Instagram does work in Cuba. But without a VPN you will lose some features. Such as the ability to add music to stories or track viewer metrics.
Yet Instagram’s functionality is not the most important thing you need to know about Instagram in Cuba. What you need to know about Instagram in Cuba is that you shouldn’t believe what you see or read on the platform.
Most of the photos and reviews you will see on Instagram in Cuba are fantasy, not reality. Every Cuban you see on Instagram will be posing in front of beautiful hotels, in pools or sharing photos and reviews of restaurants.
And here’s the kicker; They’re often not actually staying in those hotels and are unable to pay for their own food to review.
Becoming An ‘Influencer’ Is An Aspiration Among The Young in Cuba
Being an ‘influencer’ is actually considered a viable career path among the young. And to fund that lifestyle they’re often reliant on the kindness of foreigners.
Let’s take the fancy hotel photoshoots you see on Instagram for the big Hotels in Havana. Did you know that they charge a small admission fee to get up to the roof top bars and pools in those hotels?
And did you know that more often than not the only thing the Cuban is doing is paying admission to the pool area, maybe buying a drink and then taking a million photos of themselves for Instagram? That is, unless they were escorting a foreigner.
While they’re always sure to tag the hotel and use the hashtags while praising the venue, they can’t actually afford to stay there. And reviews of an establishment from someone who isn’t a real customer is worth less than the time it takes you to view the post and read the review.
And reviews from individuals who have never travelled, have nothing to compare a particular experience to and whom has not actually paid to stay at a venue are worth even less still. Instagram reviews and posts from Cubans in Cuba are worth less than garbage.
Every Cuban of Generation Z will continue to shake their ass on Instagram thinking they’ll become the next Kardashian. While reliant on the kindness of others to fund their lifestyle. But you shouldn’t make decisions based on their heavily edited photos and useless reviews.
Is Instagram Good At All For Researching Cuba?
Instagram is completely useless for researching restaurants and hotels in Cuba. As are Google reviews unless you weed out all the fake reviews from ‘influencers’ or the establishment reviewing itself.
My advice to you if you’re looking for reviews about Cuba is to read a lot of blogs like this one and also visit ‘TripAdvisor.com‘ and read the forums. Just ignore all the social media noise because it’s all worthless garbage.
Where Can I Get More Information About Cuba?
I’ve made a Cuba Frequently Asked Questions Page (FAQ) available on this website. And I would strongly advise you to read it before travelling to Cuba.
My Cuba FAQ page will save you a lot of time and a significant amount of money on your trip to Cuba. Cuba is not the sort of destination in which you can just arrive unprepared.
Read the Cuba FAQ Page here.
