Anyone Traveled to Cuba Lately?

I would contact the State Department and ask these questions because they would know or maybe you can go online. I would look under State Department - Travel online.
N.

While Cuba is certainly beautiful, for the tourist, it is horrid for the actual residents of this communist country. I dated a man for 4 years from Cuba and we discussed me going there with him and it never happened. One, it was illegal at the time for US residents to travel there. (I do not know if that is still the law). Two, IF I did go I would have to fly through Canada or Mexico and then fly over there. But, when you fly in or out your passport is stamped as entering or leaving the country. Getting back into the US with a stamp from Cuba is very difficult, you can actually be prosecuted for that! We decided that the risk was too high for something to happen and me not being able to get back into the country without getting into trouble.
You can call the airlines or a travel agent and find out if there is still a travel embargo to Cuba.
But, I did want to just comment....YES, you will get taken care of as tourists. YES, the beaches are beautiful! AND it's cheap. But remember at what expense to the actual residents. Most tourist beaches do not allow actual citizens to go to them. The people that are working there are being paid almost nothing to cater to your every whim. The government is so corrupt that the whole island is poverty stricken.
While I certainly think it would be fun to go to this island and soak up some native salsa dancing (!) I don't know if I would REALLY be able to enjoy myelf knowing that just down the road people are struggling to feed their families.
Just my two cents.
L.

Hello there,
I've read some of the answers you received and feel compelled to give you my opinion. We travel to so many different countries where people's rights are not respected under tyrannical governments but our government is not preventing us from doing so. I say that if this is a family event that's important to you, you should go, but make sure you take the necessary precautions to avoid trouble coming back.

You should carefully check the new laws. For years it has been illegal for US citizens to travel to Cuba and it primarily still is, although the Obama administration has loosened some restrictions for Cuban born people or those with family in Cuba. Basically you have to fly to Mexico or Jamaica and then fly to Cuba. There are no flights to Cuba from the US. I don't know what the penalties are now, but you could (and some were) be prosecuted for travel to Cuba for a long time. I think this has been relaxed a bit too, but there are some weird little caveats about the laws (like you can go there, but it's illegal to spend money there).

Having just asked a "traveling with infants"-related question, I feel like I should answer a tiny bit on this one that I do know.

While it's illegal for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba, that mostly means you can't get a direct flight. So you'd go to Mexico or another Central American country and take a plane or boat from Mexico to Cuba.

Is it a bad idea to do it with a baby? I don't think so. Not particularly. But I've never been to Cuba and have no idea what to expect. If you're going to a resort, I think it should be perfectly fine and even a luxurious trip.

I am not going to attempt to interpret the current regulations, but I do know that you'll have to lie on your re-entry documents when you return. It specifically asks which countries you have visited prior to the return to the US. It is a federal document...lying on a federal document will always carry some sort of penalty if caught.

Here is the page from the Department of State that deals with Cuban travel.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1097.htm...

This paragraph stood out to me:
"The regulations require that persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction be licensed in order to engage in any travel-related transactions pursuant to travel to, from, and within Cuba. Transactions related to tourist travel are not licensable. This restriction includes tourist travel to Cuba from or through a third country such as Mexico or Canada. U.S. law enforcement authorities enforce these regulations at U.S. airports and pre-clearance facilities in third countries. Travelers who fail to comply with Department of the Treasury regulations could face civil penalties and criminal prosecution upon return to the United States."

I have a few Canadian friends who love their time in Cuba, but I also have problems patronizing a country where the people are treated so poorly. You would only be putting money in the pockets of the dictators.

If you were to take children, I would be more concerned about what could happen if there were a glitch getting back.

Cuba is really worth seeing. If I was you I won't take the kids (the young ones) but my concerns will be theirs health. The resorts there are very safe, just stay there, no road trips. I'm not sure about goverment penalties as I used my Europian passport. If you go, just take some cash with you as using the ATM mashines there might be a problem. For the curent situation there you need to ask your BIL, I went there long time ago. My personal impresion was that actually the people were not exactly from the "hard working type" and this is one of the things you need to get paid, right? They sure know how to party... Good luck with your trip!

I don't think it's illegal, but it's not easy. My friend is Cuban, and we wanted to visit Cuba together. We quickly realized that a cruise or trip to Vegas was much much easier =)

First, you won't be able to go from the U.S. to Cuba. You would have to fly to another country, then fly to Cuba. U.S. planes are not allowed in Cuban airspace.

There are other requirements for identification and documentation. You can look up travel requirements on the internet, google US to Cuba travel.

I heard my in-laws talk about travel to Cuba. They said that it's paradise, it was the go-to place for honeymoons before Hawaii became popular.

Cuba's a great country and the people are super warm and friendly. Politically, Cuba is a communist country (communism is a bad word in the States, except if you're China, haha) and so yes, you'll have to go through Canada or Mexico. I haven't been there in a long time, but I've heard through other travellers and Cubans that it's much better there. I went there during the "special" time when the Russian's had just pulled out of Cuba because the cold war between them in the US had ended, so the people had very little to eat because they had no oil to harvest their crops. It was a mess (Russia exchanged oil for potatoes, sugar cane and rum) then. And the people are not allowed to leave, just like in other communist countries. We stayed outside Havana and the locals were very much allowed to use the beaches. They weren't allowed to shop in the tourist shops unless they had American dollars, though, which at that time it was illegal to possess dollars if you were Cuban. I've heard the laws there have loosened quite a bit, though. Cuba lived under the dictatorship of Batista up until Fidel Castro overthrew the gov't in 1959. Castro hated the Americans and all the influence they had with the previous government, so trade embargos were set up, etc., and so when I was there Cuba looked like time had stood still as they were still driving 57 Chevs. Very interesting. Castro was supposed to be fighting for the people, but like a lot of leaders became a megalomaniac and so ended up imposing all sorts of crazy communist laws and not letting anyone leave instead. That last sentence is, of course, my opinion. :-) Anyway, you will be fine. It's an extremely safe country and the health care is, believe it or not, considered one of the best in the world. That is mostly because everyone has access to it, but a lot of great research, etc., has come out of Cuba and the doctors will all speak English and you'll be well taken care of if you're sick. I would totally go with all my kids and they are three-and-a-half and two of them are one. I would go, that is, if I wasn't worried about the government revoking my Green Card. Maybe Obama will change the laws. :-) Anyway, everyone in the country knows how important tourism is to Cuba, so no one would mess with tourists. That said, if you do decide to go, I would bring extra toothpaste, over-the-counter medicine and shampoo, etc., for the locals. All of that is really hard to come by in Cuba (or was when I went there anyway), and is much appreciated by the maids in the hotels when you leave!