Communications in Cuba

Email in Cuba

Internet and E-mail is becoming increasingly available in Cuba. The main telecommunications company in Cuba is called ETECSA, which has offices throughout the country. These usually have machines for e-mail use for tourists and journalists visiting Cuba. The ETECSA e-mail system requires that you show your passport. Rates are quite expensive at US$6 per hour of use. Some hotels in Cuba also have internet available, and often this is even more expensive, up to US$12 per hour in some 5 star hotels.

Telephoning from Cuba

International phone calls from Cuba are very expensive. The cheapest being about US$2 per minute to Canada and the most expensive being over US$4 per minute to Europe, Africa, and Australia. You can either buy a phone card from an ETECSA to use on public phones, or call from a hotel. At present in Cuba there are $10 to $25 cards available. The rates from hotels may be slightly more expensive but more convenient as you are not cut off when the card runs out and only pay the cost of the call. 119 is the code to make international calls from Cuba. Celular or mobile phones will work in Havana, however, most of the time on the tour of Cuba you will be in places where there is no service for celular phones.

Post in Cuba

The postal system in Cuba is reasonably reliable, although sometimes a little slower than in other countries. The prices are more reasonable than internet and phone calls. There are some attractive and interesting post cards widely sold in Cuba (old photos of Che, Fidel and the 'heroes of the revolution' being quite popular). You can also buy pre-paid postcards in Cuba from the shops which are quite convenient and do work.