Take the Kids Along Family Guide Book Havana, Cuba By: Marina K. Villatoro TravelExperta.com Havana, Cuba Music, Art, Cigars, Dancing and Revolu9on Welcome to Havana Did You Know: 11. Cuba is the birth place of Bacardi 1. There is no other place in the world like Cuba Rum, although Bacardi moved to Puerto 2. You feel the true revolu9onary spirit in Cubans Rico aer Castro’s takeover. 3. Cubans love kids - yet they only have one per family 4. Cuba has prac9cally no crime Table of Contents 5. Havana has 15 districts and over five million people I. Map of Cuba living here II. My Take on Cuba 6. To really enjoy Cuba you need to know the history of III. History of Cuba it to understand the miracle of this naon IV. Must Sees of Havana 7. Cuba has the lowest HIV cases in all of Lan America V. Transportaon less than 3000 cases per year VI. Where to Stay With Kids 8. Cubans have the highest life expectancy in Lan VII. Taking the Kids to Eat America and North America VIII. Shopping with Kids 9. No Cuban will ever worry about schooling, food or IX. Havana Vieja health X. Havana Centro 10. Cuba has the highest doctor-to-populaon rao in XI. Vedado the world. XII. Outside of Havana hYp://travelexperta.com Money Tip: My Take on It What can I say - Cuba has got to be one of the There are two forms of currency most interes9ng places we've visited. The fact used in Cuba: that there are absolutely no adver9sements or CUC - the conver9ble peso which billboards pollu9ng your vision is amazing. There is what tourists use and are are no real commercial centers or the latest must mainly charged with have's in technology or fashion. Internet is highly regulated and will take you over 30 minutes to Moneda Nacional - the Cuban Peso which is what the Cubans read 5 emails. have. There are people living everywhere and will be I definitely recommend geng so happy to chat up with you about anything and $50 worth of Moneda Nacional. everything. If you are lost and ask someone for Once you get adjusted to Havana direc9ons they will gladly take you there. you will find lots of restaurants, street vendors and collecve taxis that work with the naonal There is no shortage of 9me and you realize what Peso and you will save yourself a life would be like if you didn't worry about where bundle. your next meal would come from or the educaon your child will be geng or most You can exchange money all over the city in CADECA's. importantly about your health. It is readily available to everyone, is free, and considered some of the best in all of Lan America. But that's not really anything new. What we found to be the most impressionable of all is the people of Cuba. At first glance they appear standoffish almost to the point where they can't really be bothered. But within a very short period of 9me you will see that they will bend over backwards to help you out with whatever you need. They are fun loving, intelligent, sensual Interna@onal Airport Tax and always with a smile. When leaving the country you However, with the US dollar and Euro entering need to pay to the depar9ng the picture the number of hustlers is on the rise tax which is $25 CUC and you will get asked plenty (at the most opportune and inopportune moments) for Note: Kids under 2 are free 'presents' such as money. Or a beYer way of saying it - begging. This is a new phenomena and will take you by surprise. hYp://travelexperta.com Havana is so huge that you Must Sees can spend days wondering only one area. But to get the Havana Vieja full feel of Havana and its people these are must see's: The only way to get around Havana Vieja is on foot. You can literally get lost for hours on the cobblestoned streets filled with local eateries, street musicians and entertainers, shops, restaurants, hotels and some of the best plazas and parks in all of Havana. Malecon The Malecon is the street that goes from Old Havana all the way to the tunnel before entering Miramar another Havana Centro sec@on of Havana. The crashing waves and the great Get a sneak peak into the lives of the Cuban society. views of the sea and the fort Havana Centro is the best place to walk around the streets is a lovely place to stroll and take in sights of the residen9al buildings pumping around and enjoy Caribbean with life all around you. Watch the locals going to the life. Bodegas (stores) for their food, the barber shops, kids geng out of school