Originally Posted by
SJOGuy
There's nothing false about my statement. I was echoing what you said in my first post here. You seem to be looking for a disagreement here.
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I would simply like those who would like to travel directly from the US to know that the world apparently doesn't come to an end these days, with fines or imprisonment or immigration re-entry problems or being "bound" by anything, for people who choose to create their own people-to-people tour.
Originally Posted by
SJOGuy
Anyway, back to the OP: You will have an easier time of it if you travel via a third country. That does not mean that you've followed U.S. law.
The fares are really not any cheaper from the US (unless maybe you live in Florida or get one of the cheap promotional "new route" flights) or through another nearby country, so it's a toss up.
As for easier, going direct from the US is now no much more difficult than through a third country. (pay for flight, get visa, get insurance, get boarding pass, fly)
There are 12 categories, among them "people-to-people", that are being more liberally interpreted by all parties concerned as "following US law".
So there is no real need for scary or off-putting phrasing that might put doubt into the mind of any reader who is thinking about traveling to experience the culture there now.
It is not uncharted territory; millions of non-US passport holders regularly vacation there. And the regular travelers with US passports go ....regularly and often. Nor is the country probably going to succumb to US culture and lose its uniqueness when the embargo is lifted (at least one more year, according to Obama the other day), with a MickyD's on every street corner as some fear.
A good, reliable resource are the frequent travelers on the Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree forum for Cuba.
Not an argument; just facts.