No Flights to Havana from Canada
 

Mayday, Mayday.......... :(

There are currently no flights from any Canadian airline landing in Havana this winter.

Talk about a blow to the corps for Havana aficionados!

Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

..............Cayo Guillermo just don't have what it takes!...........

:sleep:

Since the pandemic there seemed to have been all kinds of cut-backs regarding travel, especially Cuba. We don’t seem to be completely recovered in that sense yet.

Yup. Can't get a direct flight from anywhere in Canada to the 2 largest cities in Cuba. At least getting to Havana is fairly easy when flying to Varadero.

Yeah and they've started flying to Camagüey (Cuba's 3rd largest city) again this year but 1 and 2 are not getting flights! Whats gives man?!

It just ain't the same though as flying into Havana, really it isn't. And that drive from Holguin airport to Santiago was doable in a couple of hours back in the day but apparently road conditions have deteriorated and the pothole people having been on the job with their polyfill and tar.

Wessislander - definitely not.

No direct flights to Havana or Santiago for Cuba's biggest customer. What a crying shame!

I wouldn't be surprised if Sunwing ends up cancelling its upcoming route to Camaguey. They are only offering 2 hotels and the cheapest 1 week package out of Toronto between December and April is $895. I can't imagine anyone paying that kind of money to visit those lower end hotels. And the flight only prices are ridiculous.

WestJet flights from Toronto to Havana begin Thursday December 18th and end April 23. Prices are pretty decent. I just entered some dates that I might end up using and the ultra basic price for round trip is $548.61. Now that only includes a small personal item and no carry on. There are several different economy and premium options.

Well that's a start at least.
I did a the ultra basic price to Cienfuegos last trip. A one week fling. Just me and my knapsack. Not sure how that would work on a longer trip though unless one did a regular laundry or bought some clothes there.
I was thinking about flying into Varadero for a mostly Havana trip and stopping in on a few places on the way there and back- Jibacoa, Santa Cruz del Norte, Hershey (renamed Central Camilo Cienfuegos), and those beaches east of Havana.

This is good news because every time we took a trip to Havana we had ilorigonally flown into Varadero.
I see it on the Westjet site. Strange that it is quoting me in US dollars but prices seem fair.
I an about to discuss this with my friends Jeffrey,, Larry and his sister Tootie.

I hope you and your gang are able to visit Havana soon Dale.

I was just looking at the Havana flights with WestJet again. The ultra basic price for a round trip on a January departure and April return is only $393.69. Even with adding a checked bag each way, it would still be under $500.

My flight to Havana is booked. Leave on the 11th of January.

Good stuff, Simon. I'm glad to know that you've now thrown your hat into the ring with another trip to Cuba too. I believe you'll be staying for 3 months? Have you decided to get that chikungunya vaccination as well? Personally I think that would be wise for you as I believe you would have no problem qualifying to get it. And once done, you'd then have immunity against that chikungunya virus for life, no matter where else you might venture within the tropics later on too.

Still take lots of DEET with you just the same - of course there's no vaccines for dengue, oropouche, and/or zika... the latter being the virus that I've already personally experienced in Cuba. Terry

Yup. Around 3 months. Return flight is April 2nd. I'm leaning towards not getting the shot. I always avoid being outside during peak mosquito periods (sunrise/sunset) and I always wear long pants at night. And of course I'll be bringing lots of deet.

Understood, Simon. It's a judgement call. Let's hope that by the time BOTH of us get back to Cuba, the damned chikungunya and the other viruses too will have run their course and will essentially no longer be issues there in both Havana and Camaguey. On a side note, I've noticed over on the TA forum that Bob Micheals contracted the chikunguna virus in the Holguin area when visiting family there very recently. I feel bad for the old boy... now he'll be stuck with that bone and joint pain for several months. Terry

I see that there are still only flights out of Toronto for Havana this year with Westjet. I had decided to fly in and out of Varadero from Montreal and I will spend a few days in Jibacoa which I always wanted to visit. Jibacoa is about half way between Havana and Varadero for those who don't know.

Yes, let's hope these mosquito problems die down some as the cooler air arrives. Terry, I sent a message to BobMichaels a while ago about joining here. See if you have any luck. Tell him no politics but he can post his photos here (after the 10 post probation period is over). And while yer at it, CheersTerry as well.

Aaaaaaa! Bueno, Bob still hasn't called me back yet, but when he does, we'll be talking about a lot of different things. However I'll be sure to try to talk him into coming over and joining all of us here on the Fodor's Cuba forum too - and of course, warn him that there should be no political debates here - that will be a tuffy for him as you know. I've had Joann reach out to Lenny to try to get him over here as well... and JoJo herself! They're being resistant to change though. But CubanWaters, Joann very recently told me that TA will be soon shutting down the private message feature over there on that forum. Perhaps that might be the straw that breaks the camel's back and sends the rest of the desirable posters packing - no se. Of course, whenever I'm talking to anyone about the Fodor's Cuba forum, I'm making it clear that they should only share that info privately - talk ONLY amongst yourselves. God knows we don't need any of those dang TROLLS finding out and haunting us over here too. ;) Terry

I checked the price for me to fly to Havana through Toronto from Montreal and it is undesirable to say the least.

