Even before Jay-Z and Beyonce made headlines for their recent trip to Cuba, an On the Spot column by Los Angeles Times travel writer Catharine Hamm caught my attention –
Question: What are the travel requirements for going to Cuba? Is it possible to fly out of Tijuana, Mexico, to Cuba with a U.S. passport? Are there any other ID or passport cards required?
Hamm responds that while it is possible to reach Cuba by crossing into Mexico, it is not worth the risk. She notes that “criminal penalties for violating the Regulations range up to 10 years in prison, $1,000,000 in corporate fines, and $250,000 in individual fines. Civil penalties up to $65,000 per violation may also be imposed.”
That’s fair enough. Only two people have ever been successfully prosecuted before under 31 CFR Part 515 and it is iffy whether this law would survive a court challenge, Regan v. Wald aside. Still, Hamm is correct that it is currently unlawful for a non-Cuban to travel to Cuba without a license.
She then writes about the difficulty of actually obtaining a ticket to Cuba–
Even if you want to travel independently to Cuba (with or without a license), just getting there may present problems. When I tried to view Tijuana to Havana on Kayak.com, I got this message: “Due to United States travel restrictions, we are unable to display travel itineraries that include Cuba.” Riverside travel agent Sonia Robledo told me last week that she tried to search for fares (at my behest), and she was also denied access.
It is true that any U.S. based travel website will not sell tickets to Cuba to the general public. Even the foreign sites of companies like Expedia and Travelocity do not sell tickets to Cuba. Enter in HAV or Havana and nothing will come up.
But there are others ways to book tickets to Cuba that are relatively straightforward. Avianca-Taca does not sell tickets to Cuba on its U.S. site, but does on its other worldwide sites. I searched for a Bogota – Havana flight on Avianca’s Mexico site and found a r/t for 6109MEX or about 512USD. Add a Los Angeles – Bogota r/t as a separate reservation and there is no need to travel down to Tijiuana to begin the journey.
Lesser known online travel agencies like Opodo (below their German website) also sell tickets to Cuba and accept U.S. credit cards–
USA Today‘s Laura Bly reports about a man named Zachary Sanders who recently settled a 13-year dispute over a 1998 trip to Cuba by paying a $6,500 fine. But if you look deeper into his case, he was not fined for spending money in Cuba (under U.S. law it is spending money, not actually visiting Cuba that is banned), but for failing to return a form to the Office of Foreign Assets Controls detailing his expenditures in Cuba. Sanders also falsified his U.S. arrivals form (not declaring he had been to Cuba) and failed to declare illegal contraband, a box of Cuban cigars.
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I am not going to tell you to flout U.S. law and travel to Cuba. I see grave constitutional conflicts with such travel restrictions and the Obama Administration has wisely halted the petty threats of fine to missionaries and tourists that the Bush Administration engaged in, yet until Congress rolls back the failed embargo, you still travel to Cuba at your own risk. My Cuban trip report will be forthcoming and note that I traveled legally under a journalist licence from the Treasury Department. But the point of this post is merely to say that if you want to get to Cuba, making an airline reservation to get you there should not be a deal-breaker.
Buying a ticket to Cuba with a US-issued CC is a pretty bad idea. If you’re going to do it pay in cash and make sure to not get your passport stamped. Relatively easy to circumvent the rules; just don’t be stupid about it.
That’s a fair point–better to pay cash of course if you are going “illegally” and avoid getting your passport stamped (though Cuban officials will not stamp U.S. passports unless requested). I guess I really would like to see the Supreme Court address this issue again if Congress does not have the guts to.
YYZ-HAV on AC would probably be easier than BOG-HAV for anyone on the east coast or in the upper midwest.
It’s so annoying that we’re still banned from visiting Cuba in this day and age. The Cold War ended well over 2 decades ago. Hopefully, they open up travel to Cuba soon.
Actually I think the easiest way of getting there from the US East Coast is via Nassau on Bahamasair (purchasing 2 separate tickets, of course). Working as a travel agent in Australia we usually did that for our non-US customers, or via Mexico City or Cancun on Aeromexico.
Funnily enough, the embargo often meant we had to come up with all sorts of crazy ways to get to Havana, as flying through the US (and a second transit country) often didn’t work for passengers and was often most expensive. I do recall one time selling a client a fare Melbourne – Hong Kong – Moscow – Havana (rt) as the cheapest fare. Crazy!
Connecting in Canada is an option as well, though much like AM, AC won’t sell tickets to Cuba as part of any itinerary that includes a US airport.
Great option if you live near the border and within driving distance of a Canadian airport – otherwise you need two tickets.
What about foreigners living in the US (either permanent residents or not)? Are they allowed to visit Cuba (or better put, spend money in Cuba)?
Booking through a foreign travel agency is a good idea, because you can also pre-pay your hotel. This is something worth considering, since US-issued credit cards cannot be used in Cuba.
Or you can always do one of the many legitimate tours for educational or cultural purposes.
@Phil: if you are a non-US citizen or permanent resident, the restriction doesn’t apply to you
@scott, I don’t think US citizens can board the YYZ-HAV flight, I am a RN who has been to HAV three time working as a medical missionary. I had a great time and all three times flew from TIJ-HAV. Like matt has stated the US government needs to lift the embargo, Cuba is a great country and the people are very friendly and warm….
@Tony… they can if they’re not connecting to or from a US airport on the same itinerary.
There’s incidental evidence of US preclearance at YYZ watches to see if American citizens are connecting to or from the HAV flight. Travelers frequently report having no issues flying XXX-YUL (one ticket) and YUL-YYZ-HAV (second ticket) however.
@ Phil and @Andy, the restrictions apply to everyone in U.S. jurisdiction, us citizens or permanent residents or foreign companies.
Now you can visit Cuba legally with In Touch with Cuba, the prices are the lowest online (they match any competitor price) and they are the first tour organizer offering staying at “casas particulares” private homes that rent rooms. The website is http://www.intouchwithcuba.com
Happy travel to the Caribbean.
Reading this post and the comments makes me so glad that Cuba is open to travelers from the US now. I’ve been wanting to go for ages and not long ago it seemed like it would never happen, but I’m so happy it’s finally possible now. It really was way overdue. I hope I can get there before it’s completely overrun with tourists… I’ve been trying to book a trip but AirBnb accommodations in Havana are filling up way in advance. To think 4 years ago this seemed like such a distant dream…