Country guide
Cuba
Destinations
Cayo CocoCayo Santa MaríaVaradero (Kite Beach)
Visa & entry
| eu passport | Green Tourist Card required (not a visa waiver) for most nationalities including EU, allowing up to 90 days, extendable once for a further 90 days while in Cuba. A digital 'Cuba eVisa' alternative has been available since August 2024 as an online single-entry authorization replacing the traditional paper card for eligible travelers. |
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| us passport | Pink Tourist Card required specifically for passport holders flying direct from the United States, regardless of nationality. US travelers must additionally self-declare one of 12 OFAC-authorized travel categories (e.g. support for the Cuban people, educational activities) due to US sanctions/travel regulations - this is a US-side requirement layered on top of the Cuban entry document. |
| uk passport | Green Tourist Card, same terms as EU passport holders (90 days, extendable once). Comprehensive travel insurance is mandatory under Cuban law and may be checked at immigration. |
| digital nomad visa | No dedicated digital-nomad visa identified for Cuba. |
| notes | Passport must be valid 6+ months beyond arrival with at least two blank pages for stamps. Mandatory travel insurance (see insurance section) has been Cuban law since May 2010, with a minimum USD 10,000 emergency medical coverage requirement; entry can be refused without proof. |
Money
| currency | CUP (Cuban peso); USD and EUR cash are widely accepted informally alongside CUP |
|---|---|
| card acceptance | Effectively a cash-only economy for tourists as of the 2026 update below - see contradictions. |
| atm networks fees limits | UK government guidance (accessed 2026) states international Visa/Mastercard cards are 'no longer accepted' in Cuba as of a stated effective date of '6 June' (year not captured in the fetched snippet - flagged as an open question), and that it is likely international cards will not work at ATMs at all going forward. This supersedes older advice that some non-US-affiliated foreign Visa/Mastercard cards might work. |
| local instant payment | Transfermóvil (the Cuban state banking app) is used domestically but requires a Cuban bank account, so it is not realistically usable by short-stay foreign tourists. |
| scams |
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| tipping | Tipping is expected and forms a meaningful part of income for many service workers (guides, instructors, waitstaff) given low official wages. |
| cash tips | Bring small-denomination USD or EUR cash specifically for tipping; a rule of thumb cited by trip guides is to budget roughly $100/day in cash for the whole trip given the lack of reliable card/ATM access. |
SIM & internet
| operators ranked for coast coverage |
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| esim options |
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| id required for sim | Yes, passport required. |
| starlink status | Not officially licensed for consumer service in Cuba as of 2026, though there are reports of unofficial/smuggled Starlink kit use; treat this as unverified and unofficial rather than a supported service. |
| notes | Nauta prepaid WiFi cards are the traditional way to get online at hotspots, officially priced around 25 CUP/hour (125 CUP for 5 hours) - but the real-world price tourists pay at hotel/hotspot resellers is often quoted informally in USD (roughly $1-5/hour) rather than at the official CUP rate; this gap is a recurring point of confusion in trip reports. 4G LTE now functions in major tourist areas including resort zones. |
Insurance
| kite excluded by standard policies | Kitesurfing is typically excluded by standard travel policies as an adventure sport, on top of the separate, legally mandatory minimum medical-coverage requirement described below. |
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| recommended | A policy that satisfies Cuba's mandatory minimum USD 10,000 emergency medical coverage requirement AND separately covers kitesurfing as an activity AND covers medical evacuation. |
| evacuation note | UK guidance notes that medical facilities in Havana are markedly better than in rural areas (Cayo Coco/Jardines del Rey would fall into the more limited category), that payment in foreign currency is required before treatment, and that Cuba has severe medicine shortages - carrying a doctor's letter listing personal prescriptions is recommended since many home-country medications are unavailable locally. |
Health
| vaccines | No specific vaccines beyond routine immunizations were flagged as mandatory; check current recommendations at least 8 weeks before travel given how quickly regional outbreak status can change. |
