Cuba - am I doing the right thing?

morningworries · 2025-05-01T00:20:02+00:00

Booking to go to Cuba very soon with a relative. I’m a bit worried as she is conservative and I know it has its difficulties. Can someone reassure me? I’ve booked Havana B&B & Varadero AI for 2 weeks. She likes walking & the music, and I was thinking of a couple of short car trips to Pinar del Rio and Matanzas. has anyone been lately?

BishBashBoomer · 01/05/2025 01:21

You will absolutely love it. Amazing place.

Original poster

morningworries · 01/05/2025 01:26

Oh wow, thanks @BishBashBoomer. Have you been recently? Any tips?

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CharlotteCChapel · 01/05/2025 21:05

You do know that there are no direct flights to Cuba from the UK.

LegoAirlines · 01/05/2025 21:09

Scenery, music and vibe is amazing. Food is diabolical.

What sort of things would worry your relative?

summerscomingsoon · 01/05/2025 21:12

I went in 2022. Definitely worth going. Havana is like stepping back in time.

Stayed in varadero too. Weird experience flying in there. It's like landing in a Russian airport circa 1980.

The people are lovely. Beaches great but tbf no better than cancun.

As a pp said food is awful. But they try and do a great job with the limited resources they have.

Go with an open mind and dont be fussy.

Riverswimmers · 01/05/2025 21:22

Just checking you know it will make all future travel to the US much much harder so really needs to be a bucket list place - imo!

Snippit · 01/05/2025 21:22

CharlotteCChapel · 01/05/2025 21:05

You do know that there are no direct flights to Cuba from the UK.

I was surprised that TUI have stopped all holidays to Cuba. I asked an TUI air hostess last year and she didn’t know why they’re not including Cuba. If anyone knows what the reasons are behind lack of flights/holidays etc, I’m really puzzled by it 🤔

Gymmum82 · 01/05/2025 21:27

Cuba is amazing. Though I’d stay away from the AI.
Food is delicious if you get out to real places rather than resorts.
So much to see and do. Amazing music and dancing. People are super friendly too. We traveled all over and loved it

Riverswimmers · 01/05/2025 21:27

Snippit · 01/05/2025 21:22

I was surprised that TUI have stopped all holidays to Cuba. I asked an TUI air hostess last year and she didn’t know why they’re not including Cuba. If anyone knows what the reasons are behind lack of flights/holidays etc, I’m really puzzled by it 🤔

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Going there massively impacts future travel options long term so it's lost its appeal for a holiday destination. It'd like to go but I also like being able to get an Esta when I need one.

summerscomingsoon · 01/05/2025 21:29

Riverswimmers · 01/05/2025 21:22

Just checking you know it will make all future travel to the US much much harder so really needs to be a bucket list place - imo!

Yes this is a great point. Ive had to go to the us embassy in London to get a visa to get into the USA and it's a faff. You won't be able to enter the USA on the esta anymore

MrsTerryPratchett · 01/05/2025 21:32

Riverswimmers · 01/05/2025 21:27

Going there massively impacts future travel options long term so it's lost its appeal for a holiday destination. It'd like to go but I also like being able to get an Esta when I need one.

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I’d rather go there than the US so it’s all good.

The issue for me is this. Cuba’s AI are owned by or at least fund the government. If you agree what that, great. I don’t. But stay in a casa particulare and you deal with shortages, food issues, realising how the Cubans are struggling. Which I prefer but it isn’t a relaxing holiday.

Original poster

morningworries · 01/05/2025 23:13

CharlotteCChapel · 01/05/2025 21:05

You do know that there are no direct flights to Cuba from the UK.

Yes! It goes via Madrid.

OP posts:

Original poster

morningworries · 01/05/2025 23:15

Riverswimmers · 01/05/2025 21:22

Just checking you know it will make all future travel to the US much much harder so really needs to be a bucket list place - imo!

Yes that’s ok. I have a 10 year visa and my relative has 2 passports but is unlikely to visit the US anyway.

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ohmondew · 01/05/2025 23:36

Snippit · 01/05/2025 21:22

I was surprised that TUI have stopped all holidays to Cuba. I asked an TUI air hostess last year and she didn’t know why they’re not including Cuba. If anyone knows what the reasons are behind lack of flights/holidays etc, I’m really puzzled by it 🤔

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This is a direct quote from a travel agent I contacted recently re Cuba 😞

'Many thanks for your recent enquiry.

Unfortunately, we aren't running trips to Cuba at the moment. The US government changed their rules last year to say that if you ever visit Cuba you will always need to apply for a visa in person at their embassy to visit America rather than the online Esta Visa. This has been enough to stop most people from travelling and all direct services have been cancelled - it was unfortunately enough to put our local operator out of business.

If you are still keen to go you would need to go through a Cuba specialist as companies like ourselves that deal with a lot of destinations are likely to be in the same boat. '

Snippit · 03/05/2025 18:45

ohmondew · 01/05/2025 23:36

This is a direct quote from a travel agent I contacted recently re Cuba 😞

'Many thanks for your recent enquiry.

Unfortunately, we aren't running trips to Cuba at the moment. The US government changed their rules last year to say that if you ever visit Cuba you will always need to apply for a visa in person at their embassy to visit America rather than the online Esta Visa. This has been enough to stop most people from travelling and all direct services have been cancelled - it was unfortunately enough to put our local operator out of business.

If you are still keen to go you would need to go through a Cuba specialist as companies like ourselves that deal with a lot of destinations are likely to be in the same boat. '

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Many thanks for this information 🌼🤗

Kxidwn · 03/05/2025 19:07

Cuba is an amazing country to visit. Granted I went a few years ago but I can't imagine it's changed too much. Havana is so interesting and it's lovely walking around the historic central areas and I felt it was safe. The music and culture in Havana was amazing. We travelled to Trinidad (town in south Cuba) which is incredibly pretty and historic, and took some side trips into the mountains and to a historic village. The scenery is stunning, and the people are nice. Finished up with a few days chilling at an all inclusive in Varadero. It's a total waste to stay in Varadero all the time when other parts of Cuba are so interesting to explore. My kids were teenagers when we went and loved it, particularly my son who was fascinated by the history. The only aspect that did not bowl us over was the food which was fine but because of the embargos and shortages at the time, was not the most exciting. It was the best and most interesting family holiday we had 🙂