Latin America & Caribbean · Arrival Guide
Just Landed in Cuba? Your First 7 Days
Settling in Cuba means adapting to a cash-heavy, multi-track economy where the official Cuban Peso, a much stronger informal exchange rate and the dollar-linked MLC card system all coexist uneasily. Expect chronic shortages of medicine, fuel and consumer staples, frequent power cuts, and slow, expensive internet. Bring hard cash (euros or US dollars), lower your expectations on convenience, and build a network of local contacts fast, because most things here run on personal relationships and word of mouth rather than official systems or apps.
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Havana
Cuban Peso (CUP)
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Getting your bearings in Cuba
Arriving in Cuba is unlike landing almost anywhere else in the region, and your first weeks will feel like learning a parallel set of rules. Nothing works the way the guidebooks or booking sites imply: the peso you withdraw at the bank buys a fraction of what the same euros buy on the street, half the shelves in the state shops are empty, and the power goes off for hours at a time in most provinces. Newcomers who arrive expecting a functioning consumer economy get frustrated; those who arrive treating it as a place run on improvisation, patience and personal favours settle in far faster. Your most valuable asset in the first month is not money but a small circle of trusted Cubans who can tell you the real exchange rate today, where the cooking oil turned up, and which taxi driver is honest.
Most foreigners base themselves in Havana, and specifically in the older, walkable municipalities of Habana Vieja, Centro Habana and Vedado, where casas particulares (licensed private guesthouses), private restaurants (paladares) and informal services cluster. Beyond the capital, Santiago de Cuba in the far east is the country's proud second city with a distinct Caribbean and Afro-Cuban character; Santa Clara is a younger, more bohemian university town; Trinidad, Cienfuegos and Camaguey draw those who want colonial charm at a slower pace; and Varadero is a resort strip that few long-term residents actually choose. Whichever region you pick, distances and fuel shortages make moving around slow.
The language reality is blunt: outside hotels, airports and the tourism trade, very little English is spoken, and Cuban Spanish is fast, clipped and full of local slang that drops consonants. You will get much further with even basic functional Spanish, and locals warm to anyone who tries. The pace is unhurried to the point of testing Northern-European nerves; queues (colas) are a social institution with their own etiquette of asking who is last (el ultimo). What surprises people most is the contrast between material scarcity and social richness: strangers help, neighbours share, music is everywhere, and streets stay lively late. Come prepared for the shortages, and the warmth is a genuine and welcome shock.
Your first 48 hours
The essentials to sort out the moment you land in Cuba.
- 1
Bring and guard your cash
Cards issued by US banks do not work anywhere in Cuba because of the embargo, and even European or other non-US cards are routinely rejected by ATMs and shops. Arrive with enough euros or US dollars in cash to cover several weeks, and split the money across your luggage, a money belt and a hidden reserve. There is no reliable card fallback if your cash runs low.
- 2
Buy an ETECSA (Cubacel) tourist SIM at the airport
ETECSA is the state telecom monopoly and the only mobile operator, so there is no shopping around. At the Jose Marti airport ETECSA kiosk you can buy a tarjeta turistica prepaid SIM or top up a Cubacel line, which gives you calls, some data and the ability to load bundles later. Keep your passport handy, as registration is required to activate a line.
- 3
Agree your ride into the city in cash and currency first
There is no Uber and no metered taxi at the airport. Official yellow Cubataxi cars to central Havana cost roughly 25 to 30 USD equivalent, and drivers will quote in dollars, euros or pesos to their advantage. Confirm the exact price and the currency out loud before you get in, and have small notes ready so you are not stuck waiting for change.
- 4
Confirm exactly where you are registered to stay
If you booked a casa particular (licensed guesthouse) or a hotel, the owner logs your passport details with immigration as a legal obligation. If you are renting privately from the first night, the property owner must report you instead. Keep your passport, your entry stamp and your host's paperwork together, because you may be asked to prove your registered address.
- 5
Change a first batch of money through a trusted channel
The official CADECA and bank rate is far weaker than the informal street rate, sometimes by two or three times, so changing at a bank quietly loses you money. Do not change with strangers who approach you in the street. Instead ask your casa host or a vetted contact to arrange a fair exchange, and change only what you need for the first few days until you understand the going rate.
