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: ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Havana posts
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, ...
Travel to Cuba legally with New York art museum package
Sep 11th, 2009 at 2:30PM: Travel to Cuba is still illegal for most Americans, but if you don't want to challenge the law or take your chances sneaking there and back, you can still arrange a visit. The Katonah Museum of Art, in Katonah, New York, has been authorized to lead a tour group to Cuba.
Participants on the trip, which is scheduled for January 17-23 of next year, will visit Havana and learn about Cuban culture ...Cool Lust-Collazo photo exhibition in Havana
May 5th, 2009 at 9:00AM: During my time in Cuba, I grew increasingly obsessed with those colorful, old, refurbished American cars that would go galumphing down narrow urban streets. I mean, who wouldn't? I'm not even a car lover, but these clunky vehicles give Havana its character and speaks volumes about the country's history as well as its relationship with the United States. As another great effort to bring awareness ...
Talking Travel (and Cuba) with award-winning travel journalist Christopher P. Baker
Apr 21st, 2009 at 4:00PM: Christopher Baker is the 2008 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year and has visited Cuba more than 30 times. He's personally met with Fidel Castro, as well as leading members of the Cuban government and is personally acquainted with key figures within Cuba as well as key industry figures outside Cuba. Baker is not only a Cuba fanatic who is intensely interested in Castro's family life and ...Photo of the Day (4.18.09)
Apr 18th, 2009 at 7:00PM:
My Cuba Libre posts will be ending in a few days, but until they do, I feel it's only appropriate to continue with my Cuba-themed posts! Our photo of the day comes to us from JKEvgen, who snapped this gem five years ago in Havana. This photo really captures how timeless the country and its people are, which in my opinion is one of the greatest things about Cuba. The nations bright colors, ...Cuba Libre: Havana - Part 2
Apr 17th, 2009 at 7:00PM:
Having spent only two days in Havana and entirely in the old part of the city and only having two more days before hitting the road to Trinidad to meet up with the boys, I still had a lot of ground to cover. The beach Havana is full of great seaside and beach. If the outer part of Havana (where we stayed) called Miramar and Playa don't strike your fancy, you can opt for taking a short bus or ...Cuba Libre: Being sick and discovering "Cash Cab" in Cuba
Apr 17th, 2009 at 9:00AM:
[Though this might look like the U.S. Capitol, it is actually Havana's Capitolio. The strange resemblance makes even stranger sense when you get to the "Cash Cab" comparison at the end of this post.] Peter and Frank planned to leave for Trinidad on Monday, leaving Lora and I in Havana. They had hoped for a noonish start to their day and planned on renting a car for the remainder of their stay. ...Cuba Libre: Havana - Part One
Apr 16th, 2009 at 4:00PM:
The old part of Havana (Habana Vieja, they call it) reminded me a great deal of Cartagena with its fairly well-preserved colonial and often brightly colored buildings. In just our first two days in Havana, however, I was most astounded by the Cuban people. Lora's guidebook says that the locals earn on average U.S.$25 a month and that, in some cases, even doctors double shift as waiters by night. ...Cuba Libre: High-end hotels and money in Havana
Apr 16th, 2009 at 10:00AM:
So the Melia Habana Resort. We were not aware such luxurious resorts were available for just $50 a night! Had I not come with Lora there would be no chance to stay in such a place. Regardless, we pretty much decided to stay in Havana for the entire week. We arrived at 1 p.m. and were already pretty spent from such early wake-up time, so Lora and I spent the day tanning and resting the immense ...Cuba Libre: First impressions of Cuba
Apr 15th, 2009 at 4:00PM:
I am usually so unprepared when it comes to my travels, and this trip was no different. I assumed Varadero was a municipality of Habana. Instead, it's a city in a whole other region of Cuba and a 2 hour drive from the city of Habana. Luckily, our package through the travel agency booked transport, and we boarded the white Gaviota van #23 (a modern Toyota with A/C) headed for Habana. Our driver ...Photo of the Day (3.15.09)
Mar 15th, 2009 at 4:00PM:
I've never been to Cuba but this picture by Un rosarino en Vietnam is exactly how I picture it in my mind. Crumbling facades and vintage cars, all colored by a faded palette of soft blues and gentle greens. You just don't find a scene like this one in many places in anymore - it's like a time warp to the past. Have you taken any stellar photos in Cuba? Or maybe just one from your last trip to ...A wrap-up of Cuba news and stories
Jan 13th, 2009 at 2:30PM: As my plans to travel there solidify, Cuba has been on my mind -- and luckily quite present in the news! Here's a wrap-up of some of the interesting stories coming from Castro country.
Taxis and transportation: Unlike his brother, Raúl Castro is encouraging independent drivers to apply for taxi licenses to improve transportation in major cities in Cuba.
Guantanamo hunger strikes ...Travel read: Around the Bloc
Dec 21st, 2008 at 11:00AM: I stumbled upon Stephanie Elizondo Griest's writing on a stopover in New York City. She was reading from her third and most recent travel-related book, Mexican Enough: My Life Between the Borderlines, at Book Culture near Columbia University. I was immediately struck by her engaging use of language and her savvy presence. It's a pleasant sight to behold a young, female traveler and writer who is ...
