There are many ways to get to Cuba, the largest Caribbean island; mostly by air, depending from your departure city. If you are from Canada, Europe, Central or South America you will easily find flights to Havana, the capital city of Cuba.
The Cuban national carrier is Cubana de Aviación and has flights between Havana and most of the cities in the above regions of the world.
Havana International Airport "José Martí"
The non-Cuban airlines that regularly fly to Cuba count now more than 50, and among them are: Air Jamaica, LACSA, Iberia, Air Europa, Air France, and many others.
US citizens or US permanent residents are subject to special rules to travel to Cuba, to know about them click here.
Cuban International airports
Most of the international flights to Cuban soil arrive at "José Martí" International Airport in Havana City.
The other five international airports in Cuba are located in:
* Varadero, the famous beach at Matanzas province: "Juan Gualberto Gomez" Airport.
* Cayo Coco, for the large natural tourist resort of Cayo Coco & Cayo Guillermo, at northern Cuba.
* Camaguey City, "Ignacio Agramonte" Airport
* Holguín City (Eastern Cuba), "Frank País" Airport
* Santiago de Cuba City, "Antonio Maceo" Airport
There are also other cities whose airports can only accept small planes, so they are only used for domestic flights within the Cuban island.
What else do you need for traveling to Cuba?
Besides getting the air ticket you will also need a valid passport and a Cuban tourist card to enter the country. This tourist card can be found at any airline desk in the airports or from a travel agency in your locality that sells Cuba as a tourist destination.
Travel to Cuba from the US
Travel to Cuba is highly restricted for American citizens or permanent residents.
Since 1963 the US Government has imposed certain regulations that stop the natural flow of visitors from the US to Cuba. The restrictions apply to transportation to and from Cuba, lodging, transportation within Cuba and meals. Purchases made in Cuba are also included and can not exceed
$ 100 CUC in value and can only be made once every six consecutive months.
US citizens or permanent residents must apply for a license from the United States Department of the Treasury to legally travel to Cuba. For obtaining a license a good reason will be needed.
US citizens or permanent residents who don't have a license can in fact travel to Cuba, but are not allowed to spend money, in any currency, while in the island, which makes it almost impossible unless under a "fully hosted trip". That means that a Cuban organization will take care of all your expenses there and will have to to extend a letter to the Treasury confirming it.
To know more about these regulations you can visit the Cuba page at the website of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) from United States Department of the Treasury.
(
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sanctions/t11cuba.pdf)
Another useful link to check is:
http://shr.aaas.org/rtt/policy.htm#intro
Direct flights
Despite the fact that both countries are very close to each other, there are not commercial flights and only licensed charters are allowed to fly between both of them.
For being able to take one of these direct flights arriving on some Cuban cities from Miami, FL; New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA, the traveler must apply, as an individual, for a license at the Treasury. When the license is obtained, the traveler can contact one of the licensed travel service providers (TSP) that can legally arrange and provide travel to Cuba.
Another solution is to engage in groups organized by licensed organizations.
Via third countries
To get to Cuba from the US taking connecting flights in third countries has become a popular way to travel to the island.
For people living on the East coast, Nassau or Freeport, in the Bahamas is a good place to change the plane, but you can also count on Grand Cayman and Jamaica. Canada is another suitable option for those living in the north-east of United States.
For the rest of the country, Cancun in Mexico may be the best solution to get another plane to Cuba.
Air Jamaica, Cubana de Aviación and Mexicana de Aviación are the airlines that mainly operate these routes.
