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A friend of mine is arriving at Varadero Airport and needs transportation to her hotel by taxi, shared minibus, or similar. (She doesn't speak Spanish, has a lot of bags, and is not familiar with the area, so taking public transit is not a good option.) The hotel does not provide a transfer service. She does not have much cash and is arriving from a country where it will be difficult or impossible to get USD, CAD, EUR, etc. She does have Canadian debit and credit cards.

Do any taxis leaving from Varadero Airport accept credit cards? Or is there a desk or kiosk at the airport where she can order a taxi (or similar) and pre-pay with a credit card? Or does the airport have an ATM where she can use her debit card to withdraw pesos to pay a taxi in cash?

If there's no possibility of using a card at the airport to pay for a taxi, can she book and pay for one online in advance? Web searches turn up a few sites purporting to offer such transfers but I have no way of judging their safety and reliability.

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    If she has Canadian cards why doesn't she have dollars? Although $CA dollars aren't as useful as $US or €. If she wants to book online, just do a bit of research into the taxi company. They have a reputation to consider, and she has some protection from the card issuer. There's a ton of information when you google Varadero Airport taxis. Some airports have a kiosk at Arrivals where she can pay for a concession taxi, but such places are often overcrowded.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Aug 2 at 18:57
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    Cash is currently king in Cuba, despite the government’s efforts to force wider use of ‘cashless’ payment methods. I would be amazed if any taxis in Cuba accept card payment direct from the passenger at the start/end of the ride; even if they did it’s often hit and miss as to whether the payment system will actually be working.
    – Traveller
    Commented Aug 2 at 19:01
  • @WeatherVane She's not travelling to Varedero from Canada and so can't get Canadian cash. I know that "some airports" have kiosks to book and pre-pay taxis; my question is specifically about whether Varadero is one such airport.
    – Psychonaut
    Commented Aug 2 at 22:52
  • @Psychonaut: Can't she get USD or Euro at her departure airport? Even if these are hard to come by in country almost all international airports have some basic money exchange facilities.
    – Hilmar
    Commented Aug 3 at 13:06
  • Related: hometohavana.com/blog/currency-in-cuba
    – Hilmar
    Commented Aug 3 at 13:07

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Do any taxis leaving from Varadero Airport accept credit cards?

If it’s a private hire from the taxi rank outside (if there are any given the fuel shortage) almost certainly not. If there is a kiosk at the airport where you can book a state taxi (typically a yellow cab) on arrival, maybe, depending on whether the card payment system is working. (Not the same scenario, but as an example last time I was in Cuba a few months ago I waited an hour to pay for breakfast at a 5* hotel because the connection for their card terminals was down, and ended up paying in cash).

is there a desk or kiosk at the airport where she can order a taxi (or similar) and pre-pay with a credit card?

Maybe/probably not. Varadero Airport only mentions the taxi rank outside the terminal building, however the information may not be up-to-date given that it also refers to CUC, which hasn’t been an official currency since the Cuban Government eliminated it in 2021.

does the airport have an ATM where she can use her debit card to withdraw pesos to pay a taxi in cash?

Maybe, but if there is I wouldn’t rely on it being working or actually having any cash. The website linked above says there’s a Forex Bureau, however. It doesn’t say if the Bureau accepts cards.

if there's no possibility of using a card at the airport to pay for a taxi, can she book and pay for one online in advance?

I don’t see why not. Just do the usual research to check out the company before booking.

TLDR: Do the research and pre-book. I’ve visited Cuba 20+ times. Pre-Covid, arriving there without much cash and relying on there being taxis outside the airport, using ATMs/cards in shops, hotels etc, was usually fine. Now, however, I would not recommend it. It might be ok, but there are a myriad of reasons why it might not be, ranging from power cuts affecting services to lack of supplies of virtually anything, including cash in ATMs.

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  • This answer would be much improved by explaining what is meant by "usual research to check out the company". What criteria, specifically, should we be using to determine whether a pre-booked taxi company is legitimate and reliable?
    – Psychonaut
    Commented Aug 3 at 17:15

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