www.cubacasas.net •|• Transportation ::: Car Rentals

Fall•Winter 2008-2009 : Sample rates, see below.
If you can share the rather high rates with a couple of friends, renting a car and driving on Cuban highways and by-ways is a pleasure. Traffic in large cities can be stressful but roads outside large cities are generally very manageable, pleasant and less trodden, except on weekends when Cubans visit relatives. Only problem with driving in Cuba is a lack of road signs in out-of-the-way regions. Choose among car rental companies from the chart below. You can call these directly from overseas or you can book over the web. All car rental agencies (Cubacar, Havanautos, Micar, Via, etc) are wholly-owned by the Cuban government through its four major corporations (Cimex, Cubalse, Cubanacan, Gaviota) so whether you call directly or book through a web site, you'll end up a client of one of these rental companies. Cuban car rental agencies often deal with partners who can be located anywhere like Cuban Connection of Turks and Caicos, carrentalcuba.com registered in Curaçao, rentacarcuba from Madrid, dtcuba.com owned by Cuban Vacacionar Travel and registered in Mexico, novelacuba from Paris and many others.
	You can rent (and pay mucho dinero for) a whole range of automobiles : Audi, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Daihatsu, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen, Jeeps, 4x4's, minibuses, even Ford or Mercedes camper cars. Hybrids are not yet available.
Notes for the brain compartment Once in Cuba, shop around and compare. In February 2006, after the better part of an afternoon, from one agency to another in the Vedado of La Habana we were able to find a rate which saved us about 200cuc over a three-week period. *Did you say "High-Level Corruption ?"* In mid-november 2007, after realising there were almost no cars left to rent in town and egged on by a Via Rentacar agent in the Habana Hilton lobby, we were told Via had a Peugeot for rent but we had to go to the Occidental Miramar to get it. We were driven there by Carmen the agent who had picked us up. Told we had to pay cash ($750US) for the 2-week rental, we agreed and gave Carmen the cash, signing the credit card CDW waiver of $200. The car was fine, we even extended the rental by one week in Trinidad and we brought it back to La Habana on time; the agent tore up the credit card receipt and off we went back to Canada. Thing was we discovered many weeks later that WE WERE CHARGED BY VIA FOR THE SAME AMOUNT ON OUR CREDIT CARD. And we have been trying to have our credit card credited by the stolen $750US ever since. We wrote to Via, got an answer in 48 hours ("oh, we'll investigate, give us a few days wrote back a seemingly interested Vice-President, which has not since given any sign of life), to the Cuban Embassy in Ottawa (which has not yet answered), to the Tourist Office in Montréal (which has not yet answered). ALL TO NO AVAIL. Caveat emptor : if you pay cash for a car rental, take a photo of the agent, have him/her sign a clearly legible receipt and hope for the best. [El webmaestro, 141008]
• Daily insurance rate - Make sure you know what will be charged (or a reduced-rate insurance package for a week) : this can make a difference on the bottom line when the car is returned. Automatics are more expensive than manuals. • Rates are easily double those of Florida albeit that market is one of best for low prices in the USA. Weekly Cuban rates are triple what they are in Florida. • Check for bumps and scratches (same process as everywhere else in ze world) and missing parts like the radio antenna, or the hatchback window wiper; you will have to sign the appropriately marked form. • Lights and wiper, radio and cassette check. If you're driving for more than two hours right as you leave the rental, check the oil and the automatic transmission lubricant as well. Ditto for a spare tire check. • Don't leave the rental contract in the glove box. Always keep it with your passport. A lost contract will cost you 50 dollars to replace. • Don't be surprised if the car has relatively a lot of mileage (70-85,000 km or 42-50,000 miles). Rentals are not only popular with tourists but Cubans alike so these cars are used a lot. A Cuban may be registered as a 2nd driver for a few cucs per day. • Some agencies offer the rent-it-here, leave-it-there service. The drop-off surcharge should be made clear before leaving : varies from 15-50 to 130-200cuc, depending on the distance between the cities, of course. See Cubacar chart. • Returning the car with the same amount of gas or not ? Up to you to find out and check if the gas tank is indeed half or full or whatever. • Even if the final bill will be in Pesos convertibles (cuc), the amount will be charged to your credit card in US dollars with 1.11% increase and it is that converted receipt you will sign for your credit card. The amount will then converted by your bank into Euros or Canadian dollars, yen, pounds, etc. So you go through two conversions. And you're not even the religious type ! • Cost of petrol is about 1cuc per liter. An International Driving Permit is not required, a valid national licence is sufficient. Note that a driver involved in an accident is judged guilty until proved innocent.		• The 200 or 250cuc CDW or collision damage waiver still has to be paid (a debit slip that you sign is issued but not debited from your credit card unless you have an accident in which case the amount pays for the insurance company's cost of the policy). If you have an accident, some credit card companies will cover the CDW. • Bring cassettes for music onboard because local radio stations are mostly low wave and cannot usually be easily picked up outside large cities. You can buy music cassettes on the streets for one or 2 cuc each, double and triple in stores. All music cassettes (and CD'S) sold on the street are pirated and that seems to be the situation everywhere. All companies have a 24-hour emergency number (that you have to call long distance if away from La Habana). • Be prepared to pick-up hitchhikers (botellas) : they're at every bus stop and road crossings between small towns and even along the trans-island highway. Mothers, nurses, lawyers, teachers and lots of students who have to commute between small towns and large institutions or schools, sometimes waiting 4 or 5 hours for a bus that comes late and overfilled. (Some even offer to pay a few pesos for the ride.) It's a great way of striking up anonymous conversations : they don't know you and will most likely never see you again. • Driving back to La Habana, we picked up three young policemen who had stopped the car along the carretera central, asking for a lift. Speeding along (120-130 kmh) the deserted highway, we came up behind a ... police car. We asked the guys if we had to slow down. Nah, go ahead, they said. We did. And never even looked behind to see if the Lada had picked up speed. • If you get stopped for a traffic violation, the ticket receipt handed to you by the police should be presented to the rental car company at the end of your trip : the cost will be added to your bill. We have heard that you can — but never have tried ; ) — wheel and deal yourself out of a ticket by slipping a 5cuc bill to the officer. • Small country road, no witnesses... Some wise officers just stop you for nothing at all, thinking they'll inspire your corrupt spirit, especially if they realize you don't understand a word they're saying ! It pays to learn Español, my fren.
