How to get there and transport

All tourist that wishes to visit the Island should go supplied from visa, you can process it at the Consulates or through your travel agency, and the passport should have a minimal validity of 6 months. This tourist's visa has a maximum duration of 30 days ( I value 22 euros ). In the event that you be going to make use of particular houses for rent or you will have hotels that to use tourist's visa, next they will ask you in the control of customses where you will take lodge, in the event that you use particular houses you indicate the name and any one address of houses to him that you have contactee ( in the section Houses I give a great deals ).
Those that use his familiar Cubans' houses will have to travel with the visad type To 2, that only you express his opinion at the Consulate ( I value 55 euros ) and family's book, if your consort is Cuban, or your passport, as well as the bill of airplane or in your defect will be able to request that you credit the intervening kinship the data of place and input-output dates to the country this acquires itself with a maximum precedence of 60 days to date in her that you be going to initiate the journey.
 
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As from the May 1, 2010 so much the tourists like the resident Cubans out-of-doors that they travel to the country they will have to go supplied of a policy on tour with coverage of medical expenses. You will be able to acquire it in the travel agency in her that you hire your bill of airplane or parcel on tour or else to the entrance of the country. Also you can make out a previous reserve of the aforementioned policy through the page of safe Cubans' company Asistur.

If you wish to extend your sojourn, on top of the 30 days that take part in the visa, you should accomplish the following steps a week before your maturity date. Getting the postponement from the flight of return, taking the receipt of payment if you stay at particular house or guest's card if you lodge in hotel, the passport, the visa and you date the bill of airplane with news, as well as seals at the value of 25 cuc ( convertible weights ), that they sell at the banks. In the event that you find yourself in Havana, you will accomplish the step at Control's Office of Extranjeros Inmigración and Foreign Affairs, placed on the street 20, between avenues 3ra and 5ta ( Miramar ), in schedule of 8:30-12:30 and 1:30-3:00 of Monday to Friday ( on Wednesdays only for the mornings ). Those that want to a third or fourth month be more will have to go out of the country and returning with new visa and will be able to renew her for a fourth month following the process before explained. The majority go to Cancún and return with the new visa of 30 days.
Ad hoc that you be going to provide accommodation with a friendly Cuban, to the one that logically you do not pay him for leasing, you should come in person to accomplish the step at Control's office of Extranjero with your friendship, once the proprietary writing of the house, as well as seals at the value of 40 cuc was supplied with.

The fairly good more important companies of everybody pilot the Island. From Spain (Cuban of Aviation, Iberia and Air Europa. These they all land in the airport Jose Martí, in Havana, and only Cuban of Aviation has a weekly flight with scale in Santiago de Cuba (with return from Havana), very interesting for those who want to visit the whole Island and to want to do it from East to West, with the consequent saving of kilometres
Those who take North America as a point of item(game) can give him(you,them) a return for the pages of the Company Celimar (The) (United States) - exits from Miami, New York and Los Angeles and destinies Havana, Cienfuegos, Camagüey, Holguín and Santiago - and of To. Nash Travel Inc. (Canada). From November 1, 2001 the American Continental company Airlines has three daily flights Miami - Havana, one weekly New York - Havana and demolishes two times a week to Camagüey and Cienfuegos (regular flights, though technically they have the consideration of charter).
From 1999 there exists also the possibility of travelling in flights charter between(among) Miami and the cities of Havana, Camagüey and Holguín, and for October, 1999 the North American authorities announced direct flights from New York, The Angels and Miami, always and when you should possess(should rely on) the authorization of the Department of the Exchequer and of the Office of Control of Foreign Properties. These flights the journalists, civil servants of the USA will be able to use them, not professional, investigative sportsmen and the Cuban - American who want to visit once a year to his(her,your) family and who invoke humanitarian motives. Also I offer you a list with all the regular companies and charter of the world that they demolish to the Island.
 

