Frequently Asked Questions

There are no navigation devices available in Cuba. The import of navigation systems is still prohibited. We recommend that you download an offline route planner onto your smartphone before you arrive and use this as a replacement.

If different vehicle models are offered under a rental car category, no specific one can be booked. The rental cars we show are examples that show the services provided in the vehicle category.

For 2-3 travelers, a economic car is sufficient, for 3-4 adults we recommend a mid-size car or SUV. It all depends on the amount of luggage. To make the best use of the trunk, it is advisable not to travel exclusively with hard-shell suitcases, but also to plan flexible bags and backpacks. In eastern Cuba and, for example, when traveling to Cayo Jutías or Maria La Gorda, an SUV is advisable. 

It is not possible to upgrade your insurance on site. After booking your rental car, you can request additional insurance from insurance providers. This depends on the offer in your country of origin.

If you pick up and drop off the car at the same location, you can choose the station freely. However, the car rental agency may specify a different location within the city for fleet planning purposes. This is especially the case if the rental car is dropped off in another province. Very popular is a car rental at Havana airport right after you arrive in Cuba. But in general you can inform us about your desired pick-up location:

 - Varadero car rental: you find offices of VIA rent a Car in the center of Varadero at Varadero airport and in many hotels all over the peninsula. Cubacar/Havanautos has less pick-up stations in the hotel-zone.

 - Cienfuegos car rental: Cubacar/Havanautos maintains offices at the hotel "Union" and on the peninsula Punta Gorda. Both, Via and Cubacar, offer car rental at the airport of Cienfuegos.

 - Santiago de Cuba car hire: as well as VIA as Cubacar/Havanautos provides services at Hotel Melia Santiago and Antonio Maceo Airport

 - Car rental Trinidad: the pick-up points are in the centre, not far away from the Iberostar Grand Hotel 

Cuba car rental insurance is mandatory. For the rates stated, the insurance is included in the daily prices stated. You don´t have to pay it extra. It basically covers all possible damage (fire, accident, theft, etc.) to the driver and to a third party involved in an accident. If the policyholder is at fault, he or she will pay a deductible of up to USD 350. Allowing non-contractual persons to drive always leads to the insurance cover being voided. The same applies to negligent behavior, e.g. driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or not locking the car after parking. Please note that all damage must be recorded by the police! The statutory liability insurance for damage to third party property in the event of an accident is USD 15,000, and in the event of injury or death to a third party, USD 5,000 per person. If there are several people, the total is limited to USD 25,000.

Last-minute bookings are possible up to a lead time of at least 4 working days, due to the often limited working hours of the rental companies' reservation centers. However, capacities can be fully booked at short notice.

For the high season (Christmas-New Year-Easter-summer holidays) it is advisable to book the car as soon as the trip is confirmed. The cars can be fully booked weeks in advance. If you cannot find a suitable car on the website, do not hesitate to contact us.

Please note that avenTOURa GmbH is merely an agent of the contract and therefore the surrender and use of the rental car does not constitute a contractual obligation on the part of avenTOURa. Your contractual partner is the respective rental car company that is named in the booking confirmation. The warranty and liability are based on the contractual and legal provisions that apply to the rental car company. Any necessary complaints or claims must be clarified by you with the rental car agency on site. Our representative in Havana will be happy to help you with this; make sure that there is written confirmation of the complaint from the rental car agency (note on the rental contract). Please keep the rental contract safe during the trip and insist on a copy of the contract after returning the car. If you are unable to clarify the matter on site, we absolutely need a copy of the rental contract (photo/scan) in order to contact the Cuban agency.

Once the booking confirmation has been received, our general terms and conditions apply, which include the cancellation conditions and further information.

Rebookings to your reservation cannot be guaranteed: Any changes (name of the main driver, travel dates, additional rental days, etc.) will result in your booking being cancelled internally by the car rental company and will be rebooked with the new details. It may be that a suitable car is no longer available. Please ensure that all details are entered correctly when booking.

The rental period with VIA Rent a Car is currently a maximum of 45 days. If you want to book a rental car with VIA for a longer period, you can only do this by stringing together individual rentals. The timing of the transition between two rental periods is problematic; VIA Rent a Car reserves the right to charge a one-way rental fee if the subsequent rental period does not begin at the same location as the previous rental contract.
Example:  The rental car pick-up is in Havana; after the end of the first rental contract (45 days), the customer is in Santiago de Cuba to begin the second rental period. Here, VIA Rent a Car reserves the right to charge a one-way fee for the route from Havana to Santiago de Cuba, even if the customer returns to Havana at the end of the subsequent rental period. The same applies to the subsequent period; if the car is returned in Havana, VIA Rent a Car reserves the right to charge a one-way fee for the route from Santiago de Cuba to Havana. VIA Rent a Car classifies the two rental periods as different rental contracts, which are calculated independently of each other. 