- 6
Stock up on water, torches and a power bank immediately
Power cuts (apagones) are a daily fact of life across the country, sometimes lasting several hours, and they knock out water pumps, lights and phone charging. On day one buy bottled or filtered water, candles, a torch and a large power bank, and keep your devices topped up whenever the power is on. Treat electricity and running water as things that come and go, not as constants.
- 7
Save key contacts and offline maps before you lose signal
Download maps.me or offline Google Maps for your city while you have data, because connectivity drops out constantly and street signage is patchy. Save your host, a trusted taxi driver and your accommodation address in WhatsApp, which is how almost everything gets arranged locally. Screenshot your address in Spanish so you can show it to a driver who does not speak English.
- 8
Locate the nearest pharmacy, clinic and CADECA
In your first day or two, walk your neighbourhood and note where the nearest international clinic or Servimed point, a pharmacy and a currency exchange are. Medicine shortages are severe, so identify which pharmacies actually have stock and start a small personal supply of any essentials. Knowing these locations before you need them saves real stress during a power cut or a minor illness.
Your first week checklist
- Confirm your immigration registration is done: verify your casa host or hotel has logged your details, or if renting privately, that the owner has reported your address to the local immigration office.
- Get your ETECSA SIM fully working with a data bundle loaded, and set up Transfermovil for future top-ups and paying state bills.
- Exchange a working amount of euros or dollars into Cuban Pesos through a trusted contact, and note the current informal rate so you can spot when you are being overcharged.
- Buy a domestic supply kit: bottled water, a power bank, torch, candles and any daily medicines you rely on, since all of these run short without warning.
- Find and introduce yourself to at least one honest taxi driver and one reliable local contact who can advise on prices, shortages and where goods have appeared.
- Scout your neighbourhood on foot to locate the nearest paladar, agromercado (produce market), pharmacy, clinic and CADECA exchange.
- If you plan a longer stay, start the paperwork to formalise your visa or residence status at the Direccion de Inmigracion y Extranjeria before your entry permit runs down.
- Download and test the local essentials: WhatsApp, Revolico for classifieds, an offline map, and a currency app so you always know the day's peso rate.
- Confirm your health insurance is valid in Cuba and note where the nearest Cira Garcia or Servimed clinic is, since proof of cover is legally required and self-pay is expensive.
Getting connected
ETECSA is the state monopoly and the only provider, so there is no competition on price or quality. Mobile data works in most cities but is slow and often congested, home internet (Nauta Hogar) is limited and unreliable, and everything is undercut by frequent power cuts that take cell towers and routers offline. Public and hotel Wi-Fi hotspots via Nauta cards are common but throttled and sometimes monitored.
Typical cost: A prepaid mobile data bundle runs roughly 300 to 3,000 CUP for a few gigabytes depending on ETECSA's shifting tariffs, and a Nauta Wi-Fi hour card is around 25 CUP. ETECSA changes its tariffs and bundle sizes frequently, and dollar-priced top-up options exist for those sending credit from abroad.
Money & banking
Cuba runs on cash and on parallel currencies. The Cuban Peso (CUP) is the everyday money, but a strong informal market means the street value of euros and dollars far exceeds the official CADECA and bank rate, sometimes by a factor of two or three. On top of this sits MLC, a dollar-linked card balance used in certain state shops to buy imported goods that pesos alone cannot reach.
Opening an account: Foreigners with a residence permit can open a CUP account at Banco Metropolitano, BANDEC or Banco Popular de Ahorro, but expect long queues, heavy paperwork and limited usefulness. Most residents, local and foreign, simply rely on physical cash, and card acceptance is minimal outside a few hotels and state stores.
Cash: Almost everything is cash-only in physical pesos, and change is frequently unavailable, so vendors will round against you or ask you to buy something extra. Carry a thick stack of small denominations, never assume an ATM will work or hold notes, and keep your hard currency separate from your daily peso spending money.
Tipping: Tipping is genuinely important given how low state wages are. Leave around 10 percent in private restaurants, and tip casa staff, drivers, musicians and helpful people a few hundred pesos or a dollar; small hard-currency tips are especially valued.
