Cuba

March 2, 2011 8:58 AM

My "friend" has a question..."Travelling to Cuba to meet fiance's parents- think we've got it figured out. What am I missing?...

...My fiance with whom I live is Cuban born. We plan to fly directly from Miami. Purpose of trip is to meet his family. I am a US citizen, born here.

Our understanding is that because we are engaged and cohabitating I fall under the latest definition of "family" for Cuba travel purposes. I plan on purchasing a tourist card upon entry into Cuba. Is there any need to notify/request documentation from an American agency of my travel plans before we go? Anything else I'm missing?"

Thank you.

posted by sarelicar to Travel & Transportation around Cuba (5 answers total)

Unless your friend wants to be given a hefty fine by the OFAC, you will need permission from the Treasury Department to travel to Cuba. With the current changes it is always hard to tell.
posted by JJ86 at 9:24 AM on March 2, 2011

The US State Department's page on traveling to Cuba.

According to that page, as of May 2010, Cuba requires all visitors to carry non-US medical insurance. More information here from the Cuban Interests Section (Cuban site, in Spanish).
posted by catlet at 10:06 AM on March 2, 2011

Response by poster: thanks all!
posted by sarelicar at 10:30 AM on March 2, 2011

At my former job, I had to book travel and a few trips were to Cuba. I always had to put in a large petty cash request. I don't know the exact reasons why they didn't use their corporate credit cards, but I assumed it was because easier to travel with cash in Cuba.
posted by spec80 at 12:06 PM on March 2, 2011

Response by poster: spec80: this is because american credit cards/bank accounts are unusable in cuba
posted by sarelicar at 4:01 PM on March 2, 2011