At Cubacar/Havanautos, the maximum rental period is 30 days. Here, too, a new rental contract must be concluded afterwards (see procedure at VIA Rent a Car) 

The basis for the price calculation is the so-called "24-hour rule". A rental day is calculated from the time of collection for the following 24 hours. If the return time is later than the rental car's pick-up time, you book a full additional day (e.g. picking up the car on day 1 at 10 a.m. and returning it on day 7 at 10 a.m. = 6 rental days of 24 hours each / if returned at 3 p.m. = 7 rental days, as the 24 hours have been exceeded). Extensions to the rental period on site must be paid at the rental car agency's valid prices. These can be significantly higher than our contract rates.

Please note when planning your trip: Due to the general supply shortages in Cuba, there may be delays of up to several hours in picking up your rental car. We therefore recommend that you rent your rental car in the late afternoon of the previous day rather than on the morning of your departure.

All rental car prices include unlimited free kilometers.

There is a lot of uncertainty: Can US citizens rent cars in cuba? Yes you can rent a car in Cuba as an american, there are no restriccions from Cuban authorities. There a some requirements you should keep in mind:

 - Cuba car rental US license: your US driving license is sufficient to rent a car in Cuba

 - Cuba car rental cash payment: you pay your car in advance via bank transfer to our German bank account or via credit card. Adional cost can apply directly at the rental station, mostly if you drop off the car in another place (so-called one-way-fee). There is no way to pay those expenses in USD or other currencies - only card payment is possible. We know that your credit card might be related to a US bank and will be denied. Therefore we recommend you the "tarjeta clásica": You can charge this pre-paid card with USD and pay all necesary fees. The card can be purchased and charged at any CADECA (bureau de change). It will be very useful as well the buy gasoline during your journey.

 - Cuba car rental insurance us citizens: Insurance is already included in the price and there is no possibility to purchase an additional insurance on site.

 - Travel category for U.S. citizens: you can travel to Cuba legally under specific categories authorized by the U.S. government. The most common category is "Support for the Cuban People", which requires engaging with privately owned businesses and supporting Cuban civil society. In total there are 12 categories, for example family visits.

Do I neeed an international driver´s license in Cuba? No, a valid national driving license is sufficient. The minimum age of the driver is 18 years for VIA and 21 years for Cubacar and you must have at least 2 years of driving experience. Please note that Cubacar charges a higher insurance premium for drivers between 21 and 24 and between 76 and 80. Cubacar has a maximum age limit of 80 years. This does not apply at VIA, but the local staff may refuse to rent a car if you have a health or physical impairment that poses a safety risk. If you are unsure about this, please contact us.

Please note that only the person specified as the main driver is authorized to collect the rental car on site. The name cannot be changed on site.

The same requirements apply to additional drivers as to the main driver. They must be registered when concluding the rental agreement. Please note that for VIA rent a Car we need to advice before travelling that additional drivers apply. Each additional driver will be charged USD 3 per rental day (Cubacar) or a one-off fee of USD 30 (VIA Rent a Car).

The minimum rental period is 3 days with VIA rent a Car and Cubacar/Havanautos (and Cubacar/Havanautos sets 5 days in these periods: 01.12.-31.12., 29.03.-05.04.26, 01.07.-31.08.). A maximum of 45 days is possible with VIA and 30 days with Cubacar/Havanautos. Longer rental periods on request.

Important information for Cuban citizens: Both VIA and Cubacar/Havanautos accept Cuban drivers (the decisive factor here is the place of birth). However, a residence permit outside Cuba is required. The same applies to additional drivers. In order to guarantee the requirements for additional drivers, we must firmly book them in with name and copy of residence outside Cuba before the rental car is accepted. 

1) Insurance: At VIA rent a Car and Cubacar, insurance is included in the stated daily prices. 

2) One-way fees (also called return costs or one-way fee): If the rental car is not returned at the pick-up location («one-way rental» or «fork booking»), the rental car agency will charge a return fee, the amount of which depends primarily on the distance between the pick-up and drop-off locations. You can see a table of distances by province and return costs here . As a guideline, you can assume 0.20 USD/km. 

3) Service fee: When renting at international Cuban airports, Cubacar/Havanautos charge a service fee of 20 USD.

4) Gasoline: 

4.1) At VIA rent a Car, the car is returned with the same amount of fuel as it was received. If you return the car with less fuel, you will be charged at the current rate.

4.2) At Cubacar, the car is returned with a full tank and you pay for this tank in advance when you make your reservation (59 USD for the small car, 65 USD for the mid-size car). The vehicle is returned with an empty tank.

5) Deposit: VIA rent a Car and Cubacar do not require a deposit. 

