Currency in cuba?

[choux choux]

Are American $$ accepted in Cuba?

[Grandma Cruising]

I’m sure the answer is no - you have to change them for Cuban money. I suggest you look at the thread below about changing currency in Cuba.

[aussie travel bird]

Speaking from experience, Officially no, but you will find plenty of Cubans that might not say no to USD on the side as lots of them travel regularly to family in the USA (especially Miami).  I would make sure you had CUC, but we did use USD$1 tips in restaurants and bars (when we ran out of CUCs) and they were warmly accepted.....Becaure there's a local Peso too, make sure you get the change in the correct currency.

 

It should be noted that you can still exchange USD into CUC but there's an additional Tax added if using them.  We noted that some merchants are now starting to accept some credit cards.  Everything is so cheap, you won't need much.

Edited January 22, 2019 by aussie travel bird

[Covepointcruiser]

It is illegal for Cubans to accept U.S. currency and they can get jail time or worse.   

On other theads about Cuba, passenger speak about bringing a bag of toiletries with them to assist the Cubans.     They often have shortages of toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, etc.    Right now there is no toilet paper available for the common citizens but that would be difficult to pack.   The airlines that fly to Cuba allow you to bring an extra bag for such items.    We will exchange money for CUC, luckily we have some leftover Euros so we won’ be charged a surcharge.

Be wary of using U.S. currency as you may unwittingly put a Cuban at risk