Travel to Cuba - Beyond Tiki

C christiki295 Member LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is Joined: Apr 09, 2003 Posts: 3837	C christiki295 Posted posted on Sun, Sep 18, 2005 1:31 PM Wondering if anyone knows the spefic mechanics of traveling to Cuba, preferably from Tijuana, Mexico (TIJ). So far, I have only found this: The problem in travelling to Cuba is that usually one travel agent cannot handle all arrangements to get there. Most U.S. agents are not permitted to sell flights to Cuba. For example, a U.S. agent cannot book a flight from Cancun to Cuba. Further, they can not book the charter flights from the U.S. to Cuba. There are a limited number of agents who are recognized by the Treasury's OFAC as "authorized travel service providers," and they are the only ones who can sell seats on the direct charter flights from the United States. (See Marazul and Tico, below.) You'll need to fill out an affidavit re your license. The charter flights can be expensive (Miami-Havana, $330, LA-Havana, $670), have a limited schedule, and are often full. Also, paperwork and formalities at both ends can be costly, time consuming, inconvenient, and irritating. For example, the Miami flights require that you arrive at 3am for a 9am flight; six hours of waiting for a 40 minute flight. Before boarding, officials read an announcement, twice in English and in Spanish (four times total) about the illegality of traveling to Cuba without license, even though everyone in the waiting area has to have a license and everyone has already signed same statement. Presumably, treating passengers as though they were in the second grade is justifiable, because you have at best an exception for trading with the enemy. The charters strictly enforce a 20 kilo weight limit (50lbs. in LA), including carry-on luggage. Since most of the passengers are returning Cubans, these flights use a separate terminal in La Habana, and get special scrutiny from Cuban customs, which exacts a dollar duty for every dollar of gifts or purchases brought into Cuba. If you go unlicensed, then a U.S. travel agent gets you only to your port of departure for Cuba, but then you must get a non-U.S. agent for the ticket to Cuba--usually for cash, since U.S. credit cards do not work for Cuba. The Cancun "system" illustrates the hassles. First, book the reservations for CAN-HAV-CAN by phone or via e-mail; show up at the airline ticket counter, without a ticket; they direct you to one of nearby travel agents, and hopefully you find yours; the agent writes out your ticket and a Cuban tourist card; you pay in cash; and return to the ticket counter and obtain a boarding pass. There are flights to Cuba from the Caribbean, Latin America, Canada, and Europe. There may be cheap flights or charter to Cancun, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Usually the cheapest flights to Cuba are Cuban Airlines, the state-run airline that flies ancient and scary Soviet planes. See cubana.cu. http://www.cubaclimbing.com/travel.htm

Wondering if anyone knows the spefic mechanics of traveling to Cuba, preferably from Tijuana, Mexico (TIJ).

So far, I have only found this:

The problem in travelling to Cuba is that usually one travel agent cannot handle all arrangements to get there. Most U.S. agents are not permitted to sell flights to Cuba. For example, a U.S. agent cannot book a flight from Cancun to Cuba. Further, they can not book the charter flights from the U.S. to Cuba. There are a limited number of agents who are recognized by the Treasury's OFAC as "authorized travel service providers," and they are the only ones who can sell seats on the direct charter flights from the United States. (See Marazul and Tico, below.) You'll need to fill out an affidavit re your license.

The charter flights can be expensive (Miami-Havana, $330, LA-Havana, $670), have a limited schedule, and are often full. Also, paperwork and formalities at both ends can be costly, time consuming, inconvenient, and irritating. For example, the Miami flights require that you arrive at 3am for a 9am flight; six hours of waiting for a 40 minute flight. Before boarding, officials read an announcement, twice in English and in Spanish (four times total) about the illegality of traveling to Cuba without license, even though everyone in the waiting area has to have a license and everyone has already signed same statement. Presumably, treating passengers as though they were in the second grade is justifiable, because you have at best an exception for trading with the enemy. The charters strictly enforce a 20 kilo weight limit (50lbs. in LA), including carry-on luggage. Since most of the passengers are returning Cubans, these flights use a separate terminal in La Habana, and get special scrutiny from Cuban customs, which exacts a dollar duty for every dollar of gifts or purchases brought into Cuba.

If you go unlicensed, then a U.S. travel agent gets you only to your port of departure for Cuba, but then you must get a non-U.S. agent for the ticket to Cuba--usually for cash, since U.S. credit cards do not work for Cuba. The Cancun "system" illustrates the hassles. First, book the reservations for CAN-HAV-CAN by phone or via e-mail; show up at the airline ticket counter, without a ticket; they direct you to one of nearby travel agents, and hopefully you find yours; the agent writes out your ticket and a Cuban tourist card; you pay in cash; and return to the ticket counter and obtain a boarding pass.

There are flights to Cuba from the Caribbean, Latin America, Canada, and Europe. There may be cheap flights or charter to Cancun, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Usually the cheapest flights to Cuba are Cuban Airlines, the state-run airline that flies ancient and scary Soviet planes. See cubana.cu.

http://www.cubaclimbing.com/travel.htm

Post #187431 by christiki295 on Sun, Sep 18, 2005 1:31 PM