Cuban Cigars, Culture & Lifestyle: Casa Particulares....renting them now has become a necessity for some tourists traveling to Cuba.

With the advent of a mended relationship between the United States and Cuba, travel to Cuba has increased dramatically. No use in giving you exact numbers but it's safe to say that there aren't enough hotel rooms to accommodate all the tourists and there's no way that Cuba will be able to keep up with the demand any time soon by building additional hotels. That's not saying they won't build hotels, they just can't build them fast enough. Some of us frequent travelers to Cuba have been renting apartments or rooms with Cubans for a long time now but it wasn't out of necessity, not in my case anyway. We learned a long time ago about the comfort and relative inexpensiveness (compared to hotels) that the Casas had to offer. The first time I rented a room in a Cuban's home was more than ten years ago in the city of Moron in central Cuba. I was more than a little nervous, I had never done this and my Italian background made me think (hindsight) a lot of terrible thoughts. It was uncalled for, I was treated like one of the family and it's the way it's always been, it's just how Cubans are.
During my second year of traveling to Cuba I began making Havana my destination or homebase. The first trip I took to Havana about 11 years ago, I'll never forget, I booked a room at the Hotel Inglaterra because of it's location right in front of the main square. As far location went, it couldn't be beat, it was right in front of Parque Central (Central Park). I booked a room with a balcony overlooking the Square and had a birds-eye view of all pedestrian and vehicular traffic that went by the hotel. I was an early riser, the noise that started early in the morning didn't bother me. However, the room was tiny and the bathroom even smaller with a cost of $90cuc per night. Plus, at that time Cubans couldn't enter a hotel and I had already made friends. On my last night I opted out of the room at the hotel and rented an apartment in the Nuevo Vedado district for half the money, $45cuc per night. I haven't looked back since, I've been renting Casas ever since.

Cuba Casa Rentals

Several years ago I opened a site offering Casas for rent in Havana. The Casas or Rooms are in locations all across the core of the city. The prices range from $25cuc-$100cuc per night depending on location and conditions, a few even come with a pool. Most of them offer breakfast and many lunch and dinner, for a nominal fee. In the description of the houses I added a brief report of what you'll find in the immediate area. I'm available for any questions someone might have on any of the Casas. If you're thinking of trying out a Casa rental, please check out my site and give us a try. Be aware that some of the houses we have listed aren't perfect, but then neither are the hotels in Cuba that cost so much more.

Thank You

Cuba Casa Rentals

www.cubacasarentals.com

Below are pictures of some of the properties: