Money for Cuba?

[friar1610]

On another web site I recently learned a few things about money issues when traveling in Cuba as a US citizen. For example,
- a 10% premium/penalty to exchange USD for CUC.
- the fact that US credit/ATM cards are not accepted in Cuban banks/ATMs.

Recommendations appear to be:
- bring Canadian$ or Euros, if possible, to avoid the 10% charge
- use a Canadian or European credit/ATM card, if possible.

I'll be going to Europe prior to my early 2019 Cuba trip, so I can take care of getting Euros. But I was wondering if anyone has any experience obtaining a Canadian or European credit/ATM card w/o the benefit of having relatives or a mailing address they could use in one of those countries? If so, how did you go about it?

Any other money suggestions? We'll be on an organized tour.

 

[Dtail]

On another web site I recently learned a few things about money issues when traveling in Cuba as a US citizen. For example,
- a 10% premium/penalty to exchange USD for CUC.
- the fact that US credit/ATM cards are not accepted in Cuban banks/ATMs.

Recommendations appear to be:
- bring Canadian$ or Euros, if possible, to avoid the 10% charge
- use a Canadian or European credit/ATM card, if possible.

I'll be going to Europe prior to my early 2019 Cuba trip, so I can take care of getting Euros. But I was wondering if anyone has any experience obtaining a Canadian or European credit/ATM card w/o the benefit of having relatives or a mailing address they could use in one of those countries? If so, how did you go about it?

Any other money suggestions? We'll be on an organized tour.

Bolded - in addition to a 3% admin fee for all currencies.

 

[Moemg]

I would not bother getting a credit card as very few places accept it .Just figure out how much you need in cash and exchange it .Their is very little to buy in Cuba so forget souvenir 's .We were there in June and are returning in October .I would recommend Lonely Planet's book on Cuba .

 

[Nemo2]

.very little to buy in Cuba

When I was there in 1974 there was a Baskin-Robbins knock off that advertised dozens of flavors........except...they were all chocolate...(when they had any at all, that is).

 

[omni550]

I would not bother getting a credit card as very few places accept it .Just figure out how much you need in cash and exchange it .Their is very little to buy in Cuba so forget souvenir 's .We were there in June and are returning in October .I would recommend Lonely Planet's book on Cuba .

Moemg,

I'd love to hear more details about your trip...and am curious as to what is drawing you to return so soon?

omni

 

[KenZ71]

Goto your local AAA office, yes the auto club people, and exchange US $ for Canadian.

On your return back to US do the reverse or just tip someone in Cuba really well.

Went on a cruise in April with an overnight stop in Cuba. Quite a disappointment vs other Caribbean islands. The harbor smelled of sewage.

But the few people we met were nice.

 

[Moemg]

Moemg,

I'd love to hear more details about your trip...and am curious as to what is drawing you to return so soon?

omni

We did a cruise from Tampa and we really enjoyed Havana .It is like a time warp . The cars are so interesting especially for those of us who grew up in the 60's . We are returning because RCL had a cruise from Tampa sale on the 4 th of July and the price was not to be beat .We still have things we would like to see especially the Revolution Museum. We also are looking into an eight day cruise that does several stops in Cuba . It is an easy trip from Florida and it is a new to us area .

 

[1242Vintage]

We were in Havana last July on a four day cruise. The ship was supposed to only stay one night, but due to mechanical issues ended up staying in port for two nights. We took full advantage of the extra night, hitting the very touristy Tropicana night club and having a fantastic and memorable night with my lovely wife ... and a big bottle of rum!

As far as money goes, we took Euros and exchanged for CUCs at the port. Don’t know what the fee was for the exchange.

I’m looking forward to going back ... in the winter this time. Currently considering a week long organized and supported bicycle tour for this Winter.

 

[omni550]

We were in Havana last July on a four day cruise. The ship was supposed to only stay one night, but due to mechanical issues ended up staying in port for two nights. We took full advantage of the extra night, hitting the very touristy Tropicana night club and having a fantastic and memorable night with my lovely wife ... and a big bottle of rum!

As far as money goes, we took Euros and exchanged for CUCs at the port. Don’t know what the fee was for the exchange.

I’m looking forward to going back ... in the winter this time. Currently considering a week long organized and supported bicycle tour for this Winter.

Do you have a tour company identified? Care to share?

omni

 

[Amethyst]

We are looking at a one-week Tauck tour centered on Havana. The up-front cost is supposed to cover all expenses, gratuities included. Cuba interests me b/c it was a forbidden destination from before I was born.

 

[1242Vintage]

Do you have a tour company identified? Care to share?

omni

Sure. The tour company is Bike Hike Adventures.

 

[smurray5991]

Another money-related tip for people planning on visiting Cuba -- DO NOT check any of your online financial accounts while there. A few years ago I was on a multi-month trip in Latin America which ended with a few weeks in Cuba, and I needed to check something on my Schwab account before returning home (just look at it, not perform any transactions).


However just the act of attempting to log on to the website from a local Cuban WiFi caused Schwab to freeze my account entirely (not just the online access) -- this because of the Treasury Department OFAC restrictions on US financial transactions in that country that apparently extend way beyond not being able to use credit cards, etc. I am sure I tried to route the log-on through my VPN, but obviously that didn't mask the location sufficiently. Anyway, it took me a while to sort it all out once I got home, and had to deal with some bounced auto-payments, etc. A big hassle.


I haven't tested this in other 'restricted' countries since then -- I was in Iran the next year but figured the same thing would occur there so didn't dare log on to any US financial account during those few weeks -- waited until I was in my next destination.


You can find the latest list of OFAC sanctioned countries at the Treasury Department website (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/Programs.aspx) -- some are the usual suspects (Yemen, Syria, Venezuela, North Korea, etc.), but I was surprised about a few others, some of which I've traveled to and didn't even know about. Guess I'll have to be more careful to check this before hitting the road....