Rules relaxed for Cuba’s US visitors
US TRAVELLERS are now able to do something that has been prohibited for more than 50 years – take commercial flights from the United States to Cuba. JetBlue, American Airlines and Silver Airways have started direct service to the island in the wake of a relaxation of travel restrictions. At least six more airlines are expected to start flying to Havana by early December, including Delta, which plans to begin service from JFK on December 1.
The new flights – which start at around $100 one way from Fort Lauderdale, Florida – make it easier for independent travellers to visit the island. But a weekend in Havana or Santa Clara or any of the other cities to which US carriers will fly is still more complicated than, say, a trip to the Bahamas, considering the legal requirements.
“Officially, you’re still not allowed to have fun,” said Jason Clampet, the co-founder of travel news site Skift.com, referring to the 12 acceptable categories of travel to Cuba outlined by the US Department of the Treasury.
The ongoing embargo specifically prohibits anything purely touristic, like a beach vacation, in favour of family visits, government business, journalistic work, religious activities and educational activities, among others. Whereas in the past, travellers had to obtain a licence specifically for their purpose of travel from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, now those with plans that fall under the 12 categories are covered by a general licence granted by clicking a box on an online form when you make air, cruise or tour arrangements.
“It’s totally self-policing and is essentially based on trust,” said Christopher Baker, author of the Moon Cuba guidebook who also leads motorcycle tours in the country.
Many trips qualify as “peo- ple-to-people” trips under the educational exchange category, which independent travellers to the island can now pursue. Under people-to-people guidelines, travellers must pursue a full-time schedule of “educational exchange activities intended to enhance contact with the Cuban people, support civil society in Cuba, or promote the Cuban people’s independence from Cuban authorities, and that will result in meaningful interaction between the traveller and individuals in Cuba”, according to guidelines published by the Treasury Department.
Tour operators and online agencies like Cuba Travel Network specialise in assembling people-to-people itineraries. Putting one together yourself will involve more legwork and record-keeping. The US government requires travellers operating independently under the people-to-people guidelines to keep records showing an itinerary dominated by approved activities. In practise, that means keeping receipts and possibly maintaining a diary.
“As per the change in regulations in 2015, the burden of proof in terms of compliance switched from the travel company to the individual,” said Eddie Lubbers, the founder and chief executive of Cuba Travel Network. “We’re not on the ground checking the amount of time you spend on a particular event.”
Travellers also need a tourist visa and health insurance that covers Cuba, which effectively requires buying local insurance, both of which are now handled by US transportation providers.
JetBlue sells the $50 visa at its gateway airports to passengers with valid passports, boarding passes and a major credit card. Charter flights also handle visas at the airport, but commercial operations appear to be more efficient, requesting that travellers arrive at the airport three hours before their Cuba depar- ture, versus four hours with a charter. The $25 surcharge for the insurance, good for 30 days, is included in the cost of JetBlue’s ticket.
Cuba has long had a tradition of “casas particulares”, or private homes with rooms to rent, and Airbnb has signed many of those, approximately 8,000, to its service. The metasearch engine AllTheRooms. com found that Airbnb offered 90 percent of all rooms in the country, ranging from hostels and homes to hotel rooms. Airbnb itself showed an average rate of $54 a night in Havana.
The Cuban government controls all of the hotels in the country, but this summer it brought in Starwood Hotels & Resorts to manage the new Four Points by Sheraton Havana, a property in the upscale Miramar district (rooms from $196 in a recent search). The hotel company has also announced plans to run the historic Hotel Inglaterra.
Getting around Havana is easy enough with taxis. Beyond the city, rental cars are the most efficient way to go, albeit cautiously.
“While road signage sometimes is completely nonexistent, and you can’t really rely on GPS because you can’t bring it in, and mobile phones won’t work without internet, you find yourself happily disconnected,” said Lubbers of Cuba Travel Network.
The safest course may be to hire a driver. CarRental-Cuba offers a driver for about $75 a day, and Cuba Travel Network for $90 a day, in addition to the cost of the car.
“Hiring a driver is a very logical way to go, not least as it removes the liability factor in case of an accident, and in Cuba that’s no small thing,” said Baker. “If you get in an accident and someone is injured, you can wave goodbye to coming home anytime soon.”