Cuba · airport guide
Havana Airport Guide: Transfers, Lounges & Layover Tips — Trip Planner
Your Havana plan for this trip — when to go, how long you need, and what to prioritise. Airport transfers into Havana city center, layover-safe day tours, luggage storage tips, and skip-the-line access to airport lounges. Everything you need before you land.
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Havana airport transfers & lounge access
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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 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.
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.
Havana with kids, realistically
Havana is hard work with a pushchair: pavements in Centro Habana are broken, colonial kerbs are high, and lifts in old buildings frequently do not run. Older children do better. The Malecon at sunset, a coco taxi, the fortress cannon ceremony at La Cabana at nine each night, and the ferry across the harbour to Regla are the reliable ones. Bring nappies, formula and medicines with you.
When the weather turns in Havana
Hurricane season runs June to November and a Malecon storm sends waves over the seawall and floods the Vedado streets behind it. Indoors means the two Bellas Artes buildings, the Museo de la Ciudad in the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales on Plaza de Armas, and the Museo del Ron on Avenida del Puerto. Power cuts affect museums too, so carry a torch and cash.
When to go to Havana
| Best months for airport 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.