We are heading to Varadero in December and wondered about money. We are Canadian and wondered:
1. Do we need USD or can we just take CAD?
2. Can we use credit cards?
3. If I take my phone, will we have service? When we went 10 years ago, my husband's work made him take his phone and it never worked!
Thanks!

As far as the phone goes you will have to have a Plan that covers you or buy a Mexico SIM card .

Canadian dollars, you can exchange for CUCs at the hotel. Phone likely won't work, you can get WiFi though by paying at the resort.

My credit cards got hacked down there last November. I'd be wary of that

I have a travel plan with Rogers, and for ten dollars a day my phone worked in Cuba the whole week I was there! I was in Cienfuegos though. And yes, take Canadian dollars to change into Cuban money there- much cheaper and better for everyone.

dont go to cuba, food sucks, needs help... so far behind. no shopping

You must be a blast on vacation

it's a developing country. what did you expect? shopping? LOL. stick to milan. as if shopping is the reason why people visit cuba.

American if you plan on spending money outside the resort.

Don't take American money to cuba....

all the paladas want US or Cuban but it's easier to convert us to cuban faster than what you're spening in cuban. plus you dont' want to bring back cuban ...

terrible advice. you get charged extra to get USD converted to CUC.

You really don't need cuc. Trust me. They love America dollars.

Lol no they don't.... they have barely allowed American in the country nevermind using American $$

Are you crazy ??

We used American for tips and they really seemed to appreciate it. Assume it is tucked away for “someday”. Just be very discreet with any tipping at resorts as it will be confiscated by management apparently. We never used CUC at all.

We never used cuc.

Go to Cuba and have a wonderful time...people are amazing, beaches some of the best in the world, my husband and I had no problems with changing currency or with our credit cards...can’t wait to go there again

You can take either currency,you will have to exchange for cuc one you get there, depending where you go, little few places accept visa but not MasterCard.
You do get service but roaming charges are really high,I recommend paying for internet at the hotels, most hotels charge 1.5cuc/hour. If you have any questions you can message me

and don't tip in Canadian, it's worthless to them...the banks don't take loonies or twonies.

We got an incredible deal changing CUCs back to $CAD at the airport when we left.
In the line up for the exchange window a local guy approached us and asked if we wanted CAD$, and gave us a much better rate than the official exchange - guess that's how they unload CAD$ - win/win for us but definitely felt under-the-counter shady!!

Why would you go to another country and expect to pay in our currency, not theirs? Why would you ever think resort food is "good" food? Or that you could shop your day away? Ithe sounds like maybe traveling isn't for you...unless you're going to Milan or something lol

Meglore Or, alternatively, people can just do whatever they want and can travel however they want?

I went deep Havana. Cotorro. Brought baseballs & gloves. I went to the barrio & gave Barbie dolls to the little girls. The resorts aren't Cuba. If you're going to go, I can hook you up with the real locals. They'll tell you want they need. Leaving the maids colouring books? No. They sell them. They have rooms stocked full of the stupid shit tourists bring. Women can't even buy a nice chopping knife. Bring those. Barbies. Barbies that have legs that bend. Yes. Coke merchandise. Bring American. Tip American. Take a cab & go deep. You'll love it & never forget it.

Debit cards do not work there.
You can physically go to a bank and take cash out on your credit card at the counter.
Recommend taking some Cuban money—exchange at the bank or elsewhere. You get better deals when u pay Cuban rather than USD.
When I was there I just paid for wifi at the resort. Much cheaper than putting an add on package to the cell phone.

USA dollars
There is nowhere really to use credit cards
(used RBC debit card, to take money from ATM)
Never used phone, called from hotel, used WiFi when it was available.

Either cash works but i would just take cdn $. Only way to get cash out even at the bank is with a visa. I took my MasterCard and ended up using my husbands visa. If you take cdn and don't spend it all at least you won't have to lose on the exchange when you return home. Not a ton of shopping so won't spend to much! Cuba is beautiful, friendly people and the havana market has loads of amazing paintings if you get a chance to go.

USD is accepted everywhere in the world.

Only if you mean you can exchange USD anywhere in the world. You CAN NOT pay with USD anywhere you go in the world.

I always taken CAD, they used to charge a much higher exchange rate on USD, due to the embargo

Canadian $ will work - exchange there. Yes phone works and credit card from a cdn bank.

Changing cad to cu is easy there, and paying in local dollars is always better for the local economy. We always leave our cell phones at home so I don't have any advice about that, sorry! You will have an awesome trip!

Take Canadian and change to cuc. we did have to withdraw money but our credit cards wouldn't work. funny though as it let us withdraw from our visa debit card.
we just went to Cuba for first time in June, we've always gone to Mexico. we loved it can't wait to go back!
and our phones had very limited service.

