Caribbean Travel: Five free things to do in Havana, Cuba [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Caribbean Travel: Five free things to do in Havana, Cuba

From cobblestone squares to vintage cars to baseball, here's how to enjoy the best of Havana without breaking your budget.

By: Peter Orsi Associated Press, Published on Fri Aug 02 2013

HAVANA—For a city where people earn an average of $20 a month at government jobs, Havana can be a surprisingly pricey place, at least for tourists.

From $6 daiquiris at El Floridita, Ernest Hemingway’s favoured watering hole, to the ubiquitous hustlers looking to con visitors into buying knock-off cigars, much about the Cuban capital seems geared toward separating travellers from their money.

Fortunately some of Havana’s most charming details can be experienced free of charge. Here are five great ways to explore this city stuck in time, without adding to the hefty fees charged by tour companies.

(Note: While millions of tourists visit Cuba each year from Canada, Europe and elsewhere, Washington’s 51-year-old economic embargo still outlaws most American travel to the island. However, tens of thousands of U.S. citizens are now visiting legally each year on cultural exchange trips. These so-called people-to-people tours are rigidly scheduled to comply with embargo rules, but there’s almost always a little free time to go off on your own, and some of these attractions may also be part of official itineraries.)

More:
http://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2013/08/02/caribbean_travel_five_free_things_to_do_in_havana_cuba.html