My experience in Cuba - 2017

1. Bug Spray!!!! There are mosquitos everywhere and they are vicious 2. Download Maps.me (and then download the offline map of Havana, Cuba before you go) 3. Download Google translate, and then you can download an offline version of Spanish – (I didn't use this because we had Ozzy – see below, but I have heard that people live and die by this) 4. Be prepared to stay in subpar accommodations (unless you are in Varadero) 5. Bring medicine (ibuprofen, Benadryl crème – sooths mosquito bites, Imodium- stomach medicine, etc) 6. Plan out as much of your trip before hand (stick to the agenda and have reservations and things set up before you arrive – its tough to set things up on the go without wifi) 7. You will be without wifi for most of the trip (80-90% of the time). Let your family & Friends know that you will check in when you can. (I kind of enjoyed being offline for a few days) 8. Cuba is generally safe – but just be careful – I have heard stories of Pickpockets, but if you are ...

January 2017: Laura, my mother, and Joleka spoke about fulfilling lifelong dreams of going to Cuba. At the time Obama’s regulations allowed for American’s to travel to Cuba under one of twelve categories. We chose to travel under educational purposes. No one really every ask you anything about the category that you chose. United Airlines was the most cost effective airline, at a whopping $187. Fast forward, six months and on June 21st 2017 we arrived at Newark airport to take a direct flight to Havana, Cuba. When you arrive at the airport terminal there is a special check-in station for people traveling to Cuba. At this station you pay $75 for your Cuban Visa and fill out your personal information with one of the twelve reasons for your visit to Cuba. The flight is about 3.5 hours. We left out of Newark airport at 10:53am and arrived in Havana, Cuba a little early (1:53am). Once we arrived to Cuba – we were a little nervous because everything is in Spanish ad there are very few ...

STOP! NOW! BREATH! I am not a fan of what Trump is attempting to do but this does not end your once in a lifetime trip to Cuba! I am not an expert on Trump’s policy but I am going to attempt to breakdown what Trump is attempting to do! • The first thing is that nothing that Trump has proposed is set in stone. • Trump wants to Negotiate with the Cuban Government • If his plan goes into place – it will happen three months from now! • He wants people to travel in large groups to Cuba (this sucks for the solo travelers) • He wants to restrict American support of Cuban businesses that are run by the government! (this is problematic because the government’s reach runs deep) • There is a possibility that you may have to get to Cuba on a cruise ship – no more major airlines with direct flights • Trumps plans including restricting Americans travel to Cuba under expensive travel groups that are costly! • In conclusion, travel to Cuba is not completely limited, you will however be severely...

Ozzy, “The Jintero’! Thank you to a fellow Rutgers Alumni, Tiandre Jones; we were connected with a guy by the name of Ozzy. Tiandre provided me with Ozzy’s email about two – three weeks before we left for Cuba. Besides Laura being fluent in Spanish, having Ozzy (a dedicated driver) and being fluent in English was vital to the success of our trip. We also decided to map out are trip before hand (see photo of our Agenda). Ozzy was there waiting at the airport when we arrived! I knew we were in good hands when his first words were a phrase that I hear back home – WHATS GOOD? (Slang for hello, how are you, etc – LOL )Ozzy took us back to our Airbnb and sat with us for about an hour and went over our schedule of events for our stay in Cuba. Ozzy had his brother YoYi meet us in the apartment as well. We told them both what we wanted to do and we worked out all of the prices up front. Ozzy is what Cubans call a Jintero His formal job title is a driver – but he can pretty muc...

When most people come to Cuba – they think of the city of Havana. One must understand that the City of Havana is broken down into smaller sections. Think New York, and the five boroughs. Havana is obviously much smaller than NYC – but I am trying to put into perspective how the city is broken down. The most popular sections to stay in are: Vedado, New Vedado, Miramar, Central Havana, & Old Havana! When coming to Cuba most people want to visit Old Havana, to take pictures of the older structures and buildings that have withstood the test of time. Keep in mind that when visiting and or staying in Old Havana that these buildings are dilapidated and basically falling apart. Do not expect the flavor of the Embassy Suites in Old Havana, or anywhere in Havana for that matter. We booked an Airbnb in Miramar – which is about a ten – fifteen minute drive outside of Old Havana. The owners of our Airbnb lived in Spain: were fluent in English, but we never met them! They have a house ...

My mother and I are in a Facebook group: Unlocking the Mysteries of Cuba. This group was also pivotal in the success of our trip of a lifetime to Havana, Cuba. In most of the post that I read, everyone said that the food was TERRIBLE! This however was not my experience, except for in the resort we stayed in (Varadero). We got reservations and some of the nicer restaurants in Havana. The first spot we ate at was called: Paladar Vistamar (have your driver or contact person make reservations ahead of time – the views at this place are amazing!) Toroco, and small coffee shop called Album Café that was a block or two away from our Airbnb. I did however get quite sick the last night on the trip – I am not sure if it was from the food that I ate or drinking the water, or deep sea fishing that day.