Is traveling to Havana alone a bad idea?

YES!

No, OP. Of course it's a great idea. And your lack of Spanish will only make your experience that much more interesting!

Have fun!

Is Cuba nice? I heard there is a lot of poverty there. I guess there are pockets of nice areas. One person who told me about the poverty was Cuban.

I have been to Havana twice in the past six months. Low crime, great music, good food, friendly people. I would not hesitate to go by myself.

If you've travelled before, and know enough not to be one of those 'ugly Americans', regardless of which country you live in, you'll do fine.

I'm too lazy (stupid?) to learn another language, but still know some basic survival Spanish. For everything else, there's Google Translate on my smartphone.

Where are your from, Op? I don't think Americans are allowed to go to Cuba?

If you want to visit a run down place that still maintains little pockets of its former glory go to Detroit

OP here. I have been to Detroit, for that very reason. Some of the old architecture is beautiful. And I live in Nashville. Flights on SW to Havana are surprisingly low, if you're flexible. I work for myself, so I can be pretty flexible about when I go.

Who goes to Detroit??

The last time I went to Detroit I was robbed and beat up by a bunch of gangsters. Ugh, never again. It was like standing in the middle of a war torn country.

I don't know about Havana, but never NEVER go alone to Detroit. If you must, stay in the nice parts of the city.

Its the Bahamas without decent air conditioning or a coat of fresh paint. Very run down,though some places are fabulously restored .

Be careful of gypsies. My aunt was robbed in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded town square. Nobody cared.

[quote] I've been around the world

Did you find your baby, OP?

No, and I was oh, oh so bad!

OP, if you are a US citizen, you have to be covered under a special State Department license and provide a detailed itinerary of what you're planning to do there. Typically, Americans go as part of a tour and are covered by the tour license. There are different license categories like academic, cultural exchange, etc. Many people will go under the cultural exchange category and provide a detailed itinerary of music and dance shows they will be attending.

R14, is that how Jayz and Beyonce went, cultural exchange?

OP here. Thanks, R14. I didn't realize that I might have to be part of a tour. I went to China that way -- it was the only way I could get in -- and I hated it, because all of our movements were watched and orchestrated and restricted. I also just hated China. I'm an artist, and I really want to see the art scene in Cuba. I've heard it's wonderful. I will investigate if that is a valid excuse for going. Thank you for the heads up.

You will be fine. Just book into a decent hotel, 4* at least. You can book tours from the hotel.

Everybody is going to Cuba these days. GO, and have a good time!

Just out of curiosity OP what do you think will happen if you travel alone that wouldn't happen if you traveled with someone else?

OP here. R 19 -- Some places are just more inherently dangerous than others, and it wise to go to buddy-up in those places, especially if there is some degree of anarchy or the law is not very well-respected. I haven't had any trouble, but, say, if they decided they wanted to harass me while I was in Russia, I could be whisked away, and there would be no one back at the hotel to notice that I had gone missing. I suspect that Cuba is still very much a third world country, and bad things can happen in places like that, and it's good if someone has your back. That said, I would prefer to travel alone, but recognize that it's not feasible to do it everywhere. Mexico, for instance. There is no way I'd go there alone. It's too dangerous to not travel in a pack.

Fuck off and die, racist fag r9. Too bad those so called gangstas didn't kill your faggot ass.

It really depends on where in Mexico you're going, OP. I've been Tulum, Playa del Carmen, and Cancun by myself on multiple occasions. No problems whatsoever.

He's not going to Mexico, you silly spaz R22

OP, it's not a good idea to be openly gay in Cuba, obviously. I would book with a travel company which gives you the security of a rep and make sure you go on any guided tours with them. But it's quite safe just to wander around on your own.

R21, I'm not R9, but attitudes like your's in Detroit are the reason that when I go I visit my friends on Grosse Ile and Grosse Point Farms and avoid the city itself.

It's kind of sad. I once Had a dream that the gays and lesbians could start building businesses there and revitalize at least part of the city. It would have been a great example of what the taste, still and business acumen of the Gay and Lesbian "community" could do.

