Yes, You Can Travel To Cuba On Your Own!

It was the playground for the rich during prohibition and then it was cut off from the world for 40 years. Now, Cuba is open for tourism. In 2016, former President Barak Obama opened the gates for Americans to visit Cuba. Several American airlines including Southwest, Jet Blue, Delta and others raced to provide service.
Americans flooded into Cuba and though, Cuba welcomed the business, it wasn't ready to receive so many tourists at one time.
But the Cubans are resourceful and very quickly, they figured out how to service the American tourists.
And just when they figured it out, President Trump changed the rules. Now, most Americans believe the door is shut once again.

But I'm here to tell you that you CAN travel to Cuba on your own and not on an expensive tour. In the next few blog posts, I''m going to share with you how to do it. I just got back and it's a beautiful country with warm and welcoming people who want and need Americans to come back and visit.
And now is the perfect time, the infrastructure is in place and Starbucks is not there yet.

There are 11 categories that you are allowed to visit Cuba. You can read in-depth on each category here. But, for most of us, the "support for the Cuban people" category will be the best fit. There used to be a 12th category, "the people to people" category. But that's the one Trump eliminated in October 2017.
Under the "support for the Cuban people" category, you are mandated to stay in casa particulares or with host families. You are also required to eat at family-owned restaurants or paladares.  More on what those offer and how to book them in the next post. The Department of State has published a list of hotels and restaurants owned by the Cuban government that are off-limits for Americans.
The idea behind the category is that you are engaged with the Cuban people and not sitting on a beach drinking a pina colada. If that's what you are picturing for your vacation, then pick a different island in the Carribean.
In 2016, American airlines were allowed to fly directly from the US to Cuba. United offers nonstop flights from Newark. American offers nonstops from Charlotte and Miami. Jet Blue offers non stop flights from Boston, JFK, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. Delta offers nonstop flights from Atlanta. Southwest offers nonstops from Fort Lauderdale and Tampa. Check google.com/flights to find the one that works best for you.
We flew Southwest because I had a companion pass. There are only two flights a day from Fort Lauderdale so coming from the west coast, we spent the night going and had a long layover returning. But I was able to use points for the flights and my companion flew FREE.

When you book your flight, you will be prompted by the airline to buy a visa for $50 and to declare your category. When you pick up your visa, you will be asked again to state your category. I recommend buying your visa from the airline. It streamlines the process.
Other than those two times, no one ever asked me again. I brought my itinerary with in case someone asked, but no one did.
Your airplane ticket will include the mandatory health insurance required by Cuba.
But even with the additional charge for insurance, flights from Florida are approximately $100 each way.
In the next blog post, I will talk about how to book your casa particular, money, wifi and other important travel issues for your trip to Cuba.