Updated on June 18, 2017
CUBA HERE WE COME!
After more than 50 years of travel restrictions to Cuba, there has been a lot of news that the US will allow travel. But who can go and when? That's what I wanted to know.
WHICH AIRLINES WILL FLY TO CUBA?
JetBlue, Delta, and United are looking to open routes to Cuba per CNN.
WHICH AIRPORTS?
United will fly to Cuba from Newark and Houston, according to NBC New York.
WHEN?
Since United announced that they will fly from Newark and Houston, I called them to find out more. There was no information or flights available on www.united.com. After waiting and waiting, I spoke with a rep who sounded like she was hearing about the Cuba route for the first time. She asked me where I heard about it (the link above). After checking with her supervisor, she came back with no information. We will have to wait to find out more.
WHO CAN GO?
UPDATE 6/17/17: There are some changes to the rules which you can read about on my other article “Cuba: How To Get a Cuban Tourist Visa, Entry Requirements, Medical Insurance”
Travelers who fit into the following 12 categories are eligible to apply for a general license to travel to Cuba. as per Whitehouse.gov
- Family visits
- Official business of the U.S. government, foreign governments, and certain intergovernmental organizations
- Journalistic activity
- Professional research and professional meetings
- Educational activities
- Religious activities
- Public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitions
- Support for the Cuban people
- Humanitarian projects
- Activities of private foundations, research, or educational institutions
- Exportation, importation, or transmission of information or information materials
- Certain export transactions that may be considered for authorization under existing regulations and guidelines
IMPORT LIMITS:
Looking to buy some Cuban cigars? Travelers will be able to bring back $400 worth of goods – max of $100 tobacco and alcohol.
Authorize American citizens to import additional goods from Cuba
Licensed U.S. travelers to Cuba will be authorized to import $400 worth of goods from Cuba, of which no more than $100 can consist of tobacco products and alcohol combined.
More to come… I've added my trip report index at the top. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
RELATED LINKS:
- Cuba Official Tourism Website
- BBC: New US-Cuba travel and trade rules come into effect
- Reuters/Yahoo: Obama measures on Cuba trade, travel poke new holes in embargo
- US News: Moving swiftly, US eases Cuba travel and trade rules _ punching hole in 5-decade-old embargo
Those look like the old categories for licenses to me. I thought that the licenses as they currently stand were not going to still be in place.
This was the latest from the white house website and also the factsheet they just released Jan 15 2015
This article gives good info on the viability of flights to Cuba: http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2015/01/consultant-doesnt-see-much-short-term-potential-for-cuba-flights.html/
Interesting article. I think a lot of people will want to go simply because its something new. Tripadvisor lists over 2000 hotels so looks like there will be plenty of places to stay.
I have a window 9/21-9/26/2017 to fly to Havana, myself and two friends, what is needed st this time to travel, everything I’m reading is from 2015, has anything changed?
The who can fly part is still pretty much the same. Check out my more recent post: Cuba: How To Get a Cuban Tourist Visa, Entry Requirements, Medical Insurance
Hello sir / madam am Emendack Ngenko from cameroon am an iT technician I wish to visit cuba but I don’t know how to get the visa, secondly their embassy is not here in cameroon so I don’t who can help me
Hello – I responded on the post regarding Visas