Capital, Major Cities:
Havana
The main resorts are Varadero, Holguin, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cayo Guillermo.

time difference with Minsk

behind by 7 hours

telephone code

53

currency unit

Cuban peso/CUP (1 CUP = 100 centavos), convertible peso/CUC, 1 EUR = ~1.21 CUC

visa

not needed, airport tax 25 CUC

the cost of a “typical” dinner

15-20 CUC

tips

usually 10% of the order amount

car rental per day

from 40 CUC

official language

Spanish

population

about 11.4 million people.

beach holiday

You can go to Cuba all year round – for one hundred percent exotic, dancing and carnivals. This is a visa-free country with an excellent climate (on the coast), beautiful nature and luxurious beaches, popular with us since the “pre-perestroika” times.
Young people and couples are chosen here, as well as a lot of men booking a “single”. As a rule, these are tourists with an “above average” income. Approximately one-fifth of all travelers are with children.

main resorts

Varadero, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Holguin, Cayo Guillermo.

Flight
There are several ways to get to Cuba. The first is a direct regular flight of Aeroflot on the Moscow-Havana route (the duration of a non-stop flight is about 13 hours). The second way is a transit flight through Paris with an Air France flight from Moscow to Havana. The third option is a flight via Frankfurt with Lufthansa and Condor flights Moscow (Minsk) – Havana, Moscow (Minsk) – Varadero or Moscow – Holguin will take approximately 16-20 hours. Fourth – flight Moscow (Minsk) – Varadero via Vienna (Austrian Airlines), the flight duration is about 15 hours. Finally, you can choose a Moscow-Havana flight in transit through Amsterdam with KLM airlines.

Visa

Visa-free entry into the country for up to 30 days is provided for citizens of Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The rest need a visa, which is issued at the Cuban Embassy in Moscow. The consular fee is 50 USD and the processing time is 3 working days. To enter the country, you need a valid passport (valid for at least 3 months after the end of the trip), a round-trip ticket and a hotel booking confirmation (provided by the tour operator). An airport tax of 25 CUC is charged upon departure.

Customs

Duty-free import of 200 cigarettes or 250 g of tobacco, perfumes, medicines and household items is allowed – within the limits of personal needs. Also, one photo and video camera is imported duty-free (plus 5 cassettes for each). It is forbidden to import drugs, pornography and firearms (with the exception of sport hunting guns belonging to tourists who come to the country for this purpose and have the appropriate permit issued in Cuba upon arrival). The export of animals, cultural values, sea shells, antiques, precious metals is prohibited. When buying jewelry or goods made of crocodile skin, you must require an export license from the seller, otherwise the goods will be confiscated during customs control. These licenses are issued, as a rule, only in stores,
Many people bring cigars from Cuba. From the island, if you have a check, you can

Transport rental

It is not difficult to rent a car in Cuba: for this you need to pay the rental price and a security deposit. Required documents: international driver’s license, credit card. Car rental is allowed from the age of 18. The quality of cars is the most diverse, and agencies can not always provide even a pre-reserved car. The cost of gasoline in Cuba is very high – about 1 CUC per liter.
The road rules are standard, traffic is right-handed, there are few cars on the roads (but there are more than enough cyclists), while the quality of the roads leaves much to be desired, and there are practically no markings and signs. Service stations are quite rare.

Safety

It is necessary to store valuable items, as well as documents and money in a safe. Do not recommend tourists to drink tap water, as well as eat at restaurants other than state-owned ones. In Cuba, you can not photograph military equipment, military personnel and industrial enterprises.

electricity

The mains voltage is 110 V, you must have a set of adapters with you, since the plugs and sockets in Cuba are flat.
In modern Cuban hotels, the voltage is 220 V and “European” sockets.

Climate

Tropical trade winds, the temperature regime is softened by the influence of the ocean. The average annual temperature is +25°C, the temperature of the coldest month (January) is +22°C, and the warmest month (August) is +28°C. Throughout the year, high humidity is felt, which, combined with high temperatures, requires a certain acclimatization, but on the coast, the heat is softened by constant winds from the ocean. The rainy season lasts from May to October.

Beaches

Tropical trade winds, the temperature regime is softened by the influence of the ocean. The average annual temperature is +25°C, the temperature of the coldest month (January) is +22°C, and the warmest month (August) is +28°C. Throughout the year, high humidity is felt, which, combined with high temperatures, requires a certain acclimatization, but on the coast, the heat is softened by constant winds from the ocean. The rainy season lasts from May to October.

hotels

There are many world chain hotels in Cuba (mostly Spanish), meals in most cases are all-inclusive with imported drinks. Coastal hotels are usually located on the first line of the beach.

