Other Areas

[Lenin]

I arrived in Holguin and took a taxi to the center which cost me 20 CUC and I had no luck negotiating.
...
I explored Holguin and its plazas and the only people to approach me were beggars. I gave up and left for Santiago the next day.
...
I spent 2 nights in Santiago. I ended up only seeing 1 girl who seemed to be working and I declined to engage her more than a brief "hola."

What is wrong with you?

[CubanFun]

Hi,

I'm travelling to Trinidad in the beginning of Feb.

1. Is there any daytime action to be found in Trinidad? I'm not travelling alone so nightclubs are on the risky side. I would also rather avoid hardcore pros.

2. I have done the homework and know about befriending bici-taxis, but does it work also in small cities such as Trinidad? I hardly see any other modes of transport than walking in the photos.

3. Recent info about police presence?

Any recommendations and directions are very welcome. Please PM if you have some local Trinidad contacts who could help. My report will follow after the trip, as always.

Forget about Trinidad for action. It is too small of a town in my opinion. I had a great time there, but there is only 1 club and definitely a police presence. Beautiful city and nice people and definitely worth visiting, but not to monger.

And thanks Bart. I saw all of those "what should I do" posts inevitably followed by the "read the forum" post.

[Bart1]

I read the forums quite a bit before deciding to try going to Cuba for 2 weeks, starting in Holguin. First, a little about me, I am fluent in Spanish and am between 30 and 40 and pretty average looking otherwise. I decided on Cuba in part because of the Chicas but also because I have really wanted to visit for a long time (US citizen).

I arrived in Holguin and took a taxi to the center which cost me 20 CUC and I had no luck negotiating. I thought it was a bit high. I had not booked a place to stay (and you really should book at least your first night. Customs was extremely inquisitive and did not like that I had not booked ahead). The taxi driver was in his 20's and mentioned chicas so I asked him if he knew somewhere that was girl friendly and he told me no. He took me to a place that was right around the block from the main square. The taxi driver was pretty unhelpful other than finding a convenient place for me to sleep (25 CUC / night)...

I explored Holguin and its plazas and the only people to approach me were beggars. I gave up and left for Santiago the next day. I think it would be much easier with a guide / fixer.

I spent 2 nights in Santiago. On my 2nd day there I had a semi helpful and friendly bici taxi driver. He told me the best place to meet chicas is to go to Avenida de LosLibertadores. I then screwed up and got that street confused with another. I ended up only seeing 1 girl who seemed to be working and I declined to engage her more than a brief "hola."

My next stop wax Camaguey. There I met a bici taxi driver who did his best to tell me how much I could trust him which obviously had the opposite effect. But he did take me to the best Casa particular of my trip. The owner (a Cuban woman who had lived 20 years in Italy) was very nice but did insist on girls registering. She also vouched for the bici taxi driver. He then took me out and I had a good time chatting with him. He was more than happy to help arrange things. I spotted one girl as we were riding around and he parked in a side alley to avoid the police and had her come over and talk. She was a bit of a toothpick and could easily pass for being from India. We checked her ID as well since she could also pass for being 16. We agreed on 25 CUC for 90 minutes but would have to go to an hourly house (they accepted 10 CUC for 90 min). I think it was on Independencia. She was a lot of fun and willing to register and do an overnight the next evening after this first session. Her uncle is also apparently pretty high up in the police department so she was really not concerned about being with a foreigner. She was an 8 to 9 for my personal tastes.

More to come.

Good to hear camaquey worked out for you, nice to see a story in a first posting, instead of a whole bunch of questions that have been answered in older posts.

[Jalle]

Hi,

I'm travelling to Trinidad in the beginning of Feb.

1. Is there any daytime action to be found in Trinidad? I'm not travelling alone so nightclubs are on the risky side. I would also rather avoid hardcore pros.

2. I have done the homework and know about befriending bici-taxis, but does it work also in small cities such as Trinidad? I hardly see any other modes of transport than walking in the photos.

3. Recent info about police presence?

Any recommendations and directions are very welcome. Please PM if you have some local Trinidad contacts who could help. My report will follow after the trip, as always.

[CubanFun]

For my 2nd day in Camaguey the same bici taxi driver picked me up and showed me around town. He also introduced me to another girl in the early afternoon to see if we wanted to figure something out. She was more of a jinetera in that she was not necessarily looking for a direct cash payment, but to be compensated in some form or another. The bici taxi driver told me she is a good girl who wants to be treated well.

