If you don't have a strong knowledge of Spanish, we encourage you to take some time to learn and practice some basic conversational sentences. You may want to purchase an English/Spanish dictionary (we recommend 501 Spanish Verbs by Christopher Kendris, and Langenscheidt Spanish Pocket Dictionary) and/or download audio language lessons from the following reliable language learning software: Rosetta Stone or the Pimsleur Approach. You can also take a conversational Spanish class at a local language school.
InsightCuba has no Spanish language pre-requisite, in fact the majority of our participants have little Spanish fluency. All groups are led by local, professionally trained Cuban guides, who are bilingual and will serve as your translator while you are in Cuba.
Although Spanish (Castilian) is the official language, please understand that Cuban-Spanish contains considerable variation, and even native-Spanish speakers might be lost in translation at times. The majority of Cubans only know Spanish, but in larger cities and tourist areas, English is more commonly spoken. Although knowledge of Spanish isn’t required, you are encouraged to learn simple words and basic phrases in order to maximize your experience with the Cuban people.
While internet access is in in its infancy in Cuba, and WiFi access is limited to hotels, there are some mobile apps that are helpful whether you are connected to the internet or offline. Here are a few of our favorites: