Havana

Was thinking of going to Havana during Semana Santa this April and wanted to know if anybody had been there during this week in past years? If so does the holiday affect the amount or quality of chicas around? Are many places closed? Would appreciate any info.

Spring Break in Cuba!

Overnight bachelor party cruise ships to Havana from Miami!

Do you have bagels?

Its all over gentleman. The disco jineteras and their pimps will have a field day with the ostentatious drunken American tourist.

Cubans adapt very quickly to changing market environments and will thrive for the first 2 years then the party will end for the Cubans once the Americans learn the game.

I have visited Cuba 9 times in the last 11 years and have witnessed many changes and yes I am an American.

One door closes another opens.

Colombia

[QUOTE=MrGogo;1673118]I've been getting many PMs asking what I'm talking about. United airlines just made the first move by announcing direct flights in the future to Cuba from New Jersey and Houston. Now this will open up the floodgates of airlines competing for slots. American / Usair have Miami airport on lock down and will cater to the South Florida Cubans demands for frequent flights. Tampa has Cayman airways that already has slots in Cuba. La, Ny, and a few other cities will compete for the remainder. Money talks in these deals.[/QUOTE]The flood gates will open soon. I purchased my airline ticket online already directly while still in the USA. It won't be long now. Of course for travel this week I still need to fly from Mexico. But it will all change very soon. Then the prices will go up. For everything. Especially PinkSnapper!!

[QUOTE=Turgid;1671333]I admit that I may have caused some mongers to be a little hurt regarding my statement at the beginning of this discussion but no one has yet proved me wrong. Look at Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Tijuana, Panama. Hell, look at the good ole USA. I applaud all you guys who have game in these destinations but is my statement that Americans have spoilt these destinations correct or not? If not why do you say so?[/QUOTE]Anyone who has traveled to Southeast Asia knows the Japanese and Koreans throw WAY MORE money around than us Americans!

[QUOTE=JohnnyVegas;1674760]The flood gates will open soon. I purchased my airline ticket online already directly while still in the USA. It won't be long now.[/QUOTE]From my observations, it will be one year before the USA Airlines start flying into Cuba.

Hi all,

I will be going to Cuba for first time this February. Few Days in Varadero and few days in Havana. Does anyone have any info on the following:

- Where to meet chicas in Varadero and if the resorts allow us to bring guests in to our rooms at the resorts (info on non or semi-pros would be preferred but will accept any intel for.

Pros as well).

- Where are good places to meet local chicas in Havana (again prefer non or semi-pro but would like info on pros as well).

- Is the University in Havana a good place to meet chicas and are they receptive to meeting foreigners and going out on dates.

- Will hotels allow us to bring guests into our Hotel rooms without any troubles.

- Where would be a good place to rent a car and what should I expect to pay.

- Any recommendations for hiring a taxi and driver for a day or 2 and what would the daily cost be.

- Any other tips on what to do or see in Havana.

- Staying in Vedado for 2 days and thinking of going to Miramar area for 2 day as well (is one area better for meeting chicas then another).

- What should a reasonable cost for chicas be so I do not over pay.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[QUOTE=Dougdc;1675588]Hi all,

I will be going to Cuba for first time this February. Few Days in Varadero and few days in Havana. Does anyone have any info on the following:

- Where to meet chicas in Varadero and if the resorts allow us to bring guests in to our rooms at the resorts (info on non or semi-pros would be preferred but will accept any intel for.

Pros as well).

- Where are good places to meet local chicas in Havana (again prefer non or semi-pro but would like info on pros as well).

- Is the University in Havana a good place to meet chicas and are they receptive to meeting foreigners and going out on dates.

- Will hotels allow us to bring guests into our Hotel rooms without any troubles.

- Where would be a good place to rent a car and what should I expect to pay.

- Any recommendations for hiring a taxi and driver for a day or 2 and what would the daily cost be.

- Any other tips on what to do or see in Havana.

- Staying in Vedado for 2 days and thinking of going to Miramar area for 2 day as well (is one area better for meeting chicas then another).

- What should a reasonable cost for chicas be so I do not over pay.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.[/QUOTE]RTFF. Most all your answers are in the last 10-20 pages of this thread and others re Cuba.

[QUOTE=Dougdc;1675588]Hi all,

I will be going to Cuba for first time this February. Few Days in Varadero and few days in Havana. Does anyone have any info on the following:

- Where to meet chicas in Varadero and if the resorts allow us to bring guests in to our rooms at the resorts (info on non or semi-pros would be preferred but will accept any intel for.

Pros as well).

- Where are good places to meet local chicas in Havana (again prefer non or semi-pro but would like info on pros as well).

- Is the University in Havana a good place to meet chicas and are they receptive to meeting foreigners and going out on dates.

- Will hotels allow us to bring guests into our Hotel rooms without any troubles.

- Where would be a good place to rent a car and what should I expect to pay..[/QUOTE]I must reiterate what you seek is right here on this thread. Take an hour or 2 and read it dude.

I've never stayed in Varadero, so I can't help you on that front.