We meet in the afternoon and she is pleasant and cute. 21 years old, fair skinned, petite, dark hair. An 8 for me, the girl other guys might be jealous of, but not a head turner. We agree to meet for drinks in the evening. I spent the afternoon exploring the city on foot, got some dinner, and went home and cleaned up.

My driver picked her up then picked me up. Avoiding being seen with me in the street was an issue. We tried to go to a rooftop bar and it was closed. I walked 50 meters ahead of them. We then went to Copacabana and had a few drinks there and continued chatting. She asked me what I did the night before and I gave a vague answer and omitted the girl from last night. Apparently the girl from night #1 saw me with #2 in the 30 minutes we were chatting in the afternoon outside #2's home and then she told #2 that I was her the night before. She was okay with it but wanted to see how I reacted. Needless to say, Camaguey can feel like a small town.

We chatted a bit longer and then headed back to town. She was not okay with registering so we stopped at the same hourly place as the night before. She didn't mind giving a BBBJ, but she was completely averse to the precum and kept stopping to wipe off my tip. In other words, a really boring / bad BJ. Otherwise, she was decent in bed. More of a GFE.

We finished up and pedaled back to my place, awkwardly avoiding the police. We had never talked about how I was going to compensate her for her time and it was almost 2 am and I was tired. They dropped me off at the door and started to ride off. The taxi driver then came back on her behalf and things got awkward. I gave him a 50 CUC bill to get rid of her since I had no change.

I will probably type up my night 3 disaster this weekend.

[CubanFun]

I read the forums quite a bit before deciding to try going to Cuba for 2 weeks, starting in Holguin. First, a little about me, I am fluent in Spanish and am between 30 and 40 and pretty average looking otherwise. I decided on Cuba in part because of the Chicas but also because I have really wanted to visit for a long time (US citizen).

I arrived in Holguin and took a taxi to the center which cost me 20 CUC and I had no luck negotiating. I thought it was a bit high. I had not booked a place to stay (and you really should book at least your first night. Customs was extremely inquisitive and did not like that I had not booked ahead). The taxi driver was in his 20's and mentioned chicas so I asked him if he knew somewhere that was girl friendly and he told me no. He took me to a place that was right around the block from the main square. The taxi driver was pretty unhelpful other than finding a convenient place for me to sleep (25 CUC / night).

I explored Holguin and its plazas and the only people to approach me were beggars. I gave up and left for Santiago the next day. I think it would be much easier with a guide / fixer.

I spent 2 nights in Santiago. On my 2nd day there I had a semi helpful and friendly bici taxi driver. He told me the best place to meet chicas is to go to Avenida de LosLibertadores. I then screwed up and got that street confused with another. I ended up only seeing 1 girl who seemed to be working and I declined to engage her more than a brief "hola."

My next stop wax Camaguey. There I met a bici taxi driver who did his best to tell me how much I could trust him which obviously had the opposite effect. But he did take me to the best Casa particular of my trip. The owner (a Cuban woman who had lived 20 years in Italy) was very nice but did insist on girls registering. She also vouched for the bici taxi driver. He then took me out and I had a good time chatting with him. He was more than happy to help arrange things. I spotted one girl as we were riding around and he parked in a side alley to avoid the police and had her come over and talk. She was a bit of a toothpick and could easily pass for being from India. We checked her ID as well since she could also pass for being 16. We agreed on 25 CUC for 90 minutes but would have to go to an hourly house (they accepted 10 CUC for 90 min). I think it was on Independencia. She was a lot of fun and willing to register and do an overnight the next evening after this first session. Her uncle is also apparently pretty high up in the police department so she was really not concerned about being with a foreigner. She was an 8 to 9 for my personal tastes.

More to come.

[MadMax9336]

Cold wave kicked in Toronto and getting tempted to board last minute flight to Holguin for this weekend.

As I never stayed / explored Holguin. Want to give it a try.

Any latest info on prices / locations / casas / currency exchanges.

Also any chances for taking or finding chicas into Villa Mirador de Mayabe hotel close to Holguin.

I see this hotel package with Air is cheaper if they allow chica. Instead of renting / searching for non-registered casas.

Hope to provide a good TR this time.

[Kalifornication]

I have been in Santiago and Holguin 3 times for the last two months and never had
problem to find casa without registration for non-pros.
I laughed when read Ozzie's story. You behaved like a bull in a China shop.
Ozzie, you need to live a little bit longer in communist country to understand life there, before Cubans can trust you.

Great name comrade.

