Cayo Coco : Cuba

Tips for first time travellers to Cayo Coco

Non hotel-specific Tips

1. Book the VIP airport lounge for your return trip as soon as you arrive.

2. The use of credit cards is restricted to paying for excursions and large items in the hotels. When the phone lines are down plastic does not work– this is frequent.

3. Open a free Hotmail account (www.hotmail.com) before you go and tell everyone your hotmail address. Likewise take a list of email addresses with you– it is a VERY good way of letting everyone know that you arrived safe and sound. See 4.

4. Postcards take anyhting up to 3 months to get home. Either don’t both or send them for a laugh. Use email. See 5.

5. Computer access costs $5 for an hour. The internet is available and runs at around a tenth of the speed of a 28.8k modem! You do NOT have to use the hour all at once.

6. There are NO cash machines. Take all the spending money that you might need with the exception of a credit card for excursion costs. See 7.

7. Three or four excursions will cost you £700.

8. Credit cards or travellers cheques mentioning an American bank will not be accepted. So forget MBNA or Capital One for a start. I also heard that there MAY be a problem with Abbey National as they clear through USA banks. Check this out first. Nationwide was supposed to work but didn’t for me. Egg did (eventually– but manually not by EFPOS)

9. Buy souvenirs in markets and shops on excursions– not in the hotel.

10. You will spend nothing on tips except on excursions.

11. If you are nervous about flying (how did you get there?) then the majority of excursions are a no-no.

12. Learn some very basic Spanish– it is really appreciated.

13. You will spend very little in the resort. By day four we had spent only $20 and that was in tips and the $1 cans on the coach from the airport.

14. Space out the excursions. If you are all-inclusive it makes sense to have a break every 2/3 days.

15. Take a few packets of pencils. The kids in Havana would really appreciate them– and rubbers/ pens/ exercise books.

16. Make a badge saying “No– I do NOT want cigars” in 5 different languages.

17. A 350ml bottle of Havana Club costs $2-70 in the resort and $1-45 at the shop in Mahon. Wooden crafts are $1 in Havana market.

18. Cienfuego is lovely. Cigars and rum well priced.

19. In 2 weeks we did not find a single bottle of suntan lotion on sale higher than factor 4. This is ridiculous– you should not go below 20. Go into Boots and stock up before you go.

20. We found that plug-in mosquito repellents were excellent– we used the ‘Go’ travel ones that are found everywhere.

21. Take passports on every trip out.

22. Our family (4) used 2 x 400ml factor 35 Soltan lotions and 1 x 400ml factor 25 in two weeks. I also used a spray bottle of factor 25 hair & scalp. If you are sun worshippers then double this! In any case take plenty– see 20.

23. Take a bottle of antiseptic spray. It’s much easier than lotion to apply.

24. Take one of those new bite ‘pens’. They go in your pocket and are ideal to find quickly for bites. We were NOT particularly troubled by mosquitoes.

25. Take a small but effective first aid kit. One visitor paid $25 to see the hotel doctor only to be given a tube of antihistamine cream that would have been about £3 in Boots. For a suggested contents list click here.

26. Take a flat rucksack in your suitcase. Use it for beach things during the stay.

27. Money– there is an bank in the Sol Melia (next door). This is the only place to withdraw cash by credit card. NO ATM machines– anywhere! Take your passport for all transactions.

28. Take spare tampons/ panty liners. This is the only thing I heard hotel staff actually asking guests for!

29. Buy a few bottles of Cuban rum. The 15 year old stuff is 10 times the price back home!

30. Buy a copy of the English version of Granma to bring home as a souvenir