Leaving For Cuba For The First Time: Have A Few Questions

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AFU-RA

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Hey guys,

I'm leaving for Varadero, Cuba on January 10th I'm just a little bit lost when it comes to currency there. I've been looking up alot on the net and have found many outdated articles , but not sure if laws have been changed recently.

For one i'm curious what currency is accepted at the government type stores...for my case when I go buy cigars and rhum...

Also I heard a tip goes a long way. I'm relatively generous , and like to show my appreciation when service is great. So what currency do you tip in a all-inclusive resort? Say theres a particular bartender I feel deserves a dollar or two. Do you tip with Cnd money , the convertible pesos , or american? which one do they most appeciate?

And finally what are average prices for Cigar boxes in Cuba...not street vendors , but actual cigar stores... I'm looking more or less for monte cristo's and romeo julietta's , so if you could give me a ball park figure for a box of those that would be great.

thanks in advance,

NIck
 
It's all convertible pesos.

As for tips, they will accept american dollar. 1$ for a drink is more than enough IMO.
 
It's all convertible pesos.

As for tips, they will accept american dollar. 1$ for a drink is more than enough IMO.

I dont think soo...1$ for us is nothing... but for a cuban bartender is very appeciate
 
Ben justement, avec 1$ ils peuvent vivrent 1 semaine. Anyways, donnes ce que tu veux, m'en fou.
 
When you are in Cuba do not change your Canadian money in one shot! Get the amount you need for a couple days then party or w/e and then when you feel your running low go get in converted. And watch out when they convert the money, my friend got cheated a couple of pesso's. and those pesso's could add up and up. And youll be loosing more money and you wont realize it.
 
dont tip everyone who serves you well cause youll just end up spending more then your trip cost you...and give them pesos, not canadian cause 1$ CDN = 0.74 pesos...
 
Hey guys,

I'm leaving for Varadero, Cuba on January 10th I'm just a little bit lost when it comes to currency there. I've been looking up alot on the net and have found many outdated articles , but not sure if laws have been changed recently.

For one i'm curious what currency is accepted at the government type stores...for my case when I go buy cigars and rhum...

Also I heard a tip goes a long way. I'm relatively generous , and like to show my appreciation when service is great. So what currency do you tip in a all-inclusive resort? Say theres a particular bartender I feel deserves a dollar or two. Do you tip with Cnd money , the convertible pesos , or american? which one do they most appeciate?

And finally what are average prices for Cigar boxes in Cuba...not street vendors , but actual cigar stores... I'm looking more or less for monte cristo's and romeo julietta's , so if you could give me a ball park figure for a box of those that would be great.

thanks in advance,

NIck

Enjoy your trip - you're going to love it! :)

Tip in pesos and 1-2 dollars is more than enough for select waiters and bartenders and if any locals help you if you are out on excursions etc. ... if you want to be really nice bring stuff for your maid such as small shampoos, soaps, stockings, kids toys etc, (things from the dollar store that say Canada/Quebec) and leave your maid gifts ... I've done that everytime I've gone and they are SO appreciative. We made a woman cry because we gave her crayons and a colouring book for her daughter ...
We also left all of our remaining convertible peso change and money for the maid at the end of the trip. They need everything and anything you can give them and they are all so nice there ...

There is a safe in the room and for the first few days we would always put all our jewelry, passports, wallets and money ... then one day we went out without putting everything in and there was all this money on the desk and stuff everywhere. We panicked because we knew the maid came in everyday ... we went in and she actually "cleaned" the money ... piling the change into neat piles and stacking the bills ... and it was all there!

As for the cigars ... we were shocked that the prices ARE NOT good ... it's pretty much the same price as here ... not a deal at all. As for the alcohol ... I spent $2 convertible pesos for a bottle that cost me $40 CAN at the SAQ!!!

