bushbaby,

You'll be able to use them in the hotel and with your rep to book trips, that's not a problem. It's just out and about where some places don't take them so you can't rely on cards. Most trips are run by the state owned tour company Cubanacan. While prices do vary slightly, I've never seen much of a variation booking through reps or hotels. Just shop around.

Darren

Bushbaby, we went too the sol rio de luna y mares in 2006.

Because it was Allinclusive we took Cash,For a few trips and tips,then kept this in the safe.

You can change your money at the hotel, they have a little booth just opposite reception,just be on your gaurd,because sometimes they will give you your pesos but short change you.

But as long as you stay there and count it infront of them and tell them about their "miscalculation" they will rectify it .When they see you again it will be ok because they know that you are "on the money"so to speak.

Just thinking about the Playa Esmerelda Beach,Wow.

Hopefully this Q is in right place. Can anyone who has just returned from Cuba let me know the approx current exchange save of Pounds sterling to CUC Pesos. I know from previous holidays it varies region to region and sometimes (hotel to hotel) but a general idea would be handy. Cheers, Steve flying out friday 4th June Woohoo

Its around 1.33 CUC to £

Thanks much for the answer.

Has anyone got any up to date info on what credit/debit cards are now acceptable in Cuba? I am taking a cruise at the beginning of May which includes a 3 day stopover in Cuba. My cards are drawn on Banco Santander and Banesto. I've googled Santander, and it looks like it has US affiliation, so does that mean those cards won't be accepted? I can find little info about Banesto?

You should be OK with your Santander one as they are Spanish owned but the easiest thing to do is to check with the card issuers themselves. I've always found that the card issuers know whether their cards are accepted or not.

However, the best option if you are only there for 3 days is simply to change £sterling into CUCs (the convertible pesos that you'll need for the things that you are likely to want to buy) at a Cadeca (exchange bureau) - there is one within easy distance of the quay were the liners berth in Havana. Using cards for anything other than emergency backup is more hassle than it's worth.

It's not always easy to find ATMs to withdraw cash from with a debit card - a lot of the 'banks' are more like credit unions and only members can use their ATMs. Also, you'll find that on the whole you can't use debit ards for making purchases - the shops just aren't geared up for them. Credit cards can be used to withdraw cash over the counter in proper banks and at some Cadecas and they are taken at the airport duty frees but you'll pay a heavy premium for doing so and you'll find by the time you get your statement that the purchases will have cost you up to 20% more than if you'd paid in CUCs.

Apart from rum and cigars and local handicrafts in the big craft market by the quayside, there isn't that much to spend your money on in Havana shopping-wise so I'd suggest that you take enough cash in Sterling (Bank of England notes - not Scottish or N Irish notes). I'm assuming that it's not a US ship that you're sailing on but either way US dollars and, for that matter, travellers cheques are useless too now that it's virtually impossible to get anything other than American Express ones here in the UK, so unless you can withdraw £Sterling on the ship, take enough with you.

SM

Cheers for the quick reply there I live in Lanzarote, so will be taking euros with me. Its a spanish cruise with Quail Cruises, so had presumed that spanish bank cards would be fine in Cuba, it was only reading through this that I found out there may be a problem. It's the Santander card I feel more worried about due to the American affiliation!

Strange that debit cards are not readily accepted, I would have thought they were more acceptable than credit cards, for some reason!!!

From what I remember you cannot use the Santander one . It does have an american affiliation. Out of about 5/6 CC's I have only 1 could be used and that I believe was my Tesco one .

Apologies for the TA link , hope this is ok but theres a lot of very useful info here and on the right hand links.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g147270-c69372/Cuba:Caribbean:Currency.And.Credit.Cards.html

I used my CC at the airport and didnt find using it it be any more expensive so think they are probably right there about it being a myth.

Thanks Lyn for the link

Apologies Madsue if I gave you bum information but it was based on my experiences over multiple trips to Cuba and I have long fallen into the Cuban habit of using cash all the time, so it some time since I bothered using 'plastic' whilst there. I took out my Santander card (originally an Abbey National one) fspecifically for going there because Lloyds TSB weren't sure whether theirs would be accepted at the time! I have never used it for buying things here but on digging it out and checking, I see from the newest one I have been issued with that it has the Mastercard logo on it which I never noticed but that does cause problems - the original one taken out some 5 years ago must have been a Visa card. So thumbs up to Lynn for pointing this out - I might as well close that account now as it looks as if it will be useless in an emergency over there on future trips.

