Havana City (Spanish: Ciudad de la Habana) is the capital city of Cuba, and one of the fourteen provinces of the Republic of Cuba.
Before the Communist revolution, Havana was one of the vacation hot-spots of the Caribbean, and since Cuba reopened to tourism in the 1990s, it has become a popular destination once again, albeit with many fewer U.S. citizens, due to an almost total ban on travel maintained by the U.S. federal government. However, there will be lots of tourists at any time of year, so expect huge crowds and long lines in places.
Havana is a surprisingly expensive city to stay in; if you stay in hotels and eat in restaurants it can work out to be nearly as expensive as other popular international destinations. The problem is that Cuba has a dual economy, if you could live on pesos it would be incredibly cheap. Sadly, as a tourist this is virtually impossible. Most peso hotels won't take foreigners or, if they do you have to pay in CUC. If you are on any kind of a budget it is advised to stay in casas particulares; it is much cheaper, often more comfortable and the food (a recurring theme in Cuba) is almost invariably better. Food, transport, but also certain souvenirs you can buy both in CUC and CUP. In the old town you will find many expensive places, especially on pedestrian roads like O'Reilly, Obispo and Obrapia. Some parallel streets can be a lot cheaper and even peso restaurants can be found. Don't get fooled by the art and souvenir shops on those main roads. For example: they sell propaganda posters, supposedly originals or very precious prints, for prices around 20CUC, sometimes 15CUC.
Whilst Convertible Peso restaurants can be quite expensive at the top end for rather mediocre food, some such as the Café de Oriente have a splendid ambiance. The average government-run restaurants are about US$20 for two. Almost without exception, state-run restaurants will have lower quality food than paladares. However, state-run restaurants often have very nice ambiances, so if you care more about the setting than the value-for-quality of the food, state-run places may be a reasonable option.
Cocktails in Cuba are of surprisingly uniform prices—around 3 CUC for a mojito nearly anywhere you go (except state-run hotels like Hotel Nacional, which charge closer to 7 CUC). While the prices are nearly uniform, the quality and quantity vary massively.
There are 3 main areas that travelers generally stay in: Old Havana is the liveliest (some would say hectic and dirty), Central Havana is slightly quieter and parts can be a bit seedy, and Vedado is the quietest with more greenery, and is the place to find the large hotels and nicer casas particulares.
Havana is quite safe for a large city. Heavily dependent on tourism, Cuban police are everywhere and pay special attention to spots where travelers congregate (Habana Vieja, El Malecón. etc.), so you don't have to be afraid of being accosted in the daytime. Prison sentences for crimes involving tourists are extremely harsh, a fact which residents are well aware of, which adds an extra layer of deterrence.
HAVANA - Cuba Travel Guide | Around The World vacation rentals | |
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| Travel & Events | Upload TimePublished on 7 Sep 2018 |
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