Playa Ancon and Trinidad is my favorite place in Cuba. The 3 hour bus ride sucks, but definitely worth it. Its a shame to see what is happening in Cuba.
The best way to increase the food shortages in Cuba is for Cuba to get fishermen, boaters, hunters, farmers, gardeners to do what they do best, and that is to produce food. Importing food might be an option from other countries, but the best idea I can come up with is for Cuba to become self sufficient. If there is nobody in Cuba who has relevant survival skills then I see a problem that the Cubans will have. I know for a fact USA, and Canada has citizens who have relevant survival skills, and I think these people could benefit Cuba, and Cubans. How do I know? Well I been chatting with some of these people who have relevant survival skills, and I have been learning from them! There are Canadians who are starving despite Canada not lacking food, but maybe this might change, and this is because of the high cost of living in Canada. What I heard is there are millions of Canadians who cannot afford to buy food, so they hope to get food from charitable Canadians.
Can you bring cans of tuna or ham? I used to bring pads, tampons, nail polish, hair dye, pens, pencils, notebooks, pepto, Advil, Tylenol, Imodium, gently used clothing and shoes. The people of Cuba are so awesome and sweet. I look forward to going back someday.
Thank you for sharing. ❤🥰 To travellers: With respect, although condiments are really not essentials for tourists, I am sure you can do without BBQ chips, mustard and ketchup for a week! If you know Cuba, you know what to expect when travelling there. Leave behind your picky demanding complaints at home!!! DO bring extra Tylenol as they do not have any in Cuba. Yes, baby formula. First aid kits. Baby clothes & Diapers. Bug spray. You can even pack an extra carry on filled with first aid medical stuff and leave the suit case at the hotel infirmary. Extra whatever you pack and leave it ALL behind when checking out. Go to the dollar store and grab some gift bags. Pack the items in gift bags with a little note as employees are searched by patrol when leaving the hotel areas. But are allowed to accept gifts! They can not be caught with even a small piece of bread! Give it to the workers, chamber maids, waiters, cooks, gardeners, musicians, drivers, anyone. Give them your fully charged solar power banks! Costs nothing and easily replaceable for us. Don't be stingy! When going to Cuba you go there with a giant and generous heart, always. Don't forget power plug adapters.
At the Melia resort you are at, how is the beach? Comments seem to say hotel is great but beach is not great for swimming - lots of rocks/coral. But have also heard they are working on the beach??? Thanks for the videos - very helpful.
My pleasure. The beach is rocky but has its own charm with the big coral rocks in the water and mountains in the background. You can also go snorkeling in it. There's also a natural lagoon that you can swim in next door at the resort. If you're looking for powdery, white sand, I'd look at destinations at the north side of the country.
Great suggestions for those that stay in resorts but I travel a little differently, living with the Cubans when I'm down there since 2000. More than 50 times so far. Here are my suggestions for the common people on the streets in the towns and not the resorts. Womens running shoes or anything without heels, canned meats and fish, Preparation H for the seniors (you will make a friend for life!!) Gravol, tooth paste, Large sized bras....D DD and up, granny panties (white cotton utility underwear for the older women), head lice shampoo, cough medicine both for adults and children, shoe laces, dental floss, sugar substitute for diabetics, duct tape but the good stuff, fish hooks and line, pens, reusable store bags, hats safety glasses.....and good work gloves for the street sweepers and garbage guys, They work with rags ties around their hands. There is soooo much more needed The resort workers get the majority of the donation brought by the tourists so what we did was everybody would pool their donations together, hire a private car, and drive out to some town about 20 miles from the resort. We would then stop at the local church and find the priest, padre, minister or what ever and give the donation to him and him alone. Those are HIS PEOPLE living in the area and knows who is in the greatest need and will distribute the donations and supplies where they are needed the most. Thanks for posting this video. It is a conversation that we need to have.
Thank you Randy for all that you do! The Cubans definitely need our help. I'd rather go there and spend the difference between a Dominican or Mexican resort and buy essentials for them. That's a great list. I'll keep them in mind for my next trip.
