Please help me decide to go to Cuba!

Old Feb 27th, 2013, 08:48 AM
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Please help me decide to go to Cuba!

I’ve wanted to visit Cuba for years and now it’s easy to take a legal trip there. I’ve looked at the offerings from the major tour companies and have chosen the 15 day Road Scholar tour, based on input from folks on this forum and others who have taken Road Scholar tours.

Of course, money is the dilemma. It’s an expensive trip (about $6,000USD). Because of some recent good luck I can afford to take the trip but I think about what else I can do with that $6,000 such as take 2 or 3 trips to Europe or buy new carpeting or just save it for a rainy day (in case my old furnace gives out).

Here’s the tour I’m looking at. Yes, I could spend less and take an 8 day trip but I feel this is the one trip to Cuba that I will take so I would like the longer, more in depth, trip.

http://www.roadscholar.org/n/program...px?id=1-5XUJB0

Any input from those who have gone to Cuba or those wishing to go to Cuba would be appreciated so I can make my decision. I’m teetering and need pushing over the edge.

Thanks!
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Old Feb 27th, 2013, 10:39 AM
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That is way too expensive. I’d personally just enter through Canada or wait a few years until there are even less restrictions for legal visits to Cuba.
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Old Feb 27th, 2013, 11:43 AM
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I agree. I wouldn't spend $6,000 on it. Way too pricey for me.

I'm interested, but not THAT interested (lol). Especially when I know I can easily spend two weeks in Mexico for around $2,000.
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Old Feb 27th, 2013, 12:44 PM
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I've been vacillating all afternoon about the trip and have come to the same conclusion - too much money. The total trip would be $6,600 plus airfare to Miami so putting the total nearer $7,000. Yikes!

I think once there is more competition the prices would have to come down. Oh well...there are many interesting places still to visit!

suze - I can do 2 weeks in Europe for $2,000 if I use frequent flyer miles for my ticket.
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Old Feb 27th, 2013, 12:54 PM
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Thanks adrienne, for the detail. I was wondering about the $2,000/2 week trip to Europe, but if it doesn't include air fare that makes sense, I could too!
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Old Mar 4th, 2013, 10:38 AM
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Here is an equally lengthy trip lengthy trip that's less expensive and very highly regarded.

http://insightcuba.com/cuba-tours/un...ered-cuba-tour

Let me know what you think.
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Old Mar 4th, 2013, 02:53 PM
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jsncurry - the Insight trip is only slightly cheaper per day. It's still too expensive for my budget. Thanks anyway!
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Old Mar 6th, 2013, 12:56 PM
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There are FAR less expensive approved trips to Cuba. Friendly planet has a 9 day trip from $2999 ($3399 in high season) including all meals,fees,guides, "8 nights superior first class hotel accommodations " and airfare from MIA. It would be hard to beat that price on your own. (Of course, be prepared for what a "first class" hotel is--it is not what you get in the US--but you are not going there for hotels)

http://www.friendlyplanet.com/colors-of-cuba.html I haven't traveled with them, but a friend did a private "people to people" with them and said they were great.

You can go to Europe anytime (yawn). The time to go to Cuba is now. I'm heading back for my 4th trip late April to catch May Day. Once the country is opened, things will change and it will be far different. There aren't that many tourists now. The Europeans and Canadians mostly go to the beaches. The Havana tourists are American. It's worth going. I simply love havana--con men, crumbling and all.
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Old Mar 6th, 2013, 03:15 PM
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Yawn? Europe? All of it??? Really???

I'm all for seeing Cuba but I think if you wait a few more years it will be much more open, therefore less expensive.
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Old Mar 6th, 2013, 05:05 PM
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The Colors of Cuba trip is not any cheaper. All the trips are about the same price.
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Old Mar 7th, 2013, 02:52 AM
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Waiting a few more years might open up the country and be less expensive to get to, but it will not be the same as it is now. The whole point is to see it as it is now. I know an American who goes to Havana from London and does his own thing, books own flights and accommodation.
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Old Mar 24th, 2013, 05:41 PM
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We found Friendly planet to less expensive than some and the reviews have been good. I'll try to post a report when we return.

Go now before it turns into another Cancun. Hey, it's only money and you can't take it with you.
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Old Apr 7th, 2013, 04:59 PM
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On the plane coming home now. . .so trip report to follow. Cuba education Tours. . .$4600 for two people, 7days, you help pick the itinerary. Excellent guides, drivers, accomodations.
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Old Apr 8th, 2013, 05:36 AM
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We went to Cuba with Cross Cultural Solutions several years ago. Yes, it was expensive, but, worth every penny. People who advise to wait until it opens up to legal travel will miss out on seeing what Cuba is like without much US influence.

