Originally Posted by
travelmad478
... I need to buy my own lunch every day. I’m also the kind of person who eats in more local places .
You may not want to eat at "local places" since the quality and variety of what is available is often quite poor. YMMV Most importantly, though, you want to stay healthy when traveling.
Originally Posted by
travelmad478
I’m also a bit confused by the CUC/CUP issue—when I change money on the way in at the airport, how much CUC vs. CUP should I ask for? Where can one use CUP vs. CUC, or are they more or less interchangeable as payment at the 24:1 exchange rate?
You can get only CUC at the cadecas, at least until the currency change happens.
(Gov't has said that they are returning to a one currency system, the CUP, but has not given a specific date. Speculation has it that this will be after Raul steps down, supposedly soon.)
You can ask for change in CUP when you shop using CUC.
CUC small coins also work for purchases that are cheap.
CUC and CUP are currently interchangeable, but not everyplace may have change (coins and bills) to give you in both currencies. For example, a restaurant that sells soup for 70 cents of 1 CUP may not have change for CUC. A tourist shop that sells items for CUC may not have a lot CUP to give in change, possibly just the sellers personal daily money.