Here's What I Know About Cuba
In April of 2017, I went to Cuba. That’s right….I. WENT. TO. CUBA.
Are you thinking, how did you get to Cuba? Well maybe you’re not thinking that anymore…more and more Americans have been traveling there despite the myths surrounding visa requirements, embargos, etc.
But….it wasn’t hard. Let me explain.
As you know, Travel restrictions in Cuba began in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy placed sanctions as a response to actions of the Cuban government. Since then, the U.S. forbade its citizens from traveling to Cuba by law. In 2014, President Obama opened talks with acting Cuban President Raul Castro regarding lifting the travel ban, among other things. By March of 2016 Cuba and the United States relaxed the travel restrictions in Cuba.
To be allowed entrance into Cuba, the U.S. Government requires that every Passenger certify that they are eligible to travel to Cuba under one of twelve general license categories or a specific license. When I went, one of the 12 general license categories was “people to people”. Let me tell you how it went.
Southwest Airlines offers a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Havana. As soon as you buy the ticket, you have the option of purchasing a visa with Cuban Travel Services. You make the payment online and pick up the tourist card at the airport on the day of departure. I don’t think it cost $50 when I went, but that’s the price now.
We were all anxious about how this would work out…uncharted territory, ya know….like forreal uncharted territory into a country hardly anyone had been to and we didn’t know anything about. We walk into the airport and notice a bunch of arrows to a set of special gates designated for Cuba travel, its isolated from the other gates which is already weird. But then, there’s an even more isolated, single kiosk in the back near the office you go to when the airline loses your luggage.
So you walk over to the special kiosk and stand in line….its like standing in line at a hot dog cart on the street in New York City….very unofficial. Once you’re called up, the guy asks for your name….think, bouncer reading the guest list for a very exclusive club. They find your name, then go over to another little receipt book where they write your name and some other information, like the one I used to carry around when I was solo practitioner, tear off a receipt….and hand it to you. I’m pretty sure they filled out the receipt with pencil. As you take the receipt, they tell you, don’t lose it. it’ll cost another $25 to replace………
Now you have your pink tourist card. I was able to really let my guard down after this. I was fully expecting a full rectal exam, blood test, background check, ancestry dna….idk a lot more than this. Keep in mind this is for travel directly from the US to Cuba.
Then you walk back over to the check-in gate and the agent starts checking you in, right? You turn over all your travel documents…and they ask you what category you’ve selected to travel under. But before you have a chance to answer, they say “people to people, right?” ….what do you say? Yes?
THEN THEY HANDED ME A BOARDING PASS.
THAT. WAS. IT.
I promise….all the anxiety I had was for nothing. It was the easiest thing ever. Now, after new financial restrictions on U.S. travelers, as well as the elimination of individual “people-to-people” travel by the Trump administration, many Americans are confused about if, and how, they can travel to Cuba. I still see people going so it can’t be that difficult.
Here are some other tips that were helpful for my trip to Cuba in 2017.
There wasn’t any wifi, anywhere. But that’s different now. I posted an article from the NYTimes which broke the news that Cuba will allow full internet access on phones starting this week. So, yay! Before then, you would have to purchase a wifi card and find a wifi park to post anything in the interwebs.
Your phone will work if you turn it on but your phone bill will be high when you get back. So mine was in airplane mode the whole time. However, take this as a time to unplug.
We found a large house that accommodated our entire group on Airbnb,these are called Casa Particulares or rooms for rent by locals for a daily fee. The owner of our place was from Spain. He was able to arrange a lot of things for us including transportation and currency exchange. We didn’t have to exchange at the airport, our host took care of that for us.
TAKE CASH WITH YOU. Your American credit cards will not work. As far as currency is concerned, I converted my USD to euros before I left. The exchange rate for euros to cuban pesos is better because euros don’t have the 10% penalty associated with the USD. The money you should exchange for is the CUC, Convertible Peso, as this is the currency used for almost everything there (especially among tourists).
We made quite a few arrangements ahead of time with a travel company recommended by a friend https://www.facebook.com/havanarental/. It might be more expensive but I had a little more peace of mind.
Print out all your confirmations and any important travel documents. You’ll have a hard time doing that in Havana.
You’ll need travel insurance to travel to Cuba. If you buy the ticket on Southwest, travel insurance is included in the ticket price.
If you buy art, there will be a tax upon exiting the country.
Talk to the Cubans…they are wonderful people.
Get outside of Havana. It’s becoming very touristy and as a result we experienced a lot begging. We traveled to Varadero. You won’t be sorry.
Visit the Malecon during sunset, go to a Cuban club.
The food in Cuba is not spectacular. Due to its trade restrictions, Cuba lacks in its culinary delights; so don’t expect delicious meals. Yes, you can find good food here and there, but this is not the norm. Cuba has two types of restaurants, the state-run restaurants and the privately run ones known as paladares particulares. Try eating at the paladares particulares since they cost about the same as the state-run ones, but usually have better quality.
THE END.
