How to get to Cuba from Us?

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Tropicales

There are a couple of ways.

With a travel licence:

There are flights directly from Miami (or US) to Cuba and vice versa on a daily basis. If you presently residing in the US, then you would need to obtain a travel licence from the OFAC. If you have immediate family living in Cuba, then you'll qualifty for a travel licence for visiting family.
But, there are also other categories which qualify for a travel licence.
Check the site for this:
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/programs/cuba/cuba.shtml

Without a travel licence, you would travel via a 3rd country (as most Americans do yearly):
http://www.cuba-junky.com/cuba/vamos_UStravelinfo.htm

When unlicensed travelers go to Cuba from the US they normally have to go through a third country. You will frequently see this referred to as the "Gateway" on various boards. The most common gateways to Cuba for unlicensed US travellers are Toronto, Montreal, Nassau (Bahamas), Cancun and Mexico City, and less frequently used Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) and Montego Bay. In most opinions Mexico and in particular Cancun are the gateways that offer the least risk of detection because:

** Unlike Canada and the Bahamas, a traveller leaving from Mexico does not pre-clear US Customs and Immigration. You will not clear Customs/Immigration until you arrive back in the US. In Canada and the Bahamas you will go through US Customs and Immigration at the airport in Toronto, Montreal or Nassau.

** Cancun is the most popular destination for US tourists in the Caribbean. There is absolutely no reason why US Customs/Immigration would suspect you have been anywhere else but Cancun.

** You can enter Mexico and re-enter the US using only a certified copy of your birth certificate and a government issued photo id, such as a driver's license (BC/DL) In other words you do not have to show US Immigration your passport upon re-entry to the US. Probably half or more of US tourists who travel to Cancun use this alternate form of identification as their travel documents.

You should take the following steps in travelling back/forth:

Enter Mexico from the US using your BC/DL
Mexico does not stamp passports on exit, although you will need a passport to enter Cuba.
Cuban Immigration does not stamp the passport at the present time, so do not worry about a Cuban stamp.
When you arrive back in Mexico from Cuba you will probably have to present your passport. The entry stamp that is placed there should be the only stamp you receive on your trip. Some people recommend presenting the passport with a $10 bill inside to avoid the Mexican entry stamp. If you use the BC/DL to re-enter the US this step is unnecessary.

After you arrive in Mexico make sure you strip all HAV luggage tags from you checked baggage.
Throw away your Cuban tickets, boarding passes and any other paper evidence of your Cuban trip.
Do not list Cuba as a Country visited on the Customs Declaration form.
Do not bring back any high profile Cuban souveniers like cigars, rum, t-shirts.
Use your BC/DL when you clear Immigration in your arrival city.

The fine by the way if you are unfortunate or careless enough to get caught can be negotiated down to $1000 or less.

*SAILING:
If you want to travel by boat, these will be the ports of entry and necessary information/documentation to enter Cuban waters:

Some arrive on their own boats; some on chartered vessels; others on cruise ships. Cruise-ship facilities abound in Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba, although vessels also dock at the Isle of Youth, Nuevitas Bay and the northern coast of HolguÃn province.

Entry procedures:

Be sure to contact port authorities before you reach jurisdictional waters (12 miles from the base line). Use these communication channels:
-HF (SSB) channel 2760 (national coastal network) and 2790 (tourism network); or
-VHF channel 68 (national coastal network) and 16 (tourism network).

Port authorities will ask you for the following information:
-name of yacht
- flag
-port of registry
-last port of call
-port of arrival
-estimated time of arrival (ETA)
-type of craft
-colour of craft
-number of persons on board

You must follow the instructions given by the port authorities and remain on board until all legal formalities are concluded. Each crew member must have a valid passport and tourist card.

Charts and details:

Nautical charts and the official companion booklet, Yachtsmanâ€™s Guide, Cuba, can be ordered from
Cadena de Marinas Puertosol S.A.
Edificio Focsa, calle 17 esq. a M, Vedado
Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba

Tel: (537) 33 4705, Ext. 08
Fax: (537) 33 4703
Email: psolger@teleda.get.cma.net

http://www.gocuba.ca/en/travelTips.asp#1
http://www.gocuba.ca/en/sailing_cruising.asp

Donna S

Drive to key west and swim. It's only 90 miles. Free.... if you survive the kayak ride.

Charlie

If you are a Cuban citizen with family in Cuba, you can get a permit to go to Cuba. If you are not a Cuban citizen, you would be putting yourself at risk of losing your green card if you disobey American law...is it worth getting deported for?

el loco

May I ask what for ?

Cuba is ruled by a comunist country, fidel kastro, a sworn enemy of the USA. Not good to go there.

Well, as some people have said here, you might do the travel we use, going the opposite direction

As Donna said, if you survive the ride.
By the way, there are many sharks over there

Dios es amor

You can use the same way we use to come here, just the opposite direction. Use a raft

I don't know how much would take to build the raft, sorry

NAP BQ

You cannot legally go from the USA unless you have a close relative there or are going on a mission or news reporting event. If you have a passport from another country that has relations with Cuba, then you can go from that country.

But you can as a U.S citizen go through Mexico where the Cuban government will not stamp your U.S. passport so that you will not get in trouble when you return to the U.S.

I went legally from Miami because I had cousins there, in 2003. I invited a Russian girl I knew from Moscow to go with me because she could go legally from Russia.
Now, I cannot go because Bush era restrictions are tighter. I must have a parent or sibling to go. Cousins don't count anymore. But I can always go through Mexico :)

muncle

You canâ€™t get to Cuba from the US. However I have still met many US citizens in Cuba. Some of them got there via Canada, some via Mexico, some via Bahamas. Most of them came via Jamaica. The thing is â€“ Jamaica Air reps are very easy to negotiate with so what Americans do, is they fly to Jamaica and pay a visit to Jamaica Air office. They ask about next flight to Cuba and by taking this â€œlast minuteâ€ approach, they are able to score cheap flight tickets from there to Cuba. Jamaicans also want your business and will have no problem selling you the tickets â€œunder the tableâ€ so to speak, so that there is virtually no record of you purchasing it (aka no record of a US citizen purchasing a ticket to Cuba). Bottom line â€“ there are no flights to Cuba from the US. You have to go via another country.

Getting to Cuba on ship is a bit tricky and requires special permits. Not worth the hassle, unless youâ€™re in fishing business.

Remember, it is not illegal for US nationals to travel to Cuba, it is only illegal to spend American money in/on Cuba. This itself defeats entire purpose of travelling to Cuba, but just to be politically correct, this is how things are. You however donâ€™t have to worry. As visitor to Cuba, you will be presented a Tourist Card. Itâ€™s a small card on which you write some of your details. No tourist to Cuba gets any stamp or anything to their passport. So after you had returned from Cuba, US officials will have no indication whatsoever as to whether you have been to Cuba or not. They may never find out, unless you yourself decide to tell them. This is why so many Americans make it to Cuba without problems. You can visit following two links for further information:

http://www.cubatourism.ca/usa-cuba/travel-cuba-cuban-visa-problems-usa/
http://www.cubatourism.ca/usa-cuba/us-citizens-visiting-cuba-americans/

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