Is Cuba handicapped accesible

We want to cruise to Cuba with a scooter. I would like to know if I can do it safely do it using my scooter. Are the streets paved and how handicapped accessible Cuba is?

Thank you, iin advance.

We want to cruise to Cuba with a scooter. I would like to know if I can do it safely do it using my scooter. Are the streets paved and how handicapped accessible Cuba is?

Thank you, iin advance.

Handicapped accessibility isn't a priority for the Cuban Government. Many streets and sidewalks are rock type pavers. In the hotel areas (Varadero) wasn't bad .

You will not find curb cuts, or ramps....Cuba is stuck in the 1950's!

We were just there about 5 weeks ago on the Celestyal Crystal. While one might be able to navigate Havana Viejo ( Old Town. I assume you are doing a cruise and the ship will dock almost across the boulevard from there), you will find mostly pedestrian walking streets there. It's the most tourist-visited part of the city. However, like the poster above stated, the streets and curbs are NOT set up for easy use of scooters or wheelchairs. For one thing, there are sometimes large crack-like crevices in the middle of the street, so they are not smooth. Having said that, there will be places (though bumpy!) that you can likely maneuver to. (Think driving down the middle of a narrowish street that people are walking in.) However, unless you can get off of the scooter and step up a few steps or up into a doorway, and walk a bit inside of them, you won't be able to access restaurants or shops (which tend to be very short on space and very small anyway). The sidewalks running in front of these have 6" or 8" curbs and can be too narrow and sometimes tilted as well. There won't be a place to park your scooter, either. At times the streets get fairly crowded with tourists (and not just when a cruise ship in docked. It's not like St. Thomas or St. Maarten where multiple ships come into port on the same day. It's pretty much one ship at a time as far as I could tell.) Havana gets many tourists.

If you have a collapsible scooter, there are elevators from the gangway level of the cruise terminal to the street level. So MAYBE you could at least view the buildings and parks as you scoot along if you don't mind having to miss going into stores or restaurants, churches, etc. you wish you could access. You will run into navigational issues. Forget going to a fort or museum (those aren't in Old Town anyway) as the access wouldn't work for you. Many of the museums are in former mansions which are often not that large. Again, not located in Havana Viejo. There are steps to enter these, and not nearly enough room inside these places to maneuver or use a scooter. Some streets are also cobblestoned or very rough and would cause quite a rough and difficult ride.

I can't speak for resort areas since we were only in Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. Again, in the latter 2 cities.

There are bicycle type taxis around the area but honestly I only saw a few of them - containing passengers - and they weren't just sitting outside the terminal or anything. They are allowed to ride into Havana Viejo but you'd just have to luck out to actually catch one. I only actually saw one within the interior of that area but saw a couple of them on the outskirts.

Perhaps if you can talk to a travel agent at an agency that specializes in handicapped travel they would be able to offer you some ideas or alternative ways to see Cuba. Good luck!

Thanks for the details, mlbcruiser!

I'm dependent on a scooter for any travel more than 20-steps, therefore I had a feeling Havana might pose a slight problem. However, I booked our cruise to Cuba anyhow; as they say, "YOLO" (You Live Only Once), it's a bucket list trip, and I want to visit Cuba in the event American travel to Cuba becomes restricted again.

During our last cruise, our stop at Grand Cayman had very steep sidewalk cut outs where I needed a push, and some sidewalks didn't have a cut out at all! It's a matter of just staying aware of your surroundings.

I hope this doesn't stop the OP for travelling to Cuba; where there's a will, there's a way! ;)

In the post I wrote above (#4), where I wrote ". . . . in Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. Again, in the latter 2 cities.", something apparently didn't get in there. What I meant to say was in Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba there were areas where scooter use is doable, but others - usually the places like the fort and quaint areas, scooter use would be more difficult.

For anyone who can walk 20 steps, try to do as much as you can via taxi or bus. If your scooter is a collapsible one, perhaps if your driver is willing to wait a few minutes to get it loaded so that you can keep it along, you can still manage to see quite a lot.

Happy traveling!