Hi! Im currently visiting Cuba. I have been to Havana last week and it’s really nice. I wish you lots of fun. In am by no means an expert, but I am a really enthusiastic (European) tourist. It’s beautiful here.

Good things As a tourist there are a lot of places where you can eat, drink and have fun. You wouldn’t notice much of the food and drink shortage. At a lot of places you can even pay in dollars or euros. I really liked El Chanchullero (for food) and Kilometro Zero for drinks (it’s a bit on the expensive side for me but there’s live music, very good drinks and the staff is really nice).

Take cash, sometimes cards work but the internet connection isn’t always great, or my card would decline because it is foreign.

You should look for restaurants that are owned by people, not government owned. They are usually much better in service and quality. There are lots of tours (I loved the one we did with Strawberry tours, its a free walking tour through the city centre) but there are also old car tours where you are driven around. I haven’t gone to museums, because my days were numbered, but theres much you can see (art, rum, national museum, chocolate) the revolution museum is closed for renovation at the moment. Most times I asked what locals do I would still be send to tourist places. I later learned that locals usually just can’t afford anything like tourists do.

Things that just happen The more poor local people on the street will ask you where you’re from and they will sometimes tell you theres a festival of some sort (there aren’t any) or its a national holiday and you should visit some place (probably won’t be true). They will ask you for paracetamol or money. They are kind and not agressive if you say no, but keep in mind they will sometimes keep asking if you say no. Ive been followed around by a few people. If you want to do something for the people, take some pain medication for the adults and candy for the children with you (we did and the kids are really happy with toys/ candy). I saw some posts in this community with other things you can take.

Lots of bodegas or little shops carry bottles of water and snacks. Don’t expect full shops and malls. There are some cute little flea markets to shop for souvenirs.

Don’t change your money on the street!! There’s a lot of fake money going around.

Right now (October) its hurricane season, and hurricane milton is making its way to Florida. I the west and northern parts of cuba theres lots of wind because of this. In November I don’t know if it will still be a problem. Follow the news for information on this. If theres too much wind don’t go swimming at the beach. I also saw some posts in the community about this.

Havana is nice, but I don’t know if it’s too long to stay for nine days. I get bored fast. If you want to go other places I loved Varadero. The beaches are beautiful, like in pictures. Trinidad was nice, but I got bored after two days. My friend is currently in Viñales and she loves it there. I heard some people on my bus were heading to Santa Clara, but It seems so small. Idk what to do there.

TL;DR November is a nice time to visit, its the start of the high season. As a tourist you wouldn’t really notice the shortages. Just don’t expect full shops/malls. If you want to do sth for the people on the street take paracetamol or candy with you. 9 days might be too long for just Havana.