 Cuba currency conversion - US dollars or Canadian?
It was a bit difficult to figure out. The THEORY (and I can't emphasize
that word enough) is that the Cuban government has tied the exchange rate
between tourist pesos and the US dollar on a 1:1 basis. So....
1 Peso = US $1.10 (remember the 10% surcharge on USD)
1 Peso = CDN $1.22 (based on current exchange rates)
As with any cambio setup, you don't get the whole rate; service fees are
built into the exchange rate, and of course the buy rate is different than
the sell rate. Our flight had a layover in Varadero, so we exchanged some
CDN into pesos. I believe it was around 1.27 or so. When we got to
Holguin, the rate was more favourable. As near as I can tell, the Varadero
airport is not very traveller friendly... beverages, etc were much more
expensive there than anywhere else we saw. The Holguin airport was about
2/3 price for beer, food, etc as the Varadero one.
Just remember to exchange any left over currency back when you leave the
country; it has no value anywhere else in the world.
Bob
"Nolan Warden" <nolanwarden@m> wrote in message
news:42C2DF60.6020903@m...
> Bob and others,
>
> Do you remember how much they charged in Cuba for conversion of Euros or
> Canadian dollars?
>
> -nolan
>
>
> Bob Westcott wrote:
>> Conversion works ok for Euros and Canadian $, US$ get a 10% surcharge.
>> When you leave the country, you can convert back to whatever currency you
>> came with. I did notice that the airport conversion rate in Varadero was
>> less favourable than in Holguin.
>>
>>
>> Bob
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "Nolan Warden" <nolanwarden@m> wrote in message
>> news:42C1B5B6.80509@m...
>>
>>>I'll soon be traveling to Cuba and it's my first time since they stopped
>>>using the dollar. What's the situation like now? Can any other currency
>>>be used besides the convertible peso? What is the percentage/fee for
>>>changing from US dollars? Is the charge less if converting from Canadian
>>>dollars? I've heard that changing from US dollars is more expensive so
>>>I'm wondering if it's worth changing to Canadian dollars before arriving
>>>in Cuba. Thoughts? Experiences?
>>>
>>>Thanks.
>>>
>>>-nolan
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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