Cuba Branch FAQ

This branch covers: Cuba

The contents of this FAQ thread are being kept simple in order to avoid confusion and provide basic information about Cuba and links to information sources. Use the subject lines of each post below to find what you're looking for.

Here are some simple tips about looking for information:

1. Research before asking a question. It will help you get better, more detailed and useful answers from the community if you've already done some homework. It's also polite. The community is here to help, but we're not your personal search engine. Invest some preliminary time and we'll help you fill in the gaps.

2. Explore Lonely Planet's Destinations online, which has a wealth of key info and tips.

3. Have a good look around the Thorn Tree before asking your question - quite often your question (or one very sim... more »

Cuba Report - May - 2013

I flew Air Canada Montreal to Holguin and did four resorts and one B & B. Resorts were Melia Rio De Oro both Royal service and main resort - Brisas Guardavalaca - Marea Del Portillo . All resorts provided very good value for the price paid.
There are two mega resorts being designed for the Guardavalaca area - they will have condos for sale - delux five star resorts and golf courses. There is a similar project also being built in Varadero..
Just before I got to the Marea resort the Cuban Minister of Tourism and guests toured the area. I was told there will be an expansion of this resort and the airport runway in Manzanillo will have an expanded runway.
House prices in Cuba are in decline due to many Cubans leaving to work in other countries..
Currently the Cuban government is changing their foreign investment act to encourage more investment from countries / companies that are... more »

Cuba Broadband - Someday

Hello from Havana,

According to Renasys, the broadband analysis company, the high-speed fiber optic cable continues to be activated bit by bit. Maybe one day I won't have to use this crappy slow expensive dial-up connection any more.

Fiber optic cable linking Cuba to Jamaica active

Author Peggy Blair - Cuban Detective Ramirez

I am now reading her second book - "The Poisoned Pawn." I don't remember the first one very well, except that I didn't particularly like it and I now know why. It seems that so many actions, or comments made by one of the characters has to be followed by an explanatary "put-down" or commentary about how awful things are in Cuba. For example, Det. Ramirez is on a case and it is 7 pm and he realizes that he hasn't eaten dinner and is hungry. Then comes the statement about "of course, everyone in Cuba is hungry all the time." Then there will be a crime scene -- and the comment about there being not enough yellow tape to mark it off because there is nothing available in the country. Countless digs like this. This doesn't happen on every page, but at least once every chapter (or more frequently).

It's too bad, because the stories are okay -- it is just the constant politica... more »

Travel to Thailand

My step-daughter is a Cuban permanent resident in Canada for 3 years--NOT a Canadian citizen. She wants to travel from Vancouver to Bangkok to visit her boyfriend there. When I check ticket prices, all the most economical flights have routing through either Seattle, and/or San Francisco-with stop-overs there for short periods. Can she--as a Cuban citizen--take such flights? Thanks for your help.

No more San Jose CR-Havana flights

Avianca/Taca has abruptly cancelled its SJO-HAV route. Seems to be part of a large downsizing of their operations at San Jose. They'll continue to serve Havana from San Salvador, Lima and Bogota.

Viazul - Havana to Trinidad - Getting Tickets

I will be on a tight schedule in Cuba and need to know if this is possible.

I arrive in Cuba at 2-3PM on a Sunday. I want to catch the 8AM bus out of Havana to Trinidad. This trip will be in early July. How hard is it to get tickets the day before the trip in the evening? Also, I live in the US, so I cannot book through their website anyways.

Other recommendations on this?

Cubana Flight Bookings

There were few posts recently from USAers reporting that bookings on the Cubana website
http://www.cubana.cu/home/?lang=en
now allowed them to pay using a US credit card. This was good news for those wanting to fly from Cancun from which Cubana is often the only alrline available.

Having just booked an internal Cubana flight I can now report that ALL Cubana flight payments are being processed via http://www.travelsandiscoverytours.com .
In the past Cubana processed non-USA credit cards direct to Cubana.
The new process provides a charge listed on card statement as Travels & Discovery S.A

Note this website also allows for hotel, tours and hire car bookings all of which presumedly may be paid via credit cards - including those from the land of the free? more »