Havana

[KingSanto]

A lot of Cubans boil their tap water. A lot. As a foreigner though, I'm not doing any of that. At some point a line needs to be drawn because at the end of the day, we are on vacation for the most part. And who wants to be Boiling tap water on vacation? In my opinióand, it would be better to find a reputable / safe / consistent spot to purchase my water bottles.

KingSanto.

What are your thoughts on boiling then filtering tap water?

[KingSanto]

LOL man where are you guys purchasing your water? I've never experienced anything like this (though I have heard the rumors, of course).

Granted, I stay closer to the Vedado / Plaza area since I have an apartment there now so I buy all of my groceries at Huran Azul or Pazillo Fresh so I never have these issues. I'd suggest sticking to "reputable" places with enough business and inventory where they don't have to resort to such shenanigans. I'm really only in Habana Vieja to add to my cigar collection or meetup with people from the forum like Jiniternator.

Or chicas of course.

KingSanto.

I usually buy a bunch of the large bottles of water but from the smell and taste I am starting to suspect that these bottles might be getting refilled and purified with chlorine or something and resealed. I wouldn't put it past these enterprising Cubans. I think they are all in on it too because only the tourists buying those big waters.

[Nomars777]

Channel is not 100% chica focused, since my original idea was to just capture how the places I visit look at the street level.

So I did more walking tour style videos, highlighting the streets of Havana, or wherever. You will have to pick through them to find the girls. I've got currently 60 videos and probably 10 of those feature girls. If you see a chica in any of the videos where I'm talking to them, I can answer questions regarding them, since I know them well.

Also I'm super lazy, so I don't do any major editing, just record, chop out sections where the camera got way off kilter, or where the lens got covered somehow, and just leave the rest stitched together. No music or anything added because again, I'm lazy.

Enjoy!

Link to channel is here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLN...FrTCr94g0WyRnw

Annnnd, you have my attention. If it's allowed to be asked, hey Nomars777, what's your YT channel called? Reading all your advice and stuff here, I'd love to watch some of your vids too.

[The Cane]

This. I will never go back to Cuba.

I fucked a real Cubana in the functioning city / country of Monterrey, Mexico last night! Story to come later in the relevant thread (with pics of that hottie).

[GringoLoko]

I have taken a different alternative and gone to actual functioning countries.

This. I will never go back to Cuba.

[RamDavidson84]

I have taken a different alternative and gone to actual functioning countries.

Yea I can't imagine why anyone would voluntarily choose to visit Cuba right now. Its a shame because that nation had so much potential to be one of the top tourist destinations in the Americas. Hopefully something happens soon for the better for that country.

[Huacho]

So apparantly my assumption about the water has been confirmed. It is a well known scam in Cuba for a while now that they find the empty water bottles in the trash and reuse them to sell in the stores. Who knows what they put in there, but it has led to many health issues for many locals. This even happens with other beverages like the beer apparently. There are tell-tale signs that your water bottle is a shoddily made fake, but honestly I recommend just buying enough water at the airport in miami to last the rest of your trip and then maybe sticking to the coconut water straight from the coconut, or maybe roll the dice with some canned beverages.

Even the minced meat is a risk. The availability of ground meat coupled with the declining population of cats and dogs in the streets may or may not be correlated- another well known issue..

I have taken a different alternative and gone to actual functioning countries.

[EMode]

BTW you should start adding a quick snap shot of some of your girls on your YT channel, no explanation needed. I'm certain your views would go up just from me watching them over and over LOL.

Annnnd, you have my attention. If it's allowed to be asked, hey Nomars777, what's your YT channel called? Reading all your advice and stuff here, I'd love to watch some of your vids too.

[CiscoMech]

Hard to say though because every day it's getting harder and harder in Cuba and the temptation to take any shortcut to money / revenue is too strong to ignore.

Best of luck to everyone who goes and please stay safe!

Cheers.

You said it bro, desperation breeds temptation. I can only confirm the fake water bottles, but I haven’t seen the fake beer only heard stories. The fake water is sad enough because you think you are being healthy when the truth is they don’t care about your health.

BTW you should start adding a quick snap shot of some of your girls on your YT channel, no explanation needed. I'm certain your views would go up just from me watching them over and over LOL.

