There are two types of currency in Cuba. The peso is for use by the Cuban
people while the CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso - pictured above) is for the
tourist. The CUC is currently traded only in Cuba and converted as 1 CUC to
1 U.S. dollar minus a transaction fee. As you might guess, anything
sold in CUCs is more expensive than the peso price.

Currency is important since American credit and debit cards do not work in
Cuba and all our transactions must be in CUCs. This means carrying cash
into Cuba, converting to CUCs in Cuba, and then converting any unused
CUCs back into dollars before leaving the country.