Cuba

Before you leave

Passport

You need a valid passport.

Tourist card

You have to buy a tourist card (price : a bit less than 40 USD) that you'll have to show upon entering and leaving Cuba.
You can order it in a travel agency or at the Cuban embassy.
On the card you have to fill in the adress where you will be staying upon arrival in Cuba. Just pick a hotel from your guide and fill it in, they do not chack at immigration. If you are staying in a casa particular and you want to fill in its address, make sure it is legal casa particular. If you are staying with Cuban friends, do not fill in their address unless they registered you as their guest, otherwise they will have to pay a fine.

Departure tax

When you fly out of Cuba, you have to pay 20 USD departure tax per person.

(Our) reading material

Guides :
Lonely Planet Cuba, Edition 2000
Literature :
The Old Man and The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
Our Man in Havana, Graham Greene
The Mambo Kings Play Songs Of Love, Oscar Hijuelos
Island of Eternity, Abilio Estevez