Cuba with Alaska Airlines
A week+ in Cuba and tips for traveling
A week+ in Cuba and tips for traveling
I had the privilege of heading to Cuba for 8 days with the best crew on behalf of Alaska Airlines. This trip absolutely made it into my top 3 of all time. We spent our days touring coffee and tobacco farms, eating lots of rice and wandering the streets of Havana, Cienfuegos and Trinidad— all the while riding in a tiny minivan around the whole country. The memories and inside jokes will live on forever and I’m so thankful for this amazing trip. Here's a collection of my favorite photos as well as some tips for you if you ever find yourself heading to Cuba.
01
We were more remote in each place we stayed, and every morning, we woke up to roosters crowing, dogs barking, babies crying, construction going on, etc. and you might experience the same depending on where you’re staying. I’d highly recommend bringing along some good earplugs and an eye mask for the trip! If I were to return, I’d most definitely go the hotel route vs. Airbnb.
02
You’ll want to stick to bottled water and most restaurants charge $3+ for a bottle, so stock up whenever you can. Larger bottles are usually around 50¢ at convenience stores: keep some in the car and refill your reusable bottles during the day.
03
Wifi is not widely available: there are hotspots at parks and on street corners where you can buy wifi cards that last on a timer for one hour. They range from $2-$6 a card and you can only use them in the wifi parks. Sometimes you have to stand in line at government buildings to purchase them, so make sure you have your passport ready. (We learned this one the hard way, haha)
04
Most facilities are open-air so you're technically always outside: have bug spray and sunscreen, and put it on whenever you think about it. (I didn’t make this call and ended up looking like a lobster by the end of the trip.)
05
Bring snacks, seriously. I didn’t come across a single place to buy snacks and I was told this would be the reality going into the trip, but I didn't think it would truly be the case, and only traveled with 6 Clif bars thinking that I’d find a CVS along the way. I regretted that decision about two days into the trip: Cuba doesn’t have convenience stores like you’ll find in the U.S., so think ahead and pack lots of nuts, bars, jerky, etc.
06
It’s customary to eat three meals a day in Cuba, and each one generally consists of meat, rice, beans, and fruit. We were not feeling our best a couple of days into the trip, and realized it was due to the constant consumption of rice— would recommend having it once a day or every other day instead. Also, if I’d brought more snacks, I wouldn't have felt like I had to eat any food that I got and would have been able to ration meals.
07
Money: I got $350 out of the bank and transferred it to Canadian dollars where there was no exchange loss. It pared down to $266 CUC for use in Cuba and it wasn't really enough: spending $35 or $40 a day was pretty practical. I wanted to get far more souvenirs for friends and family than I was able to by the time the last day rolled around when we were at a street market (think leather bags, pottery, hats, etc.) There aren't ATMs out and about and small street market vendors don't take American cards, so the money you pull out at the airport will likely be the only money you have. The market had so many amazing leather goods, turquoise jewelry pieces, bags of coffee, and so on, and I barely walked out of Cuba with $10 left, so I had to very sparingly purchase items at the end of the trip.
08
Get a tour guide. We had one every day of the trip and I would not recommend a trip to Cuba without one. We had the same guide the first 5 days and he was truly wonderful. He was so funny and personable: without him it probably wouldn't have been nearly as memorable or enjoyable. Reach out if you’d like his name and I can track down the agency we went through.
Here is more of my work from Cuba if you’re interested! Send me a note if you have any other questions about the trip and I’m happy to help.
Thanks again to Alaska Airlines for sponsoring this incredible trip.