Registration & residency
Foreigners must be accounted for at their address through the immigration system, and this happens quickly on arrival. Casa particular owners and hotels are legally required to report every foreign guest to the local immigration authority shortly after check-in, using your passport, so this is usually handled for you. If you rent privately, the property owner is legally responsible for reporting your presence, and resident foreigners must additionally enrol in the Foreigners and Immigration Registry within ten calendar days of entering the country. Always carry your passport, since foreigners are required to have identity documents on them at all times.
Deadline: Your host reports you shortly after check-in; resident foreigners must register with the Foreigners and Immigration Registry within 10 days of entry
Where: Handled by your accommodation host, or in person at the local immigration office (Direccion de Inmigracion y Extranjeria)
Documents to keep handy:
- Passport valid for the duration of your stay, plus several photocopies and a phone photo kept separately in case the original is lost or held for registration.
- Your Cuban visa or tourist card (tarjeta del turista) and, for longer stays, any residence or work permit paperwork from the Direccion de Inmigracion y Extranjeria.
- Proof of valid travel or health insurance that covers you in Cuba, which is a legal entry requirement and is sometimes checked on arrival.
- Printed confirmation of your first accommodation and its full address in Spanish, needed for the D'Viajeros arrival form and for immigration registration.
- Your D'Viajeros online form QR code or reference, completed within 72 hours before arrival, covering customs and health declarations.
- Enough euros or US dollars in cash, plus a written note of emergency contacts and your embassy details, since you cannot rely on your phone during outages.
Getting around
There are no ride-hailing apps like Uber, and transport is a patchwork of shared collective taxis (almendrones running fixed routes), private taxis, bicitaxis, horse carts in some towns, and crowded, unreliable state buses. Fuel shortages regularly paralyse everything, so plan far more time than distances suggest and always have a plan B. Intercity travel is dominated by the Viazul bus network and shared long-distance taxis arranged informally.
From the airport: From Jose Marti International Airport (HAV), take an official yellow Cubataxi to central Havana for roughly 25 to 30 USD equivalent, agreed in cash and currency before departure. There is no train, metro or airport bus link, and pre-arranging a driver through your casa host is often cheaper and less stressful than negotiating at the rank.
Finding a home
Long-term rentals are found mainly by word of mouth, through casa particular owners, and on informal marketplaces like Revolico and Facebook groups; formal agencies barely exist. Foreigners typically rent a room or a whole flat directly from private owners, negotiate the terms verbally, and pay in hard currency. Contracts are informal and legal protections are thin, so a trusted introduction matters more than any paperwork.
Typical rent: A modest long-term flat in Havana runs from roughly 200 to 500 USD per month, less in the provinces, while a casa particular booked monthly costs more but bundles in utilities, cleaning and far less hassle. Prices are effectively set in dollars or euros even when quoted in pesos.
Deposit norm: Usually one month's rent as a deposit, negotiated informally and paid in cash, often in euros or US dollars, with little formal documentation. Agree exactly what utilities and services are included before you hand anything over, since power and water reliability vary hugely by building.
Healthcare
Cuba has a universal state health system with a strong reputation for primary care, but foreigners are treated through the separate, fee-charging Servimed and Cira Garcia network rather than the ordinary polyclinics. Chronic shortages of medicines, equipment and supplies mean you should bring your own stock of any essential drugs, and serious cases may require medical evacuation off the island.
How to access it: For non-emergencies in Havana, go to the Clinica Central Cira Garcia in Miramar or a Servimed international clinic, which are set up to serve foreigners for a fee. Pay in hard currency, keep every receipt for your insurer, and expect to source some medicines yourself given pharmacy shortages.
Insurance: Proof of medical insurance valid in Cuba is a legal condition of entry and can be checked on arrival, so travel with documentation. Buy comprehensive cover that explicitly includes medical evacuation and repatriation before you travel, because in-country treatment options for anything serious are limited.
Culture & etiquette
- Greet people warmly with a handshake or a kiss on the cheek; Cubans are sociable and informal, and personal rapport opens doors that paperwork cannot.
- Be patient and good-humoured about queues, shortages and delays, and when you join a queue ask who is last (el ultimo) rather than pushing in.
- Learn functional Spanish quickly, because English is not widely spoken outside tourism, and even a little effort earns real warmth.
- Share and reciprocate: bringing small gifts or hard-to-find items such as medicines, toiletries or coffee for hosts and neighbours builds lasting goodwill.
