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.

There is much debate about which beach is the best beach! I am not sure which one is best, but all I can offer is my experience. Santa Maria is only twenty minutes outside of the city of Havana vs Varadero which is about 2.5 hours outside of the city of Havana. That's right, 2.5 hours. For us New Jerysians that is like driving to Baltimore and back in one day! We opted for Varadero – even though it was really far. Some people do Varadero in one day, leaving Havana en la Madrugada (the early morning) and coming back late at night! We decided to book an all – inclusive spot called Ocean Vista Azul in Varadero for a one night stay! Let me say this, and I think I can speak for everyone in my group – Varadero was well worth it! The thing is Havana, is not your typical Caribbean vacation – because the water that is most accessible is the water along the Malecon (see photo). The Malecon is not a beach, the shores are rocky and it is simply night a place where you can enjoy a b...

Thursday was our first day in the for adventures/activities since we got in late Wednesday and decided to eat and sleep! We decided to start with the old classic car tour – which is basically a two hour driving tour of Havana: including the tourist hotspots and must see’s! Some of the items on this tour were: the huge monument of Che & Fidel (see photo), Hotel Nacional, El Moro, The John Lennon Statue, Old Havana, etc! After spending about ninety minutes doing these things we started our drive to Varadero! The drive to Varadero is about 2.5 hours and we all were in and out sleep. I suggest not to sleep for the entire ride because the views are gorgeous! We stopped about half way down to Varadero for lunch at this spot called: Los Marinos (a seafood spot that was super DOPE!!!!) Again, the food here was a bit pricey but it was literally amazing! When we arrived at Ocean Vista Azul – we had a bit of an issue. This place is an all inclusive spot that c...

We had to check out of Ocean Vista Azul at 12:00pm– and I ensured that we got every penny of what it was worth – LOL! We got up early hit the beach for what felt like six hours but it was only about two. We eat a very big breakfast and waited in the lobby for our driver! We end up not leaving until about 2:00pm. We asked our driver to stop by a large town by the name of Matanza, in hopes to see a live Rumba performance. As fate would have it we bumped into a ‘rumbero’ on the streets of Matanza – he entertained our questions and told us that he was performing with his professional group at 5:00pm and 9:30am the next morning! This was unfortunate for us because we could not wait and we have plans for Saturday! Friday night brought on a fun adventure. We happened to be in town when a well known salsa group: Alexander Abreu y La Havana Primavera! They were performing at club 1830! This was the salsa concert/party of all salsa events! Before they came out to perform the ...

Friday was a long night! We stayed out until about 2:45am. We slept until about 8:30am and our abuletia made us breakfast for about 6 CUC per person! The breakfast included Cuban sandwiches, eggs, pan, fruit, fruit juice, water, etc. For one reason or another we did not get the day started until about 11:00am. The ticket item for the das was a long journey to Vinales a historic site that was about 2.5 hours from Havana. Vinales is extremely scenic, think Vermont if you ever been – you drive through a valley with gorgeous mountains on both sides. The agenda for today was to drive through the valley, enjoy the scenery, visit a local tobacco farm, maybe purchase a few authentic Cuban cigars, horse back riding, and ride through the natural lake that cuts through a cave! Vinales was amazing. I personally am into scenery – so this day was heaven for me! I would have to say that my favorite part of the day was meeting a local pastor. I walked up to this older gentlemen an...