[Lenin]

This is my first and last trip to Cuba.
...
I wonder if anybody found a way to bypass registration requirement in small cities like Holguin and how it is done.

I have been in Santiago and Holguin 3 times for the last two months and never had
problem to find casa without registration for non-pros.
I laughed when read Ozzie's story. You behaved like a bull in a China shop.
Ozzie, you need to live a little bit longer in communist country to understand life there, before Cubans can trust you.

[Bart1]

I decided to visit Cuba when I received a promotional email from JetBlue for $99 each way to Holguin. I started to get as much information as possible about Cuba before my trip. My plan was to spend 2 weeks exploring Holguin and Santiago. I used Tagged, Hi5 etc. Extensively to find some contacts before my trip. I had no luck. I was able to find only 1 chica from Santiago and we started to exchange emails. I downloaded Spanish to use offline with google translator and map of Cuba to use with google maps. I used both extensively and they were life savers. It is a must for anybody visiting Cuba. I converted all information related to my flight, Cuba, Holguin and Santiago to PDF files and uploaded to my IPhone including maps of casa particulars I liked. I found out how wise this decision was when I was there. Chica from Santiago told me that I can call her aunt since she does not have a phone when in Santiago and she has a cousin in Holguin and she can meet me at airport and help me to find a casa particular. I remembered discussions about everybody getting a cut and charging a little more in Cuba at this board. I thought it would be very good to have a local guide for first visit and to pay a little extra is a good choice for myself. I went to Fort Lauderdale airport. JetBlue has a separate check-in desk for Cuba flights. I paid $50 for visa. Visa has two parts, one for entrance and one for exit. Flight was pleasant and short, a little over 1 hour. I was first at immigration and it was 1-2 minutes to go through immigration. Airport is very small. I exchanged $300 for 261 CUC. I came out of the airport and cousin, tall, black, average looking chica with her white Spanish looking friend was waiting for me. We went together to a taxi waiting for us and they took me to a casa particular which I did not like at all. Then they wanted to take me to another one. I showed the map of casa particulars I liked to taxi driver. He took me to a casa particular which I liked and decided to stay there. He asked $25 CUC for whole trip. Ladies said they are hungry and they want to go to a restaurant. I said OK and we went to a restaurant around 4-5 PM. We started to eat and talk. They ordered also more food to take home which I did not like. Spanish looking chica gave me her address since she had no phone and told me she would like to go to a club with me. She was petit and almost no boobs, not my type and I was not interested. Cousin told me that she would like to take me to her home to meet her 2 years old son and mother next morning. I told her why she does not come to visit me later, bring her son and sleep over. She agreed. She came later with her son. He fell a sleep late at night and I am ready for action. I took off my clothes and she started immediately go give me a mixture of HJ and BJ. I said no, we need to make love first. She kissed me once and asked if I have a condom. I realized she will finish it right away if I put on the condom. I said no I don't have one. Then she went back to HJ and BJ. I asked again to make love first. She had no interest. Then I let her finish it with BJCIM. I was very disappointed. We woke up in the morning and she tells me that she wants to go a store and buy shoes for her son. I pretended that I did not understand and I will go to Santiago. I wanted to get rid of her ASAP. I went to center of town and walk to all parks. A couple of times pros came to me and offered their services at central park at different times of day, almost every day. I declined since I am not interested in pros. Some average, some below average looking chicas. I go to park around 8 PM to see if I find anything. A driver / hustler comes to me and starts a conversation. His English is very good but I did not want to talk to him much. His name is Freddy. I went to the street where the stores and restaurants are and sat there watching chicas passing by. Freddy came and sat next to me we started to talk. 2 chicas very nicely dressed for a party passed buy, one of them smiled when passing buy. He asked me if I liked the girls and I told him yes and I am looking chicas like them. I saw 2 chicas were coming back and he asked me if I want him to talk to her for me. I said yes and he went to her to talk. Chica said she cannot talk to a tourist there because there are cameras and she doesn't want to be seen with a tourist. She asked us to follow her to park. We follow her to park and sat down and start to talk. I want to get phone numbers but nobody has pen or