Cuba is a country of great mystery and wonder because of the embargo imposed by our government in the 1960’s. Everyone knows of Cuba, but not many know Cuba. Thanks to President Obama’s recent ease of the travel ban on Cuba, knowing Cuba is now a possibility. My husband and I are always up for an adventure and booked tickets almost instantly following President Obama’s announcement earlier this year. I still remember sitting in a back-packers cafe in Akureyri, Iceland, filling out a Visa application that we received via fax minutes before…not really believing that we would get to see and experience Cuba for ourselves.

As we were planning this trip, we read whatever we could find about traveling from the USA, and not surprisingly, there wasn’t much information available. We were shooting in the dark with this trip- we knew the basics, like how long the flight is from Tampa, or the currency and exchange rates- however we did not know what to expect. Well, I can confidently tell you that you should expect a lot and your expectations will be met because Cuba (Havana in particular) is a beautiful place, filled with great food, friendly people and a lot of culture.

HOW to GET there:

My husband and I were already going to be in Florida for a family reunion, so we decided to look into booking a flight from Tampa (TPA) to Havana (HAV). Something to know: although American Airlines has a flight from Tampa, one still has to go through a third-party travel agency to book the flight (we went through ABC Charters). This is the same for JetBlue flights from JFK- booking is through a third-party. Also, flights aren’t very frequent, so it’s not possible at this time to make this trip a long weekend getaway…the trip will be 5-7 days in length minimum.

When the airline tells you to show up at the airport four hours before departure, please do…they aren’t joking. We arrived at TPA, thinking we’ll breeze through check in and have three hours to chill at the airport…we were wrong. There were three lines to go through first, you must have your documents cleared, next you have to check in your luggage, and third, you have to pay for your luggage. Here are a few observations I made about this process:

1. the three different lines are not numbered and it is not made clear which line to get into first. We waited in the wrong line for about thirty minutes, only to be sent to the back of the “correct” line.

2. Paying for luggage- this is a “hidden” fee…they don’t really tell you about this ahead of time. It’s $20/bag and smells shady to me…

3. People bring EVERYTHING to Cuba with them! People were checking in bikes, TV’s, Homedics Foot Spa, ceiling fans, etc. We looked like rookies with our one piece of luggage each…

 

Upon arrival in Havana (after a VERY short 45 min. flight), you’ll go through passport control and have a photo taken. Being a typical American, I was ready for my photo with a full smile, and the agent told me twice to “stop smiling.” Opps. After we cleared passport control, we had to go through a metal detector and wait for our luggage. The airport is very relaxed and seems a bit chaotic. We waited around two hours for our luggage…it was extremely frustrating! We got to Tampa Airport at 9am and didn’t get to our home in Havana until after 5pm…all for a 45min. flight! But well worth it…

NOTE: Americans still cannot travel to Cuba as tourists, so you have to receive permission (visa/general license) to travel. Once we got in contact with ABC Charters (who we booked our flight though), they faxed over an application. To be approved, you have to fall under one of twelve categories. The person who worked with us from ABC Charters was very knowledgable and helpful, and we were approved with no problems.

WHERE to STAY: As of the past few months, AIRBNB is available to book for Americans (and anyone else) traveling to Cuba! This was great news for us because we prefer an airbnb over a hotel, and we were NOT disappointed with our bookings in Havana! We stayed in one apartment for the first three nights and another for our last three nights (we left Havana for two nights). Both apartments were clean, in a great location, spacious, comfortable and so easy to book. Each host contacted us regularly and provided us with any information we requested.

*Once you book your airbnb, everyone in your party will receive an e-mail asking you to fill out a form. This must be completed within 48hours, or your reservation will be canceled. The form asks you questions like where you are coming from, and under what category you are traveling to Cuba.

*I recommend booking an airbnb in Old Havana. This puts you within walking distance to restaurants/bars/museums/galleries/historic sites. We initially looked at some apartments closer to the National Hotel of Cuba, but were glad we didn’t book because we’d need a cab to go anywhere.

Airbnb #1: Melvis House. This apartment was very cozy with two bedrooms. We had two balconies with beautiful views of Havana. The host was very friendly and helpful, made us feel very comfortable and at home. There is a full living room, dinning room and fully stocked kitchen. The bedrooms have an A/C and there is a fully functioning elevator. The location is great and within walking distance to pretty much anywhere we wanted to go.

Airbnb#2: Las Mercedes-Havana Junior Suite. This apartment was very modern (just renovated), with A/C on full blast, a full kitchen, dinning room area, balcony, large rooms and two bathrooms. It seems like the rooms can be booked separately because there is a lock on each door. We booked the entire place, since we traveled with another couple. The property manager was very friendly, spoke good English and communication was always quick. This apartment is located within blocks of Plaza Viejo, a lively square with great food, live music and a lot of people.