It's a beautiful place ... enjoy your stay! :bigup:
 
Enjoy your trip - you're going to love it! :)

Tip in pesos and 1-2 dollars is more than enough for select waiters and bartenders and if any locals help you if you are out on excursions etc. ... if you want to be really nice bring stuff for your maid such as small shampoos, soaps, stockings, kids toys etc, (things from the dollar store that say Canada/Quebec) and leave your maid gifts ... I've done that everytime I've gone and they are SO appreciative. We made a woman cry because we gave her crayons and a colouring book for her daughter ...
We also left all of our remaining convertible peso change and money for the maid at the end of the trip. They need everything and anything you can give them and they are all so nice there ...

There is a safe in the room and for the first few days we would always put all our jewelry, passports, wallets and money ... then one day we went out without putting everything in and there was all this money on the desk and stuff everywhere. We panicked because we knew the maid came in everyday ... we went in and she actually "cleaned" the money ... piling the change into neat piles and stacking the bills ... and it was all there!

As for the cigars ... we were shocked that the prices ARE NOT good ... it's pretty much the same price as here ... not a deal at all. As for the alcohol ... I spent $2 convertible pesos for a bottle that cost me $40 CAN at the SAQ!!!

It's a beautiful place ... enjoy your stay! :bigup:

Ci les cigar etais pas moin cher ces que ta magasiner a un "magasin de touriste" ou les prix son ajuster au prix NA
 
i've heard that they can convert the convertible pesos into manys US$'s worth afterwards.


and anyway, when you're there for a week or 2...you get to know the regular bartenders...and you tip them. sorta in bulk...like you take turns getting drinks, one night, i give the guy 5 conv pesos, the next night it's someone else's turn, for example.


what hotel are you going to btw? i was at playa de oro in june, and i don't know how it is everywhere else...but you can buy bottles off the guys for cheaper...they smuggle em out and pocket the money....because it's all inclusive no one can really know how much stock they go through anyway...3$ for dark havana club rum...
 
.

Enjoy your trip - you're going to love it! :)

Tip in pesos and 1-2 dollars is more than enough for select waiters and bartenders and if any locals help you if you are out on excursions etc. ... if you want to be really nice bring stuff for your maid such as small shampoos, soaps, stockings, kids toys etc, (things from the dollar store that say Canada/Quebec) and leave your maid gifts ... I've done that everytime I've gone and they are SO appreciative. We made a woman cry because we gave her crayons and a colouring book for her daughter ...
We also left all of our remaining convertible peso change and money for the maid at the end of the trip. They need everything and anything you can give them and they are all so nice there ...

There is a safe in the room and for the first few days we would always put all our jewelry, passports, wallets and money ... then one day we went out without putting everything in and there was all this money on the desk and stuff everywhere. We panicked because we knew the maid came in everyday ... we went in and she actually "cleaned" the money ... piling the change into neat piles and stacking the bills ... and it was all there!

As for the cigars ... we were shocked that the prices ARE NOT good ... it's pretty much the same price as here ... not a deal at all. As for the alcohol ... I spent $2 convertible pesos for a bottle that cost me $40 CAN at the SAQ!!!

It's a beautiful place ... enjoy your stay! :bigup:


Thank you very much , very helpful.

Thanks for the rest of the replies guys... Very excited for this trip, I really need a vacation!

Deathfromabove: i'm staying at Playa caleta in Veradero
 
best tip for the cleaning lady is toothpaste! They appreciate it a lot, as toothpaste there is shitty and costs a fortune.

A good thing about cuba, is to go to the same place often, you build up your local connections, and after you can just exchange you tourist peso's, to real Cuban pesos 25:1, just shop at real cuban stores and everything is MUCH cheaper!
 
best tip for the cleaning lady is toothpaste! They appreciate it a lot, as toothpaste there is shitty and costs a fortune.

A good thing about cuba, is to go to the same place often, you build up your local connections, and after you can just exchange you tourist peso's, to real Cuban pesos 25:1, just shop at real cuban stores and everything is MUCH cheaper!

Exactly,
There are two types of pesos; "tourist pesos" and actual cuban pesos. I am sorry for missing the real terms, but it is done like so, so when you tip your bartender or whoever 1 tourist peso, he is in fact getting much less when he converts it into real pesos because he cannot use that money in the villages etc... thats why some say it is better to tip american... or to tip with products and clothing...

enjoy your stay
 
the average cuban makes 7$ a month. should give u a idea on how much to tip. when i went a few years back, u could have used USD. you can in any touristic country anyways. but might have changed. dont buy black market cigars even if its the real stuff, ur ganna have a hard time taking it out of the country if u even manage to get them out. i got 4 boxs of montecristo No 2 and 2 boxs of chirchils taken away. ****en sucks ass. plus made me sign all kinds of papers in spanish, im never going back there. **** castro

a other friend of mine did 3 months in jail in cuba..... dont **** around with them
 
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ahaha yeah i was supposed to go to jail also for what is considered here a very minor offence, luckily i go out of it thanks to my spanish speaking friend...

Basiically, I wouldnt **** with them, especially on something more important...
 
Exactly,
There are two types of pesos; "tourist pesos" and actual cuban pesos. I am sorry for missing the real terms, but it is done like so, so when you tip your bartender or whoever 1 tourist peso, he is in fact getting much less when he converts it into real pesos because he cannot use that money in the villages etc... thats why some say it is better to tip american... or to tip with products and clothing...

enjoy your stay


I thought it was opposite to what you are saying. If the convertible pesos is more then a cuban pesos ( around 1:25). that would mean if i tipped one "tourist" pesos(convertible) , they could exchange it for 25 of there own cuban currency pesos. I would think that is good no?
 
I thought it was opposite to what you are saying. If the convertible pesos is more then a cuban pesos ( around 1:25). that would mean if i tipped one "tourist" pesos(convertible) , they could exchange it for 25 of there own cuban currency pesos. I would think that is good no?

Ya I thought it was that way too (convertible peso better than a cuban peso)... which is why the locals freak out on tourists and always ask for money when they see you with a resort bracelet on! :dunno:
 
I went to jail in Cuba, in Holguin.

It's far from what you consider a jail, it's a room with an open window and a TV...

As in any communist society, everyone, except a few people, is corrupt, so getting out of jail was nothing but a matter of a couple of pesos
 
I thought it was opposite to what you are saying. If the convertible pesos is more then a cuban pesos ( around 1:25). that would mean if i tipped one "tourist" pesos(convertible) , they could exchange it for 25 of there own cuban currency pesos. I would think that is good no?

from what i was told it was the opposite...
because yes, technically the tourist pesos is worth more, seeing as how it is 1 for 1 with american dollar, but it is actually fake money that can only be bought in cuba, therefore they have control on the actual value of it when reconverting it back to cuban pesos... Either that or there is a tax instaured to cubans trying to convert their money...

If you think about it, if a cuban is paid 15/month and is able to live with that, imagine a bartender at a hotel who gets tipped +/- 1$/person every couple of drinks he'll be pretty damn rich when he gets home... for a cuban...

And yeah for sure any cuban freaks out at a tourist with hotel band for the simple fact that we are "rich" and they know we tip for almost any reason at all...
 
from what i was told it was the opposite...
because yes, technically the tourist pesos is worth more, seeing as how it is 1 for 1 with american dollar, but it is actually fake money that can only be bought in cuba, therefore they have control on the actual value of it when reconverting it back to cuban pesos... Either that or there is a tax instaured to cubans trying to convert their money...

If you think about it, if a cuban is paid 15/month and is able to live with that, imagine a bartender at a hotel who gets tipped +/- 1$/person every couple of drinks he'll be pretty damn rich when he gets home... for a cuban...

And yeah for sure any cuban freaks out at a tourist with hotel band for the simple fact that we are "rich" and they know we tip for almost any reason at all...


Thanks for the reply, never thought of it that way.
 
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