International Railroad Discussion > Travel to Cuba

I am considering traveling indepently to Cuba in 2016 as a US citizen.   Would love to hear how others of US citizenship have done it and their advice.  (The current structured travel offerings don't impress me.)     thanks, Arlen

I know many fly from Canada. I think there are direct flights from Toronto. I've even seen billboards in Toronto advertising Cuba vacations. Just don't get your passport stamped to avoid furture problems.  I did it with a government sachoned tour group in 2000. No probelms at all. Very friendly people there. It's only their government that's evil.

Some also go via Mexico. Good luck and enjoy.

Maybe after today's meeting; it will ease up in the future.

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The problem isnt really going to Cuba, its spending money there. That is what Americans are specifically forbidden to do. To make matters worse, Cuba forces foreignors to use a convertible peso that adds cost and complications.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_convertible_peso

Carondelet Wrote:
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> The problem isnt really going to Cuba, its
> spending money there. That is what Americans are
> specifically forbidden to do. To make matters
> worse, Cuba forces foreignors to use a convertible
> peso that adds cost and complications.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_convertible_pes
> o

Even U.S. credit cards will be accepted soon, so this is ancient history.  Besides, there never was any problem spending money.  It just required getting the right kind.  Canadian money is easily obtained in the U.S., as are Euros.  My trip is scheduled next March 3. 

Even if you go all the steam is either tourist trains or rounded up in Havana in some museums and operates sporadically. The sugar harvest by rail has all but ended. Lots of foreign diesels and DMUs on standard gauge lines. Mostly cargo trains and lots of passenger trains on mainlines. If you are going to see the hay day of Cuban Sugar Cane railways that ship has sailed. 

Otherwise as Anderson109 said great people who like Americans, just our two Governments don't get along well. Cubans loved to show off the old US built steam and say Bueno locomotive and point to the Russian and say Basura (trash). 

Dale Brown

DWBrown Wrote:
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> Cubans loved to show off the old US
> built steam and say Bueno locomotive and point to
> the Russian and say Basura (trash). 
>
> Dale Brown

Presumably with Russian visitors they did the opposite.

Be aware that airlines flying into Canada share their passenger manifest with US Customs in Toronto.  A friend got busted that way.  I understand the same thing happens in the Bahamas and Cancun.  US Customs is actually located in certain Mexican airports and in the Bahamas.  US Customs officers can see you as you disembark from the plane from Havana.  I went on a sanctioned tour with a treasury permit.  Having a legal Cuban passport stamp was kind of neat, but you may get asked about it the next time you pass through US customs somewhere else.  It happened to me.

If you fly Cubana in and out of Mexico, the passenger manifest isn't shared.  Just make sure you don't get stamped back into Mexico on your return from Cuba.  As has been pointed out, steam is essentially gone, but Cuban mainline railroading is interesting, although increasingly dominated by Chinese diesels.  Lots of great tourist sites and sights that have nothing to do with railroads.

You might look into a cultural tour (permitted) and then just do your own thing once you are there, joining back up to leave with the group.  I'm sure there are some groups that are willing to "wink" at freelancing.