We were invited to a 70th birthday celebration in Havana, so the Friends with Suitcases crew decided to take a long weekend to experience some of what Cuba has to offer. And let’s just say, it was magical! Read on to relive Cuba with us and learn how you can plan your own awesome adventure!
What we did: Our flight departed from Tampa at 6am (Ugh) and we arrived at the airport a little after 4am (double Ugh). We had no issues purchasing or filling out our visas and customs forms prior to boarding the plane, even in our sleep deprived state – go us! We landed at the Havana airport around 7:30 AM and easily made our way through Cuban customs. One surprise in the airport were the scantily clad female security workers! Short skirts, fishnets -We had never seen such a thing, and they worked it! These were not your typical TSA employees! Hola Guapa!
Upon landing we were hit with a wall of humidity and strong diesel fumes – those cool old cars don’t have the same filters we are used to. It floods your nostrils and fills your lungs but don’t worry, you acclimate quickly! We pre-arranged our transport through our AirBnB host and the driver was there waiting for us. Driving through the city towards our apartment in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, we were able to catch glimpses of life outside the tourist friendly center.
How you can do it: If you stay at an AirBnB (which we highly suggest) message the host and see if they will arrange your transport. Most of the hosts are VERY helpful and if they can’t help, they will direct you to someone who can. If you prefer to wing it, there are a lot of taxis, so don’t worry you’ll be okay! Note: most taxis drivers do not speak English, so unless you speak Spanish it can be hard to tell them where you are going. Arranging a ride is your best bet for a hassle free arrival to Cuba!
What we did: We stayed in a great apartment in the tallest building in Havana – El Focsa. The elevators were SLOW (and some buttons didn’t work) but the apartment was spacious, a/c worked fabulously in the bedrooms and the hosts couldn’t have been nicer! They even offered to exchange USD for CUC for us at a little bit of a better rate than the bank, plus it was way easier! Win!
There was also a mini bar stocked with waters, beer and soda. NOTE: don’t drink the tap water! SIDE NOTE: a few of us may have accidentally brushed their teeth with the tap water and had no issues, but tread lightly on the water front. SIDE-SIDE NOTE: Ice in Mojitos is fine. Trust us on this one!
- A toast when we first got to our apartment – beer before noon, sure why not?
How you can do it: AirBnB has tons of choices in Havana – including ours! Our apartment had two bedrooms and was very spacious. We had the option of having breakfast made for us every morning for $5 per person and we loved having this luxury. Many AirBnBs do this in Havana so ask your host! Breakfast is not a huge meal in Cuba and finding restaurants open in the morning is tough so keep that in mind when booking accommodations. Look for a hotel or AirBnB that offers so that you are not hangrily searching the city. If all else fails most of the hotels have breakfast. Side note: the coffee is amazing!
On every FAQ list is how to exchange money in Havana. We asked our host prior to our trip if they would exchange it for us and they agreed to do this. We have read that a lot of them will do so, even though we’re preeety sure they aren’t really allowed to… but otherwise there is a money exchange in the airport (which we did not utilize). There was a bank in our building that we did exchange some money in. They would not take our Swedish kronor even though we had read online that would be an acceptable currency. The bank experience was a little odd as they made you sit down in the lobby, we were briskly told not to stand, and they would randomly point to people to go up to the booths next.
What we did: Next up was our classic car tour. This is a must do for a visit to Cuba! There were 10 of us for the car tour, so they had 3 classic cars awaiting us at our apartment building. A pink Cadillac, a blue Bel Air and an orange Chevy Deluxe. All convertibles, obvi! The drivers took us around Havana, through the old town and around the capitol building and opera house (which are beautiful). We saw the famous Che Guevara relief in The Plaza de la Revolucion and we ended the tour at the beautiful Hotel Nacional for drinks. We sipped the famous mojitos in the same bar where Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, Mickey Mantle and many others used to chill. The bartenders were super friendly and taught us how to make the island’s most iconic drink! Again, trust us on the ice situation! It was a great time!
