A destination as sought after as it is complex. The choice to choose it is personal, it depends on the balance you make between costs, time, priorities and tastes.
A series of situations and events at the global and local level are currently causing a severe economic crisis in Cuba, where a hotel employee earns $20 per month and a doctor, $35.
The shortage of supplies and food also affects hotels. The so-called US blockade, as it is known, is not as we imagine it. Cubans prefer to call it an “economic embargo.” Curiously, the country that sells the most to the island is USA. China too. The Europeans have some sales bans.
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Oil’s contribution to GDP was important, but the situation has deteriorated and today it has added little. The situation is further aggravated by poor management in some sectors of the economy, the lack of dollars for payments to international suppliers and the time taken to settle foreign currency.
An explosive combination in a country where very little is produced, and what there is is more profitable to export than to consume domestically.
Hotels not so “all inclusive”
Hotel managers are thus performing miracles to obtain “what they can.” Not only in gastronomy, they have a hard time finding everything from ovens to locking equipment.
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Bad:
- For us Argentines, it seems like a “long” trip. For example, if we go to Varadero, Cubana and Aerolíneas are not flying As they did directly, the option is Cup with stopover in Panama or American via Miami.
- Upon arrival in Havana we have another 2.30 hours of travel by road.
- If you are travelling to the Keys, there are direct flights from Panama.
- Regarding communications, they are complex, internet signals are not received outside the hotels.
- The food: don’t expect to see the buffets we found in Punta Cana, Riviera Maya or Cancunhere they are much more modest. You may not find, for example, yogurt, sausages, dairy products, saccharine or mayonnaise among other products. In the themed menus, during dinners at the All Inclusives, the variety and quality increases; you can choose ceviche, shrimp cup, roasted sirloin with mango sauce, beef or lamb stew, fish with Veracruz sauces, stuffed chicken, spicy shrimp or fajitas, pumpkin risotto and the classic ropa vieja ingot, among other menus.
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The good:
- There is no sargassum in Cuba, which is not a minor issue. In the rest of the Caribbean, it is no longer seasonal; there can be algae all year round.
- Cubans have the best beaches in the Caribbean, fine white sand, turquoise sea and very warm temperatures.
- Prices: If we do not have great gastronomic pretensions we can take as an example the 5-star Meliá International Hotel with 900 rooms, Depending on the dates, a package with airfare from Buenos Aires, transfers, hotel and travel assistance costs USD 1,900.If you want privacy, you can choose the “Level” sector with premium drinks, dining room and private pool for adults. In that case you will pay about USD 2,500 per person. Other options are international chains such as Iberostar or Paradisus.
The Fact: What to Buy
In the Havana Port Fair It is available among a wide variety of Rum brands, 2 bottles of Legendario USD 20. For cigar loversthe box of 25 Cohiba cigars USD 50.
Choosing Cuba as your next trip is a very personal choice, it depends on the balance you make between costs, time, priorities and tastes.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
