Havana Good value
Paladares — privately run restaurants — are far better than state ones. Ropa vieja and moros y cristianos are the staples. Bring cash; card acceptance is unreliable everywhere.
Budget travel in Cuba
What a visitor's money does in Cuba: every guide rated from very cheap to very expensive, cheapest first, then the things that cost travellers money without buying anything — the ATM, the taxi, the SIM.
Good value average across 1 guide · 5 is very cheap
Money
Cuban Peso (CUP) · Highly variable — verify current rates before you travel
Cuba is the most complicated money situation of any destination here, and it changes frequently. Foreign cards issued by US banks do not work at all. Bring cash — euros are widely preferred — and verify the current exchange arrangements immediately before travelling.
ATMs
Avoid: relying on ATMs at all
Use: CADECA official exchange offices, Banco Metropolitano
Machines are unreliable, frequently empty and refuse many foreign cards outright. Cards issued by US banks do not work anywhere in Cuba. Bring cash and a reserve.
Getting around
From the airport: Havana airport to the centre €25–30, agreed before you get in
City by city, cheapest first
The cost rating is this site's own, for a visitor, from the guides' authors and the corrections readers send in. The general rules — the conversion prompt, shoulder season, the airport taxi — are in budget travel tips.