Hi Bro, im going there next month, been before but like 5 years ago. I hear its more expensive now, as an example, how much for a meal/a beer/a coffee etc? Also do American dollars work everywhere? Thanks ☺️
If you go to an all-inclusive, it's obviously included. Outside at bars, it can depend. I was at a touristy spot in Trinidad recently and drinks were 2-3 USD. Meals can also vary but I reckon you can get by with 5-10 USD. They love USD over there.
Great suggestions of things to bring. How do you go about giving things away? Do you give it to resort workers? Do you give it to locals in town? Do you just pick random people?
Thank you! I generally give some to people in the resort who are not customer facing, such as landscapers. I give the rest to people in cities when I visit.
Thank you for enlightening the situation in Cuba. I was about to book my trip to cuba on November 18, to Cayo Coco Memories Caribe but, somehing stopped me.
The cost of going cuba is so cheap but people dont want to go and get stuck with no electricity or food.i dont think it has to do with the canadian economy.
Just don’t go…it’s a joke you pay for trip and need to worry if everything will work or they gonna have food…or what ever…you go vacation to relax and too worry about
Trips to Cuba have always been the cheapest, you can go for 600$-700$ all inclusive for a week from Canada! This is a time where Cubans NEED tourists SUPPORT the most. We need to continue going! Yes it is an extra challenge as tourists. But the resorts run on generators and are working hard to bringing everything back as it was. But if you know Cuba, you know how it is. They will be happy to see us arrive! Most of all they really appreciate us asking them directly how they are doing through these hard times? How are their families? Do they need anything? Take time to have a chat with someone there, you will learn allot more about Cubans and their living situations. It's really hard. Put yourself in their shoes for a small minute if you can. ...
if you plan on an excursion outside of your all inclusive resort or hotel and might need to use a toilet, you better have a partial roll of toilet paper handy if you are not used to washing your backside with your hand. When the power is out some places may not even have water to wash up with afterwards and pit toilets never. 😖😲💩
Depends on the excursion, honestly. I haven't been to the countryside excursions, so I don't know how they are. But city trips have proper washrooms in good restaurants. For catamaran trips, the washroom inside them are what you'd expect. They really can't do anything about that. Regardless, I always bring a roll of toiler paper whenever I'm outside the resort.
I love the Cuban people and culture but I will look for other nations to spend a vacation in. My wife and myself can no longer include Cuba as a destination when the island nation is in such a place. Leave the resources for the people of Cuba and send resources to the amigos you have made in the country. Powdered milk is a great thing to send into the country.
You are not getting value you used to have from Cuba. It’s virtually priced the same as Dominican Republic with DR is much better quality of food, entertainment, drinks, excursions. This year Sunwing priced even Mexico at comparable prices in November. Riu and El Sid in Mazatlan are at about 1000cad Nov 7 or Nov 11. Only advantage you can tip with small toothpastes, school supplies and such. And bring there cosmetics, clothes you or relatives don’t need anymore. We practically left half of our suitcases there for maids, but I think bringing food is a bit much. As well as drinking powdered milk in hotels. It’s way below tourist expectations. At the end of the day you are paying customer. They need to get rid of communism. Cuba was #5 economy in the world a century ago. It’s time to smarten up, restore relationship with USA and return lands and factories to their rightful owners who invested heavily in Cuba long time ago.
@1:03 Power plant* not nuclear plant
Very sensible comments and suggestions, much appreciated. I feel for the Cubans. They deserve so much better.
Thank you Daniel!
Thank you for sharing and the helpful information.
Thank you for watching!
Playa Ancon and Trinidad is my favorite place in Cuba. The 3 hour bus ride sucks, but definitely worth it. Its a shame to see what is happening in Cuba.
It's definitely a special place.
I'm going there during Christmas 😊
Great information!
Thank you Cindy!
Curious about the water and ice situation at a resort. I got sick in Havana a few years ago by drinking some water on a very hot day.
As long as you stick to bottled water, it's all good. I've never gotten sick from the ice.
The best way to increase the food shortages in Cuba is for Cuba to get fishermen, boaters, hunters, farmers, gardeners to do what they do best, and that is to produce food.
