So let’s
assume you have decided to visit and experience the real Cuba by
living largely in a Cuban village. This section of the site is
to discuss or offer 2 different options of getting there and
saving money while minimizing complications.
Before
demonstrating these two options, I will be up front and suggest
that 1st timers to Cuba and/or those that are going to tempt to
spend a week or two off an All Inclusive in a smaller village
outside of Havana, should probably follow the “base camp” option
which essentially means booking a low cost Havana 7 day
flight/hotel room package (your base camp) and within a day or
two (after discovering Havana) taking a taxi to Guanabo and
booking a casa particulara with a Cuban family. Cost and
benefits of this option will be described below, but essentially
once you have done this, future trips will only require a flight
as you will then be familiar and comfortable enough with basic
Cuban words, banking, culture, transportation, accommodation
essentials and practices.
Now to the
description, analysis and modelling of the costs and benefits of
the two major options. To begin what follows is a general
explanation of these:
-
Getting
to Guanabo by booking just a flight to Varadero or Havana
only, and then making your way on your own to Guanabo by
either taxi or bus. This approach will require you to find a
taxi (a bus is sometimes available but you have to know the
hours and be able to communicate in Spanish – the point
being it is doable but a tad risky) which costs about $60 to
$80 Canadian depending on how good you are at negotiating).
-
Or, the
second alternative is using a base camp approach which means
booking a low cost 2 star Havana based partially inclusive
(only breakfast) hotel approach. This model may be advisable
for those that are visiting Cuba for the first time and wish
to go off-reserve. While at first blush, perhaps
contradictory from all previous advice there are a number of
benefits to doing so, especially if you are going to Cuba
for the first time. These benefits include:
-
As
will be demonstrated and explained below it can be
cheaper than just taking a flight. The main reasons for
this are: often taking a low cost Havana package is only
$100 more; when you book a package your transportation
to and from the airport to Havana is included which
saves you almost $150 Cdn, if your single and $75 if
your buddies or a couple; you get a large breakfast
included which likely will save you $5 day.
-
The
other major benefit is that you are guaranteed to get
from the airport to your hotel quickly, without needing
to find, communicate and haggle with taxies drivers. On
your second trip, if you decide to go and once you have
mastered this technique, the air only becomes cheaper.
-
Lastly and important in understanding how this works
economically and from a cost benefit perspective, unlike
at the airport, both Havana and Guanabo have many, many
taxies called collectivos that run almost 20 hours a
day. These are non-government taxies that you share with
other Cubans that only move from downtown Havana to
downtown Guanabo, and only cost a $1 per person per way.
These are a lot of fun, and a great way of meeting
really friendly Cuban men and women.
The cost
analysis was undertaken November 14, 2016. The model is for a
hypothetical one week vacation that will take place beginning
January 15th, 2017. The search engines/sites used include Trip
Central, Air Canada and WestJet.
For the All
Inclusive or the base camp model we have chosen one of the
Havana downtown low cost hotels (2 star) called Hotel Islazul
Caribbean (you may also take a look at Islazul Colina Hotel).
While there are a number of other Havana hotels these are either
more expensive (3, 4 and 5 stars and offer free breakfast, lunch
and supper meals and alcohol) and/or located outside of the
downtown area. For the week of January 29th the cost (Flight,
Hotel Islazul Caribbean, breakfast, bus back forth from the
airport) from Ottawa is $705 per person for a couples rate, and
$785 for a single person (all taxes included). But again please
note that I have seen these same one week packages for 5475 to
$575 during other months such as in September and November. So
it can be very worthwhile to keep a daily or weekly eye out or
seek our assistance in monitoring and/or alerting you to sudden
super deals. And it should be noted that these are not
necessarily last minute deals but may indeed have a one month
lead time before departure.
On the other
hand, a flight only, return economy flights (all taxes in) to
get to Varadero is about $480 in this example (average of sample
prices below). It is useful to note that most of the time flying
into Varadero is usually quite a bit cheaper by about $300 to
$400 than going direct to Havana – however this is not always
true. Sample modelling prices are as follows:
-
Sunwing
Ottawa to Varadero Jan. 15th to Jan. 22nd is $475
-
Air
Canada Ottawa to Varadero Jan. 15th to Jan. 22nd is $424
-
WestJet
Ottawa to Varadero Jan. 15th to Jan. 22nd is $550
Therefore
the difference in this case approximately $200 (I have seen
times when the difference is only $75, depending on the season
and the timing of your booking and many, many other factors
beyond my understanding).
However as
the costing model below tries to demonstrate these costs
differences can evaporate quickly one you have landed on your
flight only option and begin encountering additional costs and
possible hurdles and confusion for first time travelers.
-
The
first model is that of solely purchasing a flight only. As
you will note the total cost per person is $935 the daily
average cost (for one week) is $134 and the two week average
daily cost is $89. Not surprisingly a two week holiday is
both better for economic reasons, and also allows you just
enough time to adapt and really learn and become
comfortable. It is also important to note that it becomes
even more cost effective if you go as a couple or buddies,
as there would be economies in food and certainly lodging as
the “daily casa or hotel price” below is per room and not
per person. And the taxi as well is per ride not per person.
-
Now with
respect to the hybrid or “base camp” cost modelling
analysis, the following table highlights the cost divergence
between the two. Using a “base camp” in this model results
in a total cost per person of $930 the daily average cost
(for one week) is $133 and the two week average daily cost
is $112. However please note that the spreadsheet below
assumes or incorporates that this individual will spend 2
nights in Havana (likely the first and last nights of their
trip to sight-see Havana and to correspond with their
airport taxi schedule).
The
important take-aways from this exercise for the first time
off-reserve traveler, a one week “base camp” approach provides
the following benefits:
-
It is
very cost competitive (at least for a one week trip), almost
par.
-
It
reduces risk, anxiety and complications by negating the need
to find and haggle with a taxi, and make sure you have a
safe place for your luggage and place to sleep for your
first night. It is also important to note that it is far
cheaper to rent a hotel from Canada, as part of a package
then it is to do so once in Cuba, as hotel nightly prices
are much, much higher to book once in country.
-
It
provides you with two places to live and the ability to
decide for yourself whether you prefer city life to village
life, and accordingly whether you spend one, two, three or
more nights in Havana or Guanabo. i.e. more flexibility.
Lastly, this
exercise was simply to demonstrate an important point and
choice. Price differences can vary significantly depending on
what time of year you are planning when to go. However, if you
are trying to decide which approach works best for you, please
use the following links and any others you are familiar with to
do your own analysis and booking. These are:
