Cuba Questions from Hidalgo

prob best info here
http://wikitravel.org/en/Cuba

Here are some answers from my experience.

1. I don't know if you need a reservation but he'll need to say he is staying in hotels since it is against the law in Cuba to stay as a guest at a person's house. Sadly this prevents couchsurfing from being useful in Cuba.

2. and 6. I'm pretty sure whatever money he has he can convert it into the convertible pesos when he arrives in Cuba. This can be done at the airport, at a bank, or even by civilians trying to make a buck. I found that lots of airport workers were offering to change money for you out of their pocket.

5. He probably won't be searched unless he looks suspicious or it's a random search. Same as most countries.

7. They don't monitor you at all. You're free to do whatever you'd like. Hitchhike, take buses, go wherever you'd like, whatever.

8. To me, Cubans seemed much better off on average than Dominicans did. And thus likely a lot better off than Haitians. They have a lot of minimums guaranteed by the state. So while the state isn't all that well off compared to Europe or the United States, they're much better off than other Caribbean nations--the people too.

9. You can buy tickets. It will show up on your credit card as a payment to the airline, not as a ticket to Cuba. Obviously if the government did some digging you could get in some trouble, but really, they don't care.

10. Americans can go to Cuba. They even give you a travel visa as a sheet of paper that they then stamp so that you can avoid having your passport stamped (since the United States government could give you a bit of trouble for that). And while you officially can't spend your money, lots of people will take it anyways.

Asiabill from has written 258 comments

I'm curious if the health care system applies to everyone, even foreign tourists so ask "Andres Hildalgo" to seek medical check-up or help for some health problem.

Also the normal questions and answers which you usually include in your daily posts like the cost of living and various consumable items.

Also curious about the music scene so ask questions regarding the most popular local music groups and type of music preferred by the Cubans?

San Antonio Cicily from has written 12 comments

Why are GPS's not allowed? This seems odd!

It is better to say you are staying at a hotel. very seldom do they ask you for confirmation of this. put the name of just an ordinary hotel such as Hotel Inglaterra and not an upscale one such as Melia Cohiba or Hotel Nacional.
Cuba is much freer than most people think. it is the safest country in the americas without any doubt..usa and canada included.
if you look at the Quality of LIfe Index which is another way of calculating human development status, cuba is way up there. people are so used to equating shopping malls and glitteer and glamour with progress .. cuba is one of the most educated countries on earth. your chance of meeting an university graduate is very high. cuba gives scholarships to nearly 50 000 students from the americas and africa and some countries in asia to study medicine and teacher education.
there is a shortage of material goods but certainly not toothpaste or toilet paper or shampoo. it is a left over from a period in cuba after the soviet union fell when such a shortage was very common.
there are about seven direct flights from miami to havana per day. the round trip is around 550 usd. but you need to be either a cuban american or have a special permission from the state department. the flying time is about 42 minutes.
while there is a shortage of material goods, there is no poverty like the rest of the americas.. you dont see homeless people, all the children are at school, you dont see migrants searching through garbage for food. people are clean and well dressed and polite and extremely friendly.
If Fidel had Chavez's money, Cuba would be so fantastic ...as it is , it is not too bad..