Money in Cuba
We've seen a lot of discussion about this in the pass and wanted to pass along our experiences from a trip to Cuba in December 2010, and to clear up a few questions we've frequently gotten from travelers. There are two ways to go for currency: US dollars have a poor exchange rate, but you can either bring Canadian and change them into Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUCs), or buy a Caribbean Transfer card. We’d recommend the card; the advantage is your money is more secure in the event of a theft, and you can use cash machines around the country for withdrawing money during your trip. Don’t forget to keep 25 dollars CUC for your departure tax.