6) Second driver: VIA rent a Car charges a one-time fee of 30 USD and up to 2 additional drivers can be registered on site in addition to the main driver. Cubacar charges 3 USD per additional driver per day. We recommend to include the second driver in advance.

The following applies to all costs incurred on site: Payment is made by credit card and the cardholder must be the same as the main driver named in the booking. Network outages may occur and in exceptional cases, credit card payment for insurance and deposit of the security deposit is not possible.

Special information for US citizens which rent a car in Cuba: You know about the problem with american credit cards. Those credit cards are not accepted in Cuba and normally you would pay all expenses cash only. For extras, as one-way-fee you need to pay by card and we recommend the prepaid card "tarjeta clásica". You can buy it at any currency exchange (CADECA) and charge it with your USD cash. This card is accepted to pay the charges and at gas stations or supermarkets.

Please remember to take your passport (possibly residence permit for Cuban citizens) and driver's license with you to the station; copies will not be accepted. The avenTOURa voucher with the booking number is also required as a printout.

Opening hours: At international airports, the pick-up stations are open as long as there are flights. In city offices or at hotels, they are usually only open during normal office hours (from 9 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m.).

Time: The time specified in the booking confirmation is binding for the rental car pick-up. If you arrive late at the rental station, the rental car agency reserves the right to give the car to other customers.

When you pick up the rental car at the airport, the agency will be guided by your flight number. If the flight is delayed, the rental station will wait for you. Even if you need more time at the baggage claim carousel or at immigration, time will be taken into account. The car will be kept ready for you for 3 hours after landing. If the airline changes your flight times before your trip, please let us know.

Since 2019, there have been increasing problems with the supply of petrol in some provinces of Cuba (especially in the east of the country) due to the US embargo. At VIA, rental cars are only issued with a partially filled tank (they are returned with the same tank of petrol). In the affected provinces, there may be closures or longer waiting times at the petrol pumps. The supply situation often changes at very short notice, so that a medium or long-term forecast is not possible.

We generally recommend taking every opportunity to fill up the tank. We also recommend that when you pick up the rental car, you ask the rental car agency staff about any petrol shortages, showing them your planned route. They often have up-to-date information from their stations across the country and will tell you where there may be shortages. All rental cars are filled with Gasolina Especial (156 CUP, equivalent to around 1.30 USD per litre).

Please note that avenTOURa is not liable for shortages of petrol. We also do not provide refunds if the rental car can only be used to a limited extent due to a lack of petrol.

From autumn 2023, cash payments for refueling will be gradually phased out. You will have to buy petrol with your credit card at more and more petrol stations. Alternatively, a reloadable credit card can be purchased at exchange offices for payment.

If you would like to know more about the peculiarities of driving in Cuba, read our tips here .

With VIA Rent a Car, extending the rental period is no problem, as long as the maximum rental period of 45 days (including extension) is not exceeded and cars are available. All you have to do is immediately inform our branch in Havana of your extension request, which will take care of extending the voucher and sending you the invoice for the extended days. As soon as payment for the extended days has been received in our company account, you will receive a new voucher, usually digitally by email.
In the event that the total rental period after extension with VIA Rent a Car exceeds the maximum rental period of 45 days, a completely new rental contract must be drawn up, this also includes the possible charging of one-way fees if the rental car is in a different location at the start of the extension than when the car was picked up under the original rental contract (see also “Long-term rental”).

If your travel plans change en route, you can also return the car to another location. The employee at the relevant location will adjust the return costs if necessary. Please note that the return fee for the original booking is due when you pick up the rental car (payment by credit card at the office of the rental car agency).

If the vehicle is returned to a different location, a return fee (one-way fee) will be charged.

VIA Rent a Car uses the following calculation für rentals of more than 7 day and less than 7 days:

Distance between collection and delivery point up to 400km: 0.12 USD/km (0,15 USD/km < 7 days)

Distance between collection and delivery point more than 400km: 0.15 USD/km (0,20 USD/km < 7 days)

More than 20km within a province (e.g. Havana City-Havana Airport): 0.20 USD/km.

At Cubacar the prices vary slightly; we will be happy to inform you on request.

The rental car must be returned by the primary driver on the rental agreement. Rental agencies may refuse to accept the second driver and charge their own extra fees.

If you wish to return the rental car early for reasons for which you are responsible , you are not entitled to a refund for the unused rental days. The rental car agency does not usually provide refunds. This means that avenTOURa, as the agent for the service, cannot provide refunds either. If you have trip cancellation insurance and have to cancel the trip due to illness, you can submit a refund request to the insurance company, which will then decide on a possible refund.

If you return the rental car early, please contact our office in Havana. This is the only way we can try to get a refund from the Cuban rental car agency, although you are not legally entitled to this.