Odd question it may sound!!.... but if Cuba dosen't allow anything to do with the US, am I likely to get any problems when entering Cuba with US work visas in my passport??

I wouldn't imagine you will have any problems, lots of Americans go to Cuba on holiday by flying from Mexico or Canada and they have US Passports.

Exlenty, you 've got this the wrong way round - the embargo is enforced by the US government not the Cuban one. For example, the reason why you can't use US owned credit cards is Cuba is because the US government doesn't allow them to trade with Cuba. The Cuban authorities will only allow the use of credit/debit cards from banks that they will know will honour the transactions ie non-US owned ones. You won't have any problems - people can enter Cuba on US passports so US work visas won't be an issue. Likewise the reason you can't fly direct from the US is because the US authorities have banned direct flights, not the Cubans.

This ban on trade with Cuba can reach absurd heights - there was the a fairly recent case of a Hilton hotel in the UK refusing a booking for an official Cuban trade delegation on a visit to Britain because the chain is still American owned and the parent company feared being penalised by the US Government if it did.

SM

hi..folks........can you tell me please...........if there is a departure tax on leaving cuba......and if so how much is it............
many thanks...............j.d......

Yes, there is - you'll need to keep 25 CUCs to pay it at the airport. You have to do this before you're allowed through security to departures.

SM

thanks......sm.......... ....
regards..j.d...

Hi my dad has asked me to book him a holiday in cuba for july this year, does anyone know the best companys to book through?
hes a budget traveller so wants best prices, i dont know if you can do flight/hotel seperate or if you are better to go with a package?
can you also give me any info on the best resorts etc
thanks
mil x

Try First Choice they got lots of offers on

Has any one heard of problems in Cuba recently towards British tourists. A friend of ours has just returned and she said that the Cubans were realy rude to the English and that there were problems at the airport.

I found the Cuban people extremely friendly and welcoming.I don't remember any rudeness. Airport staff may be the exception but then Airport staff throughout the world are not always known for their politeness and the Havana Airport experience wasn't one of the better ones.

hi .kilda.........have just returned from cuba.....thursday .19th.june.........and we found the cuban people fantastic ..........always with a smile............try smiling at them and see their reactions......

And even better, try and learn a bit of Spanish and practice it while you are away - you'll be surprised at what a differenct it makes. I'm really envious of friends who are out in Santiago at the moment - it's going to be next March before I'll get out there again - and I've heard nothing about problems for British visitors. As Judith says, nobody should judge a country by its airport staff - if they did the UK would probably be high up the league tables for unfriendly, grumpy people! Havana and Holguin airports are crowded, rundown and simply not up to the job and it wouldn't surprise me if this has an effect on the staff employed there.

The other thing to remember is that EVERYTHING takes twice as long to happen in Cuba. The simplest of things can take for ever to accomplish and everything has to be queued for - sometimes twice over. Any visitor expecting fast and efficient service will probably get a 'What's your hurry?' sort of response and any attempt to make a Cuban official do something faster than they feel like with just make them grumpier and slower.

SM

Hi We are thinking about Cuba for our hols next May, it will be our first time to the Carribean but I am a little worried by the reports I have read about luggage being broken into at Havana Airport, apparantly even the proper tourist site warns you of this, has anyone had this happen in Cuba? Just wondering how common it really is??

Official FCO advice HERE. It does mention theft by baggage handlers.

Pippy

I'm not sure what the proper tourist site is, but although it does happen in Havana it is not any more prevalent than a lot of other airports in the world. It happens almost everywhere including UK airports infact I don't know of many airports where there aren't any reports of pilfering from luggage. I always carry any thing of value in my hand luggage and yes it can happen but in over forty years of flying to destinations all over the world( including Havana) I have yet to have had my luggage broken into. In Havana you have to have your hold baggage shrink wrapped in the airport for your return flight which will cut down on any possibility of your baggage being broken in to.
I hope you aren't put off holidaying in Cuba as it is really worth a visit and the majority of the people you will meet are welcoming and friendly.

Hi,

Unike Judith (whom I usually agree with on neary everything!) I think that this is possibly more of an issue at Havana than most European airports but no more of a problem than at any other airport which has lots of tourists passing through who are very wealthy by local standards. Temptation is temptation! And, yes, anecdotally, I do know of more incidents amongst friends than at other destinations. But I don't think you should get alarmed about it, you just need to take sensible precautions and remember that one of the reasons why it is an 'issue' is that the Cuban authorities are very big on trying to ensure that tourists don't become the victims of crime, hence the warnings and why Cubana 'shrinkwraps' all luggage for free before check-in.

I've never had my luggage tampered with at either Havana, Holguin or Santiago airports but always do the following:

- Use a hardbodied case which cannot be cut or slashed and has locks built into the frame of the case or buy stronger padlocks to replace the fairly basic ones that come with cases.

- Secure the case with strong brown parcel tape wrapped round and round the openings, over zips etc so that you can see instantly if it has been tampered with.

- Remember to pack another roll of it in your case so that you can do the same on the return journey.

- And/or get your case shrinkwrapped before check-in. The idea is to make it harder to conceal whether the case has been tampered with.

- Never, ever pack anything of any value in your case. So carry anything that you can't afford to lose in your hand luggage. It's a bit of a bind but any electrical goods, jewellery (but it's not a good idea to take jewellery of any great value with you anyway - stick to costume 'bling') money etc are best kept with you.

In other words, take the sensible precautions re what you pack where, that you would do when travelling anywhere but take the added precaution of making your case more bothersome than most to tamper with. Do that and I'm sure that you'll have no problems.

The friends who have had their luggage tampered with or stuff stolen from their cases have all said that they were partly responsible. It was plain daft of one friend to decide that it was safer to pack extra currency in her case rather than buy a moneybelt to keep it with her at all times. Taking the new trainers out of their box so that somebody X-raying the case wouldn't be able to tell whether they were brand new and a present being taken out to a Cuban friend or well worn, would have been a good idea if only another friend had thought about it before the event. And that friend was actually convinced that they were stolen at Gatwick because the new Nike trainers were the only thing missing! A Cuban baggage handler would have also stolen the hairdryer and the worn but good condition replica football shirts too as they would have had a high re-sale value in Cuba.

Don't let the thought of theft from your luggage put you off visiting a really wonderful country.

SM

I stand corrected

Thank you both for that very useful information. Thing is we bought all new suitcases this year and they are the soft bodied type, so don't really want to buy knew 'hard bodied' ones. We would most likely fly from Manchester and I can't say I have seen shrink wrapping there? It is still a worry but after my little bit of research we really do fancy Cuba, so I guess it will be a case (excuse the pun!) of taking our chances if the cases are soft bodied or would you really recommend the hard ones??

Twinkletoes,

I've never had a problem at Varadero, Cayo Coco or Holgiun. I use a sturdy soft type of case partly because they are lighter than hard cases (even with extra luggage allowance, it's hard work transporting diving equipment!). I wouldn't worry about it too much, theft from cases isn't commonplace although it does happen. I'd agree with SMa's post if you wanted to take extra pre-cautions. I normally pack anything I'd rather hot little fingers not to get hold of as far away from zips as possible, ie at the bottom of the case as more often than not, they only have a matter of seconds to break the zip and reach in.

Darren