Americans Visiting Cuba

I admit it. As a Canadian, when I first heard that Americans were not allowed to travel to Cuba, I thought it was some old Cold War urban legend. I was genuinely surprised to find that this travel restriction was alive and well today.

It is a fact that Americans cannot travel to Cuba as tourists, though the technical legal issue is that no Americans are allowed to enter any transactions while in Cuba. That means you cannot spend any money or receive any gifts. The restrictions is just considered an overall travel ban.

It also means that any American who may be living abroad is also prohibited from going to Cuba, and any non-Americans who are in the USA are equally restricted. So, I would be unable to get a flight to Cuba from the USA even though I am not an American.

Of course, more than one US citizen has gotten around this archaic regulation. The most common approach is to first travel outside the USA (usually Canada or Mexico) and get a flight to Cuba from there. Other nations don't go around enforcing the American ban, so no one will care if you buy a ticket. You just need to ask the officials in Cuba not to stamp your passport. They are usually happy to oblige, and you are left with no proof that you broke the law.

Are you wondering why this restriction exists? I am not familiar enough with international commerce, politics and history to really give a detailed answer to that. It seems to be a long-standing holdover from the 1960s when Fidel Castro's socialist revolution put the government policies at odds with American ones. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, relations came to an end and many restrictions are still in place.

Now, just because Americans can't travel to Cuba, that doesn't mean they have a struggling tourist industry. Far from it. With visitors from all around the globe, Cuba has thriving resorts on all its wonderful beaches. The weather is great, and the prices are reasonable by North American or European standards.

Just because Americans aren't supposed to go there, doesn't mean its not worth a visit.