Apr 29th, 2013 at 4:00PM: While travel to Cuba has come a long way recently, not everyone can visit as easily as Beyonce and Jay-Z who chose Havana as the place to celebrate their anniversary. Still, even for super stars, travel to Cuba is not like buying a ticket from New York to Chicago and there are a few hoops to jump through. But a new program by a trusted source might just be the answer for travelers who want to ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Havana posts
Travel To Cuba, Fame Not Required
Apr 29th, 2013 at 4:00PM: While travel to Cuba has come a long way recently, not everyone can visit as easily as Beyonce and Jay-Z who chose Havana as the place to celebrate their anniversary. Still, even for super stars, travel to Cuba is not like buying a ticket from New York to Chicago and there are a few hoops to jump through. But a new program by a trusted source might just be the answer for travelers who want to ...Photo Of The Day: Urban Decay In Cuba
Dec 27th, 2012 at 6:00PM:
Oi from Rio de Janeiro, where I'm traveling and soaking up some serious holiday sun. Staying at a guest house in bohemian Santa Teresa, I got to talking to artists and curators from all over the world the other night about cities. We talked about cities going through urban renewal and creative renaissance, such as here in Rio, Berlin, Havana, and even Detroit. The meaning of the phrase "ruin ...Conscious Consumption In Cuba: How To Have A More Authentic Trip While Supporting Private Businesses
Dec 7th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
Flower stand in Old Havana
Until very recently, nearly every entity in Cuba was owned and operated by the government.
But in the past few years, the Cuban government has tried to promote private businesses in hopes that the shift will provide a much-needed boost to the economy. In late 2010, President Raul Castro announced that the government would start making it easier for individuals ...Stranded In Cuba
Nov 28th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
We were ready to leave Cuba. We had toasted our last mojitos, danced our last salsa steps and bid farewell to our home-stay hosts with promises to return.
But Cuba had other plans for us – or rather, Cubana Airlines did.
We arrived at Jose Marti International Airport two hours before departure. One counter was open, with a line at least one hundred deep. Yup, we were ready to ...Explore Cuba's Rich History And Culture With GeoEx
Sep 28th, 2012 at 8:00AM: Adventure travel company Geographic Expeditions (GeoEx) has announced that it has been awarded a license to begin offering historical and cultural exchange tours to Cuba, giving Americans a rare opportunity to visit a country that has essentially been off limits for decades. The first scheduled tour will take place November 3-10 of this year and travelers who book by October 1 will receive a $500 ...Video Of The Day: Cuban Trapeze Artists, To The Sounds Of The Temper Trap
Aug 7th, 2012 at 6:30PM:
With the Olympics in full swing, it's easy to focus on the athletes' accomplishments - the scores, the times, the medal counts - instead of celebrating the journey that brought them to London in the first place. Though not specific to the Olympic Games, this music video from Australian rock band The Temper Trap chronicles a journey that is probably familiar to many Olympians, particularly ...
US Tourist Ordered To Pay $6500 For Cuba Trip From 14 Years Ago
Aug 1st, 2012 at 5:00PM: Think your past won't come back to haunt you? A U.S. tourist has agreed to pay a $6,500 fine for taking an unauthorized trip to Cuba 14 years ago.
According to Reuters, Zachary Sanders, 38, had been living and teaching English in Mexico in 1998 when he decided to take a trip to Cuba. Sanders was 23 at the time, and had wanted to learn about how a socialist country worked in practice.
"I had ...Cuba's Classic Cars: Catch Them While You Can
Jun 28th, 2012 at 10:30AM:
There are few places in the world where you can find modern Toyotas sharing the streets with Model T's, and Cuba is one of them. The country's abundance of classic cars may be the result of historic trade restrictions, but it's also a key element of Cuba's romantic, stuck-in-time ambience.
Why does Cuba boast so many classic cars? Until last October, Cuban residents were forbidden from ...Havana In Seven Mojitos
Jun 22nd, 2012 at 12:00PM:
"My mojito in La Bodeguita, my daiquiri in La Floridita," wrote Ernest Hemingway of his infamous drinking exploits in Havana. "Ernesto," as the Cubans call him, was a big fan of the rum, lime and mint-based cocktail, as evidenced by the slew of drinking holes throughout Cuba where he was reported to have drunk himself silly.