and daily life. Callejon de Hamel One of the largest influences of the Cuban society are its African roots. Callejon de Hamel, decorated in African art and funky architecture, is the BEST place to see the African culture in ac9on. Every Sunday at noon the alley way comes alive with music, dances, drumming and is filled with people having some serious fun. hYp://travelexperta.com GeNng Around When to Bring the You can't come to Cuba and not ride in a classic Kids car. The best and cheapest forms are the collec9ve cabs. They run the majority of the major routes and Weather will drop you off close to where ever you are going for less than $1 per person. It is said that the best 9mes to visit is during the dry season You can also take private taxis that are found which is December through everywhere. Definitely a more expensive op9on June. However, Cuba seems to enjoy year round amazing but will take you exactly where you need to go. weather, with a few serious but short showers that The Coco Taxis are super fun (Cuba’s version of the happen from July through Tuk Tuk). If you have more than three people, you November. can take two Coco taxis riding next to each other and it will be about the same price as a private cab September and October and but a whole lot more fun. November are known as the hurricane months, but you Walking! Havana is huge! I would recommend can get hit with a storm in any arriving to one area and then slowly walking part of the world so it's too around it to get a good feel for everything. hard to say if it will happen and shouldn't be a reason for you NOT to come. TIP: LiQle kids get @red very quickly. It would be a beQer idea to do small spurts and then rest in any of the number of liQle parks or plazas all around Havana. Quick Fact: Hitch hiking isn't only legal but it is obligatory for government officials to pick you up and give you a ride. hYp://travelexperta.com Havana Vieja Cathedrals, Cobble Stoned Streets Santorini Fortune Tellers Get Lost in Havana Vieja hYp://travelexperta.com Map of Havana Vieja hYp://travelexperta.com Kid Friendly Hotels Hotel Sevilla hYp://www.hotelsevilla-cuba.com Rates: $100 and up Hotel Seville is almost synonymous with Havana! And actually is one of the oldest hotels in the city. It turned 100 March, 2008. This was the place to be if you belonged to the Cuban high society back in early 1900’s. Kind of cool to stay where aristocrats and mobsters, such as Al Capone, par9ed together. Today it’s one of the most elegant hotels around with remnants of it’s heyday in every corner. Hotel Ambos Mundos hYp://www.hotelambosmundos-cuba.com/ Rates: $90 and up Hotel Ambos Mundos is a bou9que, historic hotel located steps away from the Plaza de Armas. It is a restored 1920s building on one of the busiest corners of Havana’s Old Town. The biggest arac9on to this hotel, really, is that Ernest Hemmingway stayed here while wri9ng ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’. You can even pay two CUC to see his room. Hotel los Frailes hYp://www.hotellosfrailescuba.com/ Rates: $80 and up The former mansion of the fourth Marquis and Captain of the French Navy, Don Pedro Claudio Duquesne, is now a restored hotel in the heart of Havana Vieja on a thin cobblestoned street. Most rooms do not have any windows, kind of their charm. They do, however, have four mini suites with balconies overlooking Teniente Rey Street. hYp://travelexperta.com Chocolate Museum Kid Friendly Ac@vi@es Learning About the Culture Price – Depends on how much chocolate you consume Who Doesn’t love Chocolate? Here you’ll find a permanent exhibi9on teaching you everything about chocolate from the 9me when the American naves used it un9l it was discovered by the Spaniards to modern day. Every Tuesday and Friday at 11 am you can learn about the techniques to manufacture candies or taste the delicious chocolates! Cathedral Square Bet you didn’t know this gorgeous Kid Friendly Ac@vi@es square was actually built over Free and Dirt Cheap Fun marshland. Also nicknamed the Swamp Square One of the most historic places Exploring Havana Vieja of Havana, Cathedral Square is surrounded by buildings from the 18th century and is right in front of the old cathedral which is almost four centuries old! Never a shortage of entertainment from the fortune tellers and locals, it’s a great place to grab a drink at the café and people watch.