Cuba?
 

OK guys (& gals) my group of friends have decided that this years warm get away will be in of all places...Cuba!!! At first I laughed and said "no really where are we going?".....Cuba...a frickin commie dictatorship WTF!!!! I refuse to go....weeks go by, friends are still trying to talk me into it. My lady (not married but living as such for the last two years) has even decided to go without me. Thats OK she can live within her own standards and I will not judge her. Now my friends are trying to use this as more leverage for me to go... (she will not have a good time without you..bla..bla..blaa). What should I do..this is driving a wedge between me and some good friends but my principals just scream Cuba is wrong! What would you folks do? How many of you would vacation in Cuba even if you were not in my situation?
Thanks.

I'd go. Why not?

At least you'd see how "they" live for real.

Forgetting politics... I'm sure the Cuban people are good.

I'd go there in a heartbeat before Mexico.

I'd go.

Have an "off the boat" Cuban friend, lovely people.

He tells me Cuba is like visiting a living time capsule.

If you are going to base your travels on your political conviction there is a lot of the world that you will never see.

That would be your lose.

IIRC, it's illegal for US citizens to go there on vacation unless they changed that restriction.
So no, I would not go there (even if it is my lose, or loss. Whatever ;) )
Even if there was not a restriction Id prefer going someplace like Costa Rica over coooba any day as I'd have a problem giving my money to a commie gubmint.

Heck we do enough of that here ;)

I have been twice. The resorts are nice except for the food quality. If you break free of the resorts, it is a stunning place to visit with very warm - but reserved - people. The last time we went we spent several days wandering & we took a suitcase full of medical supplies that we dropped off at a clinic. Havana Club rum is cheap & the cigars - the real ones from the gov't stores & not the street fakes - are great.

See Not Just Tourists for the drug drop info.

I posted a trip report here: It's not easy to give away a suitcase filled with drugs . . .

Of course, I use my Cdn passport to travel to Cuba. ;)

Ian

If you have an American passport, the Cuban officials conveniently forget to stamp it. SmileWavy

I wasn't going to test it. :D The Cuban stamp is a blue airplane fwiw.

Ian

Id love to dive there....

i know at least 10 people that went to Cuba and a couple that worked there, all Canadians but everyone of them had a great time, like Ian says get the good cigars not the knock off's. If it was me I'd go in a heartbeat. Its a holiday not a political statement.
Finn

The restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba have been relaxed. The restriction is actually on spending money in Cuba, but it's had to travel their without spending money, but some of those restrictions have been relaxed. It's not hard to go there legally if you want to.

The problem is that the regime is a brutal corrupt inneficient dictatorship and it's main source of income comes from tourists. All those dollars and Euros add up. Individually, it doesn't make any difference. Collectively, it's what props up the regime.

On the other hand, it is a chance to rub shoulders with real Cubans and spread international good will and understanding. And the workers trapped in this workers' paradise will appreciate anything you do for them. Just don't cross any lines. Cuba is still well enough controled that you will be under observation if you leave the main tourist areas. The people you talk to will be reserved because they may be questioned about their conversation with you.

I personally chose not to travel to Cuba but I make no moral judgments about anyone who does. Think about it and do what you think is right. If you do go, do it with the appropriate respectful attitude toward what you are doing - visiting a dictatorship with the hope that your trip there will make things better for the locals - and not just because it's a cheap place to party and get some Cold War thrills.

Mikesride...US citizen? I've had several friends from south Florida go, they had a great time. This has been a few years ago when they went. No direct flight from the USA. They went to Cuba via the Bahamas. When they entered, the Cuban Customs placed a paper visa in their passport and removed it when they left. They were amazed at the number of boats in the harbors flying the Stars and Stripes.

I've been there. AWESOME time. Booked it through a travel agency in Toronto. We stayed at the Melia Cohiba in Havana. Amazing hotel.

"Commie Dictatorship", oh please. The 'dictatorship' went soft long ago. Free enterprise is popping up all over Cuba, and has been for a long time.

+1

They don't stamp American passports unless you ask them to.

A dealer of mine in Daytona Beach does cigar trips several times a year. He rents a bus & invites all of his friends down. He has good contacts with some growers & they visit factories & farms & have a blast. They are all American citizens.

Ian

I'd go. That way, in a few years when everything changes there, you can say "It's just not the same since communism fell, it's so commercialized now."

Just remember you are in the USA a FREE Country...and they will tell you where you and can not go !
LOL
But I think you can depart from Canada

How can you know unless you experience it?

I used to think Venice would be cool to visit. Then I went there.

Go. Learn firsthand. Then talk about principles and convictions when you have the experience under your belt.

Did you enjoy Venice, or not?

must make for a very interesting bus ride!