Importing food might be an option from other countries, but the best idea I can come up with is for Cuba to become self sufficient. If there is nobody in Cuba who has relevant survival skills then I see a problem that the Cubans will have. I know for a fact USA, and Canada has citizens who have relevant survival skills, and I think these people could benefit Cuba, and Cubans.
How do I know? Well I been chatting with some of these people who have relevant survival skills, and I have been learning from them!
There are Canadians who are starving despite Canada not lacking food, but maybe this might change, and this is because of the high cost of living in Canada. What I heard is there are millions of Canadians who cannot afford to buy food, so they hope to get food from charitable Canadians.
change the goverment
Don't you mean to decrease the food shortages...not increase them.?
Can you bring cans of tuna or ham? I used to bring pads, tampons, nail polish, hair dye, pens, pencils, notebooks, pepto, Advil, Tylenol, Imodium, gently used clothing and shoes. The people of Cuba are so awesome and sweet. I look forward to going back someday.
From what I've seen others say, it's better to bring dry powdered eggs and milk, etc. I personally wouldn't bring tuna cans.
Thank you for sharing. ❤🥰
To travellers: With respect, although condiments are really not essentials for tourists, I am sure you can do without BBQ chips, mustard and ketchup for a week! If you know Cuba, you know what to expect when travelling there. Leave behind your picky demanding complaints at home!!!
DO bring extra Tylenol as they do not have any in Cuba. Yes, baby formula. First aid kits. Baby clothes & Diapers. Bug spray. You can even pack an extra carry on filled with first aid medical stuff and leave the suit case at the hotel infirmary. Extra whatever you pack and leave it ALL behind when checking out. Go to the dollar store and grab some gift bags. Pack the items in gift bags with a little note as employees are searched by patrol when leaving the hotel areas. But are allowed to accept gifts! They can not be caught with even a small piece of bread!
Give it to the workers, chamber maids, waiters, cooks, gardeners, musicians, drivers, anyone.
Give them your fully charged solar power banks! Costs nothing and easily replaceable for us. Don't be stingy! When going to Cuba you go there with a giant and generous heart, always. Don't forget power plug adapters.
That's a great list. Thanks for sharing.
At the Melia resort you are at, how is the beach? Comments seem to say hotel is great but beach is not great for swimming - lots of rocks/coral. But have also heard they are working on the beach??? Thanks for the videos - very helpful.
My pleasure. The beach is rocky but has its own charm with the big coral rocks in the water and mountains in the background. You can also go snorkeling in it. There's also a natural lagoon that you can swim in next door at the resort. If you're looking for powdery, white sand, I'd look at destinations at the north side of the country.
Great suggestions for those that stay in resorts but I travel a little differently, living with the Cubans when I'm down there since 2000. More than 50 times so far.
Here are my suggestions for the common people on the streets in the towns and not the resorts.
Womens running shoes or anything without heels, canned meats and fish, Preparation H for the seniors (you will make a friend for life!!) Gravol, tooth paste, Large sized bras....D DD and up, granny panties (white cotton utility underwear for the older women), head lice shampoo, cough medicine both for adults and children, shoe laces, dental floss, sugar substitute for diabetics, duct tape but the good stuff, fish hooks and line, pens, reusable store bags, hats safety glasses.....and good work gloves for the street sweepers and garbage guys, They work with rags ties around their hands. There is soooo much more needed
The resort workers get the majority of the donation brought by the tourists so what we did was everybody would pool their donations together, hire a private car, and drive out to some town about 20 miles from the resort. We would then stop at the local church and find the priest, padre, minister or what ever and give the donation to him and him alone. Those are HIS PEOPLE living in the area and knows who is in the greatest need and will distribute the donations and supplies where they are needed the most.
Thanks for posting this video. It is a conversation that we need to have.
Thank you Randy for all that you do! The Cubans definitely need our help. I'd rather go there and spend the difference between a Dominican or Mexican resort and buy essentials for them. That's a great list. I'll keep them in mind for my next trip.
Hi Bro, im going there next month, been before but like 5 years ago. I hear its more expensive now, as an example, how much for a meal/a beer/a coffee etc?
Also do American dollars work everywhere? Thanks ☺️
If you go to an all-inclusive, it's obviously included. Outside at bars, it can depend. I was at a touristy spot in Trinidad recently and drinks were 2-3 USD. Meals can also vary but I reckon you can get by with 5-10 USD. They love USD over there.
