by Nick Adams

Created on: July 01, 2010

White-sand beaches and crumbling houses; cigars, rum and bearded revolutionaries - Cuba is frequently, and not inaccurately imagined as a romantic mess. With beachfront vistas and azure seas like many around the world, but with a history and a beguiling, bewildering way of everyday life like nowhere else, the largest island in the Caribbean attracts hordes of visitors - but it isn't always an easy place in which to travel, especially if you're doing so independently.

Thanks to the dual-currency (one for locals, one for tourists), Cuba is deceptively hard on the wallet. Wildly unlike other Latin American nations, basic services and rustic surrounds don't equate to cheap living. If you are intent on getting the most out of Cuba, the following advice is a mixture of sound tips and common sense;


$ Leave Havana.

It can be hard to believe that cheap Cuba exists when you're paying a fortune for bottled water and taxis in Havana, but beyond the capital's city limits, there's an island that's infinitely gentler on the wallet; accommodation is considerably cheaper, food likewise (and rather better) and budget-shredding taxis are largely unnecessary. Havana's certainly an interesting place to be, but you'll get much greater value for money the moment you leave.


$ Stay in Casas Particulares, easy to find either in guidebooks/internet or in person.

The familiar blue logos that signify Casas Particulares mark accommodation that is really the only way to stay affordably in Cuba. Fortunately, they're also the best way; exercise a bit of choosiness in deciding where to stay and you can find some absolute bargains - elegant colonial villas built around lush gardens and terraces, with an inevitably warm welcome to boot. Expect to pay around 25-30 CUC for a decent room, often with en-suite bathroom.

$ Likewise, eat in your Casa; the food is likely to be substantially better and cheaper than in a restaurant.

Alongside the pleasant lodgings, Casas Particulares also offer the chance to eat extremely well for a modest supplement; 8 CUC or so for dinner, half that for breakfast. In a country not especially well-noted for its cuisine, eating in your Casa makes for a cheaper and better alternative to so-so restaurants. The abundance of fresh fruit from the surrounding countryside typically features prominently on the menu, along with a simple, tasty meat or seafood dish and some variation on a rice/potatoes theme on the side.

$ The more Spanish you speak, the better - the ability

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