Cuba car hire booking conditions - Cuba Travel Plan

Below you'll find an outline of our Cuba car hire booking conditions for car hire company Viacar. Car hire agency Rex is our first choice partner because of the level of service they offer. Viacar offer less service, however they are also more affordable and therefore we also offer Cuba car hire options with this partner. 

Cuba car hire includes:
Unlimited mileage, local taxes, an excellent, very detailed road map, driving directions and route information. 

Additional charges not included in car hire prices:
Standard additional charges on location:
- Standard CDW (casco) and LDW (theft) insurance with a 10% excess. Insurance fees must be paid in full at the rental office at drop-off of car. Price of insurance depends on the make and model of the rental car. The insurance fee for a standard economy compact car is 10 CUC per day.
- Fuel (approximately 70p per litre)
- Deposit, depending on make and model of car, the amount is authorised on your credit card, more information available below. 
- Second driver fee
All fees must be paid in full locally and are subject to change. The car hire company has the right to change these fees without prior notice.  

CDW (Collision Damage Waiver):
CDW insurance must be paid on location and is compulsory. You'll remain liable for 10% of any damage (the excess). If the rental car is damaged and the excess hasn't been paid off, you will lose your 200 CUC deposit fee - even if the damage to the car was not your fault. Read the car hire contact for more information. If you lose your copy or return the rental car dirty, you will be responsible for a fee of 50 CUC that is not covered by your insurance. You will also be personally liable for any traffic fines noted on your car hire contract (another reason to keep track of the contract) and any damage to tires or rims. In the event of an accident or theft, the renter must contact the police immediately, fill out a damage report, inform the car rental office and safeguard the car to prevent any further damage.

Non-compulsory insurance fees (on location):
Complete purchase of CDW excess 
If you would like to pay off the CDW excess of 10%, you can purchase Super CDW insurance which eliminates the entire excess. The charge for this is an additional 10 CUC per day. You will not be charged in the event of damages. Window damage, tire damage and damage caused by sand and water are not covered. The complete set of terms and conditions are available on the insurance contract that you'll sign when picking up your vehicle. You will not be able to pay off the excess for the LDW. Each of rental cars offered by Viacar is protected by a special system that makes it impossible to drive them without a key. Car theft is only possible if the thief gains access to the car keys - the chance of this happening is very slim. 

Fuel/payment:
When picking up your car, you'll always receive a full tank of petrol. The easiest thing to do is to make sure the vehicle is fully tanked when you return it. Depending on the category of the car you hire, you'll pay 45 CUC - 65 CUC when you return a car with an empty tank. Unleaded petrol is known as 'Especial' and costs 1.50 CUC per litre (70p), it's fairly inexpensive. Petrol stations can be found in and near all major cities. Because of the large distances you'll be travelling, it's best to always make sure your tank is at least half-full. If you're tank is half-full on the day of departure - fill it up. In most cases you can pay for petrol with your credit card; your passport will be required as identification. We recommend always having the amount due available in CUC as well. Authorisation systems aren't always up and running in Cuba. Cuba also sells a cheaper type of petrol that's been watered down. Be sure to always tank Especial. If you do use any other type of petrol and cause damage to the car, you'll be personally responsible for any damage. In some cases you'll only be able to pay cash at petrol stations and you may not be able to get an official receipt everywhere. We recommend that you make sure you receive a completely calculated and signed contract and filled out credit card slip when you drop off your car. This way you won't be charged any additional charges later on. Viacar accepts the following credit cards: Visa, Master Card.  

One way fees: 
Viacar charges drop-of fees when you drop off your car in different location than where you picked it up. Charges depend on the pick-up and drop-off location and the duration of car hire. Count on having to pay about £80 when you pick up your car in western Cuba (for instance Havana) and drop it off in eastern Cuba (for instance Holguin). Drop-off charges are paid on location.

Airport surcharges:
If you pick up your car at the airport, you will not be charged an airport fee by Viacar.

Contract fee/ Frequent Flyers:
You do not have to pay a Vehicle Licence Fee for Viacar car rental contracts. Unfortunately because of our special rates and early bookings, you will not be able receive frequent flyer miles for our early car rental bookings. 

Extra equipment:
Children's booster seats are hard to get in Cuba. We can request one for you, but if you want to be absolutely sure you'll have one for your trip... it's best to bring one with you. Wearing seatbelts in the front and back of the car is required by law. 

Deposit: 
The deposit and additional charges must be paid on location by using the driver's credit card (Visa or Master Card only). The total amount due includes the excess - depending on the type of car 200, 300 or 350 CUC. Cars must always be returned with a full tank of petrol. When you return your car with a full tank of petrol and damage-free, your deposit will be returned to you. When you pick up your car you'll be asked to sign a blank credit card slip. It'll be destroyed once you return your car damage-free. 

Driver's licence:
To hire a compact car in Cuba, you must have had your driver's licence for at least 1 year. If you want to hire a car in a higher category (intermediate), you'll have to have had your driver's licence for at least 3 years. The same applies to any co-drivers. You are not required to have an international driver's licence. 

Age:
The minimum age for drivers and co-drivers is 18. 
 
Extra driver:
The charges for an additional driver are 30 CUC and his/ her name must be mentioned on the Viacar contract. Passport numbers for all drivers must be mentioned on the contract. Be sure to check this before you drive off with your car - if they're not on there, you're insurance won't cover you. There's a maximum of 2 co-drivers per contract. 

Rental period:
The minimum Cuba car hire period is 2 days (each day being a full 24 hours). If you hire a car for less than 4 days, you'll receive 100 free km per day - any additional km will be charged. If you bring back the car too late, you'll be charged for the additional hours or days. You'll be charged the local going rate (not our special contract rate) and applicable taxes. If you decide to drop your car off early, you will not be reimbursed for unused days or hours. If you pick up your car at 9:00 and drop it off 10 days later at 17:00, you'll be charged for 11 days of car rental. 

Pick-up/ Drop-off:
You can pick up your rental car at the airport or at a car rental office in the city if they're open. Make sure you arrive within 1 hour after the agreed upon pick-up time or your reservation may be cancelled. If you return your car late, you'll pay (a part of) the daily local rate.

Car category:
Much like car hire in other parts of the world, Cuba car hire is based on categories of cars and not make and models of cars. The makes and models of cars mentioned on this site are merely meant to be examples of car hire options. If there are no longer cars available in the category of your choice, you'll be offered a better category car at the same price. If you decide to hire an upgrade on location, you'll pay a surcharge based on local rates.

Storage room:
Storage room in rental cars is always limited. Quite often people travelling in groups of more than 2, bring along more luggage than can be stowed. We recommend travelling with soft travel bags instead of hard-shell suitcases to save room.

In case of emergency:
Viacar has a 24-hour emergency telephone number that you can call in case of an emergency in Cuba. You'll receive this number when you pick up your car at the Viacar rental office. Our local agent will also provide any additional support you need.

Traffic violations: 
Viacar charges an additional fee for the processing of traffic fines. Never pay a police officer cash without contacting Viacar first.

Information subject to change:
All information on local rates, drop-off fees, insurance premiums and terms and conditions are subject to change and can be changed by the car hire company or local government without prior notice. Detailed terms and conditions will provided on the car rental agreement provided to you when you pick up your car.