Cuba eSIM
Cuba works differently from anywhere else in the region: mobile service comes from ETECSA, the state operator, and international roaming agreements are limited, so many visitors simply plan around being offline for parts of the day. Internet access is often bought by the hour in parks, hotel lobbies and ETECSA offices rather than assumed everywhere. A trip here goes far more smoothly when maps, tickets and the addresses of your casas are downloaded before you land.
Vermelde pakketten
0
Netwerk
Cubacel (ETECSA)
Technologie
4G
Lokale valuta
CUP
Hoeveel data je écht nodig hebt
Plan for far less than you would elsewhere. Many visitors get by on a few hundred megabytes a day for messages and maps, saving photo uploads and video calls for a Wi-Fi session in the evening.
Bij aankomst
José Martí International in Havana (HAV) is the main gateway, while resort arrivals land at Varadero (VRA), Holguín (HOG), Cayo Coco (CCC), Santa Clara (SNU) and Santiago de Cuba (SCU). Cuba is an island with no land border, so everything you need should already be downloaded before you board.
Waar de dekking verandert
Havana, Varadero, Santiago de Cuba and the larger provincial towns have usable mobile data. It falls away in the Viñales valley, the Zapata swamp, the Sierra Maestra and along the long causeways out to the northern cays — and international sites can load slowly even where the signal bars look full.
Steden waar reizigers naar vragen
- Havana — The easiest place in the country to get online.
- Varadero — Resort strip; most people lean on hotel Wi-Fi.
- Trinidad — Cobbled old town; best signal near the main square.
- Viñales — Tobacco valley; signal fades outside the village.
- Santiago de Cuba — Big eastern city with several ETECSA offices.
- Cienfuegos — Mid-sized port city, a common overnight stop.
Apps om te installeren vóór je vertrek
- Offline maps downloaded in advance, such as Maps.me or Google Maps areas
- WhatsApp, which casa owners and locals use most
- A Nauta account from ETECSA for public Wi-Fi
Networks in Cuba
| Provider | Technologie |
|---|---|
| Cubacel (ETECSA) | 4G |
Dit zijn de netwerken die in het land actief zijn. Een bepaald pakket bereikt mogelijk maar een deel ervan — controleer het netwerk dat bij het pakket zelf staat vermeld.
Veelgestelde vragen
Can I use an eSIM in Cuba?+
We do not sell a Cuba plan, and roaming there depends on whether your own provider has an agreement with ETECSA, the state operator — many do not. Ask your home carrier what it charges before you fly, and expect to buy Wi-Fi time locally or use your accommodation connection for anything heavy.
How do people actually get online day to day?+
Mostly through the public Wi-Fi that ETECSA runs in parks, squares and hotel lobbies, logging in with a Nauta account bought by the hour. Evenings get crowded and speeds drop, so the practical move is to buy several hours while the queue is short and use them in one sitting when you really need to send something.
Should I warn people at home that I will be hard to reach?+
Strongly recommended. Agree on a window — for example a message every evening once you are back at the casa — and leave someone at home a rough itinerary with the name of each night stop. That way nobody panics when you go quiet for a whole day on a cross-country bus.
Do I need paper copies of my bookings?+
Keep both printouts and screenshots. Casa addresses, transfer times, your travel insurance number and intercity bus tickets should exist offline on the phone, because opening an email mid-journey may mean waiting for the next Wi-Fi point, which could be the following day.
Wanneer begint een Cuba-eSIM dagen te tellen?+
De meeste pakketten hier starten wanneer de telefoon voor het eerst verbinding maakt met een netwerk op de bestemming, zodat je thuis van tevoren kunt installeren en na landing kunt aanzetten. Elke pakketpagina vermeldt zijn eigen regel.
Moet ik mijn thuis-SIM verwijderen?+
Nee. De eSIM is een tweede lijn, dus je behoudt je thuisnummer voor sms-OTP. Zet roamingdata uit op de thuislijn en stel de eSIM in als datalijn.
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Laatst bijgewerkt: 11 september 2026