Cuba is certainly not the least expensive country we have travelled to, whilst some things there cost next to nothing, others are a little overpriced for what you get & can add up.

That being said it is still a budget travel destination & with some careful planning you can certainly manage backpacking in Cuba with little cash.

Here’s exactly what we got up to whilst we were there along with exactly what we spent.

Note from the author: This article has been written by me from my travel experience. I may recommend & provide links to products & services that I have used & may make commission from such links. This commission helps cover the costs of running this website & will be at no extra cost to you. Anything that I am recommend is from my personal experience & belief that it is worth using. Happy reading!

Trekking in the Viñales National Park without a guide, a great way to save some cash - Backpacking In Cuba

Our Costs Backpacking In Cuba – The First 30 Days

What we did : Stayed in Habana Vieja for the first 4 nights, moved to an apartment in Miramar for 3 weeks & attended Spanish school Monday through to Friday for 4 hours a day, then spent 4 days in Viñales.

What we spent : Our average daily spend was 63 CUC

How we spent it : We mostly cooked in the apartment that we rented, we went out for some meals but also ate a lot at local places to keep costs down. As we were going to Spanish school & our days were pretty busy we did not really do any extra activities, the above costs are really only for accommodation, food, alcohol occasionally & any transport costs including to & from Viñales.

Extras : Our 20 hours per week of intensive Spanish classes with Sprachcaffe cost 360 GBP | 437 USD | 414 EUR per person.



Backpacking In Cuba - Enjoying takeaway beers at sunset on the Malecón, Havana

The Last 18 Days

What we did : We cycled almost 400 km from Havana all the way down to Trinidad.

What we spent : Our average daily spend was 55 CUC for 2 of us.

How we spent it : As we were cycling we had hardly any transportation costs as we got everywhere on our own steam! Most of our days were taken up with cycling as the activity so again we did not really pay for any extra activities, the costs again are really only for accommodation, food & alcohol occasionally.

Enjoying a simple lunch by the side of the road whilst cycling in Cuba

Backpacking in Cuba – Our Spending Breakdown

Currency = Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) or Cuban Peso (CUP)

Days in Cuba = 48

Total amount spent = 2,736.47 CUC

Average daily spend = 59 CUC for 2 people

Most expensive day = 103 CUC

Cheapest day = 42 CUC

Total amounts including % spent in each area

Accommodation = 1,231 CUC – 45%

Eating Out = 585.05 CUC – 21.4%

Transport (Public) = 95 CUC – 3.5%

Transport (Private) = 141 CUC – 5.2%

Water / Drinks = 117.25 CUC – 4.3%

Alcohol = 195.30 CUC – 7.1%

Groceries = 116.72 CUC – 4.3%

Sights / Museums = 20 CUC – 0.7%

Street Food = 52.15 CUC – 1.9%

Internet = 49.50 CUC – 1.8%

Other = 133.50 CUC – 4.8%

We really hope you find this Cuba Backpacking cost guide useful, if you have any questions please get in touch with us as we’ll be more than happy to answer them 🙂

For more on how to budget whilst travelling in Cuba you can also check out Kelly’s Top 5 Tips For Cuba Budget Travel

Check out all of our blog posts on Cuba right here.

Happy Travels!

Adam & Kelly x

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