BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi all,
I'm not new to Boots N All, but this is my first posting. We're beginning a year-long RTW trip in a month, and we're going to "get our feet wet" first with the Caribbean, following the lesser-visited isles along down to South America, and from there everywhere else. We'd really like to go to Cuba as part of this. I've heard Mexico is a safe port of passage to get their for US citizens. Someone else mentioned Jamaica?
I realize this has been covered in previous posts, but they're all over a year old, and I was wondering if anything had changed. From what I understand, we need to fly from a country that does not report to US immigrations. Is Jamaica really an option? It would be more convenient for us than Mexico.
Any suggestions for this (and the trip in general!) are greatly appreciate.
Erik.

I've heard Jamaica and Canada mentioned. I'd like to go too but am not exactly sure. They love American dollars (though they are sucking right now) so Cubans will welcome you.

Anyone else know??? I'm curious too!

Hey,

We went last December because as of Jan. 07, you couldn't go in/out Mexico from the US with a US birth certificate...Now, you need a passport and if US customs notices that you have 2 entry stamps to Mexico, you may be in trouble if they ask why and search your stuff,etc. So...either have lots of stamps in your passport already so they don't notice, or pay $20 to a Mexican customs agent so they won't stamp it. We literally saw this done and it worked. We went when birth certificates could still be used to go in/out of Mexico and had no problem.
I've heard that people have been busted going through Canada and the Bahamas. Just be sure you get 2 different flights...not a through flight from Cuba to the US, with the same airline, of course (ie Mexicana...). Take off any Cuban related airline tags and even leave the airport and come back in to check into your US bound flight. Good luck. It's an incredible place.

Thanks to all you - I guess that we'll just have to wing it from Mexico to Cuba. As we're continuing on and won't be back in the US for a year or so, I don't think customs will be able to sift through all the stamps and figure out that we have 2 mexican stamps.
Does anyone know if there are boats from Mexico to Cuba?

Yes, if you're leaving Mexico for other places before going back to the US...you should definitely be fine.
I don't think you can take a boat from Mexico, but maybe from other nearby countries. The plane ride is only an hour from Cancun. You could buy tickets in Mexico easily...but cash might be best to eliminate a credit card paper trail.

Yeah, I don't think its really necessary to go to Mexico if thats out of your way. There are flights from lots of islands in the Caribbean, Jamaica included. No need to go to Mexico. Most any place that has flights to Cuba should work. If your feeling especially adventerous, can check Cubana's (=Air Cuba) schedules on their website.

One risk it seems is that US border officials in some countries (Canada, etc.) walk past the line coming in from Cuba to see if there are any US Nationals headed their way, at which point they catch you. Just don't get your passport out until you are at the counter and use your common sense.

There aren't any regularly-scheduled boats to Cuba from Mexico. The US imposes a six-month ban on any boat with a Cuban harbor in its log, which is a powerful disincentive.

Cubana flies daily from Cancun to Havana, at noon. That is the cheapest option - several other airlines do it too, from Cancan, Merida, Mexico City, etc. You can often find really cheap charters out of Toronto or Montreal - it's a popular destination for Canajuns during the winter.

In theory, you can be fined $8,500 for spending money in Cuba as a US citizen. The enforcement mechanism isn't very clear though, and the bark is much worse than the bite.

Hey just went there this October. I bought a one way ticket from Mexico City in cash then when I arrived at the airport I bought another one-way ticket to Madrid.

I found this a very good option because Mexico does not generally stamp when leaving the country so it just looks like I went directly from Mexico to Spain.

Do not use your credit cards to book your tickets obviously, and since your credit cards will not work in Cuba and nor will your cash cards- and they would be reported even if they did work- you should bring all of the cash you need with you. It is therefore important to figre out your budget ahead of time, you can look up casa particulares prices online and food can be obtained either at nicer restaurants, usually there is an option at the casas, or at the little holes in the wall with limited selection but far cheaper prices that locals use.

American dollars are actually no longer preferable, Euros are better, because there is a tax on American Dollars.

Also be very careful when exchanging money- I would suggest using a CaDeCa (casa de cambio) or a bank because since there are two currencies, the CUC (or tourist currency) and the Moneda nacional I ran into a lot of people who got ripped off. the CUC is about .9 to the euro I think and the moneda naciona is worth 1/24 of the CUC, so be careful.

If you do get robbed, don't bring any valuables with you to the police if you want to report it as I met travelers who got robbed by the cops after they got ripped off and went to report it. I had no problems, but just be aware.

I had a beautiful time there and am so glad that I went. If you speak Spanish i found talking to everyone I met to be a very rich experience. There are also urban gardens around every city to supply vegetables, the system is pretty well developed if you are in to that. Hope this helped.

All this advice is really appreciated. Thanks everyone.

I went legally as part of an exchange program in 2001, so my info may be out of date. Cancun is the cheapest/easiest gateway city to Havana, although the return flight on was delayed 12 hours while they flew in mechanics and part from Mexico City to repair the engine (pretty tense flying back to Cancun). Otherwise I was told that flights from Havana to Toronto/Montreal, Kingston, and the Bahamas are regularly monitored by US Customs/State Department agents on the lookout for people trying to circumvent the embargo. At that time I was told that there is a daily ferry from Jamaica to Santiago .

Also my info may be out of date, but I used to spend a lot of time in Guadeloupe in the mid90s (I was in Peace Corps on one of the neighboring islands) and there were small puddle jumper flights between Havana and Pointe-de-Pitre. Guadeloupe itself is way worth visting for being one of the most beautiful places in the Caribbean.

Anyhow, feel free to PM me if curious about places to visit in Cuba. Personally I thought Havana was a big disappoint in terms of culture/architecture and can't say enough great things about Santiago/Baracoa. The people themselves are some of the kindest, funniest, friendliest I've ever met anywhere.

Hello,

Another way is to take the short flight
from (buy round trip ticket ;of course)Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic to Havana thru Air France Or Iberia
coming from europe for refueling.

As some body mention never travel directly
to the ultimate destination both ways.

Adios.

My friend (a U.S. citizen) went (flew) to Cuba directly from Mexico City. The only problem that could have occurred at the return in the U.S. was having two Mexican stamps in the passport with very close dates and no other foreign country stamp in between. When there, my friend told me that she saw plenty of honeymooners and other curious folks from the States. The Cubans, however, stated that the flow of tourists from the U.S. has considerably diminished in the last few years. Please note that the immigration officers in Mexico do stamp your passport even if you ask them not to, so be aware of that. Maybe you could ask nicely to stamp another page of your passport so it is not as visible at the check up in the U.S. Normally, the line for the U.S. citizens does not get much scrutiny, thank God, so you should be fine. Plus, having lots of stamps in your passport would surely help you "hide" the Mexican visas better.

Another idea......

Maybe you can just spend some more time, out and in of Mexico to Guatemala, Honduras, Belize as many times as you can... it might confuse the customs, they won't bother counting how many stamps if you keep out and in frequent number of times.

I met an American traveler in Nicaragua, he told me its too easy to go to Cuba from Cancun. Just ask Mexican immirgration just don't stamp but have him give you another card to stamp, and Cuban knows about America's embargo policy and they still want Americans to go there, they will always give you different card.

BUT BE careful, don't buy any Cuban products and bring them with you to US Customs or you might be in trouble. It would be a better idea to have hostel stay in Cancun for few days, where you can make excuse that you met several Australian tourist there that gave you those stuff. It would be risky but give it a shot.

Allan