Other Areas

[GrownMan1]

Santiago was very noisy and crowded. Main attraction is historical area and there is nothing else to see. There may be bars where live jazz music is common. I thought it is a nice city next to ocean when I looked at the map of Cuba. I like to visit Puerto Plata DR and have a long walk in the morning and late afternoon on the Malecon there. My expectation was the similar environment. But there is nothing, no Malecon or beach. I did not notice any local chica I would have a chance to approach and start a conversation. Maybe center of city is not right place for it. But I decided right away that Santiago is not right place for me. I was disappointed with casa particular, noise, crowd, pollution etc. I wanted to go back to Holguin immediately and get a completely independent apartment. I really liked the first chica I met. Very nice, cute innocent looking chica from campo. I had no idea that it is almost impossible to get an independent apartment. I was almost ready to spend most of my vacation with her travelling together.

I am 65 years old white man from Europe, chica was around 19-21. Almost all chicas are white in Holguin, mostly petite, some good looking blondes. I like Dominican women better, they have better bodies especially good size boobs. Both white and black chicas in Santiago. I believe one may have a better chance in Holguin to find a none or semi pro especially if he can get an independent casa without registering chicas. But there are pros at the park at afternoons and nights.

Thank you for the prompt response. I am really looking forward to giving my prospective on the place.

[Kayne007]

Hi Ozzie,

Thanks for sharing the report, sad to see you first (and last) time was not a good one. You mentioned in your first post you prefer non pros maybe that's why you struggled to find a suitable place to spend with your host?

I would have hated to go through what you did. Surprisingly you say the girls were not pros if that's the case they would have had no qualms registering in a casa if that were the case. The red signal for me was when you invited a chica and her child. With the kid tagging along she would only have the kid on her mind, possibly why service was poor. The number of times I've had a chica mentions its her kid or the birthday the next day after we have been together makes me roll my eyes. But hey they can only try.

Good info on the type of women in the different areas and I see that you have experience on the DR side of things, it seems to me DR is (or was, with a recent crackdown in areas) an easy place depending on where you. Go e. G Puerto P and Sosua if searching for P4P.

I was in the same situation as you my first time and as a non speaker is vital as Free said to have someone show you around. You will be surprised as to what you can miss not being a local there. Yes it may cost you I. E paying your helper for drinks or whatever but they will make your life much easier and wouldn't be expensive unless they are a real cock sucker. I really remember my first time there were paladars (cheap and good food where locals not gringos go) that I would have not gone to had not it been for a helper, same goes for the availability of women and obtaining legal, illegal or love motels to spend with a chica. Not to mention prices I paid for company.

Its also cool that you totally bypassed Havana for mongering but a shame as your only time there you never at least visited for its historical aspect etc as it seems that's of interest to you.

I would say maybe give it another go.

I will be reading your posts for info as you have numerous posts on DR.

If you get the chance maybe give Cuba one more try you just need a helping hand even its for beginner guidance then you can do you own thing once more comfortable / confident.

[Ozzie1451]

What is it about the area of Santiago that you dislike. Did you not see local chica that were approachable? Why didn't you check out the local scenery. And if you don't mind me asking what is your nationality? You said you were older gentleman walking with a very young girl can you perhaps give us the age range. I am traveling there next week going the very same route ie fll JetBlue Holguin Santiago. How did the women look in both places?

Santiago was very noisy and crowded. Main attraction is historical area and there is nothing else to see. There may be bars where live jazz music is common. I thought it is a nice city next to ocean when I looked at the map of Cuba. I like to visit Puerto Plata DR and have a long walk in the morning and late afternoon on the Malecon there. My expectation was the similar environment. But there is nothing, no Malecon or beach. I did not notice any local chica I would have a chance to approach and start a conversation. Maybe center of city is not right place for it. But I decided right away that Santiago is not right place for me. I was disappointed with casa particular, noise, crowd, pollution etc. I wanted to go back to Holguin immediately and get a completely independent apartment. I really liked the first chica I met. Very nice, cute innocent looking chica from campo. I had no idea that it is almost impossible to get an independent apartment. I was almost ready to spend most of my vacation with her travelling together.

I am 65 years old white man from Europe, chica was around 19-21. Almost all chicas are white in Holguin, mostly petite, some good looking blondes. I like Dominican women better, they have better bodies especially good size boobs. Both white and black chicas in Santiago. I believe one may have a better chance in Holguin to find a none or semi pro especially if he can get an independent casa without registering chicas. But there are pros at the park at afternoons and nights.

[Free2]

Sorry to hear your vacation was a disappointment.

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.

That is so damn annoying and I have had that many times. They will order 3 x the amount of food to take home to their family and act surprised at the end of the meal when there is so much leftover and you are paying the bill. I have resorted to hardly ordering anything for myself, knowing that what they are ordering is so much.

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

Just ask. It is helpful to have stayed there before. Cubans have an uncanny memory for faces and names. It is not easy to find casa part's that accept guests without registering them, but it is possible. Sometimes you can find an unofficial casa by asking people. Watch out for getting screwed though. The best bet is to establish friends in different cities over time and by doing that you greatly lesson your chances of getting screwed. You can then stay at their house or a friends casa or they can recommend a casa in which you won't get screwed or have to register the guest because it was requested by a local who is not a tout or pimp.