To the margin of the kilos that allows you to take the air company, in general 20 kilos for the class tourist, some companies raise a bit this weight (Cuban you authorizes 30 kilos, Air Europa 40, except changes of last hour), the customs authorities allow you to introduce in the country the personal effects that reasonably you could need in your stay (clothes, footwear, chamber(camera), objects of bathroom, etc). If they think that you take many things, they will be able to stop to enter(approach) you up to 250 dollars of objects, of which 50 dollars are exempt from rates, but for the remaining ones they will be able to impose a rate of hundred on you for hundred of his(her,your) value. The application of these rates depends on the customs officer that you touch and the voluminous of your baggage. I have taken in my trips 30 kilos for person and have not had any problem. But he(she) remembers that to take an overweight of baggage, over these 20-30 kilos, it can be a weapon of double edge and, though some companies allow you to take many kilos, then in the Customs you can take a good displeasure(grief) to you when they could receive(charge) from you an important price for these kilos of more that they could think that you go. In your baggage you can include up to 10 kilos of medicines, the maximum that there allow you to take the customs Cuban authorities, providing that these go in his(her,your) original packings(packages) and correctly identified, but he(she) remembers that these medicines will be included in the total weight of your baggage, in no case it is a weight added to the set of your baggage.
If you want to know in advance what you can take to Cuba and what quantity, as well as what is prohibited, you can give you a return for the page of the General Customs, where besides you can obtain information about the articles that you can extract of the country and the conditions (cigars, art, books, antiquities, etc). There are specially protected the articles that have a top antiquity at the age of 50 and do not allow his(her,your) exit of the country. In advance, I will say to you that it(he,she) is final prohibited, even it will be requisitioned you in the Customs (if they plunder it from you), the pertaining to meat products (sausages, etc) and lacteal or his(her,your) derivatives, though they are packed to the emptiness, only allow  1 kilo for person of pertaining to meat products and providing that it(he) is tinned.
Don't forget that to the exit of Cuba every traveler has to pay in the airport a rate of 25 dollars. Do not get impatient in the control of passports if you run against a civil servant of rather jealous and exhaustive Interior in his(her,your) work, they are slow enough and distrustful, look and re-look so much at theirs you as(like) to your documentation.
For the lovers of the crossed distances, as button of sample I will say to you that Havana is far from Madrid in straight line 7.453 km, from Rome 8.724 km and from the Canadian Ottawa 2.546 kms.

In case you choose for a combined trip, you can obtain good offers with a week of accomodations in hotel nearly more than it(he,she) would cost the flight to you. Among the most important Spanish agencies they are: Halcon Travel, Trips Sol-Meliá, Politours, Guamá or Online Tours -with a wide offer, different and exclusive-. From Mexico you have Viñales Tour.
Those that want to organize his(her,your) own(proper) stay in Cuban hotels, which not always appear in the offer of the packages combined of the traditional agencies, have the possibility of reserving across Internet in the establishments of the group Cubanacan and in the own pages of some of these as Havaguanex (main offer in Old Havana), the hotel Brisas Trinidad (all inclusive), the Villa Tarará (in the beach and to only 20 minutes of Havana, with independent houses), or those that there offers to you the chain Islazul, with centers in the whole country and varied offer of city, beach or places of high ecological value. 

