Going on Vacation to Cuba

digital-flex

digital-flex

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Hey gang,

I just wanted to let everyone know that I'll be going on vacation on Dec. 16 to Dec. 24 so I won't be on till I get back. I'll be going to Varadero, Cuba staying at the Playa Caleta hotel.

Anyone have any general tips for me? This is my first time in Cuba and am very excited to go.
 
oh men i lost my post , ok in summary as a cuban i advice you not to take a gps or a cellphone or pda with a gps with you. they will seize it at the border although you can get it back when you return to canada. but is a hassle.

enjoy your stay in cuba, in my opinion , the best piece of land and best human beings on earth and i have being living not only in canada but also in Spain. but beware of your surroundings and everybody else around you when outside the resort, it is not a paradise either.
 
I have been to Cuba twice. Great people and beautiful country. Do not take a GPS. Not allowed in. Watch for counterfeit cigars sold on the beaches and the streets. Banding and boxes and seals look real, but they are probably fake. They will be taken away from you as you leave Cuba. Buy only the real ones and you are OK. Most hotels have an official cigar store on the premises or close by. Ask your tour rep for advice on cigars.

Enjoy yourself.
 
trafficinfo said:
oh men i lost my post , ok in summary as a cuban i advice you not to take a gps or a cellphone or pda with a gps with you. they will seize it at the border although you can get it back when you return to canada. but is a hassle.

enjoy your stay in cuba, in my opinion , the best piece of land and best human beings on earth and i have being living not only in canada but also in Spain. but beware of your surroundings and everybody else around you when outside the resort, it is not a paradise either.
Click to expand...

Why do they seize GPS units or phones with GPS? Just curious.

--Phil
 
I just saw this thread.
Neel, I hope you have a good trip. If you have access to the internet there, I hope you see this.
 
As a Cuban I am glad you had a great time. By the way although I do not condone or support buying Cigars in Cuba in the street (black market or directly from Cubans) I am almost 100% sure that all cigars are ok. they are basically the same cigar made by the same worker with the same tobacco leave but just probably a lot cheaper to buy lol lol lol. I can still remember even the smell of the tobacco leaves every time I visited my uncles in Pinar del Rio, the land of the best tobacco in the world !!!. They used to get up very early to milk the cows and also during the day it was not unusual to see them preparing some "puros" for themself to consume. Like any other plant the key lies in the land and the surrounding water and climate. Pinar del Rio is the most western province in the country , recently devastated by an almost Category 5 hurricane , Gustav. Fell only 5 miles short of the 155 mph sustained wind Category 5 mark. If I may, I would like to point out something very important , No one died in Cuba during the storm. Even the phones were working during the storm since I called my family in Pinar del Rio city. And that last remark is a miracle itself. lol lol lol . Not a single death during a hurricane as a cuban we are already used to that thanks to the evacuations plans bu the phones working!!!!! lol lol lol lol . 1 quarter of a million people were evacuated.
 
Cuban Holidays

I know I'm replying almost one year late but anyway, I want to put some things straight for those who are traveling to Cuba soon.

I was there during the 2008 Easter Holidays :cool: . I stayed at a hotel in Havana and everywhere I went I carried both an old Garmin Legend (with which I measured the distance right from the Havana Malecon to Key West and also saved lots of POIs) and an HTC TyTN II (Windows Mobile 6) with some 4 or 5 GPS apps and working with a Cubacell GSM simcard (US$10 for the card plus $3 per day "cell number rental" with lots of local minutes. It was a good deal because Cubacell does NOT charge for incoming calls. Of course everybody wanted to buy my HTC Pocket PC.

A few days after I left Cuba Raul authorized the use of cellphones by local people so today Cubans have both hands tied up (one with the phone and the other for the Cohiba :) ).
 
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"..... because Cubacell does NOT charge for incoming calls" I am under the impression it is only "Out of the Country incoming calls" but any other incoming call originated in Cuba would be charged depending if it was a landline or a cell or during the day or at night. they had that promotion last year and apparently also this year untill dec 31 2008.

I also beleive the Simcard is free and you only pay for the pre-paid card . the cheapest being $10. be aware cell phone calls are charged per minute and are expensive , it ranges from 0.36 to 0.55 cts per minute. sms and MMS are allowed at 0.16 and $1.00 each.

BTW Cubans have always had their hands tied up ..... both around the waist a beatiful cuban woman lol lol lol lol.
 

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