We traveled with Delta (MIA-HAB) and American (HAB-MIA), and the roundtrip was about $200. The trip itself is not more than an hour from Miami.

First point for Cuba, it’s affordable.

You have to consider the visa also, each airline has a different fee (being Frontier the most expensive one at $100/person). We paid $50 each with Delta, online.

You can find a lot of accommodations to fit your budget ranging from $20/day up $200/day, depending on the level of luxury you are looking for. The food isn’t expensive either, and the quality and taste is incredible. Our weekend didn’t surpass the $400/person with airfare included.

Of course, you could spend more if you want, but it’s a matter of choice and we were pretty comfortable with our selections.

We booked our room through Airbnb in Chinatown, right in the heart of the Old Havana. If you have money to spend, I recommend to stay at “Hotel Nacional”.

Although the hotel isn’t as centric as we were, it offers stunning views of the ocean and the accommodations views from the room are breathtaking. Hotel Inglaterra & Parque Central are also good options and there are right in the center.

Regarding currency exchange, you could do it at the airport, they have a couple kiosks open to the public, but as per my political believes, I did it with our taxi driver instead and avoid giving my money to the government (is also cheaper this way)

The currency rate is $100=100 CUC  as of 2023

There are a hundred taxis parked outside waiting for the tourists at the airport and hotel, in case you need transportation; uber is not an option.

You are not going to have service down there (unless you pay for roaming) and you can hardly find WIFI (indeed, the promotion of one of the bars we went to was two hours of complimentary wi-fi included with a bottle). Access to wifi in public areas, such as parks and plazas, has become more widespread, thanks to the installation of wifi hotspots by the government. However, the availability and reliability of wifi can vary, and connection speeds may be slower compared to other parts of the world.

Moving inside the Havana itself isn’t too complicated, you will find taxis on every corner.

The weather is warm all year round so you won’t need much luggage. Our suitcase was full of stuff we brought for charity (They had a tornado a couple weeks prior to our arrival) like basic cosmetics and clothing. We met some random people on the street who helped us to distribute it.

We started our adventure on Friday night, we arrived to the Havana airport and took a taxi to our accommodation around 10 pm. As hungry as we were, left our stuff in our Airbnb and went out for a drink and some food.

We had an amazing “Ropa Vieja” (Shredded beef) near our room at “La Juliana”, a spot in a corner of Chinatown (Chinese neighborhood in Havana, although it only has a couple chinese restaurants and you would rarely see a chinese person lol“), with affordable prices and tasty food, a place filled with locals.

Then we wandered around the Old Havana (we saw the Capitol, Paseo del Prado, Teatro Campo Amor, Parque Central, etc.) and ended up in the Boulevard San Rafael, a street full of small stores that took us to Galiano (one of the most crowded streets for nightlife) and ended up in Cafe Tilin.

There was a cuban band playing live salsa that was amazing. We had a couple mojitos (really good ones btw) and danced salsa, or tried, for 3 hrs and decided to try a different place.

Ended up at the malecon, and unable to find the place we were looking for, we asked for directions and met a local who was looking for someone to go to party with, so he took us to one of the most popular clubs in Havana, “Habaneciendo”. It was so crowded we had to wait outside for 30 minutes.

Lazaro (our new friend’s name) hook us up at the door and offer to buy our drinks, as he knew the people and were going to give him a discount. A lot of Salsa, Reggaeton and Merengue, mixed with amazing drinks was the recipe for an awesome night.

We stayed there until 5:00 am, when they were closing and pretty much pushing out, and started our adventure of walking back home, tipsy, at night, in a place we didn’t know at all.

Set up our alarms for “early in the morning” (cause we only have 48 hours in Havana) and called it a night. Surprisingly, the hangover in the morning wasn’t as bad as we expected.

For breakfast, we had some Café con Leche and Cuban Sandwiches at the cafe on the ground floor of Hotel Inglaterra, (affordable and tasteful like everywhere in Havana) overlooking the square, the movement of the center and all the old cars passing by.

Then we were headed to Castillo de la Punta, an impressive fortress constructed in 1590 that is nowadays open as a museum, one of the destinations on our Bucket List.