Havana: Money & Costs

Currency

Name

Cuban Peso

Symbol

CUC$

• Sample Price Guide

  litre of petrol

  US$ 0.95

  small bottle of water

  US$ 0.60-1.00

  small bottle of beer

  US$ 1.00

  street snack (pizza)

  US$ 0.20-0.40

  souvenir t-shirt

  US$ 7.00-10.00

  print film

  US$ 6.00

  Internet use per hour

  US$ 6.00

  bike rental per day

  US$ 4.00

  highball of rum

  US$ 2.00

  ticket to ballet

  US$ 10.00

  Average Room Prices
  Low	Mid	High	Deluxe
  CUC$0-35	CUC$35-50	CUC$50-150	CUC$150+
  Average Meal Prices
  Low	Mid	High	Deluxe
  CUC$0-5	CUC$5-10	CUC$10-20	CUC$20+

• Tipping

  If you're not in the habit of tipping, you'll learn fast in Cuba. Wandering son septets, parking guards, ladies at bathroom entrances, restaurant wait staff, tour guides - they're all working for hard currency tips. Musicians who besiege tourists while they dine, converse or flirt will want a dollar, but only give what you feel the music is worth. Washroom attendants expect five or ten cents, while parqueadores (parking attendants) should get US$0.25 for a short watch and US$1.00 for each 12 hours. For a day tour, US$2.00 per person is appropriate for a tour guide. Taxi drivers will appreciate 10% of the meter fare, but if you've negotiated a ride without the meter, don't tip as the whole fare is going straight into their wallets.

  Tipping can quickly resuelvan las cosas (fix things up). If you want to stay beyond the hotel check-out time or enter a site after hours, for instance, small tips ( US$1.00 to US$5.00 ) bend rules, open doors and send people looking the other way.

  Unless you've had one of those infamous Cuba experiences where you waited forever for your meal while attended by a moping waitress with a smirk and then still had to dispute the bill, you should leave a tip. This holds true for places in pesos or dollars, state-run or private. In Cuba, a 10% tip is sufficient, with US$1.00 being the appropriate minimum. Keep in mind that workers in dollar restaurants and some paladares (private restaurants) are still earning pesos. Tipping in peso restaurants is not compulsory, but is greatly appreciated; these folks take home in a month what we normally spend on a movie back home. Leaving a few pesos or US$0.50 in convertible peso change is a generous tip.

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