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Backpacking Cuba: 7 Things You Need to Know

In Country Guides & Itineraries, Cuba, Latest Posts 2, Tips & Tricks by Sheena24 Comments

From transport & casa particulares to food & money, our Backpacking Cuba Travel Guide gets straight to the essentials you need to know to travel Cuba on a budget.

Contents

Backpacking Cuba

For citizens of the United States, we recommend first checking out this one stop travel guide to American’s Traveling to Cuba.

Although Cuba is a very safe country to travel in, we always recommend purchasing travel insurance before any trip. We’ve been using World Nomads through 80+ countries over the past 12 years and have been really happy with their coverage and services.

For more details check out our World Nomads review here.

1 Month Cuba Itinerary

Take full advantage of the 30 day visa & experience Cuba before it changes forever – find out where to go in Cuba in our 1 month itinerary!

Read more

#1. Transport

Viazul is the most popular & convenient way to travel around Cuba on a budget – they are a long-established company  with bus services that are the most reliable, punctual & hassle-free.

The air-conditioned buses are comfortable & fitted with toilets & televisions.

Tickets can be booked at any Cubanacan, Cubatur & Havanatur travel agencies & some branches of Infotur – these can be found in most major cities. Booking 1 or 2 days in advance is usually enough to guarantee you a seat.

 

Complete schedules to many destinations in Cuba can be found on the Viazul website though making reservations online are usually problematic.

Prices start from around CUC$4-5 an hour – the further/longer you travel, the cheaper the price per hour.

You can book airport transports from Havana airport here.

Viazul bus in Cuba
Viazul buses can take you almost everywhere in Cuba. Credit: Cuba Cayo Sabina

#2. Accommodation

Whether you’re traveling on the cheap in Cuba or travelling in a little more luxury, your best choice for accommodation in Cuba is staying in a casa particular.

Many of the most popular casas have their own websites or profiles on Airbnb but there’s no need to book ahead or book online – when you first arrive in a new city, just walk around & look for a blue anchor sign. 

We arranged our accommodation as we traveled but if you prefer to book in advance check out Hostelworld as a trustworthy source of accommodation in Cuba.

Backing Cuba Casa Particulares Red & Blue Signs
Look out for the blue anchor, that symbolises a place as a casa particular

Visit a few casas until you find one you like, for the price you’re willing to pay.

Use Lonely Planet as a guide but they generally list places above CUC$20 – you can always find a casa for CUC$15.

All casas are very clean, tidy & friendly. You can have as much or as little contact with the host family as you like. Note that most will only speak Spanish.

The most important thing to look for in a casa is that it has its own entrance – cuartos independientes (independent quarters). This was you have more privacy & can come & go as you please.

On a side note always lock your doors and be aware of pickpockets when going out for the day. We recommend wearing a money belt with RFID blocking and traveling with an anti-theft daypack in Cuba.

At a bare minimum, your room will include a double bed, air-conditioning & usually a private bathroom (guaranteed for CUC$20).

Sometimes a room will include 2 double beds, a fridge and/or cable tv with a couple of English channels.

Most casas offer meals, for an additional prices:

  • Breakfast – CUC$3-5
  • Lunch – CUC$6-8
  • Dinner – CUC$6-8

Casa particulares can organize tours, guides, transport, etc.

Casa Particulares FAQ

Casa particulares in Cuba are the best-value accommodation in the world – find out how you can find an air-conditioned room anywhere on the island for CUC$15

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Cuba on a Budget Casa Particular
Don’t stick to guidebook recommendations, there are plenty of casas to choose from in every town

#3. Food

There are a few hierarchies on the pecking order when it comes to food in Cuba.

On the bottom of the food chain is eating at peso food stalls, which have some of the cheapest streets eats you’ll find anywhere in the world:

  • Coffee – 1 pesos / 4 cents
  • Juice – 2 pesos / 8 cents
  • Sandwiches – 3 pesos / 12 cents
  • Pizza – 5 pesos / 20 cents

Peso street food in Cuba might not be the tastiest or most nutritious but it’s very cheap & you can fill up for many pizzas & juices almost nothing.

Backpacking Cuba pizza
Pizza with chorizo is just 10 pesos or 40 cents – cheese pizza is half the price!

Next on the food chain are government restaurants in Cuba.

