Visiting Cuba - Suggestions for holidays, trains, itineraries, day-trips, and sightseeing from someone who has lived and traveled extensively in Cuba
| Beaches of Cuba Varadero >The nicest beaches in Cuba are at Varadero, about a 2 hour drive/bus ride fro... Changing money in Cuba Havana >Currency exchange is a pain. You'll generally need to get convertible pesos (sa... | Transfers at Havana airport >Havana (Jose Marti International) is a regular first-world caliber airport. You s... Getting to Cuba from the US >It's pretty easy to get to Havana from the US, albeit indirectly. The best method for... |
A little dated but some great information. It’s all true still, except now the Cubans never stamp your passport – they stamp your tourist card instead which is taken at the end of the trip.
November 14, 2003
JOURNEYS; Cuba: You Can’t Get There From Here . . .
By SETH KUGEL
FOR a 52-year-old Manhattan lawyer, there is a lot about Cuba that is alluring, from the beaches to the architecture to the music straight out of ”Buena Vista Social Club.” But the real draw of traveling to Cuba: it is illegal. ”There’s certainly an excitement to going somewhere that’s off limits,” the man said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said he had been to Cuba three times, most recently for a weekend trip in late 2001.
Indeed, he is only one of a select group of travelers who have made going to Cuba for a weekend — and doing it illegally by traveling through Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas or some other third country — a notch on the belt for the American tourist eager to say he has traveled to a forbidden land.
Over the last months, American travel to Cuba has been caught in a tug of war between President Bush and Congress. In September, the House voted to end enforcement of the longstanding travel ban, followed by the Senate last month, but this week a joint committee stripped the provision from an appropriations bill.
While other Americans eager to experience the country of Fidel Castro and Cohiba cigars may have been disappointed by the committee’s move, some Havana travelers are just as happy with the status quo. ”The fact of the illegality makes it appealing,” said an Atlanta entrepreneur in his 30’s who said he had been there seven times alone this year. ”The fact that there’s a place on earth that our government does not want us to see is itself an attraction.”
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