On March 14, 2011, the Central Bank of Cuba devalued the Cuban Convertible Peso, in effect hiking the amount of food, travel, and lodging visitors can get for their dollars and euros. And the change ends the complication of calculating currency conversions when making purchases, reverting to the decade from 1994 to 2005 when the Cuban currency was pegged 1:1 to the dollar. The Cuban government, however, did not end its hostility to the U.S. dollar itself, and continues the 10-percent “penalty” on converting dollars. So, visitors are still better off arriving with Canadian dollars or euros to get full boost to the bottom line.