[Nomars777]

Thanks for this information. How on earth are they modifying beer cans? I cannot imagine how they would be able to refill a can and ensure appropriate levels of carbonation, but who knows, they are creative!

I do know that 2 of my last 3 trips I've been laid out with stomach problems, but neither lasted more than a day or so, unlike the "poop lettuce" affliction I've had here in the USA the last 2+ weeks, jesucristo!

Either way, I think the best plan is to stick to canned beer or sodas, or bottled beer / sodas, and eat only at reputable establishments, of which I'd include El Cafe, Bonema, Sibarita, Antojos, La Vitrola, San Ignacio 214, Venami and a handful of others from which I have never had a problem. At least they seem fully committed to doing right by their clientele.

Hard to say though because every day it's getting harder and harder in Cuba and the temptation to take any shortcut to money / revenue is too strong to ignore.

Best of luck to everyone who goes and please stay safe!

Cheers.

So apparantly my assumption about the water has been confirmed. It is a well known scam in Cuba for a while now that they find the empty water bottles in the trash and reuse them to sell in the stores. Who knows what they put in there, but it has led to many health issues for many locals. This even happens with other beverages like the beer apparently. There are tell-tale signs that your water bottle is a shoddily made fake, but honestly I recommend just buying enough water at the airport in miami to last the rest of your trip and then maybe sticking to the coconut water straight from the coconut, or maybe roll the dice with some canned beverages.

Even the minced meat is a risk. The availability of ground meat coupled with the declining population of cats and dogs in the streets may or may not be correlated- another well known issue.

Friends, be safe out there and don't let desperation cause you to consume something bad for your health.

-cisco.

[CiscoMech]

So apparantly my assumption about the water has been confirmed. It is a well known scam in Cuba for a while now that they find the empty water bottles in the trash and reuse them to sell in the stores. Who knows what they put in there, but it has led to many health issues for many locals. This even happens with other beverages like the beer apparently. There are tell-tale signs that your water bottle is a shoddily made fake, but honestly I recommend just buying enough water at the airport in miami to last the rest of your trip and then maybe sticking to the coconut water straight from the coconut, or maybe roll the dice with some canned beverages.

Even the minced meat is a risk. The availability of ground meat coupled with the declining population of cats and dogs in the streets may or may not be correlated- another well known issue.

Friends, be safe out there and don't let desperation cause you to consume something bad for your health.

-cisco.

[Nomars777]

But you can certainly go with pesos too, which may save you a few bucks.

I personally hate exchanging up front and having lots of pesos, when I'm not sure if I'll spend them all in the limited 3-5 days I'm there. I prefer to just pay in dollars. I start out with $20 USD for a short time visit, meaning 1 hour. No condom is another negotiation, sometimes, depending on the girl. If I want a lot more time, that may also be an extra negotiation.

My usual number ends up being $20-40 USD, just depending on how the above negotiations go. Crazily, the ones I am just done seeing because I've seen them multiple times, I tell them, sorry, I'm only paying $20 USD, no condom, take it or leave it. They always take it. So that's an option too.

1) Have the girls adjusted their compensation to reflect the currency exchange rate?

2) Do they negotiate in USD or CUP?

[CiscoMech]

You need a VPN if you have a US account / credit card.

The wifi in my airbnb is usually already setup through vpn, so I have never had any issues. If you are staying in airbnb with wifi then it will most likely have vpn so that you can enjoy streaming services. But if not then there are plenty free vpn apps you can download. The airbnb app is still a litle confusing to navigate and you may have to use the browser version. But ultimately your host can send you an invoice for extra services, or you can be the one to pay from your end.

[CiscoMech]

July 2026 trip:
Cheers!!

I have a trip coming up next month. Weekend trips are my modus operandi because any longer is pure torture. Besides, with numbers like yours a 2-3 day trip is like 4 months of fucking LOL. Thanks for the report. Maybe you can pm me that place you stayed at with the solar panels because I can't find anything in Havana with solar panels. If I could I would maybe stay a couple more days.

[Mondo707]

1) Have the girls adjusted their compensation to reflect the currency exchange rate?

2) Do they negotiate in USD or CUP?

You'd always want do it in CUP.

Compensation rate depends on who you p/u and where you do it.

If you hang at high end joint expect to pay a higher rate than a street pick up.

Mondo.