How you can do it: This tour is available for booking online. We booked through Havana Tour Company and there were lots of other tours that we saw as well. Another option if you don’t want to book in advance, are the old convertibles on standby near the more touristy areas. You can hop in one any time and they will give a tour! If you choose this option make sure to work out price in the beginning!
What we did: Though we didn’t want to leave our rat pack experience behind but we had a special event to attend so we went back for a nap – remember we’ve been up since about 3am at this point!
After a refreshing nap we got ready for that evening’s festivities. The birthday party attendees were to meet at the Hotel Nacional as the starting point for a night full of all types of surprises. From there, our chartered bus drove through the small streets of Old Havana and dropped us off on a random street corner. As the bus pulled away, we saw 25 pedicabs lined up with balloons and signs that read “Cary’s Party.” We climbed on, two by two, and the pedicabs paraded us through the streets of Old Havana. People all stopped to see this very unusual sight and we came to learn that nothing like this has ever been done before! In fact, just getting balloons and string to tie to the pedicabs was a feat in itself due to the lack of such items in Cuba.
How you can do it: If you stroll through old Havana you will see lot’s of pedicabs at the ready. They will be more than happy to take you through the enchanting streets lined with beautiful, crumbling European architecture. I’m sure they would even tie some balloons on if you bring them! Anything for an extra CUC!
What we did: The pedicab tour ended at La Guarida; the spectacular restaurant that has hosted Sting, Jack Nicholson, oh and the Prince of Monaco – NBD. But wait! Did we head right into the restaurant? No, we detoured to a beautifully dilapidated courtyard for drinks and passed hors devourers, topped off with a string quartet serenading us from the corner. Is this real life?! We came to learn that the happy hour was actually in the courtyard of an occupied apartment building. Because of this, the party hosts had to knock on each apartment door and ask the tenants to remove their laundry which was hanging on the crisscrossed clothes lines. After the beautiful cocktail hour, we ascended the gorgeous yet crumbling spiral staircase to the restaurant where we had a private area with two open-air balconies that overlooked all of Old Havana. The food was delicious and the décor is something you have to experience! Side note: Check out the cool bathroom!!
How you can do it: MAKE A RESERVATION! La Guarida is so cool and probably the most popular restaurant in Cuba but you have to have a reservation. Which can be a little tricky to get if you are trying to book it from the States. We can’t stress this enough, utilize your AirBnB host(s)! They are super helpful and Havana is fairly small in that most residents know each other. They have way more pull than we do!
What we did: After we finished our dessert, we were escorted up another spiral staircase to the rooftop lounge for drinks, cigars and a fantastic band. Think Miami Beach flair with a view over the city. It was en fuego! There were even two professional dancers trying to help us perfect our moves! Next to the dance and bar area, was a separate cigar lounge that had a gentlemen’s smoking lounge feel. It was awesome. It seemed like the type of place Hugh Hefner would hang out, but we never did see him.
How you can do it: This space is usually open to the public, so you have to check it out. The bar lounge and Hugh Hefner’s den are all on the rooftop level. Grab a cigar and mojito and enjoy. The atmosphere can’t be beat! If you can’t get a reservation at the restaurant you can still come up to this bar for drinks and a sunset!
What we did: Just when we thought there couldn’t possibly be more surprises, our gracious host asked everyone to go upstairs once more to another outside deck. No one could have guessed what was next, and we bet you can’t either. Think you got it? Nope, it was a fire breather/dancer who performs in the Cuba National Circus who was flown in just to perform for us!
How you can do it: Sadly, this might be one part that you can’t recreate. But, if you find out where the Circus is, you can travel to them and have your own adventure!
As the festivities finally wound down from one of the most incredible nights you could ever dream of, a line of classic cars were all waiting to take us back to our apartment. We started to wonder if this was merely a dream? If you follow our tips from above, you can make it your dream too! For more of our Cuba adventure, check out part dos here!
