Comments

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  Ed Wetschler May 22, 2011 at 3:56am

  From Associated Press:

  "The forbidden fruit of American travel is once again within reach. New rules issued by the Obama administration will allow Americans wide access to communist-led Cuba, already a mecca for tourists from other nations.

  Within months or even weeks, thousands of people from Seattle to Sarasota could be shaking their hips in tropical nightclubs and sampling the famous stogies, without having to sneak in through a third country and risk the Treasury Department's wrath.

  "This is travel to Cuba for literally any American," said Tom Popper, director of Insight Cuba, which took thousands of Americans to Cuba before such programs were put into a deep freeze seven years ago.

  But it won't all be a day at the beach or a night at the bar. U.S. visitors may find themselves tramping through sweltering farms or attending history lectures to justify the trips, which are meant, under U.S. policy, to bring regular Cubans and Americans together."
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  Anil May 22, 2011 at 3:41am

  @Ed: What do you mean ? What's new in the recent weeks ? I am ready.
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  Ed Wetschler May 22, 2011 at 3:35am

  Pack your sunscreen, boys and girls: The Obama administration is loosening the travel restrictions. So if you haven't gone, are you going to go now?
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  John McAuliff March 31, 2011 at 2:03am

  Virtually anyone can go to Cuba under the new regulations if OFAC finally finishes drafting guidelines and starts approving licenses  However, it has to be with a group and for a purpose.  Overview here  http://cubapeopletopeople.blogspot.com/2011/03/overview-of-legal-tr...
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  Anil March 9, 2011 at 10:34pm

  Wow - Now if only ordinary folks like us, with no family ties, no medical, academic or journalist credentials could go there legally.
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  David Paul Appell March 8, 2011 at 8:16pm

  Interesting news that the U.S. government has just authorized flights to Havana from 8 new airports: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, San Juan, and Tampa. All this added capacity could be indicative that this new travel opening may surpass the one we saw during the Clinton years. 
  
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  GreenGlobalTravel.com March 1, 2011 at 5:01pm

  Our exclusive Q&A with Buena Vista Social Club founder Juan De Marco Gonzalez on the music of, and travel to, Cuba:  Afro-Cuban All-Stars.
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  David Paul Appell January 21, 2011 at 12:37am

  Donna, the comment was also made that service standards are not as high in Cuba as in the DR and other Caribbean islands, so that is also a factor counting against repeat visits. Of course, for me and for many others that's not a big factor, but it may be for folks who are just looking for a sunny tropical beach vacation.
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  Donna Esposito January 21, 2011 at 12:24am

  Living in Toronto, I know a few people who have vacationed in Cuba. They say it was more expensive than nearby islands like the Dominican Rep., so the Miami Herald may be right when they say that when the U.S.A. opens the door to Cuba the rest of the Carribean's travel business won't collapse.
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  David Paul Appell January 20, 2011 at 6:43pm

  Interesting piece in today's Miami Herald from astute Latin America (and especially Cuba) pundit Andrés Oppenheimer on how increased U.S. travel to the island may or may not affect the rest of the Caribbean.  Some say it will be a hard hit, others say not so much -- and may even grow the overall pie.  Yes, there will be novelty value and some pent-up demand, but on the other hand this is not exactly an unprecedented opening. And I can tell you first off that it's hardly going to be a flood, at least for the foreseeable future, at least in part because capacity is still pretty limited, and what capacity there is, is being amply used by Europeans, Latin Americans, and the other visitors Cuba already gets. So we'll see how big a move this actually turns out to be...