Has anyone been in Cuba (even on an organized adventure) and would have some tips?
A friend of mine plans to go there but faced some challenges of booking hotels (nothing on booking.com) or organized adventures (nothing on because of the Cuba ban).
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I was in Cuba several years ago
For accommodations, it is common to stay in “private houses” that became also hosting places - we got the tips through family friends that have lived there, happy to recover them.
There are hotels you can find online though, especially in more tourist areas.
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me at 18 (so a while ago hahaha) and an icelandic friend just this year. both with an organized tour/day trips from dif providers, but with the exact same spots and experiences. so I assume it’s not as “free” even so many years later the typical is havanna, matanzas/varadero, santa clara, cienfuegos, trinidad, pinar del rio, sierra maestra, santiago de cuba. so i guess you can only do the all-inclusive version or the backpacker + private houses combo
Haven’t been in Cuba but have sometimes had customers who were going there. There are some local listings, but you can use this as a starter:
https://www.homestay.com/cuba
I was there last in 2015. Like others mentioned, Casa Particular is the best way to go. Internet accessibility was flaky back then where residents needed to go to a town square and buy a WiFi card to connect to a public access point. Not sure if that has changed, but best not to expect immediate email responses.
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I went to Cuba in 2013. I remember that I booked a hotel for the first two nights in Havana. Then I stayed in private homes both in Havana and in the other cities I went to. I didn’t make any reservations in advance, I usually knocked on the door and asked if there was room (almost always there was or if it was full they would recommend another place nearby). It is very common for families there to host tourists and the offer was quite large - there is a sign in front of the houses indicating that tourist accommodation is available. The Lonely Planet guide had several recommendations for private houses, it was very useful. In Havana I recommend staying at Marta’s house: https://www.instagram.com/casamartainhavana/?hl=en
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ahhhh thx a lot everyone
If they are wanting to do an organised adventure https://locallysourcedcuba.com/ and Cuban Adventures | Travel To Cuba are two of the operators we use to work with that sold really well and had great reviews
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