Seven Days in Havana: My Unfiltered Travel Journal
I went to Havana expecting classic cars and mojitos. I got those. But I also got a reality check about what travel means when your phone is basically a brick and your credit card is a fancy bookmark.
Day 1: Arrival and Immediate Confusion
Jose Marti airport looks like it was last renovated when the Soviets were still funding things. Immigration took 52 minutes. Not that I was counting. (I was counting.)
The pink tourist card cost me $75 at the airline counter — the going rate for US travelers, though I've heard people paying anywhere from $50 to $100. My casa particular had arranged a taxi. Thank god, because there's no Uber. There's no Lyft. There's basically no app-based anything.
The drive from the airport is your first introduction to the cars. Not just one or two vintage Chevys for photo ops. Hundreds of them. Thousands. They're not museum pieces — they're how people get to work. A turquoise '54 Chevy Bel Air pulled up next to us at a red light and the driver was blasting reggaeton. Welcome to Havana.
My casa particular on Calle Obispo was run by Marta, a retired teacher. Room: $35/night with breakfast. The room was clean, had working AC (crucial), and a tiny balcony overlooking the street. Marta handed me a paper map. "Google Maps doesn't work well here," she said. She wasn't wrong.
Day 2: Old Havana by Foot
Breakfast at the casa: eggs, fresh mango, toast, and the strongest coffee I've ever had. Marta's husband made it in a little stovetop percolator that looked older than both of us combined.
Spent the entire morning in Habana Vieja. Four plazas. Countless colonial buildings. The thing about Old Havana is that it's a UNESCO site that hasn't been over-restored. Some buildings are gorgeous and freshly painted. The building next door might be literally falling down. That contrast is everywhere and it's weirdly beautiful.
Plaza de la Catedral at 8AM: almost empty. By 10AM: packed with tour groups. Get there early.
Lunch: a paladar off Calle O'Reilly. Ropa vieja (shredded beef), rice, beans, and a beer. Total: about $8. The ropa vieja was rich with tomato and slow-cooked until the beef fell apart at a glance.
Afternoon: walked the Malecon from Old Havana toward Vedado. It's 8 km total. I made it about 3 km before the sun and humidity sent me into a bar. A cold Cristal beer (the local lager): $1.50.
Day 3: The Hemingway Circuit
Started at El Floridita. Frozen daiquiri: $6. Hemingway's bronze statue sits at the end of the bar, and yes, I took the photo. The daiquiri was legitimately good — limey, cold, not too sweet.
Walked down Obispo to La Bodeguita del Medio. Mojito: $5. The walls are covered in signatures from every tourist who's ever visited. Honestly? The mojito was just okay. I've had better ones from street bars.
Here's my hot take: skip the Hemingway trail after the two bars. Finca Vigia (his house outside the city) is interesting but requires a taxi and half a day. Unless you're a serious Hemingway fan, spend that time at Fabrica de Arte Cubano instead.
Day 4: Callejon de Hamel and Centro
Sunday. This was the day.
Callejon de Hamel at 11:30AM, found a spot near the front. By noon, the rumba started. Three drummers, two dancers, and a crowd that formed a circle and took turns dancing in the center. The drumming echoed off the painted walls. Someone handed me a cup of rum. I didn't ask where it came from. It was terrible rum. It was perfect.
The rest of Centro Havana is rougher than Old Havana. Buildings in serious disrepair. But it's real life. Kids playing baseball in the street. Dominoes on the sidewalk. A woman selling pizza slices out of her kitchen window for 5 pesos.
I got completely lost around Calle Neptuno trying to find my way back. The paper map was useless in the maze of similar-looking streets. Asked an old man for directions. He walked me to the corner and pointed. "Derecho, derecho" — straight, straight. Cuban hospitality in action.
Day 5: Classic Car Tour and Revolution Square
Broke down and did the tourist thing. Negotiated with a driver at Parque Central: $40 for a 1.5-hour tour in a gorgeous mint-green 1955 Buick Century convertible.
Revolution Square is massive and feels Soviet in a way I wasn't prepared for. The Che Guevara mural on the Interior Ministry building is enormous. The Jose Marti memorial tower (109 meters) dominates the skyline. There's an odd emptiness to the place — it was designed for rallies of a million people, so on a regular Tuesday it feels like an oversized parking lot.
The drive through Vedado was the highlight. Mansions from the pre-revolution era, some immaculate and some in ruins, lining wide avenues under canopies of trees. Our driver pointed out which ones had been embassies, which were now government buildings, and which were just slowly returning to nature.
Day 6: Fabrica de Arte Cubano
Slept until noon. On purpose. FAC doesn't open until 8PM on Thursdays.
Arrived at 9PM. Entry: $2. This place is unreal. Four floors of a converted factory with art installations, photography exhibits, a film screening room, two bars, a stage with live jazz, and a crowd that's equal parts local artists and foreign travelers.
Stayed until 1AM. Total bar tab: $15. The cocktails are actually good. The music shifted from jazz to electronic to Cuban fusion. A photographer had an exhibit about daily life in Havana that made me look at the past five days differently.
This is where I realized Havana isn't a museum. It's not frozen in time. The vintage cars and colonial buildings are the backdrop, but there's a creative pulse here that's completely contemporary.
Day 7: Last Day Wander
Bought rum at a local shop. Havana Club Anejo 7 Anos: $12 per bottle. A box of Cohiba cigars at La Casa del Habano: $280. These are the prices you pay for authentic products. The street prices are lower, and the products are fake.
Final walk through Old Havana. Ducked into the Plaza Vieja microbrewery for a last beer. Sat in the square and tried to memorize it — the colors, the sound of someone practicing trumpet from a second-floor window, the occasional vintage taxi rolling past.
Final dinner at the casa: Marta cooked lobster. Tail, claws, rice, black beans, and a salad. $10. She sat with me and we struggled through a conversation in my broken Spanish and her few words of English. She asked if I'd come back. I said yes. I meant it.
Would I Go Back?
Absolutely. But I'd do it differently.
I'd bring more cash. I ran low on Day 5 and spent the rest of the trip being careful. I'd bring twice what I thought I needed. For more insights, check out our complete guide to Havana. For more insights, check out our [Havana vs Cartagena](/blog/havana-vs-cartagena-caribbean-comparison) comparison.
I'd skip the Hemingway tourist circuit and spend that time in the neighborhoods — Centro, Vedado, the Malecon at different times of day.
And I'd stay longer. A week isn't enough. Havana doesn't reveal itself on a schedule. You need time to get lost, time to sit, time to let the city come to you.
Damage Report:
Total spent: approximately $480 for 7 days
Best meal: Marta's lobster dinner ($10)
Best experience: Callejon de Hamel Sunday rumba (free)
