Global Adventure - Dayhike and Explore the National Parks, People, Food, and Culture of Cuba

If you are planning another Mountaineers Global Adventure to Cuba, please contact Trip Leader. For a detailed report of “Route Conditions”, check out my six-page report here. Topics in that report: trail conditions, weather & trails, transportation, accommodations, electrical power, water, food, guides, money, tipping, cell phone & internet, medical assistance & insurance and insect-borne disease. Much more information and copies of participant briefings can be provided by contacting the Trip Leader.

 The following are a few lines from the longer “Route Conditions” report available at the above link:

• Hiking trails & hazards –Principal hazards were mud, plants with thorns and the occasional encounter with large livestock used for agricultural labor or riders on horseback.
• Weather & trails - Two weeks before our arrival, Hurricane Rafael made landfall in the western part of Cuba, including the Vinales area which we visited. Heavy rainfall associated with Hurricane Rafael reduced Vinales and other hiking routes to slippery mud wallows. When muddy, hikes were quite messy and bypasses were frequent.
• Weather – Temperatures were in the 80’s with high humidity every day. Sunshine & blue skies every day, except it rained the evening of Day 10
• Transportation - traveled in a private, air conditioned, twenty passenger bus between Havana, Vinales, Playa Larga, Cienfuegos and Trinidad. Not counting trips back/forth to trailheads, restaurants or cultural stops, approximately 750 miles were driven.
• Accommodations – all accommodations had ensuite bathroom were clean, of modern décor and in picturesque, convenient locations.
• Electrical Power - Four weeks before our arrival and also on the last day of our trip, the entire country experienced a national power grid failure. Outside of Havana, power was supplied by household-sized, diesel-powered generators with intermittent, apparently randomly scheduled, power from the grid.  Status of Cuban power can be monitored here - https://www.unionelectrica.cu/nota-informativa/
• Water - Due to aging infrastructure, there is a shortage of potable, municipal water. For consumption, we only used boiled or bottled water.
• Food – Breakfasts were at 6-6:30am, provided by the homestay hosts. Dinners always happened in a restaurant. Our group included those who were gluten-free, pescatarian or vegetarian. These dietary needs were accommodated.
• Guide Service - Due to US sanctions, there is no communication between US and Cuban financial institutions. This required use of a non-USA guide service to arrange & prepay the in-Cuba transportation and logistical arrangements. For travel to less populated areas outside of Havana and for communication with homestay hosts or other situations, fluency in Spanish is needed. Our group was required by the Cuban government to have a Cuban national guide that accompanied the group every day and a Cuban national driver for the bus.
• Legal considerations for Mountaineers group travel to Cuba - This Mountaineers trip legally traveled to Cuba under the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) general license authorization category, “Support for the Cuban People”. Participants were instructed by the trip leader on how to obtain visas, complete the Cuban customs form, purchase air travel to Cuba that met with Cuban government requirements, as well as how to comply with US sanctions and OFAC rules.
• Money –Our homestay hosts expected to be paid in US dollars. Some restaurants wanted to be paid in US dollars and others wanted to be paid in Cuban pesos. Our own currency exchange was handled by our European guide through his Cuban tour operator links.
• Tips – Guide’s income is dependent on tips. There is little or no salary. USA visitors are expected to provide 10% or more for tips. Many people needed to be tipped on this trip.
• Cell phone & internet – Everyone on the trip purchased a physical or virtual Cuban SIM card (https://suenacuba.com/tourist_sim_card_cuba_buy) These cards worked for 4 out of the 8 participants to connect to the internet and use WhatsApp. The problem was not the SIM card. The problems were settings in the cell phone.
• Medical assistance & insurance – the Cuban government requires purchasing a Cuban insurance policy. The Cuban insurance policy does not meet the Mountaineers requirement and is only useful in hospitals/clinics operated by the Cuban government. Medical services provided by Cuban hospitals/clinics that exceed the amount provided by the Cuban insurance policy must be paid in cash.
• Insect-borne disease – at the time of this trip CDC issued a Level 2 Travel Notice due to Oropouche virus outbreak in Cuba and the first illness in someone recently travelled to Cuba was reported in the US. The virus is spread by the bite of infected midges and mosquitoes. Herbal and citronella-type insect repellents were not effective. Ticks know to carry disease were present.