Originally Posted by
red star
Not quite correct. Exchanging USD into CUC is punished with an extra 10% "thanks for the embargo" fee while CND is not.
Yes, this appears to be correct.
My sister spent 11 days in Mexico en route to Cuba, so she took out $1,400 in Mexican pesos, and those worked well.
Incidentally, she got quite a shakedown from ICE on the way back into the US -- this is going on her permanent record!
Her passport showed no Cuba stamps, but an exit stamp from Mexico followed by an entry stamp to Mexico 21 days later -- "where were you?".