Havana is a truly amazing city. Parts of it are literally crumbling. I could sit on the deck of the rooftop pool of my 'fancy' hotel (I think it's an Iberostar now) and look out across Havana.

The entire scene was grey. The buildings were grey concrete, some with collapsing roofs. That day the sky was grey. Truly a surreal scene that is stuck in my mind's eye forever.

If you can afford it, spend the money. Go now.
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Old Apr 14th, 2013, 08:29 AM
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TrviMaven,
Please,please post your trip report. Been checking daily for it! We leave in June and can't wait! Need you report please!
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Old Jul 3rd, 2013, 03:23 AM
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I am considering a Friendly Planet Cuba tour for next winter. Would love to hear details from anyone who has taken a tour to Cuba with this company, or who can recommend another company in the price range.

This is the tour I was looking at:

http://www.friendlyplanet.com/colors...2014.html#tab0



Their price seems fair as compared to others; for example, my college alumnae association offers a tour in the fall (the date is too early for me in any case) that costs $4.995 per person (!!) for one week, with the guide a professor at the college. Sounds very pricey; airfare Miami-Havana is included, as it is with Friendly Planet. The school has offered many Cuba tours but I have always declined due to the price. Had not looked into other "legal" tours until now. Would also consider an independent trip but I believe that is not a subject for discussion on this forum.
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Old Jul 3rd, 2013, 02:18 PM
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ekscrunchy - someone above suggested the Colors of Cuba trip. When I did the cost analysis it was only slightly less expensive than the Road Scholar trip I was looking at. When people suggest tours they only look at the base price and claim it's inexpensive or affordable. I looked at the total price I would be paying and divided by the number of days on the trip.

The above price I originally mentioned is actually closer to $7,000. I had forgotten to add in a few things.
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Old Jul 3rd, 2013, 03:44 PM
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Adrienne, many thanks. Do you mean that the RoadScholar was more or less equal to the Friendly Planet on a cost-per-day basis? (I have not yet done the math, but I am thinking that I might take just one week or so-long trip before branching out on my own if I am enamored..????)

I will look into both in more detail, but I wonder if there is a tour that does NOt include many meals, so participants can branch out a bit...
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Old Jul 3rd, 2013, 07:06 PM
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The tour I wanted was 2 weeks (that's the link I gave in my OP). Road Scholar also has an 8 day trip but I didn't calculate the per diem for that trip. I think it was about $5,000 but that includes single supplement, insurance, flight to Miami. And I wanted to go in early November. The RS price was about the same as Grand Circle Foundation or Insight.

When I realized that I didn't have the funds this year I tossed all my calculations. But yes, the per diem was a bit more with Road Scholar but I felt that I would get so much more from that type of organization and it was worth the extra money.

I believe when you're traveling legally from the US you're not supposed to be going off on your own very much, if at all. Part of the restriction on traveling to Cuba is that you're not supposed to be spending money there if it's not a cultural exchange. I think that's why most trips are all inclusive (or mostly all inclusive).

The trip I linked to looks like there are 2 or 3 dinners on your own so there is some leniency in allowing you to do off and have a meal on your own.

There are also restrictions on what you can buy in Cuba and bring back. It has to be handicrafts or art work. No tee shirts or fridge magnets, etc.

In addition to the large people to people tours from the companies mentioned above, there are all sorts of small, local type tours, often nature oriented such as birding trips. They may be more lenient in terms of group activities. But Cuba will be expensive since you can't go to an ATM machine and get cash. You need to exchange money. That raises the price of anything you have to buy out of pocket.

Are you thinking of staying on after a one week tour? I don't think you can do that legally if you leave from Miami. For that type of trip you might want to look at tours leaving from Montreal (not that I'm advocating doing this).
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Old Jul 3rd, 2013, 07:35 PM
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I just did a quick calculation which does not include insurance (medical or trip cancellation). Grand Circle does include some insurance - $20,000 emergency medical and $7,500 evacuation. Road Scholar offers insurance for $509 per person but I'm not sure what that covers or what insurance, if any, is included.

For the basic tour plus single supplement here is the breakdown:

Road Scholar (14 days) - $434/day
Grand Circle Foundation (11 days) - $517/day
Colors of Cuba (7 days) - $543/day

It looks like the Colors of Cuba tour is the most expensive per day. I did not count travel days but only the time in Cuba. I also did not count airfare to Miami since that would be the same no matter what tour you take.

The included medical insurance with Grand Circle may tip the balance in their favor but the other companies may provide medical insurance. That's something to investigate.

There is also the variable of how many meals you need to buy; the number of dinners on your own varies by tour company.

Here are the basic tour prices:

RS (14 days) $5,596
GCF (11 days) $4,995
CofC (7 days) $3,399

Here's the GCF site:

http://www.grandcirclefoundation.org...evolution.aspx

I'm gonna get there some day!
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