How can I plan a trip to Cuba if I am an American
 

I am interested in going to Cuba but have heard that you need to join a humanitarian
group in order to get there from the US. Do you know how I would find such a group to join from Chicago? Any other info on how I might be able to get to visit Cuba would be appreciated.

It's not necessarily a humanitarian group. You can also join a "cultural" tour. But unless you join a U.S.-government approved group, that's the only way. There are several companies that organize these trips, but the flights are usually from an airport outside of the U.S. (there are also charters from the U.S., but I believe these are open only to U.S. citizens who have ties to Cuba). I don't know much about these companies, so I can't really give you any detailed information, but the tours tend to be quite expensive (we're talking thousands) and do not usually include your airfare. But on the ground, they are generally all-inclusive or at least offer the opportunity to purchase rather cheap meals.

I'm organizing a group (Humanitarian License) from May 2-9 ... feel free to contact me for details. I've been organizing group travel for 30+ years - and have been intrigued with the potential to take Americans to Cuba for my entire career. After much research, I have finally figured out how to put it together! In addition to the Humanitarian Outreach activities, we'll have many opportunities to meet and have candid conversations with thought leaders, artists, performers and ordinary Cuban citizens. It's an exceptional opportunity to visit Cuba before sanctions are lifted and the "floodgates" open for mass tourism. Marilyn Murphy, "creative queen" of the WOW Travel Club www.wowtravelclub.com (800) 255-3070, ext 126

hi there, we just finished a trip to Cuba as US citizens and didn't do a group join up. We arranged all of our travel through the folks here:

http://www.cubatravelus.com/

We flew in and out of Cancun and had no problems what so ever.

I wrote a full report on how we booked our travels on my blog:

http://luggagetag.blogspot.com/2010/...en-island.html

It's a great place to go, I hope you get there!

Tagging along on this as we would love to visit Cuba someday.