Description
There’s no shortage of guidebooks or websites about Cuba…
But there is a massive shortage of practical, common sense information about how to travel to and from and around the country comfortably and affordably.
Cuba is wonderful.
It’s also a materially poor country…in Latin America…in the Caribbean…that is Spanish speaking…has shortages of everything…and it run as a planned economy…and is currently the object of an aggressive economic blockade from the United States.
These realities can create some challenges for travelers from developed countries.
If you have no experience with these kinds of conditions, Cuba can be a huge challenge – but it needn’t be if you get good advice and straight talk from someone not in the glossy travel brochure business.
I’m not in the glossy travel brochure business. I’m an experienced low budget, high quality traveler who has been all over Latin America and knows Cuba well.
I want you to go to Cuba, but I also want you to cover your downside, have the best possible time and do it without breaking the bank.
Phil Murphy –
I went to Cuba once on a very expensive group tour. We were shuffled from one substandard hotel to another and were served up many “so so” meals. In spite of all the hassles I experienced on the trip, I loved the country and I wanted to go back on my own, but I realized I learned nothing about how to get around and deal with things on my own.
Cuba is not like any other country I’ve ever been to and a lot of the things travelers take for granted just aren’t available. Anyway, I got the guide and even though it’s not cheap, it’s a tremendous value. It’s like having a good – and very patient – friend take you by the hand and explain all the “ins and outs” travelers need to know. If I could give it ten stars, I would.
Margarita Rodríguez –
I was born in Cuba, but left as a very young child and like so many Cubans have only been able to go back recently. This Guide is spot on! My cousins were impressed by how many “inside baseball” tricks of daily living I knew. When I flagged down a taxi and got us a ride for less than 50 cents instead of the usual $5 to $10 tourist rate one even jokingly accused me of have secretly come to Cuba previously without telling them. I brought the guide with me and translated parts for them and they laughed and laughed about how accurate it was!
Gary Waldren –
Thanks for the Havana guide. Luv the clarity and attitude-free, rational, economically pragmatic (it seems most travel writers assume readers have an annual income of $250K…), and “Spartan brevity” of your perspective. It not only inspires, but adds urgency to a planned trip to Cuba.
Jack Miller –
Essential. I’ve been to Cuba without this Guide and I’ve been to Cuba with it. Without help like this, you’ll spend your entire trip being baffled (and sometimes infuriated) by Cuba’s idiosyncrasies – not all of which are charming. As far as I know, no one else has put together a guide this honest, helpful and comprehensive. The best investment you can make if you plan to be an INDEPENDENT traveler in Cuba.
David Amram –
If you want to bypass all tourist pitfalls in order to be able to afford what Cuba has to offer, buy a copy of “The Insider’s Guide to Cuba.” You’ll see why Ken is known by all who read his Guide as “El gato fabuloso”. The Guide and its guidance are priceless.
– David Amram – Composer/musician who first visited Cuba in 1977 with Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz and then 41 years later with the help of insights from “The Insider’s Guide to Cuba”