Great suggestions of things to bring. How do you go about giving things away? Do you give it to resort workers? Do you give it to locals in town? Do you just pick random people?
Thank you! I generally give some to people in the resort who are not customer facing, such as landscapers. I give the rest to people in cities when I visit.
Did you land at Holguin airport? How long is the bus trip to Trinidad?
Landed at Santa Clara. Bus ride was 3 hours.
Thank you for enlightening the situation in Cuba. I was about to book my trip to cuba on November 18, to Cayo Coco Memories Caribe but, somehing stopped me.
My pleasure. I'd just double check on the power situation in their Facebook group, and book the trip. You shouldn't have issues.
@@ImagineThere thank you for responding. One more queetion....did you like Memories Caribe in Cayo coco?
@@bogdantrzymaj The resort is dated and I went during low season, so I had to expect things accordingly. But the beach there is beautiful.
1:03 "..there were nuclear plant failures... " There are no nuclear plants in Cuba.
Thanks.
Have you been disturbed by mosquitoes on the beach at your Holguin resort?
Not when I was there in May. Don't know how it is now.
Morning and evening, yes!
@@ImagineThere I was asking because until now, I never had much of a problem with mosquitoes in Holguin. Thanks for answering, especially that fast!
@@eplourde4634 My pleasure!
The cost of going cuba is so cheap but people dont want to go and get stuck with no electricity or food.i dont think it has to do with the canadian economy.
Just don’t go…it’s a joke you pay for trip and need to worry if everything will work or they gonna have food…or what ever…you go vacation to relax and too worry about
It turned out to be one of the best trips in Cuba.
Trips to Cuba have always been the cheapest, you can go for 600$-700$ all inclusive for a week from Canada! This is a time where Cubans NEED tourists SUPPORT the most. We need to continue going! Yes it is an extra challenge as tourists. But the resorts run on generators and are working hard to bringing everything back as it was.
But if you know Cuba, you know how it is. They will be happy to see us arrive! Most of all they really appreciate us asking them directly how they are doing through these hard times? How are their families? Do they need anything? Take time to have a chat with someone there, you will learn allot more about Cubans and their living situations. It's really hard.
Put yourself in their shoes for a small minute if you can. ...
if you plan on an excursion outside of your all inclusive resort or hotel and might need to use a toilet, you better have a partial roll of toilet paper handy if you are not used to washing your backside with your hand. When the power is out some places may not even have water to wash up with afterwards and pit toilets never. 😖😲💩
Depends on the excursion, honestly. I haven't been to the countryside excursions, so I don't know how they are. But city trips have proper washrooms in good restaurants. For catamaran trips, the washroom inside them are what you'd expect. They really can't do anything about that. Regardless, I always bring a roll of toiler paper whenever I'm outside the resort.
If you can’t afford Cuba your not traveling period
I love the Cuban people and culture but I will look for other nations to spend a vacation in. My wife and myself can no longer include Cuba as a destination when the island nation is in such a place. Leave the resources for the people of Cuba and send resources to the amigos you have made in the country. Powdered milk is a great thing to send into the country.
I suggest you vacation in Florida … you seem to have nothing good to say about Cuba ‼️🇨🇦🇨🇺
Do I love visiting Cuba? Yes. Do people have the right to know about the shortages before booking? Also yes.
You are not getting value you used to have from Cuba. It’s virtually priced the same as Dominican Republic with DR is much better quality of food, entertainment, drinks, excursions. This year Sunwing priced even Mexico at comparable prices in November. Riu and El Sid in Mazatlan are at about 1000cad Nov 7 or Nov 11. Only advantage you can tip with small toothpastes, school supplies and such. And bring there cosmetics, clothes you or relatives don’t need anymore. We practically left half of our suitcases there for maids, but I think bringing food is a bit much. As well as drinking powdered milk in hotels. It’s way below tourist expectations. At the end of the day you are paying customer. They need to get rid of communism. Cuba was #5 economy in the world a century ago. It’s time to smarten up, restore relationship with USA and return lands and factories to their rightful owners who invested heavily in Cuba long time ago.