flexl

Hi, we are visiting Playa de Jibacoa, between Santa Cruz del Norte and Matanzas. I want to know what sort of things we can bring that people cannot get there, that we can bring as carry on luggage with us, to give away or even to barter with. Please let us know of anything that might be of value there (especially let us know if there will be anyone to give it to besides the staff at the resort), like for the kids and whatnot. Thanks!

Canuban

Dont know how much Bartering you are going to do but if you want to give stuff away to Cuban people, things like Medicine for colds and fevers are good, asprin, clothing, shoes shoes shoes, just about everything we take for granted will be nice for the Cuban people, but in the carry on dont really know how much u can bring. Chocolate is good, pencils and pens crayons and such. Toys just about anything and i think if you get a chance to give to someone OFF the resort is better. The cubans who work in the hotels have better chance at buying these things then the ones who dont, ( except for the medicine) just my opinion. I take so much when i go i always pay extra for over weight. Either way whatever you bring they will be gratefull, and is really a shame how happy someone can be over a new pair of shoes, something we dont even think about never having. Have a great trip!

Canadaianbird

I am considering going to Havana at the end of February or the beginning of March. If I am able to get away, I considered taking plain and simple T-shirts. A whole bunch to give away. No tacky slogans, and nothing low quality. Something which will last a while.

sirena1321

stuff like soaps, razors, any sort of bathroom stuff, and yes basic medicine and school supplies are always good. honestly, feminine hygiene stuff is ridiculously expensive (well, what isnt down there.. ), but anyway, thats the sort of stuff i brought when i went this summer, and all the locals said that was exactly the type of stuff to bring. just a random note, not to say you are going to go and hand it out.. well, maybe, any way, toilet paper is often hard to come by. hope that helps...

Rose

Resort staff are the most highly paid in Cuba. Giving away things to them is like tipping the richer people.

Take your stuff to schools, hospitals, elder homes, etc.

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Lo que sucede conviene

Colinito

If staying in a resort, give 'stuff' to the gardeners (they have families) and appreciate (in my experience) lipsticks, make-up etc, for the ladies in their lives and pencils, crayons, candy etc, for the children. Also medicines like Paracetamol (Aspirin/Ibuprofin etc) are well appreciated.
The girls who work as chambermaids get loads of 'stuff' left for them when guests leave for home - and they can be seen 'sharing-out the spoils' if you know where to look? Nothing wrong with this but the poor old gardeners hardly get anything.

Colinito

Flexl,
If you are staying at the Brisas Jibacoa (?) Please say 'hola' to Ciro (waiter) in the buffet restaurant from Colinito (England). He has 2 small children and would appreciate anything for them. He speaks very good English.
Have a great vacation.

Naomi

I will be going to Cuba in April, I am very excited to bring gifts for the people but am not sure how to. do you really just walk up to them and hand stuff over or how does that work. I am worried about offending someone.

mellisas

personally l would not go up to people l did not know and hand out gifts..wether you are staying in a hotel or casa you will get to meet people then you can decide who you give your gifs too..

__________________
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saborami

over the counter medicines, medicines and more medicines.

__________________
Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just.
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Saby

saborami

nice to see you are going to stay out of the thrift stores. another good thing to take, medicines, medicines and more medicines!

__________________
Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just.
__________________
Saby

drcuba

Peter Perez

Just about anything you bring will awe the people, Toothbrushes, Matches, or lighters pens pencils paper envelopes, toilet paper will bring a lot of gratitude,condiments and spices , salt.Diet sugar.
any medicines, aspirin, tylenol ,cough medicine, bandaids, cotex.
Do I need to go on , or you got the idea ?

marktheshark

One thing that I left, last time I was there, was a wind-up torch. They get a lot of power blackouts in Moron, and batteries are expensive anyway, so the magic torch was received with much gratitude ... also any spare fishing gear, even stuff like hooks and line, goes down well.

Frenchcanadian

Want to know if it's a good idea to bring things like bouncy balls for the kids, flip flops, pencils, erasers, pens, pads of paper, soap, tooth brushes, tooth past, advil...... am i missing anything you guys have experienced that they may like more than these items?

gallofino

bouncy balls - any kiddie toy is great. My son always tells me "In Cuba there is not enough toys...".

flip flops - ANY footwear is welcome. flip-flops can cost up to CUC$10.00 but that's for "good ones". Really, unless you are doling out as much $$ as in Canada and the US, footwear in Cuba is all disposable - fast.

pads of paper - yes and no. Allot of weight in your baggage and minimal effect. Writing paper is not easy to come by, but it exists and you may wish to save your weight limit for more important things.

tooth brush and paste - always nice to teach people about good dental hygiene. Although widely available - their monthly rations include toothpaste that are usable but not nearly as good as ours - its your call on these items. Kiddie tooth brushes would be best IMO...

soap - expensive but widely available - also heavy in numbers.

Advil and the like - Absolutely! And you can bring up to 10kg of medicine (packed apart or in a separate container from your luggage) without any problem.

Most of the things you mention are widely available nowadays. With that said, everything costs money so anything that saves some for a Cuban is a relief.

Hope this helps!

__________________
"Reality is invisible" Jorge Luis Borges

"They must find it difficult...
Those who have taken authority as the truth...
Rather than truth as the authority..."

