Cuba Travel Budget 🇨🇺

Ah, Cuba on a Budget! You may have heard that Cuba is a cheap destination to visit. And that is both true and untrue. We went to Havana to mark a very special occasion with deciding to visit our 5th country together to celebrate 5 years of marriage. So we definitely spent a little extra and splurged on a few things on this trip, but still stayed on a budget. Let's take a peak shall we? 

Trip Length: 4 days & 3 nights for 2 adults 

Travel Dates: August 2018 

For simplicity, I've listed all costs in American dollars. At the time of travel 1USD was equivalent to 1CUC. Keep in mind that all totals listed below are for two people. 

a lost American's guide to Havana

Never did I ever imagine that I would find myself in Cuba. When I was a child, Americans weren't allowed to go there. So in my mind, it was essentially a made up place that didn't exist. 

But just a few years ago, the Obama administration facilitated opening the gates of Cuba to Americans for the first time in more than 50 years. Unfortunately, since then, the Trump administration has begun to make it more difficult to visit. So we decided that if we ever would want to visit Cuba, now is the time because who knows if visiting Cuba will always remain a possibility to Americans. And since we did so much research going into this trip, I thought I would share what we learned about visiting Havana Cuba. 

what to wear in Cuba

When your outfit matches the scenery, you have to pose for a photo right? And when you're in Havana---a city full of the most colorful backdrops-there's a lot of posing going on. 

Oh, these Havana nights

Happy Saturday!

I'm trading in my normal crazy weekend routine of studying for a night of board games with my in-laws. I know ya'll. I'm a total party animal. But it got me thinking about the last time I was staying out late on the weekend like the true 20-something that I am. And that was just a weeks ago during our trip to Cuba because the only more beautiful than the hot vibrant days in Havana were the fun inviting nights. 

Havana-Day 4

Our last day in Havana. 

I feel myself getting upset all over again. It's been nice to blog about our time in Cuba because it's been allowing me to relive the entire experience, but now I have to relive our last day there. And I don't want to. Is it possible to be homesick for a place that's not your home? Because that's how I feel about Cuba. 

Havana-Day 3

By our third day in Havana, we were starting to get such a great feel for the culture and people and way of life in Cuba. I was loving every minute of it and was ready for another full day in the city. 

friday favorites-cuba edition 08.24.18

Happy Friday Dear Ones. 

This week has been a crazy one with starting the one month countdown until I leave the dental school and head off on my away rotations. On a more relaxing note, I got to spend the first part of this week in Cuba. Since that was clearly a highlight of the week, I thought I'd share some of my favorite parts about Cuba. 

sunset at el morro castle

How often do you watch the sunset? Like really watch it. For me, evenings are normally a time swamped with doing all the last minute things before the day ends. I rarely take a moment to pause like this, which made it extra special to watch the sunset over Havana.

This was the perfect end to Day 2 in Havana. We had been running all over the city that day, fitting in all the adventures. This was a chance to take a moment to pause, wait, and just enjoy the bustling city from afar. 

Havana-Day 2

We were so excited for Day 2 in Havana and hit the ground running. This was our first full day in the city and with our delay on getting the trip started, it just felt so nice to have things finally moving along. We packed everything into this day and may have overdone it a little. In fact, I think that I'm going to have to break Day 2 into two different posts so that there isn't a complete photo overload. 

Havana-Day 1

There we were, standing at our gate, visas and passports in hand...ready to fly into Cuba---only to be turned away. We had planned to spend 5 days in Cuba, but lost an entire day with getting stuck in rainy New Jersey for 24 hours. Don't worry though, this story has a happy ending.  

The East Coast has been flooded with rain and storms over the last couple of months and we got caught in one. Our initial flight to New Jersey was delayed by several hours, but we still made it there in time to catch our connecting flight to Havana. Only, the airline had assumed that we wouldn't make it in time and had already removed our names off the flight passenger list. Tom was fuming and I just wanted to burst into tears as we stood there on time for our flight, but still had to watch it take off without us. And the nightmare wasn't over yet. We had to spend 2 hours on the phone with the airline and hours in lines at the airport before we finally got everything sorted out and were guaranteed a flight for the next day. In fact, I'm still dealing with the airline now, but let's not talk about that frustration. Instead, let's focus on the moment when we finally arrived in Cuba, so thankful to be in Havana.  

the great debate about visiting Cuba

I can remember the exact moment when I decided to go to Cuba. 🇨🇺 Tom and I were at a Cuban Restaurant in Philadelphia and I looked up from my plate and said "you know, we should go to Cuba while we still have a chance. Who knows how long the borders will be open to Americans". Tom nodded yes as he put a forkful of food into his mouth. And just like that, it was decided.