Things to Do in Havana

About Havana

Salt air slaps you first—diesel from 1956 Chevrolets painted turquoise and coral pink, cigar smoke curling from doorways along Calle Obispo. Havana won't ease you in. Ever. The Malecón seawall runs eight kilometers from Vedado to Habana Vieja. Teenagers dive into waves that hammer concrete sprayed by 60 years of salt. Walk past art deco facades on Paseo del Prado at 7 AM and you'll hear dominoes smacking tables beneath almond trees. Men argue baseball scores. Espresso drips from 1950s Italian machines that somehow still work. Restored mansions in Miramar sit beside buildings whose top floors collapsed decades ago. You can still see the bathtub hanging three stories up on Calle 28. A peso pizza costs 25 CUP (about $1) from the window on San Rafael. The same woman has made this dough recipe since 1992. The Hemingway tourist trail is overrated. Skip Floridita's $12 daiquiris. Drink rum from a plastic bottle with fishermen at Cojímar harbor instead. Yes, the internet barely works. You'll wait in lines for things that shouldn't require waiting. But where else can you dance salsa in a mansion whose family fled in 1960, while 80-year-old musicians play like they're inventing the form?

Travel Tips

Transportation: Skip the airport taxi racket. Taxis from José Martí Airport quote $25-30 to Centro, but walk past the official stand to the parking lot where shared taxis wait — 300 CUP ($12.50) per person to Old Havana. That's half price and twice the fun. Download the Maps.Me app with Cuba maps before you land. WiFi is too patchy for Google to work properly once you're on the ground. You'll thank yourself later. For city travel, the 400-year-old Habana Bus Tour (5 CUC/$5) loops past all the sites in air-conditioned comfort. Tourist trap. The real move is flagging down a colectivo (shared taxi) anywhere on Calle Neptuno — 10 CUP ($0.40) gets you across town, though you'll share the '55 Plymouth with four Cubans and possibly a chicken.

Money: Two currencies. One country. Cuba won't make sense—until it does. Tourists pay in CUC. Hotels, tours, the whole tourist track runs on convertible pesos. Locals? They'll hand over CUP—moneda nacional—for coffee, buses, everything else. Change $100 at the airport CADECA. Easy. Tuck $20 in USD into your pocket for emergencies. Some paladars take it off the books at better rates. ATMs exist. They're often empty. Plan accordingly. Hotel desks—not the guidebook darlings—give the best exchange rates. Count your change. State-run shops "accidentally" slip CUP instead of CUC. They know the difference.

Cultural Respect: Cubans speak straight—blunt enough to feel like a slap until you clock that it is love. Don’t raise your camera without permission— not the cigar-rolling women in tourist shops who’ve already been snapped 1000 times. When a family invites you inside, carry something modest—rum, coffee—and eat whatever lands on your plate; turning down food is a straight-up insult. The jineteros on Obispo will swear they partied with your cousin from Canada. Just smile, say “no, gracias,” and keep moving. Memorize three lines: “permiso” to slip past, “salud” for sneezes and toasts, and “qué bola” to ask what is up. Locals beam when foreigners dare Cuban slang.

Food Safety: Street food won't kill you. State-run stalls on every corner serve hot, fresh food because they must. Skip tourist restaurants on Plaza de Armas where spaghetti costs 8 CUC. Hunt the peso pizza windows with handwritten signs instead. Watch for women selling tamales from shopping carts near Parque Central for 3 CUP. Drink bottled water (1 CUC) but don't obsess over ice—it's filtered in tourist zones. The real hazard? Paying tourist prices at spots that list both currencies. Always ask "en pesos cubanos?" before ordering.

When to Visit

November through April is Havana's sweet spot — 25°C (77°F) with low humidity and almost no rain. December brings perfect weather but also Canadian snowbirds; hotel prices leap 30-40% over November. January and February are peak season — flawless days, zero vacancy in casas particulares, and the Malecón packed with locals savoring cool evenings. March means the International Jazz Festival (mid-month) when Vedado venues stay open until 4 AM, but rooms cost 50% more than December. April to May delivers shoulder-season deals — 25% below winter rates — as temperatures climb to 28°C (82°F) before summer humidity strikes. June through August is brutal: 32°C (90°F) with 80% humidity and afternoon storms that drown the streets. Cubans flee to Varadero, leaving Havana eerily quiet and cheap — hotel rates drop 40% and museums belong to you. September and October mean hurricane risk and daily downpours; most beach hotels shut for renovations. The city empties except for locals, and you can haggle casa particular rates to 15 CUC ($15) per night. The real insider move: late October, just before high season, when rains stop but prices spot't budged. You'll dance salsa in shirt sleeves while cigar smoke drifts through colonial courtyards on ocean breeze, and every musician in Havana plays like you're the only audience that matters.