Cuba Travel?

[Rissask]

I am starting this thread at Michelle's request, a spin off from the 'booking on your own or through an agent' thread in Topics in General.

Anyone who has been to Cuba or talked to people who have been there want to put their two cents in- how it rates as a vacation destination and also tips, hints, best time to go, where to stay (Varadero, Holguin, Caya Cocos)?

I guess this thread will attract non-Americans only- as they are not allowed to travel there.
I should say I have never been there - my husband and I keep wanting to go but keep deciding in the end to go back to Mexico instead- from what I gather the food is better, the weather warmer and in Playa, the beaches just about as good- so we opt for the hotter weather. (Can anyone tell me- is it really cool there in January- I heard an average temp of 21 degrees! )

Michelle- my comment about staying at an all inclusive in Cuba- I meant because in certain more remote areas it can be hard to find restaurants and when you do- because of the Communism they might not have a lot of meat that day, etc. I have talked to people though who did not go to AIs in Varadero and loved it, so...I guess it depends how adventurous you want to be.

(Oh and apparently the food is quite bland, very little or no spices available, so bring your own Tabasco, salt and pepper, etc. And the more stars you can afford the better!)

Any other info from those who have been there? Reccommended or not?

[Michele]

Thanks Rissask! I hope we can compile some good info!

[Rissask]

Michelle- I was assuming you are from Canada- but see you live in NY. So you would just come to Toronto or somewhere to fly from to get there? There should be lots of good charter flights to Cuba from Toronto or Ottawa in the winter.

Just make sure they don't stamp your passport in Cuba! That is key. I actually met an American on our last trip to Playa who was flying from Cancun to Cuba.

I hear Varadero has the best nightlife and the best beaches, it is the oldest tourist destination. But they don't allow locals in the resort area, which sucks - if you want to experience the culture, go to Havana and maybe some smaller towns on your own. The music is great there too- my GF went last year and loved the music and dancing.

[Critter]

There are flights from Cancun, any travel agent in Playa or Cancun can help you with your arrangements. I have never been, but it is my understanding that Americans in the know, put a plain piece of paper in their passports for the Cuban officials to stamp. It is my understanding that it is not illegal to go, just illegal to spend any American money.

There used to be a small cruise ship that left Cancun on Thursday, sailed to Cuba, stayed two nights, and came back on Sunday. I don't know if it is still running or not.

[Michele]

Actually, we are moving to Playa in the fall and will be able to travel to Cuba with our FM3s. We will be leaving our American passports at home!! My husband and his partner are going to take a trip over, just to check things out a bit before they bring "the ladies". My husband will be so thrilled that I'm doing some "research" for him!!

[Ginger]

I have never been to Cuba, but have a bit of knowledge due to some of the business that I do.

Most of the resort areas of Cuba are on the Atlantic Ocean, not on the Caribbean, which can be every bit as beautiful.

If you want easy access to Havana, you'd want to choose Varadero as your destination.

From what I know, the food at the AI's is comparable to AI food in Mexico.

Like Rissak says though, when in Varadero, Cayo Coco, Holguin, or the other few "resort" areas of Cuba, you are going to be in an AI. There's not much other choice. However, if you head to the smaller towns, such as Havana, there are many small non-AI hotels, and many people choose this type of vacation as well. Just as in Playa!! A lot of people choose to stay in what is called a "Casa Particular", which is a private room or apartment that is rented out in an individual's private home. Often breakfast is included. Kind of like a B&B.

By staying in a Casa Particular, you really get in touch with the Cuban people, you get lower prices, you help out the Cuban people.

And there are some great non-AI hotels as well as some Casa Particulars in Pinar del Rio (a beautiful town on the North-Western tip) and in Cienfuegos, which is on the Caribbean side.

So it's not ALL about the All inclusives!!

[cja]

I've been to Cuba - both Havana and Varadero - maybe 5 or 6 times (or more?) mostly on business. Went once to Varadero on vacation and once on a combined business/vacation trip with my wife - actually that last one was the week of 9/11. We were forced to stay a little longer lying on the beach because all the flights to Canada (which had to cross US air space) were cancelled for a couple of days. Believe it or not, all we wanted to do was get home as fast as we could, not knowing what might happen next. Being in "Cuba" at that time was of no concern, it's just that we were out of the country and our kids were at home.

We were thinking of going back in 2006 (going to Akumal in 2005) with our daughters - they'll be 18 and 21 then and we "hope" we won't have to worry about them as much being at an AI resort.

I would say that the food at the AIs is no better-no worse than at many Mexican AIs. We never went hungry and had a mixture of good and bland foods. Depends on the resort. I remember years ago they had no pepper - but I don't recall from my last trip. Since I put pepper on just about everything, we must have had it as I probably would have remembered if we didn't. The resorts in Varadero (and probably elsewhere) do not suffer shortages of food, even when the Cubans themselves are going hungry. The $$ generated by tourism is vitally important to the Cuban economy and they don't want to do anything to cause this source of $$ drying up.

You can use VISA and Mastercards there - but NOT American Express or Anmerican Express travellers cheques.

There's not as much to do there off-resort in the Varadero area as in the Mayan Riviera although there are more excursion opportunites now than 10 years ago.

If anyone has any specific questions to ask, I'll try to answer them.

Oh - and I HAVE to throw this in - on my first trip I actually MET and TALKED TO Fidel Castro (or rather, he talked to me!).

Chris

[Avalon]

Ok Chris I think you need to tell the Fidel story now!!

[Rissask]

Very helpful stuff here! Good to know about the hotel situation.

Yes please more info on Fidel! Interesting.

