Hi, I am Cuban, grew up in Varadero, but I moved to Canada almost 12 years ago. Great tips, especially for those people who have never been to Cuba. I always exchange my money in the black market, last time I was in Cuba, I got 115 pesos to a Canadian dollar. Greetings from Ottawa.
Hi Yaimi! Our goal was to share our experience to help other people enjoy their time there as much as possible. We heard the black market exchange had gotten better since we had been there. Nice job scoring 115 to 1 cdn. We bet you like the winters better in Cuba than Ottawa 😜. Thanks for watching. Cheers
I was recently in Holguin and I was getting 155 pesos for $1 Canadian . Keep an eye on Facebook and WhatsApp groups . There’s usually plenty of local groups for buying / selling foreign money and pesos .
@sleezyt7538 that's a great tip. Sounds like you got a good exchange too. Whereabouts did you stay in Holguin? We've been looking at that destination a bit lately
@@beachbumbling , . I would recommend Playa Costa Verde or Sol Rio de Lunes y Mares . I spend most of my time in the city down there but those resorts are fantastic . You should definitely consider exploring eastern Cuba ! Edit : I just noticed on WhatsApp Canadian dollars are currently at 170 pesos. 265 for American . It’s always fluctuating .
Have been going to Varadero , Cuba now for around 12 years. Our second home practically. Our favorite resort is Starfish Cuatro Palmas. Great location and lots of return guests. Going back early May. Our 5th time at this resort. You don't go for the food to Cuba, you go for the beautiful beach, the people and the bang for your buck. We always find something we like to eat at the resort and we go out to eat as well. Hello from South Lancaster, Ontario! Happy travels!
@olgaczuma8280 We have looked at that one before. If I'm not mistaken that is almost right across from calle 62. Great spot as you said. Is there a room category that you prefer there? We are going back in a couple of months but haven't decided which resort yet. Thanks for watching! Cheers
I would like to know if you could tell me what resorts are the best for a solo female traveler over 35 years old. I would like to have some mingling activities to meet people there and also have my alone time for meditation and reading books. Any suggestions? I found on google that Iberostar Selection is the best but find it very expensive. Gracias 🎉❤❤
@shaunmckinley1208 we are glad you found it helpful! If you are looking for a good day trip check out the Jeep tour. Had a little bit of everything. We have a couple of videos on it if you want to learn more. Thanks for watching! Cheers
@ronbelisle Thanks Ron! We wished we would have gone years earlier. Might not be for everyone but those beaches are gorgeous and we've really enjoyed our time there so far. Have fun on your 10th time! Cheers!
Our 4th trip to Cuba, excellent all-inclusive experience at the Grand Memories Resort, Varadero, food and entertainment, were very good in comparison to last year at Starfish Varadero. Definitely recommend for a great price direct from Newfoundland thru Sunwing vacations. Make sure to book classic car, snorkeling and cave swim thru Varadiving.These guys will make every effort to stop at any other places along the route that you want to go. They even introduced us to an airbnb host and we were able to view the beautiful airbnb in Varadero,upon our request, since we r considering staying at an airbnb during our next trip to Cuba. We felt very safe here and love the Cuban culture and its people. Bring lots of any items to give to individual Cubans, they appreciate anything since there is a big shortage of any toiletries ,clothing, toys, school and medical supplies that we Canadians take for granted. They appreciate those items more than any American or Canadian dollar since those items are just not available in Cuba, and if they are they're are so high priced, the Cuban people cannot afford them anyway. Have fun on the resorts but take time to go off the resorts and meet the Cuban people !
Thanks for sharing all that information with our viewers! Great points. We will be sure to mention the items to bring in an upcoming Cuba video. Half of one suitcase we brought was toiletries to give away lol. Cheers!
I was leery of going to Cuba and went to Mexico or other Caribbean islands instead. Last year, I went for the first time, and next week, I'm heading to Varadero for my fifth Cuban trip. (Prior Trips Cayo Santa Maria (2X), Cayo Largo, Varadero). There are miles of fantastic beaches. I’m never concerned about personal safety, and the weather is always perfect. The Cubans are wonderful people and excellent hosts. I read complaints about the food and poorly maintained rooms. These aren’t issues for me. The buffets have fresh fish, phenomenal pork, organic chicken, fruits we don’t get in Canada, and the best rice pudding I’ve ever eaten. I enjoy what they have. As for the room, well, I’m so busy having fun that I rarely use the room except when my eyes are closed. My only complaint is that I need to keep connected for work; MS Teams and Zoom don’t work. (or is this a good thing?)
@MikesGoogleAcct - for us it was very much a "I wish we knew then what we knew now" scenario. You are spot on about the beaches and the Cuban people. We hope you enjoy your trip and many more. Thanks for watching. Cheers!
