantage of his drunkenness and helped themselves.  He was so pissed he was unable to stop them.  

There is no need to go out at night with all your worldly possessions, leave it in your hotel or casa particular, it is far safer there.  All you need is some cash for the evening and a copy of your passport, why do you need to be bogged down with anything else for a night out on the town!

EXPERIENCE THE REAL CUBA – SUPPORTING CUBAN BUSINESSES

Experience the Real Cuba offers Casas Particulares in Cuba as well as cultural activities and programs in Cuba supporting local Cuban private businesses.

To find out more about Casas in Cuba and our courses and programs (Spanish lessons, Dance lessons, Music lessons, Photography Experiences, Art & Pottery workshops) check out our website:

www.experiencetherealcuba.com