Terry, I should be sending you this by pm but for cripe sakes do not be inviting the riff-raff from TA over here. The reason I started posting here was to start an intimate group for independent Cuban travellers and get away from the moronism that is the TA forum. It’s bad enough that we’ve already had a gifting thread! If I see one single post about the lack of ketchup at the buffet, I will truly lose it.

So after a winter season of no flights to Cuba’s 3 largest cities, this year at least, we have the option of flying into Havana with Westjet from Toronto. It’s a start. It will be great to see more flights to Cuba from Canada in the near future.

This thread has really gone off-topic. My wife used to post on tripadvisor but couldn’t stand the people who used it for anything but travel related. It can get very slow on this forum but it’s of a better quality. I like it because of that.
We hope for the day when we can fly direct to Santiago. We have always taken overnight trips to Havana from Varadero. Despite all the problems, Cuba is still our favourite Caribbean destination.

I just noticed that HolaSun is offering Havana packages using the direct WestJet flights. Hopefully that entices some more tourists.

My WestJet flight from Havana to Toronto was almost completely full. I hope the overall demand was high enough and they will continue their seasonal flights starting in December 2026. The current service ends on April 23.

Yes and hopefully they add flights from Montreal as well. Actually flying in Varadero kind of dictated my trip for me. I would like to come back to Jibacoa some day.
I don’t know what will start up flights to Santiago and Camaguey again and the future looks bleak. I am happy though to have supported Cuba once again. Not looking forward to going home tomorrow. I wish I had Simon’s money! Jajaja!

I think even keeping the status quo in regards to flights to Cuba from Canada would be a win at this point. Flights to Camaguey or Santiago de Cuba are years away from reality. And I'm only rich when in Cuba. In Toronto, not so much.

Air Canada has no flights to Cuba until November. WestJet and Air Transat are still showing flights starting in May. Anyone think this will happen? An ultrabasic ticket from Toronto to Varadero is just over $300 r/t with WestJet.

Hey there, Simon. I'm beginning to have my doubts, but if just taking the needed jet fuel into consideration, I don't understand why Air Canada bailed when they could have just as easily entered into a contract for refueling on the trip back to Canada in the DR or the Bahamas. Easy peasy. And if they had to increase their pricing to compensate for that added necessity, than so be it! My hope is that both Sunwing and Air Transat are busy negotiating those contracts for refueling elsewhere now so they'll be ready to roll come May. I suppose we'll know if that's the case if their current online prices for flights bump up a bit soon.

Of course the other elephant in the room is what's going to happen once Captain Chaos is done with his illegal power grab in the middle east? He's saying that Cuba is next. Terry

At just over 300 bucks r/t I would actually maybe consider going for a week but the 80 usd taxi fare to Havana from Varadero that I paid in January I am sure has jumped up quite a bit. I have never been to Cuba in the summer and don’t plan to either, especially these days. Very hard to predict what will happen. I really hope it don’t get ugly.

The story of Cuba is of independence Che Guevara’s nephew once told me.

WestJet has followed Air Canada's lead and cancelled all flights to Cuba until November. AirTransat is still showing May flights. For now anyway.

Aaaaa! Well there we go! Just a matter of time - likely within the next 24 hours - and Air Transat is sure to follow as well. I've already decided though that I'll just wait to book Yudith to come HERE to Canada on October 25th - the first DIRECT flight out of Cayo Coco to Toronto - if of course that remains viable after the adjustment is made. She can stay here with me for 3 months and we'll both fly back to Cuba for Christmas / New Years together there in Camaguey with the rest of the family as usual. Terry

I still feel ripped off because I came home early. I should have just stayed in spite of objections and concerns from my family. I was just looking at flights through Miami with American Airlines.

AeroMexico flights to Havana via Mexico City are expensive. CopaAir has some good prices to Havana through Panama, but has an almost 9 hour layover on the first flight. I'm also thinking about flying with WestJet to Merida, Mexico and maybe spend a month or so there and make my way to Cuba after that.

Kudos to you Simon if you make it back to Cuba. If flights from Canada open up again, I would think about it, depending on the flights. Yeah winter is still hanging around these parts.

Things need to happen fairly quickly if I plan on returning soon. The main thing I am waiting for is regular shipments of oil to resume. I have no desire to be in Cuba during the summer. I'd like to go from mid April to mid June.

Our Cuba plans are finished for this year but we will definitely return next winter if things have normalized. If the usa has their dirty hand in there, we will go somewhere else.

Air Transat has moved its date to return to Cuba to mid June from May 1st.