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!...........

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.