You’ve got your passport and all your travel documents at hand. You’re ready to smell the salt air coming off the ocean, to hear the rhythm of rhumba, salsa, or Afro-Cuban jazz music.
You can’t wait to learn about the tropical island where time seemingly stopped in the 1950s. You’re heading to Cuba! But before you go, you’ll need to pack your bags smartly.
Our team at Airline Brokers offers the following packing tips for your tours in Cuba to make your life easier while also preparing you for your ideal trip.
Preparing Your Bag Before Traveling to Cuba
When traveling to Cuba, packing your travel bag can prove to be quite challenging. In Cuba, you cannot simply stop off at a local store or shop to get many of the necessities like in other countries.
Because of sanctions and other economic issues in Cuba, it is far more difficult to buy certain items that you may take for granted at home. With this in mind, you must put some thought into considering your needs and what you will need to pack before your trip.
Pack Light/Pack Right
One of the most important packing tips while preparing for traveling to Cuba is being able to pack your essential items while keeping your bag relatively light.
To avoid additional fees due to overweight luggage, Airline Brokers recommends packing a bag that weighs right around 40 pounds; this includes carry-on bags as well.
Some items you’ll want to consider packing are:
- Clothing, accessories, and shoes
- Sun hat
- Prescription medications
- Microfiber towel
- Filter water bottle
- Travel guides and Spanish-English phrasebook
- Toiletries and Cosmetics
- Adapters and Small Electronics
- Sun and Rain Accessories
- Basic First Aid Kit
You’ll also want to remember that you can bring items home from Cuba. So, please take a moment to review the legal guidelines before packing for your return trip.
Packing the Right Clothing
Traveling to Cuba provides visitors with a beautiful, warm, tropical climate. The average temperature in Havana is about 77° F (25° C).
During the day temperatures can get as high as 81° F (27° C), and at night they can drop down to a very comfortable 70° F (21° C). Because of this, you’ll want to pack light-weight cotton and other breathable fabrics.
Cuba is quite casual, so pack for comfort before style. Pack clothes that can be worn to create multiple outfits such as a multi-colored shirt that can be worn with shorts, jeans, and khakis to create three outfits.
For daytime tours in Cuba, consider packing:
- Light summer dresses or skirts
- Sleeveless blouses, shirts, and t-shirts
- Light-weight pants or shorts
- A light-weight scarf
- Swimwear
- Comfortable, supportive walking shoes and sandals
- Sunglasses
- Travel guides and Spanish-English phrasebook
- Portable umbrella to shade from the sun for sensitive skin
For evenings
- Casual summer dresses or skirts
- Light-weight pants, jeans, and shorts
- Long or short sleeve shirts
- Light-weight jacket or sweaters for evenings
- Comfortable, supportive shoes and sandals or closed-toe shoes
June through October tends to be the rainy season for this beautiful island when tropical showers are a frequent occurrence, not to mention this is the height of hurricane season for the Caribbean. So, if you’re traveling to Cuba during this time, you’ll want to be sure to pack the appropriate rain accessories. The team Airline Brokers highly recommends you plan your travel to Cuba between late November and early May for the best site-seeing opportunities.
Staying Healthy During Your Tours In Cuba
In Cuba, there is an abundance of sun but not clean drinking water. Combing the two can have a devastating effect on your trip. Any time you travel away from your home country, you run the risk of catching an illness. Having plenty of sunscreen, hand sanitizer, and a filtered water bottle along with a basic first aid kit and your prescribed medications can help you stay healthy.
For More Information
Visiting Cuba is a wonderful educational opportunity and cultural experience. These are just a few packing tips to help you plan for your next trip.
For more information, please visit our blog, or contact our team from Airline Brokers today!