Indeed, sipping mojitos is a big part of the tourist ...Photo Of The Day: Summer In The City
Apr 26th, 2012 at 6:00PM:
It's only April, but many of us have already switched to iced coffee and put away our sweaters. Now's the time to start thinking about summer vacation, whether you plan to explore a national park or soak up the culture in a city like Havana. When you're a kid, summer is all about playing outside and staying cool, preferably with lots of ice cream and water projectiles. Today's Photo of the Day ...Summer Hotspot: Havana, Cuba
Apr 11th, 2012 at 2:00PM:
Havana's crumbling mansions, cobblestoned streets and vibrant salsa beats have long been a mystery to Americans kept off Cuba's shores by historic trade bans.
But in the past year, travel to Cuba has become much easier, starting with the lifting of certain restrictions by the Obama administration last January. That move was followed in April by a new set of Treasury Department guidelines, ...Video Of The Day: 'Incubation' And 15 Days In Cuba
Apr 10th, 2012 at 6:30PM:
"I wanted to see Cuba before it changes," starts off "Incubation," a short travel film by French multimedia artist Guillaume Le Berre. "But I'm the one that has been changed."
Through photos and videos captured over a 15-day trip, Le Berre offers a nostalgic look at life in modern-day Cuba. Some of the images are expected: smiling children playing baseball, grand automobiles from the 1950s, ...
National Geographic Expeditions announces tour to Cuba
Aug 31st, 2011 at 9:00AM: Yesterday, National Geographic Expeditions announced an exciting new addition to its already outstanding line-up of adventurous travel itineraries.Thanks to a special license, issued to Nat Geo by the U.S. State Department, the company can now begin offering excursions to Cuba, with the first trip schedule to take place in November of this year.
This new ten-day expedition is aptly called Cuba: ...Obama administration lifts some travel restrictions to Cuba
Jan 15th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
The Obama administration is going to make travel to Cuba easier than it has been in decades, the BBC reports. Students and religious groups will now be allowed to go to the Caribbean nation, which has not had normal relations with the U.S. since Fidel Castro overthrew the pro-American government in 1959.
Specifically, religious groups will be able to sponsor "religious travel" to Cuba, and ...Ten budget-friendly Caribbean destinations
Nov 22nd, 2010 at 11:30AM:
If you get all your information about the Caribbean from travel magazines, you might find yourself convinced that a night's stay in the region will set you back somewhere in the neighborhood of $500. The Caribbean's super posh reputation has its roots in the region's tourism history; until relatively recently, tourism in the Caribbean was largely restricted to the very rich. And as one might ...Havana Good Time: A helpful new Havana travel app
Aug 19th, 2010 at 10:30AM: Sutro Media has just released a very useful Cuba app for iPhone called Havana Good Time. Created by Havana-based travel journalist Conner Gorry, a Lonely Planet contributor who has lived in Cuba for eight years, Havana Good Time provides essential assistance for visitors interested in navigating the somewhat challenging Cuban capital.
All 125-plus entries were researched by Gorry herself. ...Travel writer and publisher Q&A: Julie Schwietert
Jul 9th, 2010 at 1:30PM: Julie Schwietert, known for her work with MatadorNetwork and Collazo Projects, is a writer, editor, and translator whose work bridges the worlds of service travel writing, culture, and politics. Though travel writing is a big piece of her métier, it's not its sum. This profile of Julie is the first in a Gadling series on writers and publishers who have found a way to turn their enthusiasms ...Cuba, China to build new luxury hotel in Havana
Jun 1st, 2010 at 1:30PM: While the U.S. continues to talk tourism with Cuba, Caribbean developers will break ground on Havana's first luxury hotel later this year, the Latin American Herald Tribune reported.
The luxe-hotel is a joint effort between Cuba and China that will cost approximately $117 million (51 percent Chinese capital and 49 percent Cuban). According to reports, the hotel complex will have 650 rooms and ...Cuba's Budget-Friendly Accommodation Option: Casas Particulares
May 25th, 2010 at 2:00PM: Cuba's casas particulares are already old hat for backpackers and other budget-minded types hailing from outside the US.
Europeans, Latin Americas, Canadians, and others have been digging the casa particular scene since the 1990s, when the Cuban government began to permit private citizens to rent out rooms in their houses to tourists.
Cuba's privately-owned rooms generally cost between ...Take a 1930's tour of Havana, Cuba
Mar 31st, 2010 at 4:30PM:
It's hard to imagine a Cuba different than the one we have now. You know, that country 90 miles from Florida that Americans can't visit? It's a travel embargo that's been in place over 50 years. But back in the 1930's, Cuba's capital city, Havana, was poised to take its place among the Caribbean's foremost tourist destinations.
At least that is, according to this vintage travel film, ...