That is one reason we want to go to Cuba while it is still Communist....he is getting up there after all....and once he dies who knows what will happen.

For good little Commies like me, meeting him is a dream!

[cja]

Okay - let's see how much of this story I can remember, and how much I have to make up (just kidding!!).

It was in Jan or Feb '83 I think and I had to accompany one of our "Ministers of the Crown" to Havana to meet with his Cuban counterpart and some Cuban bureaucrats. Along with the Minister, his wife and son were 5 others. Canada has always been a "special friend" of Cuba as we did not cut off diplomatic relations (rightly or wrongly) following the revolution. Anyhow, in honour of our official delegation's visit, Fidel held a reception in our honour attended by about 200+ of his closest and dearest friends (including us, the Canadian Ambassador and some Embassy officials). Although his speech was totally in Spanish (and thank god it didn't last as long as some of his televised speeches!!) he actually managed to look everyone in the eye at one time or another - it was amazing how he did that - his eyes darted around from face to face continually.

Anyhow - afterwards he came to speak to us each (through his interpreter even though he understands and speaks English). I remember he spoke to me about a Time magazine article he had recently read concerning how the Thames River in England was being cleaned up and salmon were actually returning to it. When our short visit to Cuba was over, the Cubans gave each of us a booklet of photos taken during our visit. Some of them were of Fidel speaking to us. So - I have a picture (somewhere) with both Fidel and me (and others) in it. Now, I'm not saying that I agree with his politics or anything, but at the time it was pretty neat to actually meet and speak with such a well-known world leader! (I once met and spoke 'briefly' to Brian Mulroney - one of Canada's most well-loved Prime Ministers (Ha! Ha!) but thank god there are no pictures!).

The next day, the Canadian Prime Minister held a reception to honour the distinguished visiting "Minister of the Crown" and, as always Fidel and his brother Raoul were invited. One of our Embassy staff told me that they are always invited by all embassies, but they rarely both go and if they do, they'll never be seen together - they were and still are(?) afraid that the CIA or someone might try to assassinate them both at the same time (no paranoia there!). Raoul was there for about an hour and then suddenly he had disappeared - which was a very good sign that Fidel was about to arrive - which he did. So, I got to "meet" him twice in 2 days.

I could drag this story out longer - like how his motorcade left the Ambassador's residence. etc. but it's already too long - but some of you asked for it!!

Chris

[Critter]

way to lead us on and make us beg. Motorcade story Please!

[cja]

Just noticed - I made an error in my earlier story. It was not the Cdn Prime Minister that had the reception for our delegation but the Cdn Ambassador.
Anyhow - I'll make this one quick - it's almost time to quit work and I'm taking a well-deserved long weekend (and for some reason I can no longer access this site from my home computer!)

The Cdn Ambassador's residence had a circular driveway and apart from the Cuban Army ambulance and small medical tent set up on his front lawn (I wonder why that was there??) the only other thing to see were 3 black limousines (not American - probably Soviet back then). All the street lights were turned off so you could barely see where the driveway ended and the street began. Fidel got into one car and all 3 of them began to ZOOOOOM down the driveway - which was not that long! As they did so, they kept switching places (like that pea under the shell game) so by the time we could see blurry black shapes turn onto the road, we had no idea which one Fidel was in. And, although we could only see black shapes gong down the road in front of us after they turned onto the road (and continued their shell game) we still had no idea which car was which. But we could tell from the sounds that they were accelerating constantly and rapidly - with absolutely no headlights and no street lights!

If anyone was stupid enough (or drunk enough) to wonder into the street at that time they would have been history.

I would think that Fidel should have been more worried about dying in a car crash at night than being assassinated!

This is getting long again, so I won't add the part about the Ambassador falling asleep while Fidel was talking to him.

Chris

[Avalon]

Wow Chris, that's really interesting. What a unique experience!

[Critter]

Come on Monday, Chris has a story to finish, the #$A%*&@$#A% SOB left us hanging again.

[denisea]

Originally Posted by U.S. Department of State Cuba Consular Information Sheet

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS/TRAVEL TRANSACTION LIMITATIONS: The Cuban Assets Control Regulations of the U.S. Treasury Department require that persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction be licensed to engage in any transaction related to travel to, from, and within Cuba. Transactions related to tourist travel are not licensable. This restriction includes tourist travel to Cuba from or through a third country such as Mexico or Canada. U.S. law enforcement authorities have increased enforcement of these regulations at U.S. airports and pre-clearance facilities in third countries. Travelers who fail to comply with Department of Treasury regulations will face civil penalties and criminal prosecution upon return to the United States.

Licenses are granted to the following categories of travelers and they are permitted to spend money for Cuban travel and to engage in other transactions directly incident to the purpose of their travel under a general license, without the need to obtain special permission from the U.S. Treasury Department:

• U.S. and foreign government officials traveling on official business, including representatives of international organizations of which the U.S. is a member;
• Journalists and supporting broadcasting or technical personnel regularly employed by a news reporting organization;
• Persons making a once-a-year visit to close family relatives in circumstances of humanitarian need;
• Full-time professionals whose travel transactions are directly related to professional research in their professional areas, provided that their research: (1) is of a noncommercial academic nature; (2) comprises a full work schedule in Cuba, and (3) has a substantial likelihood of public dissemination;
• Full-time professionals whose travel transactions are directly related to attendance at professional meetings or conferences in Cuba organized by an international professional organization, institution, or association that regularly sponsors such meetings or conferences in other countries;
• Amateur or semi-professional athletes or teams traveling to Cuba to participate in an athletic competition held under the auspices of the relevant international sports federation.

Click here to read the U.S. Department of State Cuba Consular Information Sheet in it's entirety.