paper. We decide to go to a bar. Freddy does not have a taxi and we walk. He may want to be a taxi driver, a nice guy. We spend a few hours and drink a few beers. She is very nice, cute and innocent looking. We talk about my vacation and I tell her that she can join me if she wants and we can travel together. She is interested and everything looks great. I am ready to go home. I ask the Freddy how much I should pay her. He says you find out tomorrow you cannot ask this chica like that she is not a puta. Freddy asks me how much I pay for my casa particular. He says he can help me to get a small independent house for 20 CUC when I tell him I pay 25 CUC a day. We decide to walk home. She is asking me if she needs to register to stay with me. I tell Freddy that I don't know what registration means and last night chica gave her ID and there was no problem. I feel great and lucky that I met a very nice girl right away. We come home. I ring the bell. Landlady comes open the door. We talk to her briefly and chica asks if she needs to be registered to stay with me. Landlady explains that everybody visiting me needs to leave her ID with her and to be registered. She does not want to be registered. Suddenly I panic and ask landlady what can we do. She explains government checks everything and every visitor must be registered. The penalty is $100 CUC and possibility of losing license to operate a casa particular if visitor is not registered. Chica says that she cannot stay, under the circumstances and she wants to go back where we met. I have no choice but face the inevitable. I tell her I want to walk her since it is late night. We get a bicitaxi back. I give her a little money and tell her I will call her when I get a room without this problem. She says good and call me tomorrow. Next morning, I call Freddy twice to get the independent casa he mentioned and move there. He does not pick up the phone. Landlady called her friend in Santiago who has a casa particular to inform her that I will be there. I decide to go to Santiago and see the city meet the chica and decide what to do next. I take viazul bus to Santiago and casa owner's son picks me up at bus station. We go to casa particular. Location is not far from city center and I ask landlady to call chica's aunt. She calls and there is no money left in aunt's phone and we cannot talk to her. She sends her a text message to inform that I am in Santiago and the address of where I stay. She shows me the room. A very small room with a tiny bathroom, no windows almost like a jail cell (I am not execurating). I already paid and there is nothing I can do. I say to myself I just come here to sleep then I decide what to do tomorrow. I walk to city center to the historical area. I decide after a few hours seeing all the historical areas to go back to Holguin. There is nothing for me in Santiago, I did not like to city and who knows when chica will get the message after 2 days, weeks or months. Next day I return to Holguin and start to look for an independent room. I ask many casa owners and they all tell me the same thing that every visitor must be registered. I see one casa with a sign completely independent. I talk to owner. I get the key for the apartment, I can leave the apartment anytime but I cannot enter the apartment without her letting me in through main door. She has the key and she cannot give me the key, every visitor must be registered. At this moment I throw the towel. I hate the system, you need the casa owner open the door to go out or come in. There is not much to do during the day in Holguin. I don't care about putas and I decide to cut my trip short and go back home. I cannot waste my precious vacations days here. I take a taxi to airport next morning to return. There is not JetBlue flight on Wednesdays. Another disappointment. I go back to my casa. I go out for a walk afternoon. 2 young chicas come and sit next to me one of them starts to talk. Average body very cute face. I don't have my phone with me and our conversation stalls because of my limited Spanish. I tell her lets go to casa and get my phone. She says OK. We walk together. I notice some people watching and observing us, a young woman with an older tourist!! We sat on a bench at the children park after I get my phone. We chat for a while and I like her. She says she needs to go to bathroom. We go to casa. I ask landlady to explain her registration. She has no problems with registration but she does not have proper ID only some paper. Landlady says the paper she has is not acceptable, it must be proper ID and visitor must be registered. Chica says that she has only paper which is not acceptable. So another disappointment and I threw the towel again! Next day I go to airport and change my flight. It costs 25 CUC and they don't accept cash. American credit cards do not work. I have one European credit card and we try and it does not work. I tell him that I must return today. He calls his supervisor and he is told to accept cash. What a relief.

