Tipping in Havana
Always leave a tip. Tipping is expected not only in Havana but in whole of Cuba. Local people make less money a month than you pay for pizza at home. Tips help them get better lifestyle. Unless you have had wet mop splashed in your face and soup spilled across your new dress, you should tip.
The downside is, that you will spend more on tips in Havana than you did in any other country you had previously visited. It gets irritating at times as everyone will want a tip for everything. You smile at a musician in the restaurant, he will want a tip, you take a picture of a child on the street, he will want a tip – Cubans expect a tip for everything. If you can afford it, you can rest assured that your money is going towards good cause, but it gets rather tough if your budget is not that high.
How Not To Spend Too Much on Tips
The best thing you can do is to quit looking like a tourist. Do not show off wearing anything expensive. And I’m not only talking about jewelry. Don’t wear designer clothes and sportswear form top makers, such as Nike or Reebok. And do not walk around with your camera hung around your neck. You will see that once you try to blend with the crowd, you will be bugged far less about tipping everyone for everything.
How Much to Tip
Cubans will be happy with 10% tip. Once again – keep in mind that their monthly salary is about as much as two pints of beer at home. CUC$ 1.00 is a decent tip for most services and will be appreciated (CUC is Cuban Convertible Peso). CUC$ 0.50 is often more than enough.
Tipping Gets You Anywhere in Havana
Anything can be done in Cuba in exchange for a little tip. If you need someone to bend the rules or turn around and pretend that they can’t see, depending on difficulty, CUC$ 1.00 – CUC$ 5.00 will be your ticket.
Tipping Bands is a Custom
This part can be difficult to comprehend as cultural difference in this regard is significant between western countries and Cuba. Bands will always expect a tip from everyone who’s sitting on a patio or the beach or anywhere else a band shows up. This is normal in Latin American cultures. Even local Cubans who will be at the bar enjoying the music will leave a tip for the band.
This approach differs from Western cultures. For a westerner, it is easy to perceive a band as some form of group of buskers or street bums looking to rip people off. It is not so in Latino cultures. Mariachis and troubadours don’t get paid by the venues and all locals know playing for people is their bread. In Cuba – if you don’t pay the band, it is as if you were stealing from them.
Make sure you have some change ready before you sit down. Most bands also sell their own CDs. It is often better to purchase a CD as you won’t be expected to tip on top of the price of their CD. For you as a tourist, tip is a money that goes out your pocket for very little or nothing. Buying a CD makes it a little more bearable as you have something to show for your money.
Tipping in Foreign Currency
Cubans have hard time exchanging foreign currency. You may think you’re doing them a favor by tipping them in Canadian dollars or Euros, but you’re not. You’re giving them a headache. Cuban Convertible Pesos are the best currency to tip in.
Besides – foreign coins are completely useless to them. Only bills are exchangeable. So if you’re a Canadian, smallest bill you have available is $5 – that’s a big tip. But that’s not the point. Just imagine you work at a restaurant in your home town in Canada and you get a welthy tourist from Honk Kong whom you serve. Upon leaving, he’d give you a tip in Chinese money. Just what the heck are you going to do with it? And it is much easier to exchange foreign currency in Canada than it is in Cuba. Simple rule of thumb – tip Cubans in Cuban pesos.
For additional information on Havana, go to Havana – Complete Guide
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January 3rd, 2011 at 4:57 pm
I don’t agree with this aritcle, I don’t care how much or little cubans make, I will not tip for crap service, if the service is decent than it’s a different story, the article sounds as if it is our fault for them not making anything or having a hard time exchanging foreign currency, don’t care, it’s their problem, I don’t owe them anything, I’ve paid for my vacation therefore I expect service in return for that payment!!
Tipping in Havana, that I would call bribery and it’s the first thing that is wrong with that culture so ….
January 4th, 2011 at 4:58 pm
I DO AGREE WITH TIPPING: I think the writer explained very well why tipping is important, and in fact within the culture. If you don’t want to tip, then don’t travel to Cuba.
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For the price of your trip Cuban workers are not paid anywhere close to what you would be paid if you worked in Canada in the same service.
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Consider that if you worked an hour in Canada, you could buy 3 BAGS of oranges. If you worked an hour in Cuba, you might be able to buy 3 oranges.
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It *IS* our fault that many countries live at a lower standard, because we (in North America and Europe) use the majority of the worlds resources. We also never see the real cost of using electricity and gas. This real cost is downloaded to less fortunate countries. So man up and tip!
February 13th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Stuff,
You bigot! You like the sun but don’t understand poverty. Maybe when you’re done burning crosses on peoples front lawns you could learn to expect the poor to stop kissing your buttocks. These are decent, well educated (better than you) people that are trapped in political situation beyond their control (supported by US fear mongers). Get off your wallet.
April 1st, 2011 at 10:45 am
Hi,
Do you leave a tip in CUC or CUP??
(it kind of looks bigger to leave 10 CUPs than 0.5 CUC)
December 7th, 2011 at 6:52 pm
I am somewhat conflicted with this issue. On the one hand I would like to support the Cuban economy when visiting and would also like to help out local Cubans I meet since they make so little. On the other hand I worry that with the massive growth of the tourism industry, excessive tipping by foreigners causes a large influx of wealth which is concentrated only in certain areas and in a particular job sector. The trouble with this is it may be creating a two tiered economy. Those who make a living at a tourist location by trying to get tips can conceivably make more than ten times as much as a physician can in Cuba. It makes doing menial jobs while bothering tourists for money more profitable than being a doctor, lawyer, farmer, miner, construction worker.. I honestly would rather pay 25% more for everything in Cuba at the businesses/hotels ect. than this tipping system. If anything fueling this by tipping constantly makes much more incentive for harassing tourists. This is not helpful for the Cuban economy because it may affect decisions of return travel for many and creates undesirable socioeconomic ripples in Cuban society. I still do give in to this and tip but usually not much and I tip more the less I feel pressured to do so. I know this makes me kind of a hypocrite given my feelings on the issue, but there is such pressure to conform to this convention that I feel uncomfortable not tipping at times. Also it is hard not to when you feel bad for someone you meet who does a good job and gets paid crap.