I have not used a credit card for purchases since my first trip to Cuba some years ago because of the appalling exchange rate overall that I experienced then - I'm glad to hear that things have changed. At that time the exchange rate used for converting the CUC price into US Dollars was poor as well as the £Sterling being very weak against the Dollar - the cumulative costs made the CDs I bought at the airport noticeably more expensive than I expected. And I only used it because the clerk in the Cadeca was being very pernickety about accepting my signature on the travellers cheques (when you could still get Thomas Cook ones!). Cuban bank and exchange clerks are extremely cautious when it comes to checking for possible fraud. So ever since I've stuck to taking cash - much less hassle

Euros won't be a problem - just change them at the Cadeca's as usual and in fact a friend who took some left over Euros with her on one trip got a much better exchange rate there than she would have done here if she had changed them back into £Sterling.

Strange that debit cards are not readily accepted, I would have thought they were more acceptable than credit cards, for some reason!!!

I think that the thing to remember is that as far as modern technology is concerned, Cuba is way behind the times in many ways and it is still a cash economy in nearly all respects. Credit is something of a non-concept there. Very few outlets have 'chip and pin' technology and Cubans will always pay in cash anyway so shops just aren't geared up for 'plastic'. Even though you can't use debit cards in shops you can use them in 'proper' bank ATMs - it's just that it's not always clear whether what looks like a bank really is a bank. Credit y Comercio is the most prominent and common of the banks and their ATMs do usually issue CUCs against Visa debit cards. But be prepared for the fact that not all of them will offer you an English language interface. And if your card can be used in the ATM, the clerks won't process a cash withdrawal over the counter.

By the way, in my experience the Cadacas in Havana are usually very busy and often the queue will be out on the street - the security guards on the door only usually let you in as someone else comes out. But it won't be a queue as we Brits know it - it will be a milling mass! So when you arrive ask loudly 'El ultimo?' Someone will put their hand up to indicate that they are currently the last in the queue and your turn is immediately after them. The next time someone asks, you put your hand up to indicate that you are before them. And so it goes one - the same system will used in some shops too. But as a visitor you probably won't have to wait if you show that you understand the system! My experience is that having demonstrated that you know what the local etiquette is, the crowd will push you to the front and make it clear to the security guard that they are happy for you to jump the queue. Smiles all round and in you go but if you don't do the polite thing you may well discover that Cubans will not be slow in pointing out very loudly and with much tutting that there is a queue

Havana is an amazing place so do enjoy it and if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask - there's quite a growing number of Cuban fans here

SM

I never really used our CC until we got to the airport on the way home . As SMa suggested earlier I think it's probably best to check with your CC company . There is a list somewhere on that TA link for the CC's that are fine to use . My Tesco one is a mastercard but as I say I only used it at the aiport .
Many seem to have just a small association with america but that's enough for it to be unusable.

The hotels all seem to have an exchange bank . Well in ours it was a little booth that had the most enourmous queue every morning . I took enough cash for our needs + what I estimated we would spend on diving and just changed as we needed it at the booth.

I think the fact that Cuba is so way behind the time is what makes it so special . No advertising and no commercialism at all . Very refreshing in the world we live in today.

Thanks both for your replies! Sounds a bit like Lanzarote 20 years ago!!! And to a certain amount still is for the locals and longtimers. My debit cards aren't chip and pin, and my credit card is rarely used, cash works best here too. And I am very familiar with the "el ultimo" queueing system, so should be ok with that Cash it is then, though of course now I have to try and work out just how much I will need with me!

I did unearth info that Banesto is 88% owned by Santander, so presumably that crosses that off the list too!!! My only other credit card is AMEX

Hi

Can anyone advise of currency and amount to take. We are AI but obviously will need some spending money

Thanks

Bob

You'll find lots of very useful info here re currency and use of cards etc in Cuba

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=104&t=80134

But the simple answer is to take cash in £sterling and then change it as you need it into CUCs (convertable pesos). These cannot be obtained outside of Cuba but you'll find that your hotel will have an exchange desk giving the standard exchange rate - there's no need to shop around for the best rate as you'll get the same one everywhere.

As to how much to take ,that will depend a lot on where you are going and whether you are planning to spend any time outside of your hotel seeing some of the country eg one of the excursions to Havana etc. So a bit more info will help people give you a more specific answer to that part of your query.

SM

Thanks SM

Hopefully will do as few trips out to see a bit of the country other than a beach and hotel. Will just take plenty of sterling and credit card

Don't change too much at once, you can't change it back once you are out of the country, so you have to spend it at the airport or accept their buy back rate.
In June there was a chap at the airport trying to swap his CUCs as people were going into the duty free shop

What's the best thing currency wise to take to Cuba. I'm was thinking of taking all sterling but after years of using travellers cheques it's a little worrying carrying a large amount of cash. I've been told I may have trouble cashing cheques and that there's no ATM's in Cayo Coco,

Take sterling and change enough for tips/small purchases to CUCs @ the airport -I think that the exchange is actually in Departures but I haven't been to the Cayos for 7 years!!
We used a credit card issued by a UK bank last time in Cuba to pay for a trip out -altho' they plonk on a surcharge it seemed safer than taking hundreds of ££s in cash.