The country offers you a great variety of manners of transport, from renting your own(proper) car, with or without chauffeur, to contracting the services of a bici-taxi. Besides, in the small cities they offer to you the services of transport of animal(rude) traction (car of horses), particular good or of pre-established route.
The condition(state) of the principal highways in general is acceptable, but in many of the secondary ones the floor(flat) has pot-holes and they lack border. Crossing the Island from Pinegrove of the Rio up to Guantanamo one finds the principal highway, which happens(passes) for the majority of the capitals of province. This one has range of highway (good condition(state)), and he is known by " eight tracks ", from the city of Pinegrove of the Rio happening(passing) for Havana and up to(even) near Jatibonico, in the limits of Sancti Spíritus's province with Blind person of Avila. Also a small section of highway exists to the exit of Santiago de Cuba in direction towards Havana.
Havanautos you rents cars of small to great size, 4x4 and even ciclomotores, with prices that range between 50 and 87 daily dollars for periods up to 6 days, according to the category of the vehicle, prices that diminish all those more days use them, 45-80 $ up to 13 days, or 35-68 $ from 30 days. Also you can choose for Cubacar's offer, but in all the cases I recommend to you you to read very well the conditions of the contract and he(she) remembers that the liter of fuel is to 0 ' 95 of dollar. Another company that also offers you his(her,your) services of rent of cars  is Micar, with an extensive desire and bases of withdrawal and delivery of the vehicles in the whole country; the most economic thing is a Fiat One (50 dollars if you take it less than seven days and 40 if to overcome 13 days) and his(her,your) fleet has, between(among) others, Peugeot 307, Toyota Corolla or the van of more passenger's capacity Toyota Hiace (120 dollars for less than seven days and of 100 if to overcome the 13). 
The corporate group Transtur has a wide and varied offer of services, rent of cars of different scale, taxis and cars and minibuses with chauffeur for your displacements so much in city as(like) to travel to other cities, as well as the rent of buses for big groups.

For the most comfortable or those that do not want to be exposed to scares in his(her,your) displacements by Havana, I recommend to them the use of the Panataxi (they are of yellow color and in Havana his(her,your) service can request in the telephone 55-55-55) or Turitaxi (cars white Mitsubitsi, telephones 33-55-39 to 42), both to very attainable prices and they use taximeter, though Panataxi is a bit cheaper. For example, a taxi Jose Martí receives(charges) from you between(among) 15 and 18 dollars from Center Havana to the airport.
If you are a lover of the old cars of the fifties you can rent them (with driver) in many places of the big cities, in Havana you find  points as the surrounding areas of the Capitol, the park Carlos Manuel of Lawns, the walk of the Meadow or at the edge of the hotels. You have to square the price and for very small that is the distance they will ask you for for fewer 3-4 dollars.

To see everything calmly and of two in two, it(he,she) rents a bicitaxi, a peculiar way of transport in which also you have to fit the price, is cheaper than the ancient cars. Also from approximately the year 2000 another possibility exists to move for the city of Havana, is the Coconut - taxi, a vehicle with form of half an egg of yellow color, which it(he,she) allows to travel to two persons and a minor. It(he,she) is more agile in the city that the taxi, they receive(charge) from you half a dollar for kilometre, just about as a taxi, and you will be parked them at the edge of hotels and in Old Havana close to the street market of crafts.

Several are the types of matriculation of the vehicles that circulate along Cuba. If the color of bottom(fund) is yellow it(he,she) corresponds(fits) to a car or Particular motorcycle (the majority they are "machines" - cars previous to the victory of the Revolution-, as well as those that the Cuban has obtained later for missions in the exterior or works in the Island, as the cut of cane); the cars that the tourists rent have matriculation of black color and the identifying one initiates for the letters TUR; besides you will see cars and trucks with matriculation or red of blue color that belong(concern) to the State or his(her,your) companies, these take the State legend or Opening. It does not surprise you that any buses have a sheet on other one, they are vehicles proceeding from international donations to those that they support under the Cuban sheet the one that had in his(her,your) country of origin, I have seen someone of orange color of the urban lines of Seville.

An alternative to see the city of Havana is to take one of the buses of Vaiven, with tours for 4 dollars and frequency every 50 minutes.

Besides all before mentioned, you can resort to the traditional buses in which it is paid in Cuban currency (I) (weigh), but have care with the "camels" (buses constructed in Cuba with a road tractor of truck and tow type bus enabled for the public), the shared or enclosed taxi to do hitchhike to a particular car (matriculation with color of yellow bottom(fund)) and to square the price.

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