We are considering a trip to Cuba in March and are wondering about currency etc. In the past we travelled with American money but have heard that its not the way to go now. Should we travel with Cdn currency? What about visa to purchase cigars-is it accepted? Any help on this issue would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

This might be of interest

http://marty.514crew.com/cigarprices.html

Don't take US dollars with you. Go for CDN dollars or euros, you will pay a fee for exchanging US. Also non-US issued credit cards are accepted but also with a fee, 10% I think.
Right now CDN dollars are about .78 CUC.

quote:

Also non-US issued credit cards are accepted but also with a fee, 10% I think.

actually it's 11% commission on credit card purchases...

what you want to do is convert your CDN $ or Euros for CUC (cuban convertible pesos) and pay with teh pesos...

The peso (ISO 4217 code: CUP, sometimes called "national peso") is one of two official currencies in use in Cuba, the other being the convertible peso (CUC). Cuban currency has no official value outside the country. The peso (CUP) is used by tourists only for staple and non-luxury products. However, local citizens are paid most of their wages in pesos and have to pay everyday expenses in CUP.

For some accounting purposes the exchange rate is set at 1 CUP = 1 CUC. However, for practical purposes, the exchange rate is that applied by the Cuban banks and Cadecas (exchange bureaux). From 18 March 2005, that rate has been set at 24:1 when exchanging CUC for CUP and 25:1 when going from CUP to CUC.

The convertible peso is currently pegged at $1.08 USD and is used for luxury products and services. All other exchanges rates are set in relation to the CUC.

This should give you what you need. Scroll down the page to get all the details ..



http://www.acrosscuba.com/index.php?L=3&B=35