[GrownMan1]

What is it about the area of Santiago that you dislike. Did you not see local chica that were approachable? Why didn't you check out the local scenery. And if you don't mind me asking what is your nationality? You said you were older gentleman walking with a very young girl can you perhaps give us the age range. I am traveling there next week going the very same route ie fll JetBlue Holguin Santiago. How did the women look in both places?

[BeersTerry]

Girls that hang with gringos and get caught. Like registered in casas twice will get labelled as putas and eligible to be guests of the Cuban government for up to (I think) 5 years. No casa owner is going to take chances on a gringo whom they have never seen before either. Holguin happens to be a police & aduana training center FYI.


Unless you haven't noticed, there appears to be less tolerance for gringo sex tourists running around. There was a crackdown in Sosua, Cuba Dave is rotting in a C.R. prison and there was a crackdown in Medellin.

[Ozzie1451]

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.

[BeersTerry]

Hi Terry,

Thanks for the input. Yes that's what in my opinion is a great holiday. Beers and girls (I'm English) and I enjoyed my time greatly.

Cardenas may not be the most idyllic town to be in (Have been to Havana, other areas of Matanzas, Trinidad and Cienfuegos but I loved it out there. Varadero is not the real Cuba though beautiful, may need to explore further on the island as its large. The grittiness of Cardenas is what appealed and people are friendly. The friend is actually a friend so the experience was even better and a few CUC to purchase beers / rum is peanuts compared to some other places in the world.

Would love to try other countries esp Colombia possibly Cali, Bogota, (Santa Fe) even or the northern areas unfortunately I'm just the wrong color to benefit and have a good time also there is the dangers which Cuba doesn't have as far as I'm aware I. E Guns, gang and drug issues. Maybe not worth it to be flown back in a body bag, will have to do more research on the areas.

It was actually great trip reports read on this site that prompted me to go in the first place all those years ago so who knows where ill end up next!

Your lack of Spanish skills probably limits you to Cartagena or Medellin. I would choose Medellin. Both have gringo ghettos.

[Kayne007]

Cardenas is interesting for a few days as it is a bedroom community to the Cubans working in Varadero and the chicas wanting to work in Varadero. Other than sitting around in a bar buying drinks for your Cuban frens and the 3 hours with your new chica friend, there really isn't much to do, that is if you are not interested in lying on the beach. There are some illegal casas to be found but the town as a whole is kinda slummy. A friend of mine sometimes visits Cuba with his expat Cuban friend who can't get out of there fast enough. Funny, they hang out in Havana to get away from his Cuban relatives as he can't afford to be buying everyone everything for the week.

Hi Terry,

Thanks for the input. Yes that's what in my opinion is a great holiday. Beers and girls (I'm English) and I enjoyed my time greatly.

Cardenas may not be the most idyllic town to be in (Have been to Havana, other areas of Matanzas, Trinidad and Cienfuegos but I loved it out there. Varadero is not the real Cuba though beautiful, may need to explore further on the island as its large. The grittiness of Cardenas is what appealed and people are friendly. The friend is actually a friend so the experience was even better and a few CUC to purchase beers / rum is peanuts compared to some other places in the world.

Would love to try other countries esp Colombia possibly Cali, Bogota, (Santa Fe) even or the northern areas unfortunately I'm just the wrong color to benefit and have a good time also there is the dangers which Cuba doesn't have as far as I'm aware I. E Guns, gang and drug issues. Maybe not worth it to be flown back in a body bag, will have to do more research on the areas.

It was actually great trip reports read on this site that prompted me to go in the first place all those years ago so who knows where ill end up next!

[BeersTerry]

Cardenas is interesting for a few days as it is a bedroom community to the Cubans working in Varadero and the chicas wanting to work in Varadero. Other than sitting around in a bar buying drinks for your Cuban frens and the 3 hours with your new chica friend, there really isn't much to do, that is if you are not interested in lying on the beach. There are some illegal casas to be found but the town as a whole is kinda slummy. A friend of mine sometimes visits Cuba with his expat Cuban friend who can't get out of there fast enough. Funny, they hang out in Havana to get away from his Cuban relatives as he can't afford to be buying everyone everything for the week.

[Combo]

I can attest to the scene being just fine in Cuba if you have the patience. But don't tell this to the Americans!! Haha.

Kayne 007 - you don't have PM. Would you share your contact in Cardenas? (not the girls, but the dude).

Well said! Plenty of action. One just needs to approach things differently than in the more "point-and-click" destinations.

[Free2]

Hi Free2,

Unfortunately I cannot share this info, he is just a normal guy trying to feed his family. I see you have numerous posts in Cuba ever been to Cardenas or know the area?

Many, many times, and know Cardenas like the back of my hand. I have been to the El Rapido and sat there and people watched many a time, always something happening there.

[Kayne007]

I can attest to the scene being just fine in Cuba if you have the patience. But don't tell this to the Americans!! Haha.

Kayne 007 - you don't have PM. Would you share your contact in Cardenas? (not the girls, but the dude).

Hi Free2,

Unfortunately I cannot share this info, he is just a normal guy trying to feed his family. I see you have numerous posts in Cuba ever been to Cardenas or know the area?

[Kayne007]

Great report guy, thanks for sharing.

Thanks Mr Gogo.

[Free2]

I can attest to the scene being just fine in Cuba if you have the patience. But don't tell this to the Americans!! Haha.

Kayne 007 - you don't have PM. Would you share your contact in Cardenas? (not the girls, but the dude).