I want to visit Cuba

[realFedUp]

I love that we'll have embassies soon. I hope Trump doesn't get his hands on real estate for casinos.

[MiniMe]

1. My parents went to Cuba on their honeymoon

Of course, that was before Castro

[realFedUp]

7. What a memory

Have they gone back thru other countries?

[MiniMe]

16. They have both passed away now

They did a lot of traveling in their lifetimes, but not back to Cuba.

[frazzled]

19. Mine did too

I think it was a very popular place to honeymoon in the 40s, after the war.

[MiniMe]

21. It was the 50's for my parents

[ProfessorGAC]

30. I Made Many Visits To A Manufacturer in Ontario

It seems like every time i was there, somebody on their staff was getting ready for a vacation to Cuba. So, if you live 50 miles north of the US/Canada border, you could go there any time you darn well pleased, but the folks from the country that has land 90 miles away couldn't.

That always bugged me.

[dhill926]

2. me too...

music, rum and old cars....and the people of course...

[KamaAina]

3. I don't imagine Trump thinks any more highly of Cubans

than he does of Mexicans.

[realFedUp]

5. Good point

But the new world for commercializing is enticing.

[KamaAina]

18. Perhaps U.S. progressives could head down there

and settle in a nice old colonial town, or a neighborhood of La Habana.

[DiverDave]

24. For a chance to see his name in lights??

He'd put a casino up in a swamp.
The first time I went to Atlantic City, I couldn't believe all the huge
signs with his name on them.
Everywhere! I told my wife that that guy sure needed to
see his name in lights...probably compensating for something.
She just rolled her eyes...snort..

[hifiguy]

4. Beautiful beaches, wonderful old architecture,

great jazz, food, rum, friendly folks and premium cigarros? I'm definitely in for that!

The Minnesota Orchestra gave a couple of concerts in Havana last month (check out classicalmpr.org for details, podcasts, and pix) and the musicians came home raving about how wonderful the people were.

[madokie]

6. So would I

[realFedUp]

8. Good chance we all may get there...via cruise ship or short flight from Florida

I love Cuban food too.

[former9thward]

9. Then go visit.

I went in 1995 and it was a great trip. You can go on your own or with several travel agencies. Nobody on either side cares what the law is. They just don't care. Plenty of Americans have visited.

[realFedUp]

13. True, but I really like that it's openly open re: Cuba talks.

N/t

[bigwillq]

10. I really hope the Island doesn't get overrun with tourists.

I don't want the island to be overrun with tourists with the resorts owned and operated by American businessmen. The local workers will get paid minimum wage and the rich will get richer.

[realFedUp]

11. I agree. Not like Miami

I want history to be preserved along w cars, architecture etc.

[bigwillq]

12. And they need to protect the plant/animal life (nt)

[realFedUp]

14. Yay

N/t

[roody]

15. Too bad you missed this bus!

http://www.cubacaravan2015.org/

[realFedUp]

20. Could not open that link

😐

[roody]

23. Maybe this

www.ifconews.org

[akbacchus_BC]

22. I think Americans can visit Cuba anytime they wish, the authorities

will not stamp your passport if you request them not to. My daughter and son-in-law recently visited and they had a great time. Canada does not restrict travel to Cuba. Only thing that they were negative about is that some of the hotels were not that great. They went to three different places. They loved the food and the night life.

[Violet_Crumble]

27. No they can't. There's travel restrictions and going to have a vacation isn't allowed....

People think it's suddenly easy for Americans to visit Cuba -- but they're totally wrong

After President Obama announced eased travel restrictions to Cuba late last year, Americans itching to check out the closed-off Caribbean country rejoiced.

Companies, too, have been eager to jump in on Cuban tourism: Airbnb has unveiled more than 1,000 listings on the island, Cheapair.com has started selling direct flights to Cuba, and big American chain hotels are already eyeing properties on the island.

But the truth is that it’s still very difficult for Americans to visit Cuba legally.

Danilo Bonilla, the program director for Cuba and North America for travel company Mountain Travel Sobek, emphasised that despite the eased restrictions, there are still major obstacles for Americans who want to travel to Cuba.

“People think the announcement on December 17th changed things, but the reality is that communication is more open, but very few things have actually changed,” Bonilla said.

Americans are not allowed to simply vacation in Cuba. The only way to legally visit is to fall under one of 12 tourist licenses, including family visits, religious activities, professional purposes, and educational reasons, to name a few. That means that you can’t go to Cuba to just lay on the beach.

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-americans-can-visit-cuba-2015-4

[DFW]

28. While this is technically true

If you are there on a cultural purposes trip, as I was, once you are there, there is little to impede you from looking around. Since I was there at the invitation of their government, they kept me under close watch the whole time, and I never saw a beach, but they did bring me around Havana to see the old town and have a coffee where Hemingway used to hang out.

[Violet_Crumble]

29. Yeah, I was reading about the different categories...

It'll be good when all that stuff is dropped and people can go on a proper tourism visa and say they want to laze on the beach and do touristy stuff. The only thing that worries me is that Cuba will probably become commercial and high rises and resorts will spring up just like they did along the Gold Coast here...

I'm jealous that you got to see Havana. When I was younger me and a few friends started planning a trip to Canada, the US and Cuba, but gave up planning when we found out you can't just hop on a boat in the US and pop over to Cuba. We went to New Zealand instead

[DFW]

31. I was there when the Russians still owned the place

I got into one situation, quite by accident, where I ended up translating back and forth between a Cuban cashier and a Russian flight crew. The Cuban woman spoke no Russian and the Aeroflot people spoke no Spanish. I speak both, so I stepped in and served as interpreter. Then the Russians left, and I got to the cashier to pay for my post cards. You have to show your passport when you buy at a hard currency shop, and so I handed her my U.S. passport. The cashier's eyes grew wide in amazement when she saw who had just been going back and forth between Russian and Spanish in a Cuban shop, but if I was staying at the hotel where the shop was, their government was obviously well aware of who and where I was. Still, you could see the "C - I - A" forming in her eyes!

For that matter, I've heard great things about New Zealand. Maybe some day, if I retire before age 90, I'll find the time to get there.

[Deuce]

25. So do I...

[DinahMoeHum]

26. Havana daydreamin': Key West to Havana by seaplane. . .

. . .to retrace the steps of Hemingway, from his houses in both places to the town of Cojimar, the residence of his sidekick and first mate aboard the Pilar, Gregorio Fuentes, said to be the inspiration for his classic The Old Man And The Sea.

[47of74]

32. Yeah, I would too some day.

Hopefully the day is coming in the not too distant future where Americans will be able to join other nations in visiting the island without needing special permission from the State Department, just a valid passport.

[vinny9698]

33. My coworker went to Cuba during the embargo

You would fly to Canada and from there you can buy a ticket to Cuba. The Cuban authorities would not stamp your passport but would insert a paper with the Cuban immigration form. You would use a paper clip to attach. This way on your return to the US, there was no visa stamp to implicate you.
You can go now, why wait?

[Daniel537]

34. I was there just last week.

There's a very noticeable increase in tourists, American and non-American. I would go ASAP before the rush really kicks in. Try staying at a Casa Particular(airbnb) instead of a hotel, since they're packed through the summer. Its true what others have said, the travel ban is not and hasn't been enforced in years. Having been to Cuba dozens of times both legally and illegally, you really have little to worry about.