My family of six (4 kids ages 10,8,6,1) spent 12 days in Havana Cuba. Emily was 28 weeks pregnant when we left the USA. After much research, I almost pulled the plug on the entire trip. I went through a time of Zika fears, Dengue Fever and then heat. I do not want to undersell the fears but after talking with my pregnant wife we decided to go ahead with the trip. To be honest, if she would have had any fears at all I would not have gone. She thought we would be fine. To her credit, we had a fantastic time in Cuba. I would like to thank one of the tripadviser users who said to just stay in Havana. This was absolutely the right answer for my family. Staying in the same apartment allowed us to get to know our neighbors, were able to learn more about the Cuban people, and figure the city out a bit more.
Getting There
Guba is not like going to Mexico for Americans. There are a number of forms that must be filled out prior to arriving in Cuba. First, the US Government requires every citizen that goes to Cuba to have a general license by stating one of 12 reasons they are going to Cuba. The catch all reason is “In support of the Cuban People”. Prior to arriving at the airport make sure you fill out your D’VIAJEROS TRAVEL FORM with the Cuban government. This can only be done 72 hours prior to departure. It is written confusingly and in Spanish. Every person in your group needs one. We have 6 in our family. Even though the form asks if any kids under 10 are traveling with you and then requires you to fill out all of their information, each child needs their own form. The last form you need to fill out can be done at the airport in Florida. This is your Tourist Card. It cost $85 per person. You must have this card to get into the country. You cannot have any scribbles on the document and will have to buy another one if you make a mistake. This can be stressful when you are filling them out for a family of 6!
You made it!
Cuban Customs look different than any customs we have seen. You walk from your airplane to the terminal. Inside, there are women sitting at desks that look like a teacher's desk. You go up to the desk and then they review all of your paperwork. The women are the ones that determine your entrance into the country. Once we got through that we waited almost an hour to get our bags. This was our first introduction to the Cuban's relationship with dogs. One worker had their pet dog with them while they worked, at least I think it was their pet dog. While we waited there was a street dog that came running into the terminal. None of the people were bothered by the dog running around. This was our experience everywhere we went. There were many dogs around but none of the people were bothered by them and it appeared like they had a favorable view of all of the street animals.Since we are homeschooling our kids we brought all of their school books in one suitcase. Our suitcase of books was not in line with our visa. The customs agent did not like that we had these books. They brought me back to an area and I was supposed to explain what was going on. The problem was that my Spanglish was lost in translation! Thankfully, after some time of trying to plead with the agent a helpful Southwest Airlines worker translated for me and they let us into the country, with our bags.
Havana
We spent $35 for our taxi ride to our Vedado apartment. I know this is probably a little high but we were in a van with air conditioning so I was okay with it! When we arrived at our apartment we checked in with the owner and exchanged money. We got a rate of 200 for each dollar. The going rate at the time was 240 CUP so we got taken a little. While we were exchanging money and going through any questions we quickly realized how hot it actually was. We were dripping just sitting in the kitchen. Luckily, we did have two bedrooms that did have very cool air conditioning. The heat was something that we had to get accustomed to.
Our Plan
With 4 kids ages 1, 6, 8, 10 our trip looked different than most people’s Havana trip. We quickly learned that we had to tour early in the day or late in the afternoon to avoid the sun as much as possible. Our goal was to accomplish one thing a day.
Day 1: Walk streets in Vedado and gain confidence being away from the apartment. Some of our favorite memories were walking the streets and interacting with the locals. We quickly learned the numbering system of the streets.
Day 2: Walking Tour of Old Havana. Had a great (hot) time with Strawberry tours. Our guide was great and created a tour to meet the needs of our young family. We also stopped and got ice cream which our kids loved.
Day 3: We went to the beaches of Playa Del Este. Originally we thought we would take a bus there but a taxi ride to where the busses were would cost us $20 each way. We took a taxi for $25 each way and they pick us up at our apartment. The water was calm which was great for my one year old. We did notice a lot of trash. The beach was beautiful. It kind of seemed like people knew someone would pick up after them so they didn't bother picking up after themselves. I don't mean to be disrespectful, it was just an observation. We befriended a local family. Our kids played together. They offered us drinks. The Cuban people were very welcoming throughout the entire trip!
