Just got back from Cuba, if you couldn't tell by the cigar.
Which side are you suppose to, put this side in your mouth.
Going to Cuba can be a little complicated, especially if you're going as an American
so I'm going to try to cover for all the questions you might have as far as Visa currency, things
not to do, things not to bring, you are going to go prepared.
Tip number one, Cuba is very very safe but be careful of pick pockets.
People recommended that I get one of those hidden wallet waste pouch things that you
wear under your cloths and I was like.
Pfft.
I don't need that.
I'm just kidding this is just a toy.
I kind of put it off and this happened.
That was not cool, this dude just tried to steal my phone.
A guy grabbed my phone out of my pocket and I had to grab it back from him, it was kind
of, I'll tell you the whole story another time.
We met a guy there that got his wallet stolen from a zippered pocket.
Don't worry, it's very safe, very little violent crime, just keep your guard up.
And maybe get one of those hidden wearable wallets.
Next, try to do as much research as you can before heading over there.
I always travel spur of the moment and traveled without an itinerary so when I got there,
I was glued to these small wifi hot spots with dreadfully slow internet.
I wanted to die.
What to bring, what not to bring.
Walking shoes.
Taxi's are generally easy to track down but we ended up doing a lot of walking.
44.7 miles during the five days we were there.
These definitely did the trick for me there.
Next, make sure you take toiletries.
Medication, contact lens solution, sunblock, all that stuff you might need.
A lot of these things are a lot harder to get there than it is to get here so if you're
planning on going there and just picking everything up at a 711, uhh, no.
A lot of public bathrooms don't have toilet seats or toilet paper so kinda be prepared.
We stayed at a airbnb so that worked really well for us.
We booked it only a few days in advance so we were kind of out of options but it still
worked out.
There's also super fancy hotels if you're a baller, which we definitely are not.
If you're bringing anything out of the ordinary, just double check to make sure it's okay.
You can't bring in things like a toaster, iron, porn.
Sorry guys, you have to leave your playboy magazines at home.
Do they even sell that anymore?
Playboy magazines?
I was this close to bringing my drone, and it's a really good thing I didn't.
First thing that pops up when I look up if I can fly my drone in Cuba is this guy who
gets taken to jail for 13 days trying to get some footage.
It took him like five days before he could even let his family know he's alive.
It's a crazy story, you should go watch his video if you want to be terrified of Cuban
prison.
Electricity while you're there.
I'm super smart and got this adapter which is totally the wrong one so, uh, yeah.
A majority of their outlets are the same as the states so I just plugged everything straight
into the walls, turns out that's actually not the best idea.
Cuba's energy grid is far from stable, there's a lot of spikes and outages so if you're plugging
in expensive electronics, you should probably get a universal travel adapter with a surge
protector.
The surge protectors aren't that expensive online and I read one guy say that his macbook
got shorted while he was there.
I plugged in my laptop the whole time I was there, uh, I guess I got pretty lucky there.
I guess now a lot of the newer places are popping up with 220 volt outlets, most modern
electronics can regulate this power but if you're in doubt, you can get a voltage converter.
As far as language goes, if you're in an area with a lot of tourists like old Havana, you
should have no problem getting around with just english, but outside of there, I noticed
most people don't speak English so if you know a little bit of Spanish, that's great.
You might also want to have an offline translator app on your phone.
Speaking of phone apps while you're there, you should definitely get an offline Cuban
map.
This is the one I used, it's called Cuba and it's free and it was a lifesaver when it came
to navigating around the streets.
You should probably download it right now before you forget because the internet there
is so slow that you probably can't get it there, it'll take forever.
So go ahead and install it right now, I'm going to wait.
I wish I had a watch so I have something to look at.
Now let's talk about some cash money.
No but seriously, bring cash.
American credit cards and debit cards don't work while you're there, so make sure that
you bring plenty to last you the entire trip, plus a little bit extra as a cushion.
We met a guy who lost his wallet and all his cash so he had to go the US embassy to get
some cash.
So just like I did with my Iceland video I tracked every dollar I spent for this entire
trip and I'll make a completely separate video explaining exactly how much I spent on food,
travel, flight, visa, all that stuff so that'll be coming soon.
Their dual currency system sounds really bizarre and confusing at first, but it's really not.
They have CUC and CUP, for the most part, just ignore CUP.
CUC is based off 1 US dollar, 1 CUC, 1 US dollar.
You will only be dealing with CUC, that makes it pretty simple because you know that if
you see something that's 10 CUC, that's basically 10 dollars.
Ok, so this other currency, CUP, what do you need to know about that?
Sometimes if you go to a more local place, you'll see prices listed in CUPs, and at that
point you can ask how much is it in CUC and pay accordingly.
We figured that out on our first night there because we went to this bar in the middle
of nowhere, no one spoke a word of English, and we ordered a couple rum shots, and he
was like this.
So we gave him 10 CUCs, and he gave us 9 back.
We were expecting to spend 10 dollars and it was actually in CUPs so, it only cost 1
dollar for a round of shots.
Okay, so how do you get the currency?
The easiest way is to bring US dollars and bring it over there and get CUC.
