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Since 1997 the Cuban government allows residents to rent 2
rooms in their houses to tourists, they are called Casas Particulares.
The
owners of the Casas help to promote their homes by distributing
business cards, and by advertising on websites such as Cuba-Junky.com.
You often will get these cards while traveling around Cuba.
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The
Casas Particular |
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Cubans
with a special license can rent up to two rooms in their homes
to foreigners. You can recognize them from the street by seeing
the blue signs (see picture), Casas owners must post this
sign on their front doors. The signs will read: 'Arrendador
Divisa. |
If
you choose to stay in a Casa Particular, you'll pay average
20 cuc a night; meals are extra. E.g. Breakfast is 3 cuc,
and dinner is about 7 cuc, however, prices will vary between
cities and towns.
The owners of the blue or green triangle (see the sign above)
Casas pay the government 50 cuc per month for the sign, and
in addition, pay between 100-250 cuc as a tax to the government,
depending on its location.
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Remind,
its all about value, the better the casa the more you will
pay of course. Could be the casa has a shared bathroom with
others, or a private bathroom. Just 1 room or a whole private
appartement with livingroom and kitchen. A better area of
the city or a very nice view ... All depends ...
Cuba-Junky strives to offer the better casas, with airconditioning
and private bathroom
Commission
And
yes, Cubans get commission, just like in any other business,
nobody works for nothing, we all have to eat right? ;)
In any case a Cuban is involved in the "renting-deal"
of your casa particular the Cuban gets commission, even a
taxi driver and even if it is your friend, family or husband!
Even if you think there wasn't a Cuban involved ... there
IS ... maybe the Cuban guy at the restaurant last night who
recommended the casa to you, or the casa owner of the casa
you stayed in the other city ... whatever, 99% of the times
the casa owner pays commission for you to another Cuban involved,
and thats fine and normal!
Btw,
Cuba-Junky is not getting commission from any casa particular
owner but Pototo does ;)
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How
to make a reservation? |
Easy ...
Our
Man in Havana ... Pototo:
Check
out Pototo's
clip below, he is your host in Havana
Pototo is Cuba-Junky's help for everything in
Cuba. Remind, Pototo is a self supporting person
who is pleased to figure all things out for you.
It would be nice when you tip him for his work
... On location or here by PayPal
at info@cuba-junky.com
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Pototo's Home Page >>
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Pototo's Testimonials >>
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Email: pototo@cuba-junky.com
>> Remind, the Cuban internet is not
as smooth as in our countries, Pototo's reply can take
2 days.
One
thing more about reservations ...
Casa
owners really want to have their rooms full everyday
if possible of course
It happens when you enter the casa you reserved and
it seems occupied by other people who showed up earlier
that day or wanted to stay some extra nights ....
I
agree, it is not a proffesional way to do business but
please do not blame the casa owner, but understand such
things happen because:
- The
casa owner have to pay a huge monthly tax to rent
out rooms, some 300 cuc per month, they have to pay
this tax even if they have guests or not!
- Many
tourists make a reservation but do not show up since
you do not have to pay in advance
When
such a thing happens the casa owner will ALWAYS have
an alternative for you which has at least the same conditions
you are looking for and sometimes even better. Don't
worry you will get a great place to stay.
Be
smart and call 1 day before or the same day early in
the morning to confirm your stay.
We,
Cuba-Junky, strive to do "business" with the
more proffesional casa particulares ... but still ...
this is Cuba, bienvenido ;)
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| How
to find a Casa Particular by yourself? |
| Take
the print
friendly address list provided by Cuba-Junky with
you.
Or
just browse our casa particular pages and write down the ones
you like.
In
fact you do not have to search for a casa ... they wll find
YOU :)
You will mention, by entering each city, people will ask you
if you need a casa. Mostly these are the so-called jineteros,
they get a commission for bringing you to a Casa, some people
don't like this kind of promotion, but it can be handy to
use this kind of service. Besides, also a Cuban has to get
some fulas (Cuban slang for money) to eat right?
After
a long day of walking, sightseeing or a trip to the beach,
it's good to come 'home'. Cubans are extremely friendly at
the Casas, we have found. If they are full up, they'll call
around for you in the neighbourhood to get you an accommodation. |
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But ... we have made it
easier for you and cheaper too.
We selected over 500 casa particulares all over Cuba
and made an address book of it, an easy wire-o binding
"take it with ya" book with 100 plus pages
full with addresses and some pages left to write down
your own comments.
You can buy this Casa Particular directory
from our Cafepress shop
for only $ 14.95
Order
it in time because the shipping time depends on where
you live in this world and can take 10 days
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Buy your casa particular directory online >> |
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Illegal
Casa Particulares
In
lots of cities in Cuba you also can stay in illegal casas.
Remind that you can get kicked out in the middle of the night
when they get a visit from official people who check the casas
from time to time. Besides this, the owner risks his house
because this is one of the fines in Cuba when managing an
illegal casa particular ... Cuba-Junky personally, when staying
in a casa particular in Cuba, does not want to be responsible
for such thing happening ...
Cities
like Varadero
do not have legal casa particulares because the Cuban Government
does not give permission in this area to start one, so all
casas you will get offered are illegal.
In
Varadero
you better stay in a hotel
or the most nearby legal casas are in Matanzas
and Cardenas
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Visit
the Casa Particular pages by clicking the below cities |
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