Day 4: We visited Castillo De Los Tres Reyes Del Morro. We set up what we thought was a taxi but I guess the guy I set it up with set it up as a tour with a guide. The guide was a nice man but knew nothing about the fortress. I would ask him a question like, “do you know when this was built? His response, “very old”. He offered no factual information which was a bit of a disappointment. Before the cannons ceremony he said he was going to take us to a restaurant. Once we got there, we realized the prices for each entree were $20+, we didn’t bring money to cover this meal. It was a bit uncomfortable but we left. Later on in the trip we put it together that this is a thing. Guides you to a very expensive restaurant and we figured they got a kick back of some sort. This happened one other time. My kids did enjoy the Cannon Ceremony. It was loud! We loved the fortress just wished we would have learned something in the process of seeing such neat structures!
Day 5: We slowed down a bit. In the evening we took a stroll on the Malecon. The breeze was great. We do look like typical tourists so we had a few people confront us on the Malecon.
Day 6: This was our busiest day. We did a tour and transit to Cueva De Saturno and Veradero. We got to the cave early and enjoyed about 40 minutes of swimming with almost no one else there. Near the end around 11am the crowds started pouring in. My advice is go early and just take a taxi. No need for a tour guide here. The water was crystal clear. Then our taxi driver took us to Veradero. He tried to do the same restaurant deal. He said he was going to take us to a great place that he took a lot of his clients to. He did not know how to get there and had to stop for directions. This was red flag number one. Once we got there, I asked for a menu before we sat down. I saw the prices were in USD not CUP and they were wanting $25 per entree. I told the driver we were leaving and to just take us to the beach. It was another uncomfortable moment but again we were not prepared to pay that amount. I took enough money each day for what I thought we would need and an extra $20 bill just in case. We got sandwiches and hot dogs on the beach. The beach was clean and beautiful. Most of my family did have stomach issues on this day. So that made the experience a little less desirable. I don't know if it was something we ate or drank but it took a few days to run its course. There are no bathrooms close on the beach so be prepared!
Day 7: We went to a Catholic mass. We walked to the church. We could not find the one we were looking for and after being 15 minutes late we gave up. Accidentally on our walk back we stumbled across St. Carmen Church (I think). Service was great. The people were very welcoming. The priest had us come to the front and he included us in his homily. He blessed my pregnant wife at the end of the service. In the evening we went to Waka restaurant and enjoyed a massive ice cream treat!
Day 8: We walked to John Lennon Park. Our kids befriended some locals and played American football with them. At the end, my kids gave them their football. They were very grateful. We then walked to Jalisco Park and my littles had a ball! We met a Cuban family and they invited us for supper at their house. Jalisco Park was very cheap and loads of fun for my crew.
Day 9: Went back to Playa Del Este. We actually enjoyed these beaches more than Veradero. It was cleaner this time. I think it matters what day of the week you go to the beach. We took a 1940 convertible to the beach for a $50 round trip. We made the mistake of not putting on sunscreen and we all got fried! The water was rough so my older boys really enjoyed jumping the waves. The wind also kept the smoke away so that was appreciated by my wife. We tried the fruit that was being sold on the beaches. I dont know the name but it was very good. We also learned that the food by the road was phenomenal! I think our 240 CUP fried chicken is the best chicken I have ever eaten. I don't know how they do it but WOW! Our advice, don't but food on the beach but take a short stroll to the road and hit up one of those restaurants. We really enjoyed their fried rice as well.
Day 10: We went to the National Aquarium of Cuba. We loved it! We took in the aquarium and dolphin show for about $1. The entire day with multiple ice cream visits and lunch for all was less than $10.
Day 11: We spent half the day at the beach in Playa Del Este and in the afternoon our return trip we were dropped off at the house of the Cuban family that invited us over a few days prior. This was one of our favorite experiences in Cuba. They were very happy and welcoming people. Our hosts gave us nice whiskey and made us spaghetti. They had a 7 year old boy and our kids had much fun together. They did not have AC or running water. It appeared like they only had one bed for the family of three. Such lovely people. It was an eye opening experience for my entire family. We ate, drank, and talked until late in the evening. They walked us home at the end of the night.
Day 12: We flew to Miami for our next country!
We loved our time in Cuba. There is much of Havana we have not explored. Havana is really not a location set up for kids but there was enough to do there to keep everyone in our group happy. We got everything we could imagine and more from this trip in Havana. Thank you Cuba!