The Dirty Truth About Staying in Central Havana, Cuba

While many travelers choose the comforts of staying in Old Havana during their Cuba trips, more and more vacationers are looking for a more “authentic” experience by staying in the lesser-celebrated Central Hanava -- or Centro Habana.
But with that “authentic” experiences, comes some difficulties that all travelers will have to overcome.

Be prepared for inconveniences
When my wife and I checked into our Centro Habana AirBnB, we thought we entered a warzone. Seriously.
There were dogs roaming the streets. The roads were badly torn up around us. The air wreaked of diesel fuel. Buildings were falling over eachother. And to top it off, we had no gas to work our stove and we could not flush our used toilet paper down the toilet.
But after staying there for a week, we appreciated the charm of the neighborhood. While it was dirty and rough looking, the people were incredibly kind and helpful.

Get water when and where you can
I join the many travel blogs that urge visitors not to drink the water in Cuba -- especially in the Centro District.
We found a couple people that sold bottle water out of their houses in makeshift store fronts. We found out quickly that, “We’ll buy it tomorrow” was a terrible approach. One day they would have water and the next they wouldn’t. So, buy water whenever you can and stock up.

Be careful of the crumbling buildings
You will see countless crumbling buildings while walking through the Centro District.
It’s not uncommon for people to be working on those buildings or to see parts of old buildings fall down. With this in mind, you should try to walk in the street and NOT on the sidewalks while in the Centro District.

But that doesn’t mean the streets are great either...
While walking in the middle of the street, it's common to see potholes a foot deep.
Watch where you walk or there’s a good chance you’ll snap an ankle thousands of miles away from home. Be especially careful during the nights, with most street lights on most streets

Despite all of this, the Centro District is very safe
One of the most surprising aspects of the Centro District  -- with its crumbling buildings and pot-holed streets -- is how safe it is. There was no point during our 7-day trip that I ever felt unsafe.
I had hundreds of dollars in my pocket along with a $1,000 of cameras on me every day. Never did I feel threatened. The Centro District is very safe.

Is there anything I missed? Let me know in the comment section!