They have no sense of customer service, getting your food can take over 1 hour & it’s all Cuban food, also known as comida criolla.

Don’t expect much from your meals in government restaurants but they usually tastes better than they look.

On the plus side, for CUC$1-2, you can get a 3 course sit-down, restaurant meal with a drink – without having to make small talk or smile back at the wait staff!

Backpacking Cuba Havana restaurant
This huge & delicious dish was just 40 pesos – a bargain for Havana!

Finally, there are private restaurants, some catered to Cuban tastes & others to foreign palates & wallets.

Local private restaurants are similar to government restaurants but smaller & more casual. They’re slightly more expensive (dishes around CUC$1-2) but the food is usually tastier and it’s still totally affordable for those doing Cuba on a shoestring.

Private tourist restaurants are familiar with Western customs of hospitality & customer service and many of the staff will speak English.

In these cities, you can find restaurants of all kinds of cuisines including Italian, Arabic & Chinese, mainly operated by Cubans – note that tourist restaurants can also be state-run.

Meals at most tourist restaurants range from CUC$8-30.

If you’re a foodie, stick to the tourist trail & you can definitely get your fix of good International cuisine in the bigger cities like Havana & Trinidad

Street Food in Cuba

Street food in Cuba is arguably the cheapest in the world – find out how you can easily eat 3 meals a day for less than $1!

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Cuba on a Budget Old Havana restaurant
A tourist restaurant in Plaza Vieja, Old Havana is still affordable when backpacking Cuba

#4. Money

Cuba has a dual currency system – the convertible pesos (CUC$) & Cuban pesos (moneda nacional, MN$).

Essentially, CUC$ is used for anything to do with tourists & the tourism industry, while locals almost solely use the Cuban peso.

  • CUC$1 = 25 peso (or MN$25) or US$1
  • 1 peso ($MN) = US$0.04 or CUC$0.04

CUC$ convertible prices are usually charged for Viazul buses, casa particulares, official taxis, entrance fees for museum & attractions, tourist restaurants & souvenirs.

$MN peso prices are used to at peso food stalls, government restaurants, local private restaurants & local transport (eg. camiones).

Backpacking Cuba bank
Change your foreign currency to CUC convertible at any bank (they sometimes change to MN pesos too)

You can only change Cuban currency in Cuba: at banks, exchange shops (Cadecas) & hotels.

Changing US dollars to CUC incurs a 10% penalty, but there’s no penalty for converting CUC to USD.

Euros or Canadian dollars are the best currencies to bring into Cuba to convert.

Cuba is a cash society but ATMs are becoming more & more common – you can usually find them in most touristy cities.

However ATMs will charge you CUC$4.50 for every transaction & the maximum amount you can withdraw is usually CUC$150.

Cuban Money FAQ

Don't forget to enter in your text.

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Cuba on a Budget Cadeca Money Exchange
Change your CUC to pesos at any local money changer, called Cadecas

#5. Tipping

If you’re travelling Cuba as a backpacker, there are only a few occasions where you might like to tip:

  • Restaurants – 10-15%
  • Buskers or musicians in restaurants, streets or plazas – loose change
  • Taxis – 10%

In some museums or government buildings, a member of staff may offer to show you around – they expect a tip of CUC$1.

Havana tour options:

Busker in Old Havana
I thought this was a statue! He deserves a tip!

#6. WiFi

You can access the Internet in Cuba by buying a prepaid scratch card with a PIN code.

Wifi cards are available at government-run ETECSA stores. They cost CUC$2 per hour & you can purchase them in different denominations (eg. CUC$10 for 5 hours).

You don’t need to use the whole amount of time in one session or in one location. Any remaining time can be used throughout Cuba, within 30 days from first use.

You can also buy wifi cards from hotels which have wifi access or from touts on the street (for a premium) – you’ll often have locals whispering “wifi, wifi” in your ears as you walk pass, like it’s some kind of contraband!

There’s a 99% chance that any large group of people – locals & gringos – gathered in 1 place is going to be wifi hotspot.

Backpacking Cuba wifi internet
I think there’s WiFi here!

#7. Laundry

There are no laundromats in Cuba – Casa particulares (or hotels) are the only places in Cuba that provide laundry service. Luckily you can definitely afford it if you’re travelling cheap in Cuba!

