Oye amigo, habla Español ? Hey friend, do you speak Spanish? It is common to hear this phrase along the island. Spanish is the main language and locals enjoy chatting with the visitors so take your Spanish phrase book with you on your holidays. However you will commonly find that English is spoken through the island.
You may bring any currency but you will be requested to pay with CUC ( Cuban Convertible Pesos) for any services that you receive in Cuban Territory. Although most of the foreign currencies are accepted they are only accepted in Banks Hotel Desks or Currency Exchange Houses (CADECA) so you will need to exchange your money into CUC.
We suggest that you bring either GBP, EUROS or US dollars or any other well know hard currency and it will be better if you would use small nominations like 5´s, 10´s and 20´s rather that 50´s or 100´s for which they may ask for your passport at certain places before accepting them for exchange. Mayor credit cards like Visa or MasterCard are also accepted as well as traveler cheques. Credit cards or cheques issued by US banks will not be accepted in most of the Cuban banks.
To check the current exchaneg rates , visit http://www.bc.gov.cu/Espanol/tipo_cambio_METROPOLITANO.asp
