General Info

[In8]

My $.02

Exactly!

Place the $5 in the page of your passport which the agent would normally stamp, and say "no sello por favor"

Only on you rway home, they do not stamp on the way out of the country.

In8

[Tickalor]

El Colorado -

When I 'offer' the US$5 to the Mexican immigration - do I just fold up the bill and put in the first page of my passport? Do I do this both when I depart and arrive from Cancun?

Thanks to everyone who's posted such great info - it really does help the first timmers to Cuba!

You don't need to give those fuckers a god damn penny.

Jackson

[Mirco]

Hi all!
Did anybody travel to Cuba by sea (boat or ferry) from Dominican Republic? These two islands are pretty close.
Thanx for suggestions in advance.

[In8]

Just a few details in addition to El Colorado...

"No sello por favor" is correct for please do not stamp (my passport).

They will not stamp your passport. El Colorado has a good point. Do not attempt to bribe the Cuban customs agent.


When are you going to Havana? I will be there in August.

In8

[El Colorado]

Tickalor - You can purchase your ticket to Havana in Cancun. You should make a reservation by calling either Aero Caribe or Cubana in Cancun. Their phone numbers are in their websites. You can use your credit card in Mexico to pay for the ticket.
Upon landing in Havana ask the immigration official not to stamp your passport - por favor, no estampa mi passaporte. They will not take a bribe. I recommend that you make the same request upon your return to Mexico, so that your passport doesn't show that you arrived in Mexico the same day you returned to the US. Mexican immigration officials will gladly comply for $5.

[Tickalor]

I am planning my first trip to Havana. I purchased my RT Cancun ticket today. My question is - do I need to wait until I arrive at CUN and go to the counter to purchase my RT to HAV? I thought I could just do it online at Mexicana's website - no can do. Can I pay for the ticket with my US credit card, or do I need to pay for that in cash? Do I need to ask that customs does not stamp my passport, or will they just know not to as soon as they see my US passport? Also, my spanish is awful, are there a few phrases anyone can reccomend that would help me out?

Thanks in advance for reply.

[Stevenh]

Originally posted by CalienteDelNort
John Dough

Casas owners will ask to see your passport.
They need it for their income report.

The rest of the time you should keep it under lock.
Carry a photocopy just in case.
Caliente

I disagree.

I can only recommend NOT to carry just a copy, especially, when possibly in company of a local girl. I had the misfortune some years ago, that 3 of them jumped into my car instead of the one I actally chose. Of course, we got held up. It took an eternity and 50$ bribe (the police wouldn´t take nicely to my idea "I can pay the fine now and in cash..." - mainly because he didn´t understand english, and the bills waived in his face didn´t help but of course because of the onlookers. My god, was I p***ed with these 3 beauties in front of everybody - normally I am not exceeding my limits in this way).

Anyway a "bystander" was helpful in manoevering the $ to the cop, so I was released.

All in all, a very unpleasant experience until that particular point in time, afterwards it got better :-)

The chicks are still laughing anyway. Probably as much as the one I had in my car when a tyre blew on av. 5 and I went to ask police for a tool (because it seemed to be the best way to be straightforward, than just to wait for him to get suspicious).

Ok, here´s my 2c worth: Take your passport with you. All cubans have to have their carnet on them anytime, and nobody understands if you don´t have your identification on you.

snark

[Umgman]

By the way, does anyone have experience with the Amigo travel card?

[Umgman]

OK--despite all the doomsayers advice to the contrary, I am making a trip to Havana next week.

I have some very specific questions, and yes, I did peruse the previous posts--seemed a bit ambiguous, so---

1) Can anyone give contact info for a very nice private apt IN HAVANA that has private entrance, private bath, AC, and is CHICA FRIENDLY

2) Are there any hotels at all in HAVANA that allow chicas with tourists?

3)I have read that one can still rent casas in Havana, although not necessarily in other cities. True? Oops, I see this was addressed a couple posts down. Mea culpa.

4) If any one will be around Havana next week and wants a buddy to smoke some stogies, guzzle some Cristal, and indulge in some Cuban 'tang, drop a note, although I'm not sure how to contact each other on this board.

All info greatly appreciated.

[Scorpio]

Hi Umgman,

ONE "Peso Convertible" is equal to ONE US-Dollar.
If Cubans are talking about Dollars it is always about US-Dollars.

scorpio

[Umgman]

This talk of dollars and convertible pesos being taken as 1:1--Can I assume these are Canadian dollars? So if we are talking about a box of smokes being 350 dollars, its Canadian and not US?

[Mangito]

Originally posted by Bootylover
I'm thinking about ways to circumvent the clampdown.
A- How do they spot tourists on the streets:
1- skin color
2- dressing style
3- spending habits
4- language

If you look Cuban you might be ok in the street with a Cuban girl, but it will not help you get a girl back to a casa particular. This is prohibited in most cuban cities now (but not Havana,Santiago,Cienfuegos). It is being enforced by the house owners very effectively. You can go to unlicenced houses for a few hours but it will cost you and you will not not be able to live together with a regular girlfriend.

B- Do you think a middle class dominican would face the same problems to find girls there?

