Before You Go To Cuba...
There is no real special preparation for visiting Cuba more than other countries in Latin America (you can buy a visa at the Cancún airport), but my tip is to be prepared with money. According to the guidebooks, you can't draw money from US bank accounts and apparently ATMs are notorious for taking your cards. I went with cash so I didn't have to worry about that, but if you can go with Canadian dollars or Euros, you will be better off. I was not prepared this way and had little time to do anything about it, so I had to suffer a shittier than shit exchange rate (Cuban Convertible Pesos theoretically equal a US Dollar but they exchange at 80c to the dollar) and on top of that, charge a 10% commission for dealing with USD!
But my issues centered on planning after the Cuban leg of my trip. Here was my situation: I had my return flight to Cancún, no worries, but I had run out of time to organize my flight to Brazil before I landed in Cuba. So, I already had expensive accommodation booked and half-paid for in Brazil, no way to get there, and a timer on the whole thing since I hadn't allowed myself much leeway between my flight from Cuba and my accommodation booking in Brazil... follow?
Internet cafés were not plentiful in Cuba, though communications offices existed in the major towns for internet, fax and phone. At 10USD per hour, internet time was not something you wanted to waste. I got an email from an online flight booking agency that asked for a fax to complete my booking. It was sent, at 8USD! and all in vain, because later, I got another email saying that for mysterious reasons they were not able to sell me a ticket. I am pretty sure they found out I was in Cuba and couldn't sell me a flight to Brazil via Miami, damn US grudges! I tried another online agent and was successful that time.
Being Australian, I did not require a visa for any of the countries I had visited so far (except Cuba, but that was easy) and so, I was thoroughly complacent about checking whether I needed a visa for Brazil. I needed one. When I landed back in Cancún and checked in for my flight to Recife, the guy said he could only send me as far as my Miami stopover without a visa and I could try my luck there.
So in Miami, I went through customs, nervous that I had no visa to go onwards to Brazil, had no idea how long it would take to get one and therefore, was stuck in Miami for who knew how long. Mostly I worried that if they checked my bag, they would find my Cuba souvenirs and send me back to Mexico! I was sent for a random bag inspection where the officer asked me lots of questions, not believing that I had been traveling all over Latin America with a suspiciously tiny 35L pack. Fortunately, he didn't check my bag and let me go.
At the check in desk, they confirmed that I did need a visa and sent me to the airline office for information. They were gracious enough to provide information and the address of the Brazilian consulate in Miami and put me on the flight to Brazil the next day at no charge.
I thanked them, feeling very lucky, and left the airport to find somewhere to stay in Miami.
But my issues centered on planning after the Cuban leg of my trip. Here was my situation: I had my return flight to Cancún, no worries, but I had run out of time to organize my flight to Brazil before I landed in Cuba. So, I already had expensive accommodation booked and half-paid for in Brazil, no way to get there, and a timer on the whole thing since I hadn't allowed myself much leeway between my flight from Cuba and my accommodation booking in Brazil... follow?
Internet cafés were not plentiful in Cuba, though communications offices existed in the major towns for internet, fax and phone. At 10USD per hour, internet time was not something you wanted to waste. I got an email from an online flight booking agency that asked for a fax to complete my booking. It was sent, at 8USD! and all in vain, because later, I got another email saying that for mysterious reasons they were not able to sell me a ticket. I am pretty sure they found out I was in Cuba and couldn't sell me a flight to Brazil via Miami, damn US grudges! I tried another online agent and was successful that time.
Being Australian, I did not require a visa for any of the countries I had visited so far (except Cuba, but that was easy) and so, I was thoroughly complacent about checking whether I needed a visa for Brazil. I needed one. When I landed back in Cancún and checked in for my flight to Recife, the guy said he could only send me as far as my Miami stopover without a visa and I could try my luck there.
So in Miami, I went through customs, nervous that I had no visa to go onwards to Brazil, had no idea how long it would take to get one and therefore, was stuck in Miami for who knew how long. Mostly I worried that if they checked my bag, they would find my Cuba souvenirs and send me back to Mexico! I was sent for a random bag inspection where the officer asked me lots of questions, not believing that I had been traveling all over Latin America with a suspiciously tiny 35L pack. Fortunately, he didn't check my bag and let me go.
At the check in desk, they confirmed that I did need a visa and sent me to the airline office for information. They were gracious enough to provide information and the address of the Brazilian consulate in Miami and put me on the flight to Brazil the next day at no charge.
I thanked them, feeling very lucky, and left the airport to find somewhere to stay in Miami.
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