I'll help you out with this though, I have a driver I use every time I go to Havana. He's very honest, speaks English, reasonable priced and has a 1950's Ford Fairlane. It'll cost you about $50 CUC for 4-5 hours. He'll drive you everywhere you want to go and wait for you at every destination.

Here's his contact info:

Name: Amado.

Cell: 011.535. 292.8212 (when in Cuba you only have to dial the following 5. 292.8212).

[QUOTE=JohnnyVegas;1674761]Anyone who has traveled to Southeast Asia knows the Japanese and Koreans throw WAY MORE money around than us Americans![/QUOTE]Overpaying is bad but does not necessarily lead to poor service. What I mean by spoiling is having a bad attitude towards the chicas generally. An example is having sex with them and not paying on a notion that their attitude is bad. If you have sex with a chica you must pay.

[QUOTE=Free2;1675866]RTFF. Most all your answers are in the last 10-20 pages of this thread and others re Cuba.[/QUOTE]Why is it that so many newbies know how to ask questions but do not know how to read?

[QUOTE=Talion;1670053]It's usually easiest to go directly to the airlines. I t also depends where you want top fly from and where you're going. All Canadian flights to Cuba go through Montreal or Toronto. Air Canada through Toronto and Cubana from Montreal. This assumes that you want to fly to Havana. If you want to go anywhere else in Cuba, like Varadero for instance, and then bus in to Havana, you can do this through a variety of agencies that deal in package tours. You can sometimes get last minute packages to crappy Cuban resorts all in AI cost for less than the straight flight to Cuba on the airlines. Of course then you need to hop a bus to Havana. Can be worth it. If you're dealing with Air Canada then you need to go to their subset called Air Canada vacations. They will book you immediately, but call early because their hold times can be brutal. Cubana is just a straight call but their service sucks and their employees have notoriously light fingers with your luggage. Go figure, cubans taking your stuff. LOL. Travel carry on only. .

Online travel sites are useless because they are usually US based and won't book Cuban destinations. In the south it's generally easier and faster (not always) to go through Mexico or Panama, but the airlines often gouge there. Booking last minute will probably be horribly expensive in either case, but the markup always seems to be higher when booking through southern points. Hope that helps.[/QUOTE]WESTJET flies nonstop direct Calgary to Varadero, I have a ticket for April 25, in the summer months they stop the Calgary direct flights, when I return a month later in May I go VRA-Toronto-Calgary-BC.

[QUOTE=Bart1;1676482]Why is it that so many newbies know how to ask questions but do not know how to read?[/QUOTE]Agreed. But in fairness there can be a pretty steep learning curve in a forum because the old hands use shorthand to refer to locations etc. , which, when coupled with all the other standard acronyms, can be quite intimidating.

Anyone thinking about big changes in US-Cuba relations think again. Good for you Raul, play hardball with Obama! Below is from BBC Jan 31.

The US says it will not hand back the Guantanamo Bay naval base as part of efforts to improve relations with Cuba.

Cuban President Raul Castro included the demand in a speech on Wednesday, calling also for the US trade embargo to be lifted.

Mr Castro said: "The re-establishment of diplomatic relations is the start of a process of normalising bilateral relations.

"But this will not be possible while the blockade still exists, while they don't give back the territory illegally occupied by the Guantanamo naval base."

[QUOTE=PacificRim;1677191]Agreed. But in fairness there can be a pretty steep learning curve in a forum because the old hands use shorthand to refer to locations etc. , which, when coupled with all the other standard acronyms, can be quite intimidating.[/QUOTE]If someone does not know what POP or VRA are when referring to a location, surely not too difficult to google it. Now I understand if I am writing about a Thai chica and say she sure liked "YumYum" , not all wud understand, as I think it is only used in SE Asia. A mamasan in BKK, that is Bangkok! No need to goggle, told me same-same as DATY, but can also mean BJ.

[QUOTE=Bart1;1677196]Anyone thinking about big changes in US-Cuba relations think again. Good for you Raul, play hardball with Obama! Below is from BBC Jan 31.

The US says it will not hand back the Guantanamo Bay naval base as part of efforts to improve relations with Cuba.

Cuban President Raul Castro included the demand in a speech on Wednesday, calling also for the US trade embargo to be lifted.[/QUOTE]When it comes to Gitmo, Obama is not the problem. He came into office wanting to shut down the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. Seems to me that a good way to do that (and take a huge step towards normalizing relations) would be to hand back the naval base to Cuba. The problem is that to do so would require a treaty, which this Congress will never, ever approve while the Castros are in power. Not ever. Expect progress in normalizing relations. But, it will be slow. It will be much, much slower than many of us would like. One day the Castros will be gone, and that will help smooth the process on the American side. But if the USA is going to be serious about normalizing relations with Cuba, then one day Gitmo will have to be returned to the Cuban people. In my view, from the standpoint of national strategic interests, returning sovereignty over the Panama Canal to the Panamanians was a much bigger deal than it would be to return sovereignty over Guantanamo Bay to the Cubans. But of course, the "emotional politics" of the two situations are different.