My Cuba Budget Travel Guide
I landed in Havana convinced I had overpacked and underpaid. In my head, Cuba was a place where a few dollars stretched further than anywhere else, and it is almost true. The catch is that the money system takes some understanding before your budget can work for you. Once I figured out the two currencies thing, the exchange rates and which plazas charged tourist prices, I stopped feeling ripped off and started enjoying the country.
Where your money actually goes
The first thing I tell anyone planning a cheap Cuba trip is that the big costs are fixed. Your international flight, a tourist card, your accommodation and transport between cities will eat up most of your budget before you buy a single mojito. On the ground, costs are low but not as rock bottom as people claim. A decent meal at a paladar ran me around eight to fifteen USD, while street pizza and sandwiches cost under two. I learned to treat state restaurants as budget wins and to save my fancier money for the privately run places.
Two currencies and the rate that matters
Cuba now uses the Cuban peso as its single national currency, and visitors mostly carry cash in stable foreign currencies like the US dollar and the euro. The exchange rate you get matters enormously. I got a far better rate exchanging cash at CADECA offices or hotels than I ever would have at an airport kiosk. I stopped trying to do complex math and just kept a rough sense of what a peso was worth each morning. Bring more cash than you think you need, because cards tied to US banks basically do not work here and the ATMs can be unreliable.
Stay in casas particulares
For a budget traveler, the casa particular is the best deal in Cuba. These are private rooms in people’s homes, licensed and usually costing between twenty and thirty-five USD per night. I paid about twenty-five in Havana and less in smaller towns. Breakfast at the casa, coffee, fresh juice, eggs and fruit, cost me around five dollars and was the best meal of most days. The hosts also helped me find cheap taxis, book trains and avoid tourist traps. Staying with a local made my trip cheaper and far more interesting at the same time.
Get around without breaking the bank
Transport ate up more of my budget than I expected, because the good connections run through tourist buses. Cuba actually has buses, but they were often booked out or very slow. I combined old-fashioned shared taxis with trains and the occasional local bus, and I cut my travel costs a lot by planning fewer stops. The Viazul coach connects the big cities and is reasonably priced, though you need to book a day or two ahead in high season. Between two or three people, a shared taxi across the island can work out to barely more than a bus ticket.
Eat like a local
My food budget shrank the moment I stopped eating at the places with menus in English. Baked goods and pastries from corner window bakeries cost cents. A filling plate of rice, beans, pork and fried plantains from a state restaurant ran a few dollars. Fresh fruit from street sellers was cheap and phenomenal. I rationed the tourist restaurants to a couple of special nights, and that kept my budget happy without ruining the trip. Coca-Cola costs more than local rum, which tells you exactly where the margins live.
Day trips and free pleasures
Cuba gave me a pile of free and near-free experiences. Walking the Malecón at sunset, watching music spill out of doors in Havana, swimming at Playa Girón, all of this costs nothing but your time. When I did pay for a tour, like a classic car ride or a tobacco farm visit, I haggled a little and got a fair price. I found that asking two or three people for the going rate before paying anything stopped me from overpaying on the spot.
My final budget numbers
For a two-week trip I spent roughly forty to sixty dollars a day after the flight, which is to say around twenty-five for a room, ten to fifteen for food and the rest on transport and fun. Solo travelers on foot can do it a touch cheaper, and anyone who wants nicer meals or private taxis will pay more. The point is that Cuba is very doable on a tight budget if you accept a bit of adventure and plan around cash. Pack light, carry dollars and euros, book your first nights ahead, and let the island surprise you from there.
What I would do differently
Looking back, three choices would have stretched my money further. I would have booked my casas more nights ahead in high season, because walking up to full doors cost me extra on two occasions. I would have carried more euros and changed them at CADECA instead of relying on US dollars at tourist businesses. And I would have eaten my big meal at lunch, when paladars often run cheaper menus, and kept dinners light and street based. Small shifts, but together they would have saved me a surprising amount over two weeks.
