How much spending money do I need?

Cuba is a lot more expensive than most developing countries. Be prepared to pay as much in Cuba for food and services, as you would in any western ‘developed’ country. This is mainly due to the government placing large taxes on anything considered “non-essential”, or anything to do with tourism, and also due to the artificial exchange rate for the CUC. The trade embargo placed on Cuba by the United States also has some effect on prices. Most visitors find Cuba more expensive than they anticipated.

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, where no meals or activities are included, you need to allow about 35 to 50CUC per day for expenses for the tour not including local payment and souvenirs.

Personal Tour Budget Summary

Expenses you will have once you arrive in Cuba

Taxi from airport to hotel 25CUC
Local payment (see individual tour details for amount)
Food - Allow about 25CUC a day for food where no meals included
Other - drinks, souvenirs, communications
Optional activities and excursions (see list)
Departure expenses (taxi to airport 20CUC, airport tax 25CUC)
Tips (see below)

Tour Inclusions

Accommodation: Every night of the tour.
Transport: To complete the itinerary. Transport for optional excursions and day trips is not included.
Breakfasts: for each day of the tour, except the arrival day.
Local guide: throughout.

See: Individual Tour Costs for more information on your particular tour.

Tour Exclusions

International Flights
Visa and passport fees
Insurance (Travel Medical Insurance is required to participate on the tour)
All meals (except for breakfasts)
Drinks
Tips
Optional activities/day-tours/excursions
Departure taxes and excess baggage fees

Tipping on the Tour

There will be times during your tour in Cuba where there'll be opportunitiew to tip local service providers - such as drivers and local guides. This is a completely optional practice to show your appreciation for excellent service and you should never feel obliged to do so, especially if you feel you did not receive good service. You may tip individually, or your tour guide will offer to collect the money and tip as a group. Also at the end of the tour, if you felt your tour guide did an outstanding job, tipping is appreciated (see also the section about your tour guide).

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

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 CUC (Cuban Pesos Convertibles) cash. What is 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. It allows us to get at least some cash to the guide in case we have problems with our methods of transferring money to Cuba.

The local payment is not attributable to any one particular aspect of the tour, such as the local flight, or accommodation, but instead it is 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.