What You Pay

The payment for the your tour of Cuba is broken down as follows:

Tour Payment

A deposit of US$200 (or equivalent) is accepted as an initial payment to reserve a place on a tour, and full payment is due 60 days before tour departure day. This is to be paid to an official booking agent.

Local Payment

The local payment must be handed to the tour guide at the first group meeting in Cuba, usually on the morning of Day 2 of the tour. This will be accepted exclusively in the form of 200 CUC (Cuban Pesos Convertibles) cash. CUC?

A Local Payment (or final payment) over the last few years, has become a common practice in the tourism industry for this type of group tour. The local payment allows us to keep the overall cost of the tour down, as sending the large amounts of money required to run the tour can be costly and at times complicated, especially in some developing countries.

The local payment is not attributable to any one particular aspect of the tour, such as the local flight, or accommodation, but rather a nominal proportion of the funds that are required to run the tour. The local payment is in addition to, and not included in, the base tour price.

What’s Included in the Tour

Included in the price:

• All accommodations — small hotel and family stay
• Land transport along the route
• 1 domestic flight (on 15 day Itinerary)
• Guide service throughout
• All breakfasts

Not Included in the Tour

• International Flights
• Visa and passport fees
• Insurance
• All meals (except for breakfasts)
• Drinks
• Tips
• Optional activities/day-tours/excursions
• Departure taxes and excess baggage fees

Personal Spending Money

How much you take along with you on the tour is obviously a personal matter. If you intend to purchase many souvenirs in Cuba, or if you enjoy spending it up on a big night out, we would recommend that you take a bit more than the estimated amounts below. In total as an estimate, you need to allow about US$35 to 50/day for expenses for the two weeks trip not including local payment and souvenirs.

Personal Tour Budget Summary

Expenses you will have once you arrive in Cuba

• Taxi from airport to hotel US$25
• Local payment equivalent to US$216 (made in Cuban Dollars)
• Food - Allow about US$20 a day for food
• Other - drinks, souvenirs,communications
• Optional activities and excursions (see list)
• Departure expenses (taxi to airport $20, airport tax $30)
• tips (see below)

Tipping on the Tour

There are times during the trip where there is opportunity to tip the local guides in Cuba. This is a completely optional practice to show your appreciation for excellent service and you should never feel obligated to do so, especially if you feel you did not receive good service. You may do this individually, or your Tour Leader will offer to collect the money and tip as a group. Also at the end of the tour, if you felt your Tour Leader did an outstanding job, tipping is appreciated. (see also Tour Leader).

For local guides on day trips and other optional activities, as a suggestion we recommended a tip of $2 to $5 CUC (Cuban dollars) per person.