WHERE/WHAT to EAT: I cannot begin to tell you how delicious food is in Havana..which was a surprise for us. Prior to our visit, we read a few blogs that said things like “bring snacks with you! Cuba doesn’t have snacks” and “you’ll be eating a lot of Cuban sandwiches so be ready!” False and false. We wanted to be prepared so we bought a box of Kind Bars from Costco, but ended up not needing them. We were happily stuffed for breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day while in Havana and I am getting hungry just thinking about all of the great food! And by the way- Cuban sandwiches are nowhere to be found!

Our favorites and what to order:

1. El Chanchullero de Tapas: We ate here on our first night and it was a delicious way to be introduced to Havana cuisine. This is a fairly small restaurant, with hip decor. We had to wait about twenty minutes for a table, but it was well worth it. There is no AC inside, just fans, so cold drinks are 100% more refreshing. We ordered croquettes as an appetizer ($2) and each ordered a different “meal dish.” I had a fish dish, our friends had shrimp and my husband had chicken. During our next visit, we also tried lamb and beef. Each plate comes with fresh vegetables (avocado, tomato, lettuce) and whatever protein you selected for a small price of $4-$6 (depending on your protein). Needless to say, this was a very delicious but cheap meal!

2.Paladar Dona Eutimia: This place is very very popular, so reservations are needed. We ate here twice because of how good the food is. They also make these refreshing “frothy” mojitos-basically  mojito smoothie. Between the two trips, we ordered roasted chicken, octopus special, fish and shrimp. The food comes with a side of vegetables (cabbage, avocado, tomato) and rice/black beans. The total usually came to $15/person (meal/drinks).

 

It’s located in this “dead-end” “restaurant” street, at the very end on the right hand side.  You can’t see it in the photo below because I’m taking a picture from the “dead-end” of the street.

3.Paladar La Guardia- we made reservations for this restaurant while still in the states. Fun fact: if a restaurant name has “paladar” in it, it means it’s a privately owned restaurant. If it doesn’t-it’s government-owned. La Guardia is where Jay Z, Beyonce and Conan O’Brien ate while in Havana. We got there about an hour before our reservation and went up to the roof top bar which has spectacular views of the city and delicious $4 cuban mojitos. Once we sat down, we ordered beef carpaccio and rabbit pate as starters and they were beyond great. For dinner, we ordered Fish of the Day in a white wine sauce, Tuna and Oxtail. The fish of the day was once again Red Snapper and a little salty, but overall well prepared. This was the priciest restaurant we dined in, but also the fanciest, so was well worth it. After dinner we went back up to the roof to enjoy the beautiful evening.

In our cab, heading to our fancy dinner at La Guardia.

The first floor of the restaurant looks a bit abandoned..Don’t be fooled.

The second floor was once a dance studio…now it’s where bathroom hand towels are hung to dry.

Cuba has a lot of balconies! This is from the second floor of the building-the floor below the restaurant.

Since we arrived before our reservations, we went up to the rooftop for this view and a mojito.

Obnoxious laughter- actually, more like radiating joy.

4. O’Reilly 304- a hip restaurant that got really packed as soon as we sat down! We ordered grilled lobster ($13) and I had a grilled “fish of the day”-which is ALWAYS Red Snapper no matter where you go ($8). The food was very fresh, with small, colorful grilled vegetables. If you’re really really hungry, I recommend ordering appetizers, as the meal isn’t very large.

5. Factoria in Plaze Viejo- a micro-brewery with $2 dark/light locally brewed beer. Very refreshing- filled with tourists, but great atmosphere (live music) and great location.

6. Pastelleria- located near the capitol building, we enjoyed eggs and ham for breakfast, along with some fluffy croissant pastries.

The hubs catching up on local news over breakfast.

 

7. Cafe Laurent- located a few blocks from the National Hotel (cab from Old Havana)- located on the 5th floor with outdoor seating, the breeze and view was very welcomed to our hot and tired selves. Loved their oriental style plantains! A bit pricey for lunch, but very delicious.

8. O’Reilly Cafe near Plaza de la Cathedral- enjoyed sandwiches/coffee for breakfast. Simple and cheap ($4/sandwich). They also sell whole coffee beans, which we bought to bring home with us.

9. Dulceria Patisserie- a small bakery that has out-of-this world coconut cream cake. Great for breakfast.

Traveling back to the USA: 

Clearing Customs back in the USA: This is the part we were most nervous about. Technically, we did nothing wrong and had an approved license, but because everything is still so new, we weren’t sure what to expect. To be safe (and for its convenience), we applied for Global Entry, which is amazing. You might have seen people breezing thorough Customs while you wait in an outrageously long line-that’s Global Entry. It’s $100 for a five-year membership, and includes TSA Pre-Check (keep your shoes on!), and you don’t have to wait in line or speak to a human when entering the country. Since we had this, all we did was go to the kiosks, scan out passports, answer a few questions (mostly about Ebola) and got a print out of a receipt. We showed just the receipt to an agent and breezed through. Took us a total of maybe three minutes- our worries were for nothing!