So you're about to head to Cuba for a few days of meetings. All your bags are packed, you're ready to go. You're standing there outside your door. And you realize: you have no idea what Cuba is like.

Sure, you know where you're staying. Maybe you've got a guidebook that says where to visit if you manage to scrape together a few hours of sightseeing. But what's Cuba really like? More practically:

How should you greet your business partners?

If you're invited to someone's house, should you be on time? What sort of gift should you bring? If flowers are OK, what kinds of flowers are appropriate--or inappropriate? Does it matter what color paper is used to wrap the flowers? (hint: yes)

Are there any special considerations for female travelers?
Or female business associates?

What do the electrical outlets look like?

Perhaps most importantly: if you order the buñuelos, what on Earth is that going to look like?


Cuba: Business Traveler's Passport is an iPhone/iPad app for business travelers. It contains a few hundred pages of information on Cuba, focusing on areas of particular concern to the business traveler. While it does contain a small amount of information on hotels and sightseeing opportunities, these sections are intentionally light. Instead, it has entire sections of information on:

• Cuba Basics: A brief history of Cuba, with some background and historical highlights.
• Country Facts: demographics and other statistical data.
• Doing Business: Greetings & courtesies, meeting protocol, business attire, business entertaining, etc.

• Women: As travelers, are there any special considerations in Cuba? As a businesswoman, are any extra measures needed? How are cuban women treated in their own country?

• Money: What does the money look like? How much should different service people be tipped, if at all?

• Travel: Visa info, embassy & consulate locations, departure formalities, electrical system, etc.

• Safety: Emergency numbers, notes on street crime, health & medical care
• Points of Interest: Some interesting museums and cultural sites, in case there's time in between meetings.
• City Views: Background on Havana, with a handful of hotel descriptions.
• Telephone System: The subtleties of dialing to & from Cuba. There's even a section on how to use the different cuban pay phones (without needing to speak Spanish).
• Life Cycle: From birth to marriage to old age, what's life like?

• Gift Giving: A few pages on the subtleties of giving personal or business gifts.

• Holidays and Festivals: Solid background on the popular holidays and festivals.
• Religion: Background on Cuba's varying religious climates.
• Superstitions and Folklore: Common superstitions, along with cuban stereotypes.
• Food and Recipes: Descriptions of common cuban foods, along with recipes for several dishes, including platillo moros y cristianos, arroz con pollo, picadillo, and the aforementioned buñuelos.

• Terms Dictionary: Over 100 words & phrases translated into Spanish, with audio recordings.
• Embassies: Embassy locations and contact info for 100+ countries with representation in Cuba.
  

Being part of the Business Traveler's Passport series means that the app also has easy navigation, editable bookmarks, changeable font sizes, is searchable, and has an array of text & background color choices. If you've got any questions, do drop us a note! Shockingly, we actually enjoy talking to our customers.