Just take CAD, exchange rate when I was there for month of May 2017 was 1.30 CAD for 1 CUC (if exchanging USD, there was an extra charge). To be honest I never used credit cards, I only brought the cash I needed, but I assume if you’re going to a big resort/bigger restaurants then, yes they should accept CC. Your phone should work, NO new SIM card needed (I’m with Telus and as soon as I landed there was a Welcome To Cuba message) double check with your cellphone provider to check, especially rates, they’re crazy expensive!

cubans actually hate taking USD and they'll charge you an extra 10% on top of the conversion rate if you try to exchange USD to CUC.
iirc Varadero only has one bank so depending on where your resort is, it'll be a bit of a walk to it and it's only open 9-5 on weekdays. you might wanna consider exchanging at the airport if you don't land in Varadero at some ungodly hour of the day. some of the touristy places in Havana will accept credit, but don't expect anywhere else to.
and no, your service will be limited. if you're around Havana, you can buy timed wifi cards that cost ~2 CUC an hour, but the service will still be very spotty even in a dense area like Havana. some resorts in Varadero might have wifi, most won't. personally i enjoyed being disconnected from the world for a week while i was there.
highly recommend a day trip at least to Havana when you're in Cuba, it's like a time capsule.

Take Canadian $$, it's easier and cheaper for you to exchange, you pay a higher rate to convert US dollars. Only credit cards through Canadian banks will work, so if you have a CC that is through a bank like TD, RBC or BMO you will have no problems. Best exchange rate is at the bank, but most hotels will have a money exchange during certain times in the lobby (do not exchange it at the front desk, they will charge you an insane rate, wait till the specific money exchange is open). Wifi is sketchy, so even if you pay for it at the hotel there is a good chance it won't work. The Cuban people are OK if you tip in Canadian, but they can only exchange it back to cuban $$ if it's in bills. We normally keep a few extra Canadian $10 & $20 bills with us and exchange them with the staff for their loonie and toonie tips near the end of our stay. That way we can take them back to Canada and they have bills they can exchange at the bank.

Canadian dollars

1. Even though CUC is pegged to US$, for US$ cash, there is 10% surcharge (penalty). Do not take US cash to Cuba.
2. Do not use currency exchange kioks at the hotel. They take huge commission (I have seen over 13%) and often do not issue receipts.
3. Use credit card whenever possible. If you really want to optimize, get a US$ credit card with your bank in Canada -- I use it for travel and I request very low credit limit on that card. Other reason for using US $ credit card is in most countries and especially in Cuba, they convert all credit card charges to US$ first, you end up paying exchange commission on the transaction if you use your Canadian $ credit card. By using my US currency credit card in Cuba, for excursions, I paid only the actual charge for the service without any exchange surcharges.
4. And before leaving, you can deposit money into that credit card and use it like a debit card and or to increase your limit on that card for that trip. You can use that card like a debit card by 1. saving cash advance charges on your credit card, 2. limits your risks from someone stealing your debit card while overseas and stealing your money through ATM. e.g., if my credit limit is $1000 and with no outstanding balance, I would add my cash requirements for that trip - say $1500. I now have $2,500 "credit limit" on that card. As well, I can take out $1500 during my trip without any cash advance charges by the bank. Also, any fraudulent charges on that credit card will normally be waived off by the bank so you have secured your funds. No fear of someone stealing your cash, or accessing and stealing from your bank account through ATM.
On the question of the phone, leave it at home. Enjoy your vacation!
Cuba is one of very few countries remaining in the world where you can enjoy the silence of escaping from internet and phones. Enjoy it while you can.

Bring hot sauce

not terrible advice actually, the buffet food seasoning can be a little bland

Clement Yeppers. My all inclusive some years ago was at Playe del Este, about 30 minutes from Havana. The soups and home made breads were to die for, while the rest of the buffet was lacking. But no complaints.

Take cdn and exchange at hotel. Wifi is not great there.

i just went to cuba in july! I took CAD and had no problems exchanging it down there but i do agree to try and exchange it at the airport instead of the hotel (also be very cautious because they have two different currency and if you get one of them it’s worth literally nothing) and for cell service i heard it wasn’t too good, and the wifi isn’t very good because they have only one wifi company for the whole country

It's been many years since I have been to Cuba but we brought CAD with us and had no problems exchanging it there. It was quite convenient actually. Despite the "friendly" relationship that is now between US and Cuba, I would advise against bringing USD. Convert to CUC when you're down there. And someone else mentioned that you should be careful when tipping resort/hotel staff. I had the same experience. It doesn't pan out so great for them if they are caught with extra cash.

Thank you everyone. You're all awesome!

Eat well before you go!