Driving in Cuba: licence, roads and tolls

A hire car is a scarce resource here, booked far ahead, and fuel is the constraint rather than the roads.

• Book months in advance. The state agencies have a limited fleet and a car booked on arrival is often simply unavailable at any price.
• Fuel queues are routine and stations run dry. Locals plan around them; a visitor should carry a full tank and slack in the schedule.
• Roads are empty and in poor repair, unlit at night, and shared with cyclists, horse carts and pedestrians.
• The alcohol limit is effectively zero and the penalties for an accident causing injury are severe, including for foreigners.
• Hitchhikers at junctions are official practice, not a risk - state vehicles are required to pick people up.