I'm going in March or April this year super excited never been. Going to stay in Varadero and probably do excursion to see Havana because definitely need to see that when in Cuba. I own a drone and thankful I did my research before going I won't be bring it 😅
By looking at the invoice on the cost of the package, its like gas in Canada. Near 50% of the cost goes to Canadian taxes...not very much for the carrier and even less for the Cuban hotel...I don't know how they can survive !
@@beachbumbling we’ve actually stayed in cayco coco in an all inclusive and loved it but I’ve heard there’s some great spots in varadaro and actually would like to try somewhere there which isn’t an all inclusive. So we can stear our own show. Know any great spots??
@courtneywersch836 As far as accommodations go, we've only stayed at the all inclusive but we don't know very many people that have ever stayed off a resort so I wish we could help there. For the attractions and restaurants, there's some great places to go in Varadero if you can wrestle yourself away from the beach which is absolutely amazing. We've got a playlist from Varadero on our channel that might interest you as it covers a lot of restaurants, things to do off the resort and transportation. Fortunately, the exchange rate had really gone in our favor since we left and the hop on hop off bus does take American $5 bills now. Where did you stay when you were in Cayo Coco? We've been looking at that location for our next trip to Cuba.
@@beachbumbling fantastic! Appreciate the comments here. Super super helpful. We’ve been to memories caribe twice, we are beach people and that beach is breathtaking. And do come back for it. Will check out the rest of your channel tho. We just feel for us it’s nice to be off the all inclusive and eat when your hungry but to each their own. Thanks for the tips!
@courtneywersch836 we were looking at that property. Lol. I have a friend who is due back from Cuba tomorrow that rented a house in Holguin. I could get you some information on that if you'd like.
@@beachbumbling yes it is. Stayed at the Los Cactus but years ago so our second trip back to Varadero. We also went to Cayo Coco and Holquin. We stayed at the sister Grand Sirenis in the Mayan back in 2020 and lo9ved it and our last trip since the Pandemic so pretty excited. Keep up the great videos.
@loneranger8293 we stayed at that same Sirenis before! Anyplace that has chicken wings available during the day is aces with me 😁. That's the first place Karen ever had a mojito! Funny story - I am missing a front tooth from hockey and at the time had a temporary false one that I just took out at night. Well I took it out on the balcony while having a beer before bed and left it on the table. The coati that were on the resort stole it off our 3 floor balcony and left a poop in its place ... You can't make that stuff up. Have a great trip
hi name is bill from niagara falls great tips i never use the bank exchanged our money with a worker at resort we got 80 to 1 one thing you for got was band aids with had a bad blister that broke open it took 3 days to find a band aid then when we did it was 10 canadian dollars for 5 band aids
Hi Bill! We bring a first aid kit with us when we travel (we left ours with the maid when we came back to Canada) but that is a great point and thanks for sharing it. We will mention it in our next Cuba series. Cheers
Your video is really helpful. It’s my first time planning a vacation to cuba from Canada at starfish varadero. Could you please share approximately how much the cabs from airport cost to reach hotels?
As well world travelers we are now making our 70th over 32 years 2 month trip to Varadero, Cuba. When people travel they must understand that they are not going to get the same food as back home. We have never had a problem with the food. Cuba is one of the safest, friendly, great beaches, wonderful people, great entertainment and site seeing experiences.
@georgemeek4351 we couldn't agree more with all those points George. Sounds like you got the Cuba bug a long time ago! 70th trip! That's amazing! What is your favorite restaurant in Varadero?
Really enjoyed watching a few of your videos. I've been to Varadero 4 times and am going again for Christmas but since I was there last they have done away with the CUC and only do CUP now. I was curious where you scored 70 to 1? I'm not looking to get the 20 to 1 they are offering everywhere else!
@krawl7885 We just literally spoke with someone 2 days ago who is there right now. The exchange has gone up quite a bit since we were there. She just got 140 cdn. When we checked in our bell boy offered us the exchange that we got. Lots of people at the market were offering as well(decent rates) Cab drivers seemed to be another group that offered to exchange but the ones we spoke with by happenstance were offering too low. Just could have been the individual though. I sent a message to see where she exchanged and will update you when we hear back. Thanks for watching! Cheers
@krawl7995 as it turned out they exchanged though people they are friends with down there (they go frequently). Just ask around or go to the market your first day and they will likely ask you lol.
