Traveling to Cuba as an American: What to Know Before You Go

*Note: I am writing this post on February 20, 2020. As of now, travel to Cuba as an American is still possible under the Support of the Cuban People category. Please check the government website for updates on this before planning a trip to Cuba.

So, you want to go to Cuba, huh? I’m sure you have heard or have even asked the below questions yourself.

“Isn’t travel to Cuba banned?”
“Aren’t Americans not allowed to travel to Cuba?”
“Isn’t Cuba dangerous? I hear people walk around with big machine guns.”

WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.

You might even get questions about why you’re even considering traveling to Cuba. For me, it was a very inexpensive trip to a country with rich history and, well, a lot of cool ass old cars and colorful buildings.

Category Required for Travel

As of today, there are still 12 categories in which people can legally travel to Cuba. Only one of those categories will allow the average, regular tourist to visit. The one category that is still available is Support of the Cuban People. Just last summer Trump took away the People to People category. This basically stopped all American cruises from visiting Cuba. This not only hurt the people that had their trips cancelled, but also really hurt the Cuban economy as they rely heavily on tourism as one of the main sources of income.

When booking your flight to Cuba, upon checking out, you will be asked to select your category. Select Support of the Cuban People. I used JetBlue to buy my ticket to Cuba.

Visa & Valid Passport

In order to visit Cuba, you must obtain a visa. You must also make sure that your passport is valid upon entering Cuba and upon returning to the United States.

The Cuban visa will be obtained through the airline that you booked your flight with. You will need to find the visa counter at the last airport you are at before flying to Cuba. In my case, I flew from Columbus to Ft. Lauderdale, to Havana. I got my visa in Ft. Lauderdale. The process was extremely quick and easy. The airline will let you know to save yourself 3 hours to fill out all the required documents, but it really took all of 5 minutes to complete. We stood in line for about 15 minutes. The visa costs $50.

Health Insurance

You must obtain Cuban health insurance in order to travel to Cuba. JetBlue takes care of this for you when purchasing your flight to Cuba.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Americans are advised not to eat, stay or shop at any government-owned establishment. And to be honest - locally-owned options are better anyway.

Fully Planned Itinerary

As an American traveling to Cuba, you are technically not allowed to have free time. I do believe that you can have free time though. Just make sure that you have tours and workshops booked on most or all the days, even if you’re not spending the whole day on that tour or at that workshop. When you do have free time or a free day – eat and shop local.

Where to Stay as an American

I can just book a hotel, right? Wrong. Legally, as an American traveling to Cuba under Support of the Cuban People, the only legal option you have for accommodation is a casa particular. This is a home owned by a Cuban citizen - not the government. Airbnb is the way to go in Cuba.

This was taken on the balcony of my Airbnb in La Habana Vieja.

Where to Eat as an American

This is a tough one. It is very hard to tell a locally-owned restaurant, a paladar, from a government-owned one. Our Airbnb host wasn’t even aware of these restrictions and actually recommended a restaurant that was government owned.

Some tips for determining where to eat:

Do your research beforehand.
Write out the local places you want to eat before arriving in Cuba. Then ask a local where the paladar you’re looking for is or have a coco taxi take you there. You will have slim to none internet access, including limited access to Google Maps.
The restaurants that sit directly on the squares are more than likely government-owned. Skip these unless they explicitly say “paladar.”

*IMPORTANT NOTE: KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS. Some people follow these rules loosely, but it is important to remember that the US government could audit you for up to five years after traveling to Cuba.

Money

This is the topic I wish I had been given more information around. Take notes.

As an American - You cannot use ANY American debit or credit cards in Cuba. Yes, you read that correctly. Cash only, baby. My dad traveled with me and did not believe me at first when I told him this. Try to plan out how much money you will need for food, tours, etc - because once you’re out… you’re out.

You cannot get Cuban currency in the United States. You just can’t. Not at the bank, not at AAA, not at the Airport. Only in Cuba.

Exchange US Dollars for Euros Before Leaving the US. Huh? Hear me out. Once you get to Cuba, you can only exchange your cash for 600 CUC per passport per day. Some locals will accept American dollars, but not many. You can take a small amount in USD just in case. Our driver was able to exchange some more of our USD for CUC for us at a 1 for 1.

I say exchange your dollars for euros for a couple of reasons. The first being that the exchange rate for the USD is higher. Also because upon exiting Cuba, you can only exchange 300 CUC per passport back to USD, and they didn’t have USD to give us. The reason they only had euros was because not many Americans are traveling to Cuba, so they had nothing to give us. Don’t exchange all of your money right away if you don’t have to because it will be hard to get it all exchanged back if you have any leftover.

Internet

Your phone will not work in Cuba like it does in the states or in other countries. You may be able to make phone calls and send texts, but it will come at a high cost. I have Verizon; and it was $2.99 a minute to call, $0.50 to send a text and $0.05 to receive a text. You can purchase a WiFi card either in the ETECSA store or in the hotels. Hotels will charge more, but the connection is better (especially in Havana). The WiFi card purchased at ETECSA can be used in the squares or large public areas such as parks. The cost for the card at ETECSA is $1 for 1 hour. Cards purchased at the hotels can be used only in that hotel. No matter where you get the card - it will look the same.

Safety

Last but not least - safety. I started this post with some quotes and misconceptions people often have about Cuba. Cuba is safe. So safe. Young women would walk home in the dark, late at night. Kids would play in the streets, at all hours of the day and night, alone. Our Airbnb host’s girlfriend was 25-years-old and told us that she has never even seen a gun in real life. Cuba is safe. I never once felt afraid or in danger. As with any place you’re traveling to - watch your belongings and be aware of your surroundings.

And you know what is crazy? I spent a week in Cuba. I come home to my apartment in Columbus, Ohio, and the first night I am home there are gunshots outside of my apartment.