I want to go to Cuba. What now?

wilonstott

wilonstott

Wil O.
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I am an American. I have no travel license/visa for Cuba. I am a full time graduate student (albeit in English, which may hold no sway at the licensing office).


What do I do? How do I get in? What are my options? Where can I get information on going?

Legality is not necessarily an issue for me. Getting caught is.


Thanks guys.
 
I have friends who've gone through Canada and Mexico without any difficulties. One friend goes every year, using a travel agent based in (I think) Toronto.
 
Student tours, I believe, are one of the legal exceptions. If you do a news search on Google or something, you'll even find some news from the last week or so that I think makes that sort of travel even easier. I seem to recall that there were some loosening of restrictions.

You may be able to join up with a tour group with a mix of students from a number of schools if your school doesn't have one.
 
But if you admit you've been to Cuba when returning from Canada you'll be deep in it... What it is to be free!

Regards, David
 
wilonstott said:
I am an American. I have no travel license/visa for Cuba. I am a full time graduate student (albeit in English, which may hold no sway at the licensing office).


What do I do? How do I get in? What are my options? Where can I get information on going?
Click to expand...

Basically the only major problem is that you can't go there directly, but through some other place (Canada, Mexico etc.).

You can get a lot of information on the Internet (from pages such as http://wikitravel.org/en/Americans_in_Cuba or just by googling), or you could just buy one of the many travel guides (such as Lonely Planet). There are so many Americans going to Cuba that there is really no shortage of information or of options.
 
It's very straight forward via Cancun. Americans travelling there wouldn't raise any eyebrows, because it's a common holiday destination. Simply purchase a separate return ticket to Cuba. It's only an hour-long flight from the Mexican coast.

I flew from Miami to Cancun and then straight on to Havana. There were no issues at all. As mentioned they don't stamp your passport. You do require a tourist visa card though, which you can sort out before travelling.

If you arrive back in the states with a mojito in one hand and a box of cigars in the other, regaling the immigration officer with tales of your late night salsa dancing escapades on the Malecón... you'll spend the rest of your life in prison.

... Or something like that.
 
Sikario said:
It's very straight forward via Cancun. Americans travelling there wouldn't raise any eyebrows, because it's a common holiday destination. Simply purchase a separate return ticket to Cuba. It's only an hour-long flight from the Mexican coast.

I flew from Miami to Cancun and then straight on to Havana. There were no issues at all. As mentioned they don't stamp your passport. You do require a tourist visa card though, which you can sort out before travelling.

If you arrive back in the states with a mojito in one hand and a box of cigars in the other, regaling the immigration officer with tales of your late night salsa dancing escapades on the Malecón... you'll spend the rest of your life in prison.

... Or something like that.
Click to expand...


Was your passport not double stamped in Mexico?
I've read that the way to do it is to buy an open jaw ticket with Cuba in the middle.

Mexico->Cuba->Not Mexico->and then buy a ticket back to USA.

This would prevent the possibility of 2 entrance stamps to Mexico.

Am I wrong or missing something?
 
Worst case, you get a fine for a few thousand in the mail. My friend and I went years ago, Ive heard of cases of people getting a summons in the mail from the US government for 2-3k , for traveling there..
 
Go in through Mexico on a tourist visa. They will not stamp your passport as an American. Have fun!

Oye_Cuba_1026.jpg
 
Damaso said:
Go in through Mexico on a tourist visa. They will not stamp your passport as an American. Have fun!

Oye_Cuba_1026.jpg
Click to expand...

They don't stamp Australian or Japanese passports either. Which is a shame because I would have loved a Cuba stamp in my passport!!!

I second "have fun"! Cuba is great!
 
Actually, for American "nationals" my understanding is that it is perfectly legal to travel to Cuba. What is NOT legal is engaging in any financial transaction while in Cuba -- that means you cannot buy food, pay for a hotel, etc... The definition of "nationals" is subject to interpretation, but it does include US citizens who are dual-citizens, even if they use their non-US passport and even if they reside outside the US. Obviously, people who qualify for the general and specific licenses may travel to Cuba and engage in financial transaction, and as others have said, there are ways to do it if you're not necessarily bothered by side-stepping US law.
 
Believe it or not there are flights everyday to and from NYC to Havana and to and from Miami to Havana. They are charters and if you have the proper paperwork you can walk right onto the flight and not have to worry about going via a third country. And getting the paperwork is not even that difficult. If you are a student, you should be able to get there with minimal problems. The laws regulating travel to Cuba were eased last year and then again a week or so ago.

I would contact one of the travel agencies that specialize solely in getting US citizens the proper paperwork. Costa Mar or Mar Azul travel are two of the biggest. Give them a call and tell them you are a student who wants to go and they will figure out a way to get you your visa from the government. As I said, you shouldn't have a problem and the fee they charge includes all the legal legwork. It's totally worth it.

I went this past June as my wife has family there. We flew directly from Miami and Costa Mar handled all the paperwork as well as the ticketing. Couldn't of been easier.

Here are some shots from my trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andredossantos/sets/72157624095813005/detail/

Cuba is one of the most amazing places to photograph. I had to skip shots because if i didn't I wouldve never gotten anywhere!
 
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Well, I would love to go to Cuba. But, as a US national, I will wait and be legal. I'm not for breaking any laws. But, I'm really getting tired of the number stupid laws our Congress is passing.

The only option I can recommend is: change nationalities. Being American today is not what it was 60 years ago anyway. Because I travel extensively I am reminded of this over an over again.

I really welcome the day, when the international community puts American law in its place. (It's place is of course within the United States not outside.) That is coming sooner than later. Look at the recent Polanski affair...

Excuse me for this overtly political assessment. Everybody is entitled to an opinion I guess. Bah!

JP
 
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