Casas are very relaxed with prices – one place suggested CUC$2-3 depending on the pile of clothes, another casa insisted that we pay what we felt like (she was happy with CUC$3 for a big load of clothes, including a couple of pieces that were hand-washed separately).

Backpacking Cuba laundry Havana
Cases can do laundry for you, the locals do it themselves

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Cuba travel guide
From transport & casa particulares to food & money, our Cuba Budget Travel Guide gets straight to the essentials you need to know before you go. Find out what you need to know about transport, accommodation, food, money (dual currency system), tipping, wifi & laundry in Cuba. Once you get your head around the money, Cuba is super-easy & interesting to travel!

*** The Final Word – Once you get your head around the money, it is super-easy & interesting to travel Cuba on a budget! ***

Did we leave anything out that you’d like to know?

3 Shovels

Accessible DIY travel to more distant locations via multiple connections or longer forms of public transport

* This post contains affiliate links, which means that we receive a small commission if you click on a link & purchase something that we have recommended, at no extra cost to you. 

Visited in May-June 2016

Comments

  1. I went to Cuba two years ago and loved it. Wished I had seen your post beforehand though as you had some great tips.

  2. Very informative – Cuba looks like a very interesting country definitely on my list!

  3. Cuba has long been on my mind. After seeing your blog I feel like flying there right away. I hope I get to smoke a Cuban cigar in Cuba someday, haha.

    1. Author

      Thanks Abhinav! You can also visit cigar factories & taste all the top brands – we stuck to the local cigars you can buy on the street for 1 peso, that’s 4 cents!

  4. Thanks for such a comprehensive guide!!…
    It makes my planning process very easy

  5. Great site. Will read all of it (and print some). Going to Cuba for a month in January and I dive. The prices you listed seem quite good to me. I’m not into live aboard, too expensive. And I love to travel on a budget…Don’t know why but it’s always much more fun and better to truly experience a place and its people.
    Thanks!
    Anne

    1. Author

      You’re welcome Anne, thanks for your comments.

      The cheapest diving in Cuba is in Playa Larga ($25 a dive) – see our post http://diytravelhq.com//playa-larga-bay-of-pigs.

      At Playa Santa Lucia there’s one dive shop charging $40 – http://diytravelhq.com//playa-santa-lucia-unloved-beach-resort.

      We also found diving offered at Guardalavaca & Varadero. It might be a challenge to get to some of the other isolated beach spots by camion (truck) but you should always be able to find cheap peso food if there are local people living there too and not just resorts.

      Let me know if you have any questions, happy to help! 🙂

  6. This is a very detailed and very useful information that you have provided. The information about the Casa’s is specially interesting to us as we were not really aware of this kind of accomodation option.

    1. Author

      Thanks Vyjay, cases are like home stays where you rent a room in a family home – they’re the main choice for accommodation in Cuba & always excellent value! 🙂

  7. Great and useful tips. Cuba is somewhere we want to visit in the near future. I am keeping this as a handy guide. Thanks for sharing 🙂

  8. We had no idea that there were so many affordable options in Cuba. Thanks for the information. Hopefully we’ll get to go see for ourselves before long!

  9. I’ve been wondering what the logistics of traveling in Cuba would be like. This is great information! Thanks for sharing.

    1. Author

      Hi Tracie, Cuba was a lot simpler to travel in than I thought it would be too so I hope this helps people understand the basics – thanks for your feedback 🙂

  10. If I’m at a resort in Cuba and tip my maid 1 cuc, what is that 1 cuc worth to her?

    I was in a store and saw a Tetris pack of milk. It showed 1 cuc or 25.00 cup. It showed both prices.

    Some of the resort people said they make 40 per month. Is that cuc or cup

    Is my 5 cup tip, really that valuable to a Cuban ?

    I really do not understand

    1. Author

      1 CUC is equivalent to $1, which is equal to 25 CUP. You generally would never tip in CUP as it doesn’t equate to much for Cubans. That being said, they could still buy 25 glasses of soda, 5 pizzas, 12 egg sandwiches, or 4 draft beers at the right places. You can do the same if you know where to look as well.

      Cuba does not have a tipping culture so although 5 CUC would mean a lot to an individual, we don’t believe in propagating this custom. It exaggerates class differences between those in the tourist industry & normal Cubans. It also prioritizes foreigners & locals may expect handouts in the future. The etiquette at a resort may be different though since the staff have already come to expect certain protocols.

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