Cuba - Lonely Planet [3]
Aside from a scant supply of biscuits and soggy sandwiches, take-out fare is hard to find. Gatorade powder, granola and protein bars, nuts, dried fruit, peanut butter and trail mix provide energy and a break from the vicious pizza/ice-cream/fried-chicken cycle of appetizers. See the boxed text,, for more food advice.
Money-wise, your best bet is to bring cash, preferably in Canadian dollars, euros or pound sterling (avoid US dollars as the cost of changing them into Convertibles is a lot higher). A credit card will provide a good emergency backup and traveler’s checks from non-American banks are usually acceptable. Unfortunately, few (if any) foreign debit cards will work in Cuban ATMs. For more information see the Directory, Click here.
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TRAVELING RESPONSIBLY
Cubans are pretty forward-thinking when it comes to the environment. What in the West would be viewed as conscientious eco-practices, are often everyday necessities here (general recycling, public transport, locally grown produce), meaning finding excuses to ‘go green’ are easy. While hiring a car might make life simpler in some areas, getting a bus or train will lower your footprint and often be more fun. Many of Cuba’s newer Chinese-made buses have lower emissions and are far cleaner that the fume-belching monsters of yore.
Staying in casas particulares is a great way to taste the local food, and you can be sure that everything your casa owner cooks will have been produced or reared locally, probably within a few kilometers of your plate. The resort hotels are a different matter, and the exotic out-of-season fruit and vegetables that you enjoy at your fantastic dinnertime buffet will have undoubtedly been flown in from Europe or North America.
Real eco-resorts are in their infancy in Cuba, the two main exceptions being Hotel Moka in Las Terrazas and El Saltón Click here in Santiago de Cuba. Many of the newer places in Cayo Coco and Guardalavaca, however, have been built with respect for the local environment and incorporate some sustainable practices.
Undertaking visits to national parks and Unesco Biosphere Reserves is a great way to learn and understand about Cuba’s environmental practices and share the passion of its forward-thinking people. For more details Click here.
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TRAVEL LITERATURE
Zoë Bran’s Enduring Cuba (2002), an illuminating and beautifully written book, conveys the daily shortages, slowdowns and lucha (struggle) of the Cuban reality with a keen eye for detail. Isadora Tatlin’s Cuba Diaries (2002) takes an equally eye-opening look at a similarly thought-provoking and contradictory subject.
Even better on the travelogue scene is Trading with the Enemy: A Yankee Travels through Castro’s Cuba (1992), by Tom Miller, a rich feast of Cuban lore gleaned during eight months of perceptive travel in Cuba. It may be the best travel book about Cuba ever written. Christopher Baker provides a slightly different take on the período especial (Special Period; Cuba’s new economic reality post-1991) in Mi Moto Fidel (2001), a book inspired by a cross-island motorcycling odyssey undertaken during the mid-1990s.
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TOP PICKS
CUBA ON THE CHEAP
While ostensibly expensive, Cuba’s dual economy ensures that cheaper treats are hiding just beneath the radar – and they’re usually more sustainable options too. If you’re armed with guile, patience and an open-minded sense of adventure, the following only-in-Cuba innovations are yours for the taking. Check out the Directory for more information.
Amarillos Line up with the transit officials and pay five centavos to travel 50km
Casas