New regulations were passed on June 5, 2019 by the Trump Administration that makes it more difficult for people to travel to Cuba. The people-to-people cultural education category has been removed, and group tours have also been deemed illegal. There are still 11 other categories, but you either have to be a fulltime journalist, part of an NGO or religious organization helping people in Cuba, or have a family member in Cuba. 

Travel to Cuba is now very difficult since only a few agencies are authorized under the new regulations passed in June 5, 2019. But we are one of those agencies since we work directly with Cuban nationals. We can get you into Cuba and let you decide what you want to do there.
 
You will travel under our "Support for the Cuban people" regulation. We will provide an "official itinerary" that includes meetings with local Cubans, attending cultural events, and staying at a Cuban family's home, a "casa particular" instead of a hotel. 

In order to obey the new regulations, we will provide evidence of staying at privately owned lodging, eating at privately owned restaurants, shopping in privately owned stores, visiting art galleries and interacting with locals on a meaningful level. 

Contact us to find out more and book your next trip to Cuba.

There are 2 types of currency used in Cuba. The one used by the common people are called pesos. In the city, CUC is more often used, even though  it was originally created to help foreigners change their money. Usually 1 USD = 1 CUC. However, it's better to bring Euros to exchange, because by law, US dollars are charged a 15% tariff. That's why I changed my dollars to Euros before coming to Cuba. But don't make my mistake of changing into too many pesos. I thought I would use a lot more of them, but even in non-tourist areas, CUC is the standard, even at restaurants.
You can't go to a regular bank, and hotel rates suck. So go to a CADECA.

I was walking in old town and saw a girl passing out flyers. However, when I walked over to take one, she pulled away and refused to give me one. It was obvious that it was a flyer for the paladar upstairs, and I was sure it had lower prices. So I had my friend surrepticiously walk over and grab the flyer. As you can see above, these are very cheap prices! However, when the foreigner goes upstairs to the paladar, he receives a nice menu with 4 or 5 times the rate! You see, there are 2 types of menus: one for the Cubans and one for the foreigners. I refuse to eat at the old town paladars for that very reason, and don't let a "friendly stranger" on the street take you to one.

Instead, there are plenty of "corner stores" that sell cheap food, straight to anyone, foreigner or not, same cheap prices. There was a burger joint near Central Park that had these tiny burgers for 50 cents each. I'll take 5 please! Delicious!

I spent the night in Miami and drove early in the morning to the airport. I arrived real early, parked my rental, and walked the really long hallways to the airport terminal. I was directed to Terminal F for XTRA Airways.
 
I checked in my bag, and then I realized I didn’t have to, since my suitcase wasn’t huge, and this isn’t United Airlines with their ridiculous baggage size demands. I should’ve carried it on board with me, because when I arrived in Havana, the baggage claim took forever. Welcome to Havana, where all the lines take forever!
 
It took 30 minutes to go through immigration and I presented my VISA card. After getting my luggage, I had “nothing to declare” and went to the exit. As soon as I came out of the Arrivals area, I went back in to Departures so that I could exchange some money into CUC’s. I brought Euros to change, since the dollar is docked 10%. I changed about 200 Euros and went back out. I ignored all the taxi drivers wanting to take me to the city. I pretended to leave the airport, and then looked for old classic cars dropping people off. On their way out, they would see me with my finger out. I took one unofficial taxi to the city for 15 CUC.
 
When I arrived at my casa particular, I was told it had water problems, so I would be directed to another one, through a friend. My new one would be even closer to the Malecon, with even greater privacy.
 
After paying my rent, I asked if the owner can drop me off at the nearest CADECA so I could exchange some more money. I exchanged all my Euros and also got some Moneda Nacional. Don’t exchange more than 5 CUCs worth for those almost worthless pieces of paper, but they come in handy when getting food from stands and riding in buses or old school communal taxis.
 
I was hungry, so I bought a hot dog for 10 cents. It was so-so, but I was really hungry. I bought a big water bottle for 1 CUC and walked back home. Then I went out to get some drinks. I asked around and got a haircut for 1 CUC. A haircut for a dollar! wow! and he was pretty good too.
 
I noticed that no one is in a rush. For example, the barber would often stop to have conversation with those around him, and my haircut took a full 40 minutes because of that.
 
I went to a restaurant, and I had a good, large meal of Roja Vieja for 4 CUC. Then I took a round yellow taxi to Habana Vieja (old city) to look around the architecture.
 
All over Havana, I see old classic cars. Some of them are restored so it looks brand new, but most of them look like they are rusting away. There is no smog control, so the air is quite polluted. I take the old communal taxis that just cost 10 MN (less than 50 cents). They have a route that I can’t figure out. But it’s better than taking a bus for 5 MN, because I really can’t figure out their routes. But most buses just travel along the Malecon.
 
Everyone is quite friendly and actually wants to talk to foreigners like me. But I see that the police don’t like it when the people talk to foreigners and warn of such behavior. So whenever the police walk by, I just mind my own business and stop talking.
 
My Spanish is really good now, and I could converse with little problem. However, they talk so fast I have to ask them to repeat themselves. I haven’t encountered any jineteras in Havana. Someone told me the police made them rare.