• This can happen : the agent will ask you to pay your insurance fees half in cash (going directly to his pocket), half by credit card, claiming that's how it has to be done. Ask for his business card, take his picture and say it ain't so. He'll change his tune. This situation has arisen since many credit cards (mostly Gold and Platinum) will cover car rental insurance so the agent is tempted to claim that it was waived by the customer but charges it half and half. Check with your credit card company before leaving to make sure you benefit from the rental car insurance advantages they may offer.
SOME CUBAN CAR RENTAL AGENCIES The following companies' adresses are in the capital, La Habana. Most agencies have satellite offices and talleres (repair shops) in major cities. Our preferred choices are Cubacar/Transtur and Havanautos because they have the most offices on the island as well as the Isla de la Juventud. So does Micar, but the quality of its fleet leaves a lot to be desired. Seasons : Ultra High : 15 Dec. to 5 Jan; High : 6 Jan. to 16 March and 10 July - Sept. 1 NOTE: Most Cuban car-rental web sites are incomprehensible, not up-to-date : a waste of bandwidth. Hence, this résumé and the links to WowCuba, a well-run Canadian Travel Agency with many years experience and its own staff in Cuba.
		MAIN : Calle 1ra. No. 16401, Miramar 14 offices in Havana, including airport. Large network of offices. Havana airport (7) 649-9800, 649-0255, 649-5764 reservas@transtur.cu http://www.cuba.cu/reserva/cars/cubacar.php or this Canadian agency : http://www.wowcuba.com/drive/transtur.html
		MAIN : Calle M y 23, Vedado Large network of offices in Cuba Havana offices in Riviera, Nacional, Sevilla and Deauville hotels Airport office - 24 hrs (7) 649-5197 http://www.havanautos.com/HomeCars2.aspx or this Canadian agency : http://www.wowcuba.com/drive/havanautos.html
		MAIN : Calle 110 e/ 3ra. y 5ta., Miramar, Playa. Large network of offices in Cuba. Terribly-used cars, laissez-faire attitude : forget it, pal ! Habana phone (7) 206-9555 micarrenta@cubalse.cu
		MAIN : Calle Línea y Malecón in Vedado or Avenida Zoológico y 26, at Vedado bus terminal. Tel. (7) 855-3255 Airport, Terminal 2 Tel. (7) 833-0306 www.cuba.cu/turismo/panatrans/panautos.htm
		VEDADO : Línea & Malecón, in front of Cupet Tel.: (7) 836 7788 or 833-9160 MAIN : ave 194, e/15 y 17, Siboney, Playa/Miramar (7) 835-6830 or (7) 273-9166 Airport (7) 642 6074 REALLY EXPENSIVE ! Other offices in Varadero, Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, Santiago, Holguin and Cayo Coco http://www.rex-rentacar.com/rentacar.asp
		MAIN : Calle 47 e/34 y 36 Reparto Kohly, Playa. Tel. (7) 204-3429 · 204-9232 Ave. del Puerto No. 102, Edificio La Marina. La Habana Vieja (7) 861-4465 · 33-9781 Offices in Santiago, Holguin, Trinidad and Varadero sec_rc@via-rentacar.cu Canadian travel agency site (Via does not hava a site): http://www.wowcuba.com/drive/via-autos.html
	The Transtur name may still be seen around but car rentals now go through Cubacar (see above). The Transtur taxis now wear the OK label.
	If you have to book through Internet, use dtcuba.com a Mexico-based site belonging to a Cuban company called Vacacionar Travel. We're not associated with dtcuba in any way but it appears to be more up-to-date and reliable than most cuban-based commercial sites we know (but hey, we've only looked at 57,342 as of today). http://www.dtcuba.com/
• Best road map is mentioned on this page. • Currency exchange rates page here. • Some phone numbers and adresses of agencies in and around Havana here.