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Travel Tip: The Travel Restrictions Still in Place for Visiting Cuba

Image Credit: Insight Cuba

Locations in this article:  Havana, Cuba Los Angeles, CA
Image Credit: Insight Cuba

Image Credit: Insight Cuba

With the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, and the relaxation of some travel rules, you may be tempted to go to Cuba.

Well, you can…if you know the current state of the law. There are a few dozen companies that have been approved by the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments to operate special people-to-people, religious, educational, and research trips to Cuba.

Carnival Cruises recently announced an entirely new cruise brand that expects to sail to Cuba next year under that official educational umbrella.

While JetBlue has started service to Havana, and American Airlines announced flights from Los Angeles this December, you must remember that these are still charter flights to support those approved trips—not regularly scheduled service.

For the moment, the trade embargo is still enforced, so you can’t just go down to your travel agent and buy a ticket on a regularly scheduled flight from the U.S.

They don’t exist—yet.

But if you do go on an approved trip, the good news is that you can now legally bring back some Cuban cigars!

For more information about visiting Cuba, check out:

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