If you go to Cuba, plan ahead. Our trip was a last minute, we’ve always talked about going, what else are we going to do next week, oh, what the heck let’s do it, type of trip.
We had two days to plan and no prior knowledge other than Mrs. Rodriquez’s personal slide show in Mr. Reese’s fifth grade classroom and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. We spoke with our travel consultant, looked up information on line, and pre-booked two experiences two days before we left.
The two hour car tour in a 1959 Chevy Impala gave us a good taste of Havana. We met a couple while boarding the ship and they became our car buddies when we showed up for the driving tour. The fee for the tour was $98.00 each.
The eight cars traveled as a caravan. The drivers used an elaborate system of honking horns to relay information to each other. We stopped at the Revolution Plaza and the National Hotel. English speaking tour guides spoke at each of the locations to provide information about the history of the area or monument. They gave us time to take pictures and walk around. Our traveling companions wanted their pictures taken sitting in our convertible. A man approached them, took their phone and shot several pictures of the couple from a variety of angles. He took about three minutes to take his pictures and then asked for $40.00 ($20.00 each) for his services. Four dollars later they walked over to Ruth and I to share their experience. (Nothing is free in Cuba.)
At the National Hotel, we all received a Mob mojito made with two types of dark rum. The hotel once featured a casino that hosted hundreds of famous visitors from throughout the world. The visitors’ likenesses are displayed on hand painted murals throughout the bar area.
Our travel agent helped us book this tour before we left. The same tour booked through the cruise line, and running an hour longer, would have cost $339.00 each. The extra stop that this tour made was a cigar store. We managed to buy a box on our own. (And I don’t smoke.)
I spoke to a fellow traveler the following day about his time in Havana. He took a similar two hour driving tour in a convertible, followed by a one hour walking tour, and ended his day with a three hour tour in an air-conditioned car. His wife booked the six hour tour through an on-line Havana based tour operator for $115.00 each several weeks in advance. (They got a deal.)
Ruth and I walked several blocks throughout the port area of Havana on our own. We saw local shops, visited an art studio where Ruth bought a small sculptured piece, and listened to a local man serenade Ruth on his guitar. We also saw two physical education classes playing relay type games in one of the many squares. The thing that stuck out for me was the absence of any tacky tourist type trinket stores. They simply didn’t exist.
What we did see was local tour guides offering their services. We were approached by several. One man offered a three hour walking tour for $20.00 each. A man with a horse and buggy offered a similar riding tour for $30.00 each and several independent convertible car operators offered their services with all sorts of options. If I had it to do over again, I believe I would have opted for the horse and buggy man.
Our ship stayed in port throughout the night. Ruth and I enjoyed dinner and a show at 
the famed Tropicana. Our Florida tour operator booked it for $119.00 each. The same show, without dinner, cost $199.00 per person on the cruise ship. If we would have driven to the venue and booked on our own, we would have paid $99.00 for dinner and the show. The cruise ship provided a bus ride as a part of their package. We booked a ride on our own.
Negotiating a cab ride was an experience. The morning of our arrival I asked a man in a convertible how much a ride to the Tropicana would cost that evening. “A hundred dollars round trip.” I knew that it was an eleven mile drive along the coast to the far side of town.
While we were on our driving tour I asked our guide the same question. “Everything is negotiable in Cuba, but you shouldn’t have to pay more than $30.00 to $35.00 each way.”
As we exited the port that evening a driver in a convertible was sitting out front. “How much for a ride to the Tropicana?”
“$40.00 each way.”
A more traditional cab was sitting right behind the convertible. I walked up to the driver and asked the same question.
“$32.00”
“That’s more than him!” as I pointed to the convertible. (Negotiators sometimes lie.)
“Ok, $25.00. ”
We climbed into the Datsun and took our twenty-minute ride to the Trop. After we arrived he agreed to return at 11:30 for the same fee. He spoke very little English but told us that we should ask for “Junior” when we exited. Sure enough, “Junior” and about fifty other such drivers were waiting for us when the show was over.
If you go, our government requires that you be a part of a “people to people” cultural exchange. You must sign an affidavit declaring why you are entering the country, pay for a visa, and keep all records for your trip for a minimum of five years.
Some final fun facts.
1 in every 4 cars in Cuba predates the Cuban Revolution! Passenger vehicles considered rare in other parts of the world are relatively common in Cuba.
Cuba has a self-reported literacy rate of 99.8%, one of the highest in the world.
A majority of Cubans practice some form of Santeria, a geographically unique religion that blends African beliefs with catholic saints.
Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean.
In 2000 Fidel Castro erected a statue in a Havana park of The Beatles’ John Lennon! He admired Lennon for his contributions in revolutionizing music. (Turns out that Fidel and I had similar musical tastes.)