However, It seems that those in the former Motor City like it as a decaying corpse of a metropolis. So many beautiful buildings will collapse or end up being razed due to neglect.

I am British and didn't understand the Detroit references but looked it up and you must be talking about the fact that the population is 82% black American. I don't think there's any city in the UK with a figure that high.

Some of the old buildings in Detroit are magnificent. OP here. If I had money, I would buy some of those old buildings, and set up dormitories for the homeless in one of them, and set up a factory in another. I'd train the homeless to work at the factories, and provide housing. I believe that more apparel should be made in this country, so I would train the workers to use sewing machines, etc. I wish someone would do it. A lot of clothing factories are starting to be revived in the New England area, but Detroit has the vacant buildings and the unemployed.

I'm also a solo traveler. Most of my trips are hiking trips. I'm known at work for doing a lot of international traveling and have a coworker who tells me about the cheap flights to South America she gets in her email. I have zero interest in South America (except Patagonia) for the reasons you mentioned above. A single traveler in the middle of nowhere along with stories of people getting mugged does not sit well with me.

I'm not familiar with Cuba but heard it was popular with Europeans and Canadians. It can't be that bad. I'm currently looking at the Azores as travel destination. Seems like a safe place to visit as a single traveler. Perhaps you can include it on your bucket list.

Oh great, the "you spaz" troll at R23 is back. Can you fuck off, chav?

MEGA SPAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

OP, are you close to Canada by any chance? If you are, many Americans travel to Cuba through Canada without issue and without having to travel in a group. Havana is safe for a single traveler as long as you use common sense. I've never been, but know several people who have and they loved. it.

What is the safest island for a single traveler who wants to visit a carribbevn beach with crystal clear turquoise water?

Yes, R29. We all know you're a mega spaz.

Yes OP, you'll be fine.

OP here. I'm in Nashville. It wouldn't be feasible to travel north to Canada, then back south. I will look into seeing if being an artist will allow me to travel there alone. R31 -- St Barths is pretty exquisite, but also very expensive. You could go to San Juan, but it would be best to stay at one of the big hotels there. Some of the other islands -- St Thomas, St John, et al -- can be pretty iffy, and too touristy, I've never been, but a friend recently went to Costa Rica and loved it.

After 1000s of years of colonialism and conquering the world, white people are scared to travel to some places? Interesting.

I had a friend who happened to be in Havana with a cultural group from the US on 9/11. She said people were very solicitous.

I'm not much of a traveler, but I'd think you might not want to go in the summer, if the AC there is iffy.

The people talking about needing to go with a group are giving outdated info. You can travel solo now. You DO need to fall within one of 12 authorized categories, but you no longer need to get any paperwork to prove this, you simply "self authorize" - you declare on a form that you're going for "professional research" or the like. It couldn't be easier. I went two months ago. Many cities have direct flights, and they're super cheap, my direct flight from LAX was only $300 roundtrip on Alaska. After you book your airline tickets, you'll need to get a visa through Cuba Travel Services, a licensed company in the US. It's about $80, as I remember.

You can book accommodations at countless apartments directly through AirBnb online. The only hotel you can book from the US directly is the Four Points Sheraton, which is way in the suburbs, in a terrible location. However you can book many other hotels through Cuba Travel Services. I don't work for them, haha, they're just one of the few companies licensed by the Cuban government and the US government. A nice AirBnb in Havana will run about $150-200 a night. A nice hotel room will cost more, running from about $300-500 a night. I'm not talking Ritz Carlton-level, that simply doesn't exist there. The hotels are all around 3-4 stars by American standards. I chose a hotel for most of my stay, so I'd have the advantages of a concierge, 24-hour staffed front desk, excursion desk in the lobby, restaurants, 24-hour cafeteria, etc.