Bring Canadian or American with you. You can usually get a smoking deal exchanging money at the market or with your bellboy. You can get money at the bank but you will get a horrible exchange rate so we wouldn't recommend that. We exchanged a couple times through the week. You don't want to have any Cuban pesos left so don't go overboard. Thanks for watching
Hey guys great tips. Couple questions so can only bring one lighter with you? Can you bring your own cigarettes? If so how many packs? Just wanna make sure I don’t get stuff confiscated. Thanks
@konradyoung7056 thank you! You're allowed one carton of cigarettes tax-free going into Cuba. We also took a bottle of vodka each as we heard there may be shortages when we went. Hope that helps. Have a great time! Cheers
We have travelled to Varadero many times. We have found, in the last couple of years, that there was actually no reason to exchange any money. We found just the opposite of you folks, no one wanted the Pesos. We were going to buy a t shirt in a shop and if we paid in pesos it would have cost the equivalent to $150 canadian. We found most of the folks wanted Canadian or American only. Good tips though.
@berniemystyle we found that at the market depending on the vendor it was possible to get a better deal. For restaurants we ate at and booking excursions, golf we got better deals paying with the peso. (In some cases it was significant ) From a mere convenience standpoint we definitely agree if you wanted to pay in CDN or US it was accepted anywhere. Cheers!
@@berniemystyle we are fortunate that we can fly out of Windsor, London, Hamilton, or Kitchener for Cuba. And Toronto. So lots of options. Hope to see you on the beach sometime. Cheers!
Which resort in Varadero has got Good food options for someone Vegetarian. We went to Cayo Santa Maria in August of 2022 and stayed at Paradisus on the Royal Services side and the food was OK. Thinking of going to Varadero. Don't know which Resort Melia Intercontinental or Paradisus Del Mar to consider. Your Input. From Canada.
@suniltalwar8722 thats a tough one. the menus will kind of ebb and flow with what is available in Cuba at the time. We have read a bunch of reviews and the best thing we can suggest is to go in to trip advisor or google reviews and pick a hotel you are interested in. then click on the reviews and there you can type in key words like "VEGETARIAN" so you can find those reviews quickly. There are 3 restaurants listed with Vegan options in Varadero. La Vicaria, Salsa Suarez and and Don Alex. Don't be shy wherever you stay to ask to see if they can whip you something up that is vegetarian. You may be surprised. :) For location we would pick the Melia Internacional out of those two as you would be right in walking distance to Calle 62 in town. The other one is pretty far out of the town. it may actually be the furthest resort from the airport. hope that helps. Cheers
Should we bring any humanitarian stuff for tips? What is the culture in the all inclusive resorts? Do people need anything like clothes/hygiene stuff/ american candy? Thank you for the video!
@ryan-wh8xp Tooth brushes, tooth paste, lotions anything like that, gum, guitar strings for musicians are apparently hard to get. We had saved up a stock pile of different condiments we took down but barely used and gave them to the maid and she was very grateful. We left clothes behind as well. We brought a bunch of candy we gave out in the town and also in the smaller villages in our jeep tour. So candy is definitely a winner. Thanks for watching!
Was in Cozumel, Mexico in March gorgeous island. Now heading to Varadero Cuba for the first time..thank you for the tips and laughs. I still say Hawksbill Antigua with 4 beaches was amazing.
@dingotravels6910 We really like Cozumel. The snorkeling is WOW and the beaches on the far side of the island are beautiful. We hope you enjoy Varadero. You're going to love the water. Let us know how you like it. And yes we would have to agree with you on the Hawksbill not every hotel has 4 beaches to pick from. I am still amazed by the size of the eagle ray at Honeymoon beach I caught on film. Thanks again for watching! Cheers!
@robcarrey 9159 We were there right before the big spike in exchange. You are getting much more now but some of the prices have gone up. Thanks for watching Rob!
@robcarrey9158 you are welcome! Be sure to get off the resort and experience some of the charm of Varadero. There are other Varadero videos on our channel you might find useful as well. Enjoy your trip and let us know how you liked it! Cheers
@user-hv1mk8dx2t you could get them in the gift shop but I overheard someone say the prices were crazy. we met people while traveling all bought off the resort. thanks for watching!
I worked 2 months on Cuba and was shocked how bad the life is over there. Poverty to the max. Eating tourists in the resorts. I would never spend a holiday there.
The comment about the guy with the drone.... that's normal anywhere. You can send up a drone in allocated airspace, but nowhere else. Permits are required to use them. Its a massive invasion of privacy, and of course triggers all the wrong intentions.
Lol. The toilet paper was for off resort as we had many places that did not offer it let alone have a toilet seat. There are a lot of shortages in Cuba so if you like snacks you should bring them. You won't find any in a store. Shortages are not limited to the bad resorts as we know people who have been at 4.5 star that didn't have eggs all week.
@@beachbumbling yeah I'll stick with the Dominican, Mexico or Jamacia. I've never been to a resort where there was a shortage of toilet paper and our mini fridge is stocked with snacks daily. You get what you deserve when you go cheap.
