Castaway84

You can find small shops selling souvenirs, shirt, paintings at almost amy corner in Old Havana area but as Victory said there is a very big craft market 15 minutes walking from the terminal exit. You can find almost everything in there and there is a area just for wall art.

You should get there with local currency otherwise you'll have a very bad exchange rate if you pay in USD directly.

Also try to negotiate the price a bit even if they won't cut more than 20/25% from the asking price.

9 hours ago, Europe Cruiser 05 said:

Thank you Castaway84!! I will definitely try to visit one. 

You are welcome 😉 Enjoy it!

We got on and off few times and we did not have any problem. Of course you should have your psssport and visa with you all the time.

On 3/26/2019 at 5:00 AM, Europe Cruiser 05 said:

Castaway84, how was the cigar factory tour? We are not smokers, but I have always really enjoyed factory tours. I am considering adding this onto my tour but want to make sure it's worth an hour of our precious time in Havana. Thank you in advance. 

Even if you’re not a cigar person, this tour is worth it! It was very interesting and  we learned so much.

The only problem is that, according to what we were informed, the factories are not open to the public every day. Actually they can  be all closed on a particular day.

We were lucky and we could visit the H.Upmann factory which was open for tours on that day.

So you should find out on the same day you get to Havana which one is open and ask your guide to take you to buy the tickets.

We really appreciated the service  and we tipped both the driver and the walking tour guide 10 cuc each. They seemed to be very happy.

I think 10 cuc is a fair tip for cuba standards if you really appreciated your service.

Of course it also depends about the length of the tour and other personal considerations 😉

On 2/16/2019 at 7:21 AM, kcbookworm said:

I am so excited to read this as we just booked this same tour (also with the cigar factory tour) for April 11th!  Your post definitely eased our minds about our choice!  Where did you choose to eat lunch?  Did the guide and driver join you?

Hi.

We had our lunch at the Paladar Dona Eutimia which was recommended us by Stefano, the manager who took our reservation.

The place was cozy and food was great. It is located on a side street in front of the Cathedral.

We invited the driver to join us but he could not accept as he had to pick up other clients for another tour.

Then we met the walking tour guide 2 hours later.

My family of four booked the 6 hours private combo tour with Havanacar adding an extra hour for a cigar factory tour.
Our car was a white and green buick in mint condition.
Our driver Omar was very professional and ensured we were comfortable throughout the tour.
Our walking tour guide, Osvy, was outstanding. He engaged in conversation, about both life in Cuba and other related and unrelated topics, with comfort and ease. He conducted a tour that was both structured and flexible. He ensured we saw all of the key aspects of Old Havana, while also facilitating side trips to satisfy special requests. For example, I wanted to get to a different bank branch to exchange currency rather to waste a lot of time at the exchange ofguce close to the termimal.
He not only located a bank that had a minimal line, but he also assisted by chatting with the customer service lady who was managing the line (which wasn’t actually a line) to ensure I knew where I was in the cue. Osvy clearly has an excellent understanding of Cuban history, in addition to present-day politics. It was a pleasure talking with him, and learning from him. 
The entire tour of 7 hours for a family of 2 adults and 2 children cost $220 CUC ( Cigar factory tickets and lunch not included).
In my opinion, this tour is great value and I highly recommend it.

I follow the post as I am also interesested