Be aware there are two currencies in Cuba, one for foreigners/tourists that's used in all hotels, restaurants and museums (CUCs) and one for locals that you'll never encounter most likely (Pesos), and neither can be taken out of the country. American credit/debit cards will NOT work there. Bring enough cash for your ENTIRE trip. Cuba is EXPENSIVE, I recommend minimum $100 per day, $150 per day if you want to feel safe, on top of lodging costs. Ideally, go to a currency exchange office before leaving home and bring your cash into Cuba in Canadian Dollars or Euros, there is a 10% penalty to convert US Dollars into Cuban currency.

Your phone will most likely not work at all down there. Verizon has almost no coverage. If you have Verizon, your phone will be able to send and receive texts only for the first two days or so, then it will lose all reception, except possibly the ability to receive incoming calls. I heard rumors that Sprint and T-Mobile, might have reception, and that it's possible to install a Cuban SIM card and have coverage, but honestly I enjoyed being cut off, is I didn't investigate.

Cuba is incredibly safe for tourists, there's almost no street crime. There is a great deal to see, Havana is beautiful, and can easily fill a week, without even starting on daytrips. The top daytrips are to Vinales, a scenic valley, and Varadero, a beach resort. Trinidad is a pretty colonial town, too far for a daytrip, you need a day to get there, a day to see it, and a day to get back.

See it now, while it's still stuck in a timewarp in 1959, it's unforgettable and the people are welcoming. Be prepared, very few speak English, but you'll be able to manage it if you know even just a few phrases in Spanish, and they're always eager to help.

Cuban customs won't look at you twice, they just want as many tourists as possible to bring in revenue, and US Customs also didn't ask anything other than whether I'd come into contact with farm anilams, due to possible diseases. There were no questions about my "self authorization".

Have a great time and enjoy!

R37. OP here. WOW. Thank you for such wonderful and helpful information. That is exactly the type of stuff I was hoping to find. Thank you.

Why is lodging so expensive? It doesn't exactly encourage tourism.

Glad to help:) I did loads of research before going, and had an AMAZING time. I went for 10 days. Spent seven nights in Havana at a hotel, two nights in Trinidad at an AirBnB and then one last night in Havana at an AirBnb.

Be sure you see the Tropicana show in Havana one night, and make your reservations a few days in advance. It's about $100 a head, but it's totally worth it, it's a Vegas-style floorshow left over from before the revolution, complete with showgirls wearing chandeliers on their heads, it's stunning. When you go, don't let yourself get tricked into buying the cheap $80 seats, thinking you'll save a few bucks, because they're way at the back and often obscured by columns. Buy the most expensive seats, they're only $20 more, and you'll be only feet from the stage. Hint - If you add on dinner for a further $15, you'll be virtually guaranteed the best seats in the house.

[R39]. Lodging is insanely expensive because A) there are only about 15-20 hotels in Havana that are even close to international standards and B) there has been a flood of Americans in the last year. Hotels were dirt cheap about 2-3 years ago, but the rates skyrocketed recently due to the phenomenally limited supply.

The only hotels in Havana that are truly deluxe are the Iberostar Parque Central and the smaller Saratoga, and they'll each run you $500-$600 a night. Most of the rest call themselves luxury, but they're equivalent to Holiday Inns in the US, due to the decades-long embargo and constant shortages.

The most modern economy hotel is the NH Capri, which was recently gutted and renovated, it'll still run you about $400.

There's a luxury Kempinski hotel due to open later this year, it was about halfway done when I was there, and it will likely be the best in the country. And there's a Sofitel also under construction on the Malecon, though they're just starting it, it was just a hole in the ground when I was there in February.

Hey OP, did you ever end up going?

I'm traveling (as a solo female, but with extended family, not part of an organized tour) there in a week - to Cuba: Havana, Trinidad, Varadero, and one last night in Havana completely on my own.

There are very affordable places to stay on AirBnb, from $30 upwards. I've been doing so much research (R37 is spot on) and I'm just going into it all with an open mind. One of my contacts said to always have items on you to hand out to the locals such as pencils, pens, toiletries, wrapped candy, etc. I was also advised to grab some water bottles in Miami. I'm single, and I have this weird fear that my sexuality will come up, because it seems quite traditional.

I am nervous but excited.