Yes. Finding girls is still possible. The hassle starts when you need somewhere to take them.

C- What about the student loophole? instead of being tourist to have student status?

I spoke to a couple of foreign students in Las Tunas. They advised me never to try the student route. The Cuban government is ripping them off bigtime. They are forced to stay in a hotel where they are watched (not allowed to stay in casa particular). They are allowed to buy a car and the government promised to give back a large percentage of the money when they sell it back. Then the government changed it's mind and is refusing to give back money.

D- What about getting invited by a cuban family, therefore bypassing the tourist scheme? Why don't go there and be a godfather of some children, then you'd be family related to many cuban houses and be allowed to stay there.

A family visa allows you to stay in an unlicenced house. It might give you more freedom provided that you are not caught. If you are the cuban family would incur a large fine or lose the house. The government is accusing householders of 'prosineta' or pimping whenever they allow multiple girls back to the house (because they are said to be profiting form prostitution). There are also lengthy jailterms. Castro is the biggest pimp on the planet if this argument is taken to its logical end - it costs over $700 to get married there, $350 to take a girl to your own country etc.

E- Is it prohibited for local to have girls or only tourists? How to appear local then?

No cubans can shag any other cubans. They can go to a cuban hotel without being married. They can do many things tourists cannot.

Just thinking about the situation cause I haven't nailed my cuban girl yet, but I will definitely do one day.

I'd give up on Cuba and look to Brazil if I were you

[BootyLover]

I'm thinking about ways to circumvent the clampdown.
A- How do they spot tourists on the streets:
1- skin color
2- dressing style
3- spending habits
4- language

B- Do you think a middle class dominican would face the same problems to find girls there?

C- What about the student loophole? instead of being tourist to have student status?

D- What about getting invited by a cuban family, therefore bypassing the tourist scheme? Why don't go there and be a godfather of some children, then you'd be family related to many cuban houses and be allowed to stay there

E- Is it prohibited for local to have girls or only tourists? How to appear local then?

Just thinking about the situation cause I haven't nailed my cuban girl yet, but I will definitely do one day.

[Mangito]

I have recently returned from about 4 months travelling in Cuba and want to warn prospective visitors about the unprecedented police clampdown that is going on over there. Cuba is not the same place that it was even a year ago, and it is certainly much less fun.

Firstly the number of cities where Cuban girls are not allowed to stay in the same room as a tourist is growing. Las Tunas fell to this new rule recently and many long-term ex-pats moved out. Other towns which definitely do not permit girls with tourists are: Vinales, Varadero, Cayo Coco, Trinidad, Ciego De Avila, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara, Camaguey, Las Tunas, Holguin, Baracoa, Guantanamo.

The only cities that I know accept Cuban girls in a Casa Particular are Havana, Santiago and Cienfuegos. Possibly Nueva Gerona too, but I am not positive of this. Havana and Cienfuegos operate a strict 1 girl rule - you will not be able to change your partner.

Furthermore there are very few girls who dare go to your room because they are registered and the police may round them up later and send them to prison. This is growing at an alarming rate. I know many girls who have been given 1 and 2 year sentences for having no more than a handful of boyfriends over a period of several years.

There are possibilities for renting illegal rooms for a few hours if you just want to have sex, but the days of GFE lasting several weeks, living together are largely over. Also thes illegal houses are becoming expensive.

In all areas the probability of a girl being arrested by the police if seen with a tourist in public areas is greatly increased. There was a time when the police would not hassle girls that were with tourists, preferring to hassle those that were looking. This is over !

In Cienfuegos here are now more or less weekly police sweeps of the discotheques and bars. Unaccompanied Cuban girls are being rounded up by the police just for being in these places.

In Havana the majority of the discotheques have been closed. The only one that remains open to my knowledge is the Rosalia de Castro (it is full of expensive professional hookers). The Conejito is still open and is also full of expensive professionals.

Most of the bars now have some means of discouraging Cubans from entering such as 3-5 dollar entry fees (mostly reclaimable against drinks). Bars which used to be lively and packed with people know are empty bar a few Italians who are being forced to talk to EACH OTHER because there are no girls.

All told Cuba is a very less attractive destination now, relative to other destinations. I was intending to go back for another 6 months but I don't think I will bother. If anyone knows of areas where the clampdown has not bitten or has relaxed I would love to know about them.

[JamesBond69]

Originally posted by AllIWantisLove
Americans and Money (alternatives to cash)

I have put a lot of time into researching this. For what's it worth here is what I have learned ...

I've called American Express and an agency which carries Thomas Cooke and neither would assure me that their travelers checks would be accepted in Cuba. But I have seen/heard reports of travelers checks purchased in the US being accepted. [url]

I bought Thomss Cooke travelers checks in New York City and had absolutely no problems with their acceptance in Cuba.

However you should not ask the teller at Thomas Cooke in the States whether they are accepted in Cuba, as he will refuse to issue you the travelers checks. I did this and was refused. I had to go to another Thomas Cooke office to buy the travelers checks.

Also I suggest that you consider bringing dollars. Cuba is probably the safest country in the world (it's a total police state!),
so you don't have to worry about getting robbed.