Destinations › Cuba › Havana › Scams
Havana, Cuba
15 reported scam patterns travellers run into in Havana, what they look like, and how to sidestep them.
Unofficial drivers soliciting arriving passengers outside the airport terminal, quoting in hard currency at several times the standard fare into the city.
Venues that work with the street hustlers who bring visitors in, with the bill set at two or three times the normal price and the excess split between the business and the tout who made the introduction.
No meters in the classic-car and coco taxi fleets, with fares raised on arrival and airport runs quoted at several times the going rate.
Currency confusion exploited at every level — quotes left ambiguous between dollars, euros and pesos, and change given in the least favourable one.
Counterfeit cigars sold as factory boxes on the street and through casa contacts, which are also a customs problem on departure.
Jineteros: a friendly approach offering a bar, a band or cigars, leading to a venue where the bill is many times the going rate and a commission is taken.
Bags and phones taken during a staged conversation or a jostle along the seafront promenade and in the old-town plazas.
Classic-car and scooter hire invoiced on return for marks that were already there, with the deposit held against payment.
Men presenting as officials asking to see documents or currency in the old town, and levying an on-the-spot fine for an invented infraction.
Excursion and Varadero transfer vouchers sold by street agents for services that do not run.
Casa particular bookings relocated on arrival to a different property at the same rate.
Milk-for-the-baby and medicine solicitations where the goods are returned to the shop for cash after purchase.
Paladar bills carrying unordered items, cover charges and per-person minimums disclosed only at the end.
Bands circulating a CD for sale mid-performance and treating the price as non-negotiable rather than a tip.
Men attaching themselves to visitors in the old town, narrating the plazas unasked, then presenting a fee once the group has been walked some distance.
