Average time needed for immigration and luggage pick up at Havana airport

Hi, just tell us the time you land and we will have the taxi waiting for you when you get out. The customs is fast. You wont be there more than 30 minutes. Anyway, the taxi sees your flight on the screen at the airport and he just waits. Even if it takes an hour, he waits for you. That’s his job.

To schedule an airport taxi just check here: https://bestcubaguide.com/havana-airport-taxis-transfers/

take care,

Mario

Hi we returned a couple weeks ago I took a year on and off planning our trip and I appreciate things often go wrong . I spent a lot of time emailing your assistants Isabel and Claudia only to be completely let down . I confirmed reconfirmed our flights and Casas . We spent about 2 hours on arrival trying change money and looking for our taxi pick up we later learned was never booked . We were tired and stressed so grab a cab to the address in Vadedo only to get a cold never heard of you or this site ‘ after some difficult explain gas they had little English and we had no Spanish calls were made and a alternative was found .   2 Dn Casa OK they were expecting us in Vinales so all was well next was Trinidad were after all day on bus were were again told no booking had been made. But they did have a room and very nice it was and the food excellent . So all in all your booking system was let down by who ever is responsible for making and confirming  I wouldn’t of minded paying a booking fee if I was guaranteed our room I believe you have a serious problem . Kevin .

Hi Kevin,

I spoke with Claudia and the taxi driver and Casa Maritza. I will tell you what I was told.

1. The taxi driver (Roberto) says that he waited at the airport. He saw that your flight landed and he was waiting at the arrivals area. He had a sign. He said that the people from your flight passed and nobody approached him. He was unable to locate you as you passed. But, the driver waited about 30 more minutes (with his sign saying “Cutler”) and he was eventually approached, in the top area of the airport, by somebody who identified himself as Cutler. The driver took this person to Havana. The driver could not remember what house he took this “Culter” too. It’s very strange. I’ve worked with this driver many times and he has no reason to lie. If you did not meet the driver at the airport, then somebody else took your taxi. I’m sorry. This is the first time this has happened. Honestly, I never even expected something like this. I will work to make sure this does not happen again.
2. As for Casa Maritza, as mentioned, I confirmed it myself, with Claudia, in person. I spoke with Maritza just now and explained the problem. She was being evasive. I have removed that casa from the website. As mentioned, I don’t want to work with landlords who are not reliable. They make me and my team look bad and obviously make the clients upset. It’s just not worth it.
3. Claudia mentioned that as soon as you arrived at Casa Maritza, you called her to tell her there was a problem with the reservation. According to Claudia, she sent a taxi to pick you up and brought you to another casa. The taxi was free to you (Claudia paid it). If this is not correct, please tell me.
4. According to Claudia, the new casa (Guido) seemed good to you. You checked it out and told Claudia that you would be satisfied staying there.

Is this more or less correct? I don’t know what happened with the airport taxi. Obviously there was a problem meeting the driver. Sorry for that.

As for Casa Maritza, I removed her from the website. I’m sorry for that problem. I feel we worked hard to make things right, but I can understand your frustration. Things did not go according to plan.

As for Vinales and Trinidad, I will be honest, landlords in those areas are far less money hungry and they have a bit more long term business sense. I’m happy you got to stay at the casas that you booked. I know you mentioned that the landlord in Trinidad said some strange things about the reservation, but ultimately, you stayed there (and we certainly did make your booking there.)

Kevin, I hope that overall things were not too bad. I have been in many circumstances in Havana which were totally not planned and very inconvenient. I know how frustrating it is. Honestly, despite how much I know about Cuba, every time I am there I still always seem to get into sticky situations. It’s extremely common for things to go haywire sometimes. It seems that it’s almost part of the “Cuban” experience. It’s something that will likely change as business and hospitality develop in that country. My team and I are constantly trying to improve the client experience. Some things are not in our control, which is annoying to me immensely.

I hope that overall your experience of Cuba was positive.

thanks,

Mario

• This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Mario.

Thank you Kevin. I am very sorry about the problems and I can promise you that we are working hard to make sure that these things do not happen. A few always manage to slip by and it always upsets me that mistakes happen. There are a lot of people who work in the process and a weak link can cause a chain reaction pretty fast. I’m sorry that in your case everything did not go as planned. Next time you are in Cuba send me a message and if I am there too I would love to meet you for a drink and chat and to show you the team and our operations. Take care and good luck with everything. Mario