I went to Cuba in February. It is gorgeous there, but there are some things you should know first.
They do not have interact or bank machines. If you need money you can go to the bank and wait in a 3 hour line up to get money, but only if you know your pin number for your credit card. They take both American and Canadian dollars to exchange for Pesos at your hotel. They charge a surcharge for amercian money. Bring as much money as you think you will spend. You can use credit cards to book getaways, but you need cash for places like the flee market and stuff like that. Their peso currency they made up and gave it an equivalency. Basically it is only for tourists and 1 peso is 1US dollar.
The water there is NOT safe to drink, not even the bottled water, which is bottled tap water. Bring enough water for as long as you will be there for and remember is it hot there, so you will be drinking a lot of it.
Don't expect to find anything Americanized there. No Coca Cola, no McDonalds, nothing of the sort.
If you are going to take a taxi cab there, decide on a rate BEFORE you get in the cab. We never took one, but this is what we were told. We went to Havana for a day from Veradero on a tour bus and had a tour guide all day for like $80, definitly the way to go.
They have no spices down there to spice the food with. If you enjoy spices, bring your own.
Since I have been there, Castro has apparently banned tipped anyone. I am not sure if this is true or not. We brought down things besides money to tip them with, like chocolates, gum, pens, hair elastics etc. Keep in mind they are extremely poor. They love things like that, cause they can't get any of it down there.
If you have any other questions feel free to hit me up at shortbread#makingcoin#com