- Dress with a bit of care and greet shopkeepers and officials politely; brusqueness reads as rudeness and slows everything down.
- Accept invitations to eat, dance or listen to music; social life is the real currency here, and turning down hospitality can seem cold.
- Be discreet and generous with your relative wealth rather than flashing cash or complaining about prices in front of people earning state wages.
Things to watch out for
- Avoid public criticism of the government or political debate with people you do not know well, since it can create real problems for locals and complicate your own stay.
- Do not photograph police, soldiers, military sites, ports or airports.
- Expect daily power cuts (apagones) and keep water, candles, a torch and a charged power bank ready at all times.
- Do not assume shops, ATMs or online services will work; plan around scarcity rather than convenience.
- Be careful discussing where you keep money or valuables, and keep a low profile about hard currency.
Apps to download before you land
Transfermovil
Official ETECSA and state app for mobile top-ups, paying utility and state bills, and limited digital payments
La Nave
Cuban ETECSA super-app for messaging, top-ups and various local services
maps.me
Offline maps that work without a data connection, essential given slow and patchy connectivity
Revolico
Cuba's main online classifieds marketplace for housing, goods, vehicles and services
The default way almost everyone communicates and arranges taxis, rentals, deliveries and services
EnZona
State digital-payments and QR app used in some shops and for official transactions
Viazul
Booking intercity coaches between Cuban cities, the main formal long-distance option
Where newcomers live
Most newcomers to Cuba settle in Havana, choosing between the tourist-heavy colonial core, calmer leafy districts, or cheaper outer municipalities. A minority base themselves in provincial cities such as Santiago de Cuba, Santa Clara or Trinidad for lower costs and a slower rhythm. Rentals are found by word of mouth and through casa particular owners rather than agencies, so where you land often depends on which host or contact you meet first.
Habana Vieja (Old Havana)
The UNESCO-listed colonial heart, packed with restored plazas, paladares and casas particulares. Atmospheric and central but touristy, noisy and prone to crumbling buildings and water issues. Good for a first landing, less so for peace and quiet.
Vedado
Havana's mid-century, tree-lined district of grand old mansions, the Malecon seafront, universities and nightlife. More residential and spacious than the old town, popular with longer-term foreigners, and home to many rentals, clinics and services.
Centro Habana
The dense, gritty, workaday neighbourhood between Old Havana and Vedado. Cheaper, intensely local and full of life, but run-down with frequent utility problems. Suits those wanting an authentic, low-cost base close to everything.
Miramar (Playa)
Leafy western district with embassies, larger houses, some international shops and better infrastructure. Quieter, greener and more expensive, favoured by diplomats and better-off residents but further from the historic centre and its energy.
Santiago de Cuba
The proud eastern second city with a strong Afro-Cuban and Caribbean character, hills, heat and a legendary music scene. Cheaper than Havana and intensely warm socially, though services are thinner and summers punishing.
Santa Clara
A central university town with a younger, more open and bohemian feel, lower costs and a relaxed pace. Well placed for travelling around the island, with a small but lively arts and nightlife scene.
What things cost
Costs in Cuba are genuinely hard to state because prices split between weak-peso state rates, the strong informal market and hard-currency pricing for foreigners. Long-term rents and imported goods are effectively priced in dollars or euros, while local produce and state services are cheap in pesos when available. The figures below mix pesos and hard currency to reflect how a newcomer actually pays, and everything shifts with inflation and shortages.
Staying safe & avoiding scams
Cuba is comparatively safe for violent crime, but newcomers face real risks from petty theft, scams and a threadbare emergency system. Pickpocketing and bag-snatching happen in crowded parts of Habana Vieja, Centro Habana and along the Malecon, so keep phones and cash out of sight and avoid quiet, unlit streets at night. Most trouble is money-related: street money-changers who short-count, jinetero touts steering you to commission-paying bars, and drivers or vendors juggling currencies to overcharge, so agree prices and count change yourself. Power cuts routinely kill street lighting and traffic signals, making walking and driving after dark riskier. Dial 106 for police, 104 for an ambulance and 105 for fire, but response is slow, so for anything serious call your international clinic and insurer and keep your embassy contact written down offline.
Newcomers are common targets. Know these before you arrive — and read our guide to avoiding immigration scams.
