What are the currency rules?
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Declare foreign currency worth more than 5,000 US dollars on the way in. Money is exchanged only at Cadeca exchange houses, and the Cuban peso cannot be exchanged outside the country — so pesos left in your pocket at departure are pesos lost rather than pesos saved.
Why does the closed currency matter to a visitor?
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Because it changes how you plan the end of the trip. There is no exchanging leftover pesos at your home airport and no using them on the next visit. Travellers used to keeping a handful of foreign notes as souvenirs find these are the one kind that becomes worthless the moment they leave.
Why does GPS have to be disabled?
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It is a stated import condition alongside the drone prohibition, and it is checked on arrival. It catches people carrying handheld navigation devices, action cameras with tracking, and similar equipment that never occurs to anyone as controlled. Confiscation is the ordinary outcome rather than a threat.
Which routes are the ordinary departures?
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Madrid, Panama City, Mexico City, Toronto, Bogotá and Cancún carry most of it, and the Mexican and Panamanian sectors are the shortest and most frequent. Havana's connections run heavily through Latin America and Spain rather than through the United States.
Do I need a new D'Viajeros filing for a second entry?
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The form covers an entry within its 72-hour window, so a trip that leaves Cuba and returns means filing again before the second arrival. Given the window's length, that is a task for the trip rather than something to arrange before you leave home.
How reliable is connectivity for fixing a problem?
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Not very, and it is worth planning around. Internet access is limited and intermittent by the standards most travellers expect, so a document you need to obtain, correct or re-download is far harder to deal with from Havana than from anywhere else in the region. Arrive with things settled.
What happens if I overstay?
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It is resolved with the immigration authorities before departure rather than at the gate, and in a country where the paperwork is deliberate and the connectivity is poor, that resolution takes longer than the equivalent elsewhere. Extensions exist; leaving them late is the expensive choice.
Is the tourist card checked on departure?
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The set of documents you entered on is what your record rests on, and departure is where a mismatch surfaces. Keep the tourist card and the QR code confirmation together with the passport for the whole trip — not because a specific rule demands it, but because reconstructing any of it in Cuba is hard.
Is there a departure tax at the airport?
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It is included in the ticket price for most carriers now, rather than collected in cash as it was historically. The genuine end-of-trip cost is the currency question — pesos that cannot leave, and a limited ability to convert them at the last minute.
How thorough are the arrival checks?
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Documentary and unhurried, with a customs inspection that is stricter than most travellers anticipate. The immigration side is straightforward if your tourist card, form and dates line up. The equipment and food restrictions are where visitors actually run into trouble.
What should be ready before I fly?
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The tourist card in hand, the D'Viajeros QR code filed inside its 72 hours, a passport satisfying both the six-month and three-month conditions, an onward booking, and a bag with no drone, no fresh food and no active GPS. Five things, and the passport is the one with two clocks on it.