The problem with that, is that aside from the exchange rate, you're also paying a 10%
tax to go from US dollars to CUCs.
For example at this one hotel, for every $100 US, you exchange to CUCs, you're going to
lose about $13-14.
One way to minimize that is to convert it to a different currency here in the States.
So we got US dollars and converted them into Euros.
We found a place here that gave us a good exchange rate to Euros, and then we switched
to CUCs, so when it was all said and done, we were losing about 6 dollars per 100 dollars.
Do a little bit of research to find the best exchange rate in the States though, because
if you go to the airport, my friend got a terrible exchange rate over there, and she
ended up paying $20 per $100 converted.
Not the best.
Tipping etiquecy: Yes you should tip there, but the standard is a little bit less than
the States.
At restaurants, it's generally about 10% or 15% for really good service.
Taxis are generally 1-3 CUC, and we gave out 1 CUC tips here and there and they were super
appreciative.
Obviously you're going to need your passport to go, but aside from that you're also going
to need a visa.
So how do you get this visa?
We ordered ours online at CubaTravelServices.com, we got ours within a week of ordering it.
Also turns out you can get it at certain airline terminals for $100, so that might be a little
bit easier for you, just make sure you're terminal has it.
Visas look like this and be very careful when you're filling it out because you have to
fill it out with black ink and if you make a mistake, it's a $100 mistake because you
have to get a whole new one.
As you probably know, you can't go to Cuba as a tourist, you need to go with one of these
twelve reasons to visit.
So when we got to the airport we checked in, and they gave us a form to fill out, where
we mark off our reason for visiting.
This part made us a little bit anxious, I marked off "Journalist" because, you know..
We weren't sure how many questions they were going to ask how deep they are going to look
into it, what kind of credentials we're going to need, so I secretly recorded my entire
verification process, so you guys can prepare for it.
Ready for this?
Here it goes.
Perfect, thank you, just keep moving.
That was it.
That was it, for two seconds.
I wish they would have at least looked at the paper, I put a lot of thought and concern
into this.
But no it was straight up just like "next, next, move, move" Cuban travel medical insurance
is required to enter the country, but it's most likely included in your airfare.
They're going to give you more papers on the plane to fill out, which they don't look at
either.
The only thing they really look at is your visa.
So don't mess that part up.
O before going, I also recommend making a copy of your passport so you can carry it
around with you at all times.
You're going to need to have your passport on you for a few things, like this: The rest
of the time just carry around a copy like this.
We learned that the hard way.
So I don't know where my passport is.
And we're going to keep looking for this passport, and hopefully it pops up.
Yeah so, I thought I had to carry my passport around with me the whole time, which is why
I lost it.
Turns out when I went to the embassy the lady there just said that I only need a copy or
even my driver's license.
Also don't spit or blow your nose in public.
It is considered super rude there.
I actually ended up puking all over the street on my last day there, I don't know what they
consider that.
Luckily no one saw except a 6 year old boy who was watching from a balcony.
Don't take pictures of government officials while you're there and also do not talk negatively
about the government.
At least in public.
They Cubans we met have been all super nice but be careful of the ones that are overly
eager to help you out.
It's like they have a script that they all go by and it's kind of like this: "Hey where
are you guys from?
You guys are great people!
I love people from, (wherever you're from), today is the last day of the cigar festival!
Everything is half off!"
As an experiment we asked these people everyday we were there if there was a cigar festival,
and they were like "Yeah, but today is the last day!"
Every single day is the last day.
"Oh you guys must be hungry, I know the best Cuban restaurant, best food you'll ever eat,
let's go!
Let me walk you to this place that's really good!"
They'll take you there and then the food will be super overpriced.
I'm almost certain that they get a commission out of it, because the guy that walks you
always like shakes the hand of the doorman.
We looked at the menu and it was like 16 CUC per plate.
We went right next door, and it was like $4 a plate.
So, TRUST NO ONE.
Don't drink the tap water there, only the bottled water, and some say avoid the ice,
like even margaritas.
We had a couple ice drinks and it was fine, but it's kind of at your own risk.
I thought the food there was amazing, but some people go there expecting to get a lot
of spicy latin food.
So we were one a plane with a guy who actually brought his own hot sauce.
So if you really like spicy food, I guess that's a pretty good solution.
It's generally a good idea to know how much things should cost before going there, or
else you're going to end up overpaying for somethings.
For example, taxis, if you tell them how much you're willing to pay to go somewhere, you're
going to get a better rate than if you ask them how much things might cost in broken
Spanish.
If you go, "Cuanto ride to Old Havana?"
They're gonna rip you off.
Like I mentioned, I'm gonna make a separate video where I explain exactly how much everything
costs in detail and also a video about all the stuff we did while we were there, if you're
trying to bulk up your itinerary.
Regulations seem to change pretty frequently, so if things change I'll try to keep it updated
in the description box.
If I left anything out, or you guys have something to add, leave it in the comments section below,
I usually pin the most useful comment so that everyone else can see it.
My next video will probably be how much Cuba costs, or...things to do there..uhh..We'll
see, see you guys next week!