Cuba · first visit
First Time in Havana: What to See & Do — Trip Planner
Your Havana plan for this trip — when to go, how long you need, and what to prioritise. The essential first-timer's hit list for Havana — the tours, tickets and experiences worth your limited days, all bookable in one place.
Powered by GetYourGuide
Top experiences in Havana
Bookable through GetYourGuide. Skip-the-line, verified guides.
What first-timers get wrong in Havana
Bring every peso of your budget in cash: foreign cards issued by American banks do not work, ATMs are unreliable, and notes must be unmarked and untorn to be accepted. The official bank rate and the street rate differ by a wide margin, and the street rate moves monthly, so check before changing anything. Buy the tourist card before flying. Wifi needs an Etecsa card and works in patches.
What's actually worth your time in Havana
Habana Vieja's four squares, Catedral, Vieja, San Francisco and Armas, are a restored core surrounded by an unrestored city, and the contrast is the point. The Malecon costs nothing and is best at dusk when it fills with people and fishing lines. El Capitolio's dome was regilded and reopened for guided tours only. Skip the Plaza de la Revolucion beyond a photograph of the Che outline.
What things cost in Havana
Prices here move with the exchange rate, so quote everything in dollars and convert on the day. A paladar main is typically eight to fifteen dollars, a state peso pizza from a window a fraction of that. An hour in a convertible classic car along the Malecon is about forty dollars for the car, not per head. Museum entry is a few hundred pesos. Tip in cash.
Havana's museums, and which one to pick
Bellas Artes splits over two buildings a few blocks apart: Cuban art from colonial portraiture to Wifredo Lam in the Palacio de Bellas Artes, international work in the Centro Asturiano on Parque Central. Both close Mondays and sell a combined ticket. The Museo de la Revolucion occupies Batista's presidential palace with the Granma yacht under glass outside, though sections have been shut for works. Prices are in pesos now.
What to eat in Havana
Eat in paladares, the private restaurants legalised in the nineties, not state ones. Ropa vieja, shredded beef in tomato, and cerdo asado come with rice, black beans, fried plantain and yuca in mojo almost regardless of what you ordered. Dona Eutimia off Callejon del Chorro makes its ropa vieja with lamb. Shortages are real: menus are aspirational and the kitchen tells you what actually exists.
When to go to Havana
| Best months for first-timer guide | Avg daily high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| January | 27°C / 81°F | 8 days |
| February | 28°C / 82°F | 8 days |
| December | 27°C / 81°F | 8 days |
The month to avoid is July — around 33°C (91°F) with roughly 20 rain days. Prices and crowds track the weather here: January is the sweet spot, July the month most people skip.
Pack for peak season: Summer clothes, plus one light layer for air-con and evenings, High-SPF sunscreen, sunglasses, and a refillable water bottle, A packable rain shell or compact umbrella earns its space, Comfortable walking shoes — every guide on this site assumes you'll use them.
Where to base yourself in Havana
- Habana Vieja (Old Havana) — The UNESCO-listed colonial core — plazas, colonnades, live salsa, restored casas.
- Centro Habana — A crumbling, lived-in barrio between the Old Town and Vedado — real Havana at street level.
- Vedado — Mid-century Havana — the Malecón waterfront, hotel Nacional, ice-cream at Coppelia.
- Miramar — Leafy embassy district west of the harbor — quieter, upscale paladares, good sunset drives.