By staying in a casa particular (a private Cuban home, sort of a bed & breakfast adaptation) a tourist to the island will find the genuine Cuban hospitality and friendship. Your stay in a casa will be one of the most interesting experiences while you travel Cuba, for you get in touch with authentic Cubans, and can begin to understand their everyday life and thinking. Cuba is a unique country in many customs and the only way to really get to know the true feeling of Cuba and its people, to gain a deep awareness of the society, is to maintain an ordinary relationship with Cubans, such as your casa particular hosts. The foremost magnetism to Cuba is, after all, its people.

If you choose to stay in a hotel or big beach resort, you will find much less opportunity to talk to and make friends with the locals. You may be required to stay the first night or so in a Havana hotel on arrival (but those restrictions may change in the future). If you are staying in Cuban hotels, only workers of the hotel surround you, along with other tourists like yourself. It is well known that Cuban guests are generally not welcome in official hotel rooms, much less the hotel itself. Another downside to staying in a hotel as opposed to a casa is the expense. The cost of lodging in a hotel is 3 to 4 times higher, and with the money saved, you can extend your travels.

By renting a private room in a casa particular, you will be contributing to a person or family’s standard of living. You pay the owner of the accommodation directly, and the service is a great deal better and more personalized than in hotels. What better way to improve your Spanish and learn how to dance the salsa than by being around Cuban generosity? Accommodations in Cuba are more if you settle in a casa particular.