If you are going to Cuba, the first thing to check is whether your TO or airline has included the cost of your tourist card/visa in the price they are charging - most do because they know you have to have it and they know the hassle involved in obtaining it! If it is included, they'll post it to you a couple of weeks before departure.

If it isn't included then this is one of the few instances where it is often cheaper and definitely easier to use one of the on-line visa service companies rather than dealing direct with the Cuban consulate. The card itself only costs £17 if you can go to the Consulate in London to collect it yourself but if you need to do it by post the additional admin fee means that it will cost £39 plus the cost of whatever your bank charges for a bankers' draft because they won't accept personal cheques or card payments. You can buy on-line from one of the commercial visa agencies from £27 if you shop around and apply in good time before you go. Either way what you'll receive is simply a blank card perforated down the middle and you fill in all the details yourself - you don't have to send off your passport to get it. The reality is that it simply confirms that you have paid what is in effect just another entry tax. And if the worst comes to the worst you can usually obtain one in your departure airport in the UK. The check-in staff will usually ask to see it to confirm that you have filled it in correctly and if you haven't they'll direct you to an on-site travel agency that will sell you another.

Finally, when you go through Cuban immigration on arrival they'll check it and give you half back. Keep this somewhere safe and remember to keep it handy because you'll have to produce it when you leave Cuba - if you can't produce it they'll charge you for another one! Also on arrival make sure you have a copy of your travel/health insurance handy as they ask to see it and will sell you one if you can't - which will probably cost more than you could have got at home. And don't forget to keep 25CUCs handy for paying your departure tax at the airport - you won't get into the Departure lounge without the receipt.

Many thanks SMa I have a friend going to Cuba in a few weeks & will pass your information on to her 👍

SMa have passed on your info on 25CUCS to leave the country & she said she's been told to keep £10? I've said I'll check with you 👍

Glad to be of help, Glynis. If she's going on a package holiday, I'd be very surprised if either the TO or the TA doesn't just send the required cards through the post to her but obviously best to check. I usually fly with Thomas Cook from Manchester to Holguin and receive my card through the post from them 2/3 weeks beforehand. Sensibly, they know you have to have it and include the cost in the air fare. A while back I flew scheduled to Havana with Virgin having booked a last minute package with Havanatour and they included the cost in the package price and again posted it out a couple of weeks before going.

In fact when I think about it I've never had to sort out obtaining my own in 12 years of going to Cuba roughly every 12/18 months. It's always been provided by either the airline (including Cubana back in the day), the TO or the TA depending on how I booked the trip. So before she does anything else best to check that out - I've heard of too many people who've paid out to buy one either direct from the Cuban Consulate or via an on-line agency, only to also receive one through the post from whomever they booked with! And both cards where unrefundable so they were out of pocket because I don't think anybody other than agencies are allowed to sell them on to a 3rd party.

I've done a search SMa & it appears to have been abolished in 2015?

http://havana.airportcuba.net/tax.html

Edit above is for departure tax

Just spotted your follow-up message Glynis and done a quick check to discover that the departure tax is now included in my Thomas Cook ticket for this October and that this is now supposed to be the case with all airlines. It always had to be paid in the past in CUCs (and it is still priced at 25 CUCS as far as I can see) - you couldn't pay in £sterling and so how much it actually cost depended on the exchange rate at the time. Given the CUC is roughly pegged to the US$ I would have expected it to cost more than £10 if it wasn't included in the cost of her airfare. Do you know who she flying with and I can ask around friends if it will be included in her ticket?

I was fairly sure that we had still had to pay it at Holguin on my last trip (March 2016) so it might only be at Havana that the pay booths had been closed down from May 2016. Either way, there is usually a Cadeca in the Departure lounge that will change currency in either direction because any purchases in the Departure lounge have to be paid for in CUCs and not everybody keeps back enoug to buy a cup of coffee or drink etc plus you are supposed to change back any excess CUCs because you aren't supposed to take them out of Cuba but I always try and keep enough back so that I have at least a small float at the start of the next trip. I've never had any trouble about this and in my expereince they never check whether you are taking CUCs out of the country. Given the controlled nature of the currency it's no skin off their nose if yiu choose not to change them back at the end of your trip

She's flying with Thomas Cook & staying in Hotel Ocean Varadero el Patriarca

Thanks 😁

Then in that case both her tourist card and the Departure tax is included. If she wants reassurance then she could contact them but it now looks as if you are issued with your tourist card by Thomas Cook at the boarding gate. Looking back I think that we were issued with ours by Thomas Cook as we boarded at Manchester last time.

https://www.thomascookairlines.com/en/flight-preparation/entry-regulations/additional-country-information.jsp

She'll need a black or blue pen to hand to fill it in and the cabin crew now usually hand out customs forms - there's nothing for her to worry about there as a tourist unless she's planning on leaving behind any electrical/electronic equipment and as a tourist she is unlikely to have anywhere near the upper limit for any hard currency. In essence the customs form is about checking what Cubans returning to the country are bringing in with them. I'm sure she'll enjoy it and as she's staying in Varadero she'll be handy for doing a trip to Havana.

Many thanks 👍 She's really looking forward to it. They'll have a great time I'm sure, she's going with her friend 🍹 🍹

Does anyone have any thoughts on the impact the new found relation with the USA will have on the island? If any?

I think it all depends on whether Trump leaves the Obama changes to the embargo in place or whether he heeds the siren call of the Miami ex-pats to reverse the reforms. I think it's too early to call it - much will depend on which way Trump jumps in the next few months and for the moment I think all bets are off.

Further to my last post above this might be of interest:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-40231074