Cuba - Lonely Planet [377]
Cash advances can be drawn from credit cards but the commission’s the same. Check with your home bank before you leave, as many banks won’t authorize large withdrawals in foreign countries unless you notify them of your travel plans first.
ATMs are good for credit cards only and are the equivalent to obtaining a cash advance over the counter. In reality it is best to avoid them altogether (especially when the banks are closed), as they are notorious for eating up people’s cards.
Some, but not all, debit cards work in Cuba. Take care as machines sometimes ‘eat’ cards.
Cash
Cuba is a cash economy and credit cards don’t have the importance or ubiquity that they do elsewhere in the western hemisphere. Although carrying just cash is far riskier than the usual cash/credit-card/traveler’s-check mix, it’s infinitely more convenient. As long as you use a concealed money belt and keep the cash on you or in your hotel’s safe deposit box at all times, you should be OK.
It’s better to ask for CUC$20/10/5/3/1 bills when you’re changing money, as many smaller Cuban businesses (taxis, restaurants etc) can’t change anything bigger (ie CUC$50 or CUC$100 bills) and the words no hay cambio (no change) resonate everywhere. If desperate, you can always break big bills at hotels.
Denominations & Lingo
One of the most confusing parts of a double economy is terminology. Cuban pesos are called moneda nacional (abbreviated MN) or pesos Cubanos or simply pesos, while Convertible pesos are called pesos convertibles (abbreviated CUC) or often just simply…pesos. Sometimes you’ll be negotiating in pesos (Cubanos) and your counterpart will be negotiating in pesos (Convertibles). It doesn’t help that the notes look similar as well. Worse, the symbol for both Convertibles and Cuban pesos is $. You can imagine the potential scams just working these combinations.
The Cuban peso comes in notes of one, five, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pesos; and coins of one (rare), five and 20 centavos, and one and three pesos. The five-centavo coin is called a medio, the 20-centavo coin a peseta. Centavos are also called kilos.
The Convertible peso comes in multicolored notes of one, three, five, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pesos; and coins of five, 10, 25 and 50 centavos, and one peso.
Tipping
If you’re not in the habit of tipping, you’ll learn fast in Cuba. Wandering son (Cuban popular music) septets, parking guards, ladies at bathroom entrances, restaurant wait staff, tour guides – they all work for hard-currency tips. Musicians who besiege tourists while they dine, converse or flirt will want a Convertible, but only give what you feel the music is worth. Washroom attendants expect CUC$0.05 to CUC$0.10, while parqueadores (parking attendants) should get CUC$0.25 for a short watch and CUC$1 for each 12 hours. For a day tour, CUC$2 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 resolver 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 (CUC$1 to CUC$5) bend rules, open doors and send people looking the other way. For tipping in restaurants and other advice, see the Food & Drink chapter (see boxed text,).
Traveler’s Checks
While they add security and it makes sense to carry a few for that purpose, traveler’s checks are a hassle in Cuba although they work out better value than credit cards. Bear in mind