G. Massey - Egyptologist

“What heart is not set aflame by the promise of freedom?” - Fidel Castro, 1953.

alphabetikal

at the risk of sounding like a dummy- does anyone know the best way to get in touch with families or schools in cuba without actually going there (to send boxes of stuff)?

I would like to go to Cuba pretty soon - do people think its best to go there and meet people first ?

i understand this question could be opening a can of worms but why not!?!?

thanks,
a

grichf

My son goes to school there and doesn't really lack the basics he needs. They get the same stuff from China that we get in our dollar stores. The kids like baseballs, soccer balls, etc. They also like good quality footwear. Decent tooth brushes are good.
They pretty much get all of the cheap stuff we get here.

Frenchcanadian

What would you recommend then? Please give me some ideas.

mellisas

welcome to mania frenchcanadian..have you seen this link to sueno's check list 101

http://www.cubamania.com/cuba/showthread.php?t=8832

__________________
None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free. --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Anatasio

Aspirin and other general medical supplies like antibiotic ointments, etc.

That's a request I seem to always get . . .

Rick

Hey mellisas!
Sueno was mi amigo mejor! Thanks for posting this and bringing back some memories when this was not the place for unpleasantries but an info centre for post from people who actually have been and know or want to know Cuba. That means "not you AK or your other monikers.".

A.K.

hey, I hadn't even posted in this thread.

AK

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grichf

I would add multivitamins and glucosamine sulphate. Polysporin ointment is really good.

Frenchcanadian

Anybody know how much of these meds, band-aids, ointments and vitamins i can bring?

jackd

10 kilos, check out http://www.njttoronto.ca/faq.htm

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have a nice day

Rats666

[quote=gallofino;172603]bouncy balls - any kiddie toy is great. My son always tells me "In Cuba there is not enough toys...".

Advil and the like - Absolutely! And you can bring up to 10kg of medicine (packed apart or in a separate container from your luggage) without any problem.



When you say 10kg of meds without problem, do you mean the airline will not charge you for overweight or the Cuban customs will not hassel you.

radar

[quote=Rats666;176927]The 10kg pertains to Aduana (Customs)
You have to deal with your airline to get it there. Some don't care wheter you apply for a humanitarian excess baggage allowance.

I'm flying Cubana in a few weeks.
My allowance is 2 x 23kg checked and 1 x 5kg carry one.
One my trip I will have to deal with Aduana not the airline.

__________________
"Seamos realistas y hagamos lo imposible" - Che
http://www.spankyproject.org
http://www.spankyproject.blogspot.com

Rats666

[quote=radar;176928]I have e-mailed my carrier regarding the 10kg of meds asking if I am allowed this overweight. Am now waiting for an answer, might be a few days. I have been to Cuba about 13 or 14 times, I only flew once with Cubana. The flight down was terrific, the flight back was crap, my wife asked for a pillow and was told " we are only one and one half hours away from landing and she could survive without a pillow. BTW my wife is black. Not much racisim in Cuba!

jackd

[quote=radar;176928]I'm going SunWing and I have 2 bags total weight 20 kg

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have a nice day

radar

[quote=Rats666;176956]Rats if you are flying with Sunwing forget it.
Twice in the past year I emailed requesting an allowance and never received a reply.
Now they have stated to Not Just Tourist that humanitarian allowances are not considered

I have flown Cubana once with no complaints.
Ms.Radar flew Cubana last May. During the booking process she requested the Kosher meal for fun. Onboard she got the kosher ham meal.

To take advantage of the generous allowance I can put up with what ever Cubana can throw at me for the 5 - 6 hours I'm onboard.

__________________
"Seamos realistas y hagamos lo imposible" - Che
http://www.spankyproject.org
http://www.spankyproject.blogspot.com

Rats666

[quote=radar;176995]Kosher ham, I love it! LOL

sherry5851

[quote=Rats666;176996]I've been eating kosher ham all my life! And kosher lobster and kosher shrimp and kosher pork chops...

__________________
Sherry

To be matter-of-fact about the world is to blunder into fantasy - and dull fantasy at that, as the real world is strange and wonderful.
Robert A. Heinlein

Many more sleeps to go .

Rats666

[quote=sherry5851;177001]Even better. LOL

Rats666

This is the response from Sunwing

Good morning Mr ......,
Thank you for supporting Sunwing. We look forward to giving you even more excellent service onboard Sunwing Airlines.
Sunwing shares your concerns and while we remain close to the charitable organizations that we have supported in the past and will continue to support in the future, we sincerely appreciate your understanding as we advise that it is with regret that we are not able to sustain our very popular and very generous standby humanitarian aid allowance. As you are aware, the airline industry, as other areas of the business sector, is experiencing challenges due to the recent surge in fuel and operational related costs that are predicted to continue in the foreseeable future. In an era where other air carriers are charging for any checked baggage, we, at Sunwing, are committed to continue offering our paying passenger a 20KG free checked-in baggage allowance in addition to a host of amenities that are offered free of charge on Sunwing Airlines.
Sunwing Airlines continues to offer a full onboard product and outstanding customer service that has become our passenger’s favourite and the industry benchmark. You may wish to consider our Elite Plus Inflight Services. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require any additional information.
We wish you a Bon Voyage! Welcome aboard!
Sunwing Airlines
Anka
Manager, Baggage