Dual-currency and change confusion
Vendors and taxi drivers may quote in dollars, euros, CUP or even the long-defunct CUC to confuse you, or claim they have no change to keep the difference. Learn the current informal street rate before you spend, always confirm the currency and the exact amount before handing money over, and carry small notes so you never depend on a stranger's change.
Street money-changers and short-counting
People offering an unbeatable exchange rate on the street will often short-count, palm notes as they count, or hand over worthless old CUC or counterfeit bills. The loss can be large and there is no recourse. Only change money through your casa host or a trusted personal contact, count everything yourself, and never follow anyone to a quieter spot to complete a deal.
Friendly jinetero touts
Overly helpful strangers (jineteros) latch onto newcomers near tourist sites, offering to show you the best paladar, casa, cigars or club, all of which quietly pay them a commission that lands on your bill. They can be charming and persistent. Politely and firmly decline unsolicited guides, and arrange restaurants, rentals and outings through your own vetted contacts instead.
Fake cigars and inflated tourist pricing
Street sellers pushing boxes of premium cigars at bargain prices are almost always selling fakes, and some restaurants and drivers keep a separate inflated price for foreigners. Buy cigars only from official state shops with receipts, check bills line by line, and agree prices in advance so you are not presented with a surprise total.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use my foreign bank card in Cuba?
Cards issued by US banks never work because of the embargo, and even European or other non-US cards are frequently rejected by ATMs and shops. Assume your cards will fail and bring enough euros or US dollars in cash to live on. There is no reliable card or ATM fallback if you run short.
Which currency should I bring, and how do I change it?
Bring euros or US dollars in cash, ideally in a mix of denominations. You will exchange some into Cuban Pesos at the strong informal rate through a trusted host or contact, not at the bank, where the official rate is much weaker. Keep hard currency aside for private rent, imported goods and larger payments.
Is the internet good enough to work remotely?
Connectivity is slow, expensive and unreliable, with frequent outages made worse by daily power cuts that take towers and routers offline. Video calls and heavy uploads often fail. Treat Cuba as unsuitable for time-critical remote work unless you have a serious backup plan, a power bank and flexible deadlines.
Do I need to register my address with the authorities?
Yes. Your accommodation must report your stay to immigration shortly after you check in, and casas particulares and hotels do this automatically using your passport. If you rent privately, the owner is legally responsible for reporting you, and resident foreigners must also enrol in the Foreigners and Immigration Registry within ten days of arrival.
What are the emergency numbers in Cuba?
Dial 106 for police, 104 for an ambulance and 105 for the fire service. These can be dialled free from any fixed or mobile phone. Response times and resources can be limited, especially outside Havana, so for anything serious contact your international clinic and insurer as well.
How bad are the power cuts, really?
Power cuts (apagones) are a routine part of daily life across most of the country and can last several hours at a time, sometimes on a rolling schedule. They knock out lights, water pumps, fridges and phone charging. Keep water stored, a power bank charged and candles or a torch to hand, and top up devices whenever the power is on.
Can I drink the tap water?
No, tap water is not considered safe to drink and supply is intermittent, partly because pumps rely on electricity. Drink bottled or properly filtered and boiled water, keep a stored reserve for outages, and be cautious with ice and raw salads from places you do not trust.
How do I get around without ride-hailing apps?
There is no Uber. You will use shared collective taxis (almendrones) on fixed routes, private taxis negotiated in advance, bicitaxis for short hops, and crowded state buses. Most people arrange a trusted private driver via WhatsApp for anything important, and Viazul coaches cover intercity travel when fuel supplies allow.
Will I struggle without Spanish?
Yes, outside hotels and the tourism trade very little English is spoken, and Cuban Spanish is fast and full of dropped consonants and slang. Even basic functional Spanish transforms daily life and earns genuine warmth from locals. Prioritise learning numbers, directions, food and money vocabulary in your first weeks.
What should I bring that is hard to find in Cuba?
Bring a personal supply of any medicines you rely on, plus painkillers, antibiotics if your doctor allows, toiletries, sanitary products, sunscreen, a good power bank and a torch. These are chronically short or unavailable, and small quantities also make thoughtful gifts that quickly build goodwill with hosts and neighbours.
Planning the move, not just the landing?
This guide covers your first days on the ground. If you’re still weighing visas and pathways to Cuba, start with a free eligibility assessment.