This is my first and last trip to Cuba. People is nice and friendly, town is very safe. I did not see any police anywhere. Stores have almost nothing, not much choice for anything, reasonable food only in good restaurants. Registration requirement is horrible and makes it impossible to get none pros. There is free Wi=Fi in parks but one needs local sim card which is $40. I don't know if Wi-Fi is completely open. I was told that you cannot visit USA websites. I did not get sim card because of chicas who have cell phones do not have money left in their phones, nobody picks up the phone any way. Taxi airport to Holguin is 10 CUC, 3-5 CUC within city. Viazul bus to Santiago 11 CUC. Casa particulars 20-30 CUC. I would strongly recommend not to make a reservation more than 1 night to see it first. Some of them really have nothing but a bed to sleep. One needs to see to understand.

I wonder if anybody found a way to bypass registration requirement in small cities like Holguin and how it is done.

As someone wrote a long time ago on this site. Nothing is easy in Cuba. I was in holguin this past April for the first time after visiting Cuba thepast 10 years, mostly in la habana, luckily I found a casa on my 2nd night that did not write down the chicas named that spent 8 nights with me, he only asked to see her carnet. The first night she spent with we came in late and he did not see her enter, the next morning she left at 7 or so to her house, I told him later a chica was returning at 10 am, he smiled and said ya I heard her shoes clicking on the floor this am when she was leaving, I said I will have to buy her rubber sandals, a good guy, I have found the best are run by a man and wife, the ones run by a women only are the problem ones.

[Advantageous]

Headed out in less than a week, and opted to start my trip in Guanabo. It doesn't sound like it'll take too long to get the lay of the land down there, but has anyone been to any of the other eastern beach towns recently? It'd be nice to have some idea of where to go outside of Guanabo and La Habana.

[Mr Gogo]

Hey Ozzie,

I've been going to La Habana since the early 90's so I have been able to pay my dues and find places that are independent. Once an owner gets to know you and realize you won't ruin their place, you'll gain cred with them and they'll trust you afterwards.

I think this works the same way as when you see a provider the 1st time, specially at an MP, they usually won't give away all 3 holes on the 1st visit but keep coming back and new opportunities (holes) open up, pun intended, LOL.

Being a first timer renting a place you'll have to wing it and see how that goes. However if you google "casa particular" there are sites that list their places as being "chica friendly", so do your homework and you'll be able to find something that suits you..

Exactamente amigo. Ozzie wanted what he wanted even though it wasn't realistic but he was a nice guy so I didn't reply. Their are independent casas but you usually get those after you have put in time and walked the ladder, making connections. Ozzie was also focused on non-pros and no putas. Well the putas have the independent casa connections and the friends that don't register hookups. The first girl Ozzie met tried to get him a casa but he didn't like it, maybe she was giving him the hookup with a lenient owner. Ozzie had the right idea to get something wholesome and pure and enjoy the experience but Cuba is on the lookout for foreigners with locals at this moment. Two years ago Ozzies plan might have succeeded. Most of the girls, pro and semi pro have friends that for 15-25 will let you use their room with no questions asked.

[Mondo707]

I am surprised that you can get an independent apartment in Havana. I don't remember how many apartment owners I asked in Holguin but none of them were independent. They were also afraid that they may loose their license to operate a casa particular if they don't register the visitors. The water was close to historical area. I decided to walk to water front but I changed my mind when I saw run down neighborhood and industrial type area around water. I may try Havana when I hopefully retire next year.

Hey Ozzie,

I've been going to La Habana since the early 90's so I have been able to pay my dues and find places that are independent. Once an owner gets to know you and realize you won't ruin their place, you'll gain cred with them and they'll trust you afterwards.

I think this works the same way as when you see a provider the 1st time, specially at an MP, they usually won't give away all 3 holes on the 1st visit but keep coming back and new opportunities (holes) open up, pun intended, LOL.

Being a first timer renting a place you'll have to wing it and see how that goes. However if you google "casa particular" there are sites that list their places as being "chica friendly", so do your homework and you'll be able to find something that suits you.

One thing I won't do is stay at a casa that's is not registered. I stayed once at an independent house in the Miramar area and the owner almost got busted and got me in trouble with la policia. FYI, registered casas show a blue seal over the front door, so if you don't see the seal, go someplace else.

If you are not sure rent for the night only and see if the place works out, then if you need to move and find another place, you can get help from taxi drivers who know the places you are looking for.

Mondo.

[Ozzie1451]

You should not give up on Cuba. I have been to Havana twice and it's exactly what you're looking for. You are able to get independent apartment and it has a malecon a short distance away with plenty of people hanging out and walking up the area. I'm looking at the layout of Santiago. I'm reading that the water is about 30 minutes away from the city center. I don't expect to see any water while I'm there and less we get a car.

I am surprised that you can get an independent apartment in Havana. I don't remember how many apartment owners I asked in Holguin but none of them were independent. They were also afraid that they may loose their license to operate a casa particular if they don't register the visitors. The water was close to historical area. I decided to walk to water front but I changed my mind when I saw run down neighborhood and industrial type area around water. I may try Havana when I hopefully retire next year.

[GrownMan1]

You should not give up on Cuba. I have been to Havana twice and it's exactly what you're looking for. You are able to get independent apartment and it has a malecon a short distance away with plenty of people hanging out and walking up the area. I'm looking at the layout of Santiago. I'm reading that the water is about 30 minutes away from the city center. I don't expect to see any water while I'm there and less we get a car.