In 2021 I was in Cayo Coco and the hotel employees we changing at 20 or 25 to 1 for Canadian dollars...50 to 70 now ! good to know because I am going to Varadero in Octobre...
@KittyKiteASMR what was explained to us by local was that the Cuban banks won't accept Canadian coins. So they have to save up enough money to equal $5 or more and trade them up for a bill with someone before they can do anything with it at a Cuban bank. For that reason we brought some US $1 bills to help with the tipping. We also changed money from Cdn to Cuban peso a couple of times with our bell boy. Thanks for watching.
@lunavlogs2778 We had a stash of $1 US bills to tip with.. They will take loonies and toonies but when we were researching going there and after speaking with a couple locals we realized that they have difficulty spending them.
Would you say I will be able to pay with Canadian money everywhere I go? There's only a few things I definitely want to purchase when I'm there. One thing was the chicken at Calle 62. The best BBQ chicken I've ever had in my life was there, believe it or not!
The market and cabs took cdn and we paid for the Pina Coladas in CDN but paid pesos nearly everywhere else we went so we aren't sure if everywhere accepted CDN it or not. We also came across a lot of places that accepted credit cards other than Amex ones. We'll have to try the chicken next time.
Hey guys, that was a pretty good video. We have been to Cuba close to a hundred times now in the last 25 years. Although I won't necessarily agree with everything you recommended, I don't think anybody will go wrong by following your advice. The only addition I would make is that people who complain about the food are ones that went to the cheapest hotel they could find. For the most part if you pay a little extra you get a lot better food and a lot nicer accommodation. Thanks again good video.
Thank you Derek! We appreciate that comment especially from someone who has spent that much time in Cuba. We are looking forward to going back soon. Cheers
We are going to Veradero in February, 2023. (Flying with Sunwing from Calgary) There are entry forms you have to fill out before you travel. We are wondering if all the covid passport type things, (PCR tests, vaccination records) are done.
#canamanik66nik41 none of the covid vaccinations records or PCR tests are needed. They ended those requirements in May of 2023. Have fun in Varadero! Let us know how you like it and thanks for watching!
Been to Cuba over 23 times and right now it sucks big time. Check Tip Advisors look into "very bad" and "bad" in the reviews. Awful food and roaches everywhere, many grumpy employees willing to steal anything they can. Cuba isn't the same since covid-19. There's no 4 or 5 stars and often the hotel is over taken by aggressive locals who raids the buffet. Trust me, don't go!
We are sorry to hear those things. We have spoken with several people that have travelled to Cuba and other than food shortages we haven't heard much negative things that you wouldn't already expect to hear about. Everyone's perspective and experiences are different but fortunately for us we didn't experience a lot of bad there but feel we set reasonable expectations before booking our first stay in Cuba. (It took us a very long time to decide to go.). Wow..over 23 trips.. that is a lot! We appreciate the comment and thanks for watching! Cheers
One example; Worst vacation ever! Death, horrible food ... Serious safety incident We have been to cuba many times and love the country and most of the people but now we are afraid to go back! This was our first stay at this hotel but not with this chain of hotels. The resort actually had food that other resorts did not have but they had no idea how to cook those items! Everything was always thrown in big tubs and boiled. T bone steak and beacon thrown into tins with water and cooked. We know what to expect in cuba food wise and have been to resorts with less options but it seemed as though staff did not want to put forth the effort to prepare things properly. Ended up getting sick three days into the trip which started the downhill slide here. On our last night I was awoken by the sounds of someone screaming for help. A couple had fallen through a railing into a stairwell by one of the pools and it was a very distressing sight to see. Multiple injuries to one person and the other died on impact. Staff ran around trying to hide pieces of the railing and we felt very uncomfortable and scared for our own safety after witnessing everything. We approached Air transat some weeks later asking if our insurance covered some type of counselling for my wife and asked how the other victim of the fall was doing and we were sent a very cold hearted email basically telling us to F off and be quiet. Airlines should be walking these resorts checking for safety before they sign contracts with them. Not sure how they can just turn a blind eye to things like this. Read less Date of stay: February 2023. Trip type: Travelled as a couple. From Hotel Playa Cayo Santa Maria. Excellent 5,286 Very Good 3,186 Average 1,072 Poor 386 Terrible 255 Traveller safety.
That sounds absolutely horrible. We hope over time you and your wife will be able to put that behind you. We will definitely keep away from that property if we are ever in Cayo Santa Maria.
Making my 70th trio to Cuba for 2 months Jan. 11th. As a traveler I have experienced roaches in a top scale hotel in Las Vagas and the same in Mexico and other bugs throughout my world travels but I accept this cause it can happen any where you travel.(Read my post here)
