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Havana-guide:
CASA PARTICULAR in HAVANA
What is a casa particular ?
A casa particular is a private room with full accommodation in a Cuban house or with a Cuban family .
Advantages of a casa particular
The private rooms are less expensive than a hotel room and are the cheapest lawful lodgings you'll find for your stay in Cuba. The prices of the rooms range from 20 up to 50 cuc a day.
A casa particular gives you the real Cuban feeling, as it puts you in direct contact with a Cuban family. It will also give you more privacy than just staying with friends.
In addition, Cuban citizens are not allowed to give shelter to
tourist or foreigners.
Ignoring this law can lead to severe fines, up to 1000 cuc, a sum that equals five years salary for the average Cuban. In a casa particular you may invite any guests you want, even Cuban friends.
Renting a casa particular helps a Cuban family and in turn they can help you to with information about restaurants, transportation, renting a car, or by explaining the life in Cuba.
Cuba is an unusual country, and even Cuban are sometimes baffled, but they just shrug and say, "es Cuba" …( that’s Cuba ).
Is a casa particular for everyone ?
As said before a casa particular is a must if you want close contact with the Cuban people, but a casa is not for everyone. Complete hotel accommodation,lobby bar, restaurants, elevators, swimming pool, 24 hours room service, internet, 24h surveillance are in most cases not provided .
The quality of the amenities may vary, especially in old Havana, where the average prices are lower than in the other districts.
In Old Havana some casa particulares are situated in old decaying buildings.Some people will find this an adventure as part of the real Havana, others will refuse this.
Safety is generally not a problem, but hotels are safer because of the 24 /24 h .surveillance and the possibility to
hire a safe. Some of these services are only provided in the better casa particulares in the Vedado and Miramar area.
Tips for hiring a casa particular
Choose your casa with care, since you are not supported by a tour operator, travelagent or hotel staff.
The casa particular should be legal one, a blue triangle sign on the outside of the casa indicates this. A legal casa means the casa owner has an official licence to let the room(s) and has paid the taxes.( 200 - 300 cuc each month even if he can not let his rooms ) Despite the heavy taxation with a good occupation the owner can make a profit.
For this reason there are a few thousand casa particulares all over Cuba, a lot of them advertise on the internet, because public advertising is not allowed.
The internet has his advantage you can easely compare prices and equipment. The better casa particulares show photos of the interiors and the neighbourhood .
For your information Havana-guide has compiled a selection of quality websites that offers casa particular rentals.
http://www.casaparticular.org
http://www.casaines.com
http://www.casaparticular.info
http://www.havana-rentals.com
http://www.cuba-rentals.com
The better class of casa particulares often give testimonials on their sites.
Select a few rooms, if one selected room doesn’t suit you, you can quickly move to an other one. Make the selection in advance, in Cuba you will pay an extra included in the price, for the jinetero (hustler) who delivers the addresses. Normally a hustler gets a five peso convertible fee per night from the owner.
Casa particulares – prices
The prices vary between 20 cuc and 50 cuc (cuc= peso convertible - 1 cuc = 0.9 US dollar) for one night . Sometimes breakfast is included but in most cases it’s an extra charge of 3 cuc .
In old and central Havana prices are around 20 – 25 cuc . In the better district Vedado 25 –35 is a normal price and in the residential upper class district Miramar 50 cuc or more is common . The Vedado and the Miramar districts area far quieter than the Old and central Havana , but the distance to the old town where the “action” is 5 –10 km , so you need a taxi.
Ask your casa owner , maybe he can help you with a car rental service or a car driver
for a few days.
Always ask price and conditions ( insurance ) before you make a deal.
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