Post by emilyinchile on Dec 4, 2014 11:25:39 GMT -5
I LOVED CUBA. You're right, I didn't do a special trip, we just went (and had H pay for everything since technically the rule is that US citizens can't spend money on travel there). I do know people from the US who've gone via Mexico or Canada and not had their passports stamped by Cuba.
I don't know what the people to people trips are like in terms of how organized they are. We went independently and stayed in casas particulares the whole time, which we both really enjoyed. We didn't want/need this particular trip to be luxe, so we were happier getting a bit more of a local experience (and paying $30-35/night for lodging...) vs. staying in hotels. I really enjoyed Havana and could have done 5 days instead of 4 there. Trinidad was also awesome, very chilled out and with a lot of like-minded young/independent travelers that we hung out with. Again, I could have spent 3 or 4 days rather than just 2. We did an organized day-trip to Viñales from Havana because that was all the time we had. The trip itself was not good, very much the stereotype of group travel where you're on a bus and then given the opportunity to buy things, but people we met in Trinidad had told us that going to Viñales for a couple days and relaxing was amazing, several people said it was a highlight of their time in Cuba. The area is very pretty and different from other landscapes we saw, so I can imagine that.
Overall we met interesting locals and travelers, had no problems with restrictions, ate well (which was a surprise!) and would love to go back. Let me know if you have specific questions about places or possible itineraries you guys might do.
We're planning on going in mid-April and it looks like the laws have changed. US citizens still need a visa, but H's sister (US citizen that lives there) said that we're able to spend money and stay at a resort while we're there.
We're going under slightly different circumstances, but you might want to look to see if you can go without one of those tour groups.
Also, coming from the US you have to send your passport away for a visa, so I think the rule of thumb was that you should plan on being without your passport for a month or so. Or at least that's what we were told before for our visa.
We're planning on going in mid-April and it looks like the laws have changed. US citizens still need a visa, but H's sister (US citizen that lives there) said that we're able to spend money and stay at a resort while we're there.
We're going under slightly different circumstances, but you might want to look to see if you can go without one of those tour groups.
You can take this off board if you'd prefer, but I'm very intrigued... tell me more? I'll go look into it now, but I think you two might be in a different boat because you have someone who lives there, whereas I do not.
I'll also say that I don't personally think the people-to-people tour sounds uninteresting, I'd be totally fine with it (except I would be bummed if I couldn't see a few of the things I'd like to see). However, H is convinced that if we do one of these tours, we're going to be the only people under 60 on it.
I don't totally know the details yet. I'm waiting to start the visa application process until I go get more pages in my passport and book my flight to Colombia.
H is supposed to be talking to his sister about this in more detail before the end of the year, but definitely we don't have to stay with them the whole time (they're great, but huge sigh of relief) and she suggested a few different resorts. I know that we can't use a site like expedia to book the hotels or flights though. She said it will probably be easier to book direct with the hotels. I think we'll pay for the Cuban stuff in GBP just to make our lives easier, in case the US banks decide to shut down our cards.
I can keep you posted on our process, but it'll be a few weeks before I get more concrete details.
(Which thank you for reminding me I need to go make an appt with the embassy for more passport pages!)