Is Havana safe for solo female travelers?

Solo travel

Cuba was an amazing adventure. I entered homes as a guest and left as family. I saw beauty and hardship. I was overwhelmed by warmth and kindness. My new & temporary family and neighbors watched out for me, we shared stories and laughs. I ate amazing food. I experienced delight. I couldn’t see it all in one week, so I will definitely return. ❤️ I stayed in a Casa Particulare with a family and loved this experience. My Spanish was very limited and my host helped me with getting taxis and, in general, had the whole neighborhood watching out for me. I felt very safe the entire time traveling solo. The Cuban people are warm, friendly, and welcoming.

Solo travel

Loved Havana! Definitely a special experience. A little hard to get around as I didn’t have any access to internet so got lost a few times but locals were very willing to help out and provide instructions. Spanish is crucial. Food was ok, cheap eats but good food was more expensive

Group travel

Visiting Havana last January 2024, was an unforgettable experience. I really enjoyed my time over there, I visited a lot of places, museums, hotels, restaurants and night clubs. I felt very safe, very relaxed and had a lot of fun. I recommend, going to La Vitrola restaurant, is magnificent, also for good music and fun, the bars in Playa close to the MGM Muthu Habana Hotel, were top, I recommend this place too, remember to bring some cash, your credit cards are useful too, except from US, and hang out with Cubans it's amazing, just be wise in choose your travel partner.

Group travel

Havana was really cool. I definitely recommend visiting La Bodeguita del Medio, that's where Mojito was invented. We also went to a place called Mojito Mojito, which was touristy, but they had the tastiest Cuban sandwich in the world. You can negotiate the cost of a car ride in a car from the 50's, I recommend this tour, they will take you everywhere important and I think in the end we paid $30 for a ride for four of us! Rum is cheap, like $3 for a huge bottle cheap, we drank rum and sat on the Malecon. Everyone was very kind and I felt safe.

Solo travel

Havana is unbeatable. I would recommend staying at home with a family, if you can (I ended up staying in a hotel and preferred observing how the locals live!). I also visited several other places in Cuba (including one resort at the end), but Havana was absolutely my favorite. I would leave plenty of time just for sightseeing and admiring the landmarks.

Havana, like any other place, has its good and bad neighborhoods. In some places you can walk confidently and in others you should be extra careful. At night, I wouldn’t walk alone or carry my phone carelessly at all times, because if opportunity presents someone could take advantage of this. I could walk alone at night if I had to but I would always try to have someone with me or avoid long distances if possible. Kidnap or murder are definitely not common it’s mostly robbery what worries me the most but with due precaution you can feel at ease about it. In this case I’m always happy to provide tips. Cuba has the nasty reputation of the place where women are “easy” to get due to historical reasons so it’s common to see people who are overly friendly to women but Cuban women have made ourselves be respected so even if you were to find a person who tries to harass you, you would be surrounded by people who would also not let that stand. If you are in trouble in Cuba, you can be sure that someone near you will help you or guide you in the right direction. Just need to make sure that the person you are choosing to trust is actually being helpful and not trying to take advantage of you. Because let’s be honest, in every corner of the world there’s one of those.

Havana all in all is a safe city, compared to other LATAM cities. It used to be very safe, but this past few years it has gotten a bit dangerous. I wouldn't recommend walking alone at night or talking to strangers everywhere; most of them end up asking for money.

Havana is a dangerous city when you are a woman alone, especially at night. There are multiple cases of rape, murder, and kidnapping. The victims are usually women and children. However, this usually doesn't happen to tourists (I've never heard of a tourist being raped or murdered here), you might just be robbed. The security system is more effective for tourists than for locals, and you will have more protection than I, a local. In recent years, Havana has gone through many situations (political problems) that have left an impact on the people.

The violence rate in the country is generally low compared to other countries worldwide. However, there are the typical pickpockets who steal money, wallets, and glasses in crowded and distracting places, so always keep your backpack in front, not on your back. Avoid walking alone at night, especially in less-traveled areas. If you plan to go out at night, it’s best to have direct transportation to your accommodation. Never tell strangers where you’re staying, don’t walk around with your phone in hand or anything valuable, as you could be robbed. Never accept drinks from strangers. Other than that, everything is fine.