10-31-2011, 12:50 AM
I did some reading on this very subject a few months ago, also out of curiousity.
Yes, there is a "tourist fee" on leaving, but it's modest.
Also, there is the requirement to have non-US based health insurance... because US based insurance companies cannot pay claims to Cuba.
There ARE legal ways to go to Cuba legally, but it's very paper-work heavy, and there are no permits granted for "tourism", only educational, documentary, scientific or humanitarian reasons.
That all being said, it is VERY common, and VERY easy to fly into Cuba from Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, most of the Carribean, etc.
Flights from Mexico City are 4-5 times a week.
It's not legal under US law, but prosecutions are virtually ZERO, unless you try to bring back obviously Cuban material such as a couple bottles of Cuban Rum, and a box of Cuban Cigars...
Cuban Customs will not stamp your passport unless you specifically ask them to.... which, by the way, is the OTHER "stupid thing" you can do to get prosecuted. But you have to TRY HARD to get your passport stamped, and get into trouble on your return.
Here's a little technical tidbit on the US Law; it does NOT ban TRAVEL to Cuba.. it bans American Citizens from spending MONEY in Cuba.
The catch 22 of that is that if you travel to Cuba, you are ASSUMED to have HAD to spend money in Cuba to live; eat, sleep, stay, travel, etc. And they're right... it's virtually impossible to prove that you didn't spend ANY money to get to, stay in, or return from, Cuba.
It appears that if one does get "caught" returning from Cuba, you'll get a letter from the State Dept in the mail assessing you a fine for violating the US travel restrictions to Cuba. People have been able to negotiate that fine down to a few hundred dollars.
I'm not going to get into whether the travel ban and boycotts of Cuba are good national policy or not... (I'm actually of two minds on that... but no matter).
It would be a VERY interesting place to visit! Which is why I did some research.
It seems that it's trivialy easy to get there, and no one in Cuba gives a rats rear if you're American; they welcome you, and your dollars.
Yes, there is a "tourist fee" on leaving, but it's modest.
Also, there is the requirement to have non-US based health insurance... because US based insurance companies cannot pay claims to Cuba.
There ARE legal ways to go to Cuba legally, but it's very paper-work heavy, and there are no permits granted for "tourism", only educational, documentary, scientific or humanitarian reasons.
That all being said, it is VERY common, and VERY easy to fly into Cuba from Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, most of the Carribean, etc.
Flights from Mexico City are 4-5 times a week.
It's not legal under US law, but prosecutions are virtually ZERO, unless you try to bring back obviously Cuban material such as a couple bottles of Cuban Rum, and a box of Cuban Cigars...
Cuban Customs will not stamp your passport unless you specifically ask them to.... which, by the way, is the OTHER "stupid thing" you can do to get prosecuted. But you have to TRY HARD to get your passport stamped, and get into trouble on your return.
Here's a little technical tidbit on the US Law; it does NOT ban TRAVEL to Cuba.. it bans American Citizens from spending MONEY in Cuba.
The catch 22 of that is that if you travel to Cuba, you are ASSUMED to have HAD to spend money in Cuba to live; eat, sleep, stay, travel, etc. And they're right... it's virtually impossible to prove that you didn't spend ANY money to get to, stay in, or return from, Cuba.
It appears that if one does get "caught" returning from Cuba, you'll get a letter from the State Dept in the mail assessing you a fine for violating the US travel restrictions to Cuba. People have been able to negotiate that fine down to a few hundred dollars.
I'm not going to get into whether the travel ban and boycotts of Cuba are good national policy or not... (I'm actually of two minds on that... but no matter).
It would be a VERY interesting place to visit! Which is why I did some research.
It seems that it's trivialy easy to get there, and no one in Cuba gives a rats rear if you're American; they welcome you, and your dollars.