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| mosquito disease seasons | Cuba's government declared an arbovirus epidemic in 2025 covering dengue, Oropouche virus and chikungunya; as of the UK government's August 2026 update this specific epidemic warning was no longer active, but mosquito-borne disease risk should still be assumed to be elevated in the hot/rainy season (roughly May-October). |
| tap water | Not confirmed safe; general regional practice is to drink only bottled/purified water. |
| emergency numbers | 104 for an ambulance (confirmed via UK government guidance); police/fire numbers not independently confirmed this session. |
| hospital standard | Havana has the best-equipped facilities for foreigners; rural areas and cay/resort zones like Cayo Coco have more limited medical infrastructure. Severe, ongoing medicine shortages nationwide mean travelers should bring their own supply of any regular medication plus a doctor's letter. |
| pharmacy notes | Do not rely on being able to buy specific prescription medication locally; shortages are described as severe and widespread. |
Driving
| idp needed | Commonly cited as required/strongly recommended for renting a car in Cuba (general knowledge; not independently verified against a Cuban government source this session). |
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| road safety | Poorly lit roads, wandering animals and pedestrians, and inconsistent road-surface quality are recurring themes in trip reports, particularly outside resort zones and at night. |
| rental traps | Fuel shortages and long queues at gas stations are a recurring, well-documented problem; rental agreements often nominally require full-to-full refueling that can be hard to satisfy given shortages. Mandatory extra insurance add-ons at the rental counter are also commonly reported. |
| police stops | Document checks at police stops are a normal part of driving in Cuba per general travel guidance. |
Regulation
| drone rules | Cuba is widely reported as very restrictive on drones - bringing one without prior permission from Cuban authorities risks confiscation at customs; this is a recurring, strongly worded warning in travel/trip-report sources, though the exact current permit process was not verified against an official Cuban source this session. |
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| protected areas | Cayo Coco and the wider Jardines del Rey archipelago include protected mangrove and wetland ecosystems. |
Calendar & costs
| holidays moving prices |
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| school holidays | Cuban school holidays run roughly July-August, with a shorter break around Christmas/New Year. |
| beer | 1.8 |
| meal | 6 |
| coffee | 1.73 |
| one bedroom month | 338.19 |
| currency | USD (Numbeo nominal display; actual local economy is CUP/USD dual and highly informal) |
| year | 2026 |
Kite bag on airlines flying here
- airline: Cubana de Aviación (national carrier) / Air Canada Rouge (seasonal Canada-Jardines del Rey/Cayo Coco routes) / European charter carriers (e.g. Condor, Edelweiss on some routes)policy: Cubana de Aviación has historically faced an EU airspace operating ban tied to safety oversight concerns, so most European/Canadian visitors reach Cayo Coco via Air Canada or seasonal charter carriers rather than Cubana; kite-specific baggage fees/limits for these carriers could not be verified via a live source this session.
Where sources disagree
- MAJOR: Card/ATM access - some 2025-era sources describe select non-US-affiliated foreign Visa/Mastercard cards as sometimes working at Cuban ATMs; UK government guidance accessed in 2026 instead states international cards are 'no longer accepted' as of a stated '6 June' effective date (exact year not captured from the fetched snippet). Treat Cuba as fully cash-only for 2026 travel planning until this is reconciled, and re-check gov.uk/FCDO guidance close to departure.
- Nauta WiFi pricing: the official ETECSA rate (~25 CUP/hour) differs sharply from the informally dollarized price tourists commonly report paying at hotel/resort hotspots (~$1-5/hour) - both figures appear in sources and are recorded here rather than resolved.
Open questions
- The exact date (day/month/year) that international card acceptance stopped, per the FCDO note referencing '6 June'.
- Whether Visa/Mastercard cards from any non-US-linked foreign bank still work anywhere in Cuba as of August 2026.
- Current official drone import/permit process and typical outcome for tourists arriving with kite-trip camera drones.
- Kite-bag baggage fees on Air Canada Rouge and any European charter operators serving Jardines del Rey/Cayo Coco.
Sources: discover.passportindex.org · cubaninsights.com · eta-cuba.com · baconismagic.ca · hotelhavanaerror.com · gov.uk · +2