Seven things I wish I'd known before I travelled to Cuba

1. No one speaks English
OK, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but really very few local people did. As much as I hate to be that arrogant English-speaker who expects everyone to speak their language, I naively believed that I would be able to get by with my very rudimentary Spanish because in my previous travel experience almost everyone in the hospitality industry would speak some English. Not so in Cuba, and I'm not complaining, I certainly do think it should be the responsibility of the traveller to learn some of the local language if they want to communicate, I just really wish I could have known before I visited just how difficult it would be to talk to people. Maybe if I'd stayed in fancy hotels it would've been different, but in my experience most Casa Particular hosts spoke no English at all, and the same went for bus station staff, taxi drivers and restaurant servers. I really wish I had taken a few Spanish lessons before I went because I felt like I missed out on some good conversations.

2. Wi-Fi is pretty much non-existent. 
Though Cuba is fast catching up with the rest of the world's technology, its internet access is still not great. For the most part I enjoyed this, it's great to switch off sometimes, but there were a few times when we really needed to get online to check changed flight times or book accommodation, and really struggled to do so. Most Casa owners seemed to have internet access, but they were very reluctant to allow us to use it, I can only assume that their access was limited and expensive. There are Wi-Fi hotspots in certain areas of most towns (you'll often see groups of teenagers on their phones sitting around them) but to access these you need to buy an internet card beforehand. We were perplexed when we first arrived, as we were often approached by random people offering to sell us Wi-Fi,but when we tried to buy these internet cards in Camagüey and found that there was a queue outside the phone shop with a couple of hours' wait, we knew we had to try and find these one of these guys again. It was a weird experience, wandering round and round a square feeling like we were looking to buy illicit drugs and not internet access, but eventually we were approached by a Wi-Fi hawker and got online.

3. Casa Particulars are your budget option.
There aren't really any hostels in Cuba, instead locals earn some extra money for themselves by renting out rooms in their houses, bed and breakfast style. These are called Casa Particulars and they are a great way to experience more of the local way of life. Plus we found that the standard of accommodation was always really lovely. This does make things more difficult if you're a solo traveller, though. It's by no means impossible to explore Cuba on your own, but you can't meet people as easily as you would in a hostel, and you would have to make a real effort when out and about to talk to people. Also the going rate for a room in a Casa was usually around 20 CUC, great if you can split that between two, but obviously more pricey if you're on your own.

4. You can't really buy snack food anywhere.
I hadn't really budgeted for the fact that we would be eating out for almost every meal. Normally when travelling I buy snack foods to at least have one meal on the go, and although I knew things would be different in Cuba, I kind of expected to see street vendors selling fresh fruit and snacks. Not so, in fact when we did manage to find a supermarket we were actually turned away and not allowed in; the language barrier meant we had no idea why, so there could be a logical explanation for this, but there did seem to be a general feeling that tourists were supposed to get their food in cafes and restaurants. Fair enough, as one of the only ways Cubans are allowed to make extra money for themselves is through tourism, but in hindsight I should've packed a few more snack foods in my suitcase. I later found out that Cubans are given ration cards for fresh food, and will often queue for ages at local shops to get it. On a side note, if you're looking to save money then opting to eat at your Casa Particular is a good option, they often go above and beyond and serve huge meals at lower prices than restaurants. The standard Casa breakfast is also pretty huge so you can fill yourself up on that. Plus it's great to support them.

5. Get your bus tickets in advance.
We were caught out a couple of times and had to pay more for a taxi between destinations. For shorter journeys split between two it wasn't so bad, especially as it takes you door to door, but for longer journeys you're gonna want to get to that bus station at least two days in advance to make sure you've reserved your seat. 

6. An internal flight might not save as much time as you'd think.
We didn't fancy an 8 hour bus journey from Camagüey to Havana, so we thought a 1.5 hour flight would be worth the extra expense. Perhaps not. In Camagüey our flight was inexplicably delayed by about an hour, we didn't board on time and then sat on the runway for ages. When we did eventually arrive in Havana we waited nearly TWO HOURS for are luggage to be brought for collection. It was the most frustrating thing ever. In the end we worked out that considering the fact that we arrived at the airport a couple of hours in advance of our flight, we actually may as well have gone with the bus option.  

7. If you're a woman you're gonna get a lot of letchy comments from local men.
Unfortunately this is seemingly unavoidable, we experienced cat-calling wherever we went. Some say it's a cultural thing, and that it's normal for Cuban men to be vocal if they like what they see. I still don't think this is OK because at times it was intimidating, I never felt physically threatened but was definitely made to feel uncomfortable. Yes we need to accept cultural differences, but we don't need to accept blatant misogyny. Besides there were plenty of Cuban men who were completely respectful, the creeps were in the minority but they made themselves known. I think travelling as a pair helped us to feel safer, but looking back maybe we would have enjoyed Cuban nightlife a little more if we hadn't been worried about letchy men.

So, there's my tips, I hope they help you plan your trip! This is essentially a list of problems we faced, but they are by no means the whole story, we had a fantastic time in spite of them and I would highly recommend Cuba as a holiday destination to everyone I know.