In Cuba, there are hotels of the old, “pre-revolutionary” construction, and the “fours” sometimes do not correspond to their “star rating”.

money

Previously, it could be said that in Cuba for foreign tourists, only American dollars are in use. Now, dollars in Cuba are prohibited from circulation, and they must be exchanged for “convertible pesos” (1 CUC = 1 USD + 10% – the tax that is withheld during the exchange). The euro circulates freely in the country, but in the end it turns out that it is more profitable to carry dollars, since prices are set in CUC, but when paying in euros, it turns out that 1 EUR = 1 CUC.
Banks are open from Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 12:00 and from 13:30 to 15:00, on Saturday from 8:30 to 10:30. At Cuban resorts, credit cards Visa, Eurocard, Mastercard and others are in use – except, however, for cards issued by American banks.

The main difference between a “convertible peso” and a regular one is the inscription “convertible”, I recommend it.

Shopping

From Cuba, you can bring black coral and products from it, products from tortoise shell (bracelets and hairpins), tumbadora or bongos (percussion musical instruments used in African melodies), guayabera (a shirt worn by officials in the tropics) and Brazilian shoes. Be sure to buy Cuban rum, real Cuban cigars and Cuban coffee.

Food

From Cuba, you can bring black coral and products from it, products from tortoise shell (bracelets and hairpins), tumbadora or bongos (percussion musical instruments used in African melodies), guayabera (a shirt worn by officials in the tropics) and Brazilian shoes. Be sure to buy Cuban rum, real Cuban cigars and Cuban coffee.

tips

In Cuba, it is customary to leave a tip (they are expected). In most cases, they amount to ~ 10% of the cost of the service. The porter and maid at the hotel usually leave up to 1 CUC or EUR.

Excursions

Sights.
In the province of Pinar del Río, in the extreme west of the island, there are two sites declared World Biosphere Reserves by UNESCO: the Sierra del Rosario and the peninsula of Guanaacabibes. The Guaniguanico mountain range has extensive cave systems and springs of mineral and healing waters. In the center of the province, the city of Pinar del Rio, the Provincial Museum of Natural Sciences and the Milanes Theater are located.
Viñales Valley National Park: karst valleys, Palenque de los Cimarrones – camp where fugitive slaves hid, Cave of the Indians, large Santo Tomas cave, healing springs of San Vicente.
Soroa: one of the world’s largest orchid nurseries, a waterfall on the Manantiales River and a natural viewpoint of Castillo de las Nubes (“Cloud Palace”) on top of Mount Loma del Fuerte.
Juventud Island: Los Indios San Felipe Nature Reserve with unique flora and fauna, Presidio Modelo Prison, a copy of the American Joliet Prison in Illinois (where Fidel Castro served his prison sentence), Punta Frances National Marine Park, international dive center “El Coloni”, the islands of Cayo Largo del Sur, Cayo Rosario, Cayo Cantiles and Cayo Iguana (excellent diving and fishing).
Province of Santiago de Cuba: City of Santiago de Cuba &md ash; Padre Pico Street (the only stepped street in Cuba, which is a natural observation deck), Piracy Museum, Historical Museum, etc. Cayo Granma is a small island where you can see one of the most interesting wooden architectural ensembles in the country. Gran Piedra is a huge rock, at an altitude of more than 1200 m above sea level. Baconao Reserve – Prehistoric Valley, Baconao Large Lagoon and Sculpture Meadow. The Sierra Maestra National Park is an ideal place for lovers of mountain climbing, here is the highest point in Cuba, Peak Turquino (1974 m).
Guantanamo Province: Alexander Humboldt National Park, El Cabo and Kupelle nature reserves, the original rock-cut zoo.

Entertainment

There are many discos on the coast, the most popular among tourists are at the Bellamar Hotel (Varadero), at the Tuxran Hotel (entrance – 10 USD, start at 22:30) and at the Riu de las Morlas Hotel (free entrance).

Diving

The main advantages of “Diver’s Cube” are the excellent preservation of the ecosystem, favorable climatic conditions, the high level of development of the diving industry, the availability of dive sites of all levels of complexity.
The underwater world of the island is amazing coral gardens, caves, curved channels and tunnels, colored meadows covered with sea sponges of various shapes. Many marine animals live in coral reefs: mollusks, crustaceans, about 500 species of tropical fish. In addition, there are many “wrecks” (remains of sunken ships). Dive points (and there are about 500 of them) are often located in protected natural areas.
There are no strong currents in the coastal waters of the island, visibility under water reaches 30–40 m, diving depth is up to 40 meters, and the water temperature ranges from +24°C to +28°C throughout the year.

Thanks to special schools for beginners, as well as professional instructors with CMAS and ACUC certificates, diving on the island can be practiced by both professionals and beginners.