Cuba

Glimpse of El Capitolio in Havana, Cuba
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Capitolio_2_Havana_Cuba.jpg
Author: Vgenecr


Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. It is a unitary republic and a communist state. The country is 109,886 sq km (42,427 sq mi) in area and has a population of 11.3 million people (2011 estimate).

Cuba is five hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC-5). The official currency here is the Cuban peso (CUP). Traffic is driven on the right. The phone IDD code is +53. The electricity is either the 110V/60 Hz or the 220V/60Hz using the North American, European and Italian plugs.

Playa de Varadero, Cuba
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vista_Varadero_calle_38.jpg
Author: Roberty


In 2009, Cuba had a nominal GDP of $67 billion, which worked out to a per capita nominal GDP of $5,984. Its per capita GDP at purchasing power parity is $9,700.

Cuba was first discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and made Spanish territory. It declared independence on 10 October, 1868, but it was not recognized by the United States until 20 May, 1902. The Cuban Revolution of 1 January, 1959 created the present state, with Fidel Castro as prime minister on February, 1959, paving the way for a one-party rule, with Castro as the supreme leader.

Callejon de Hamel, Havana
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Callejonhabana.JPG
Author: Kirua

Planning your visit to Cuba

Visitors from most countries need a visa. It costs about €15-€25. The Jose Martí International Airport (HAV) southwest of Havana is the main gateway to Cuba, with flights connections to the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico and Europe.

Havana Cemetery, Cuba
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DirkvdM_havana_cemetery.jpg
Author: DirkvdM

Major Cities in Cuba

World Heritage Sites in Cuba

Cuba ratified the World Heritage Convention on 24 March, 1981. As of August 2010, it has 9 World Heritage Sites of which seven are in the cultural and two in the natural categories. Cuba presently has 3 sites on the World Heritage Tentative List.

Cuba has served three terms on the World Heritage Committee, in 1987-1993, 1995-2001 and 2005-2009.

Sites in Cuba on the World Heritage Tentative List

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.