Tips and Recommendations for Trip: LAX-CUN & CUN-HAV
 

Hi all,

Anybody been to Cancun or Cuba (Havana) before? Wife wants to do CUN-HAV a couple of days after we get to CUN, but I wonder what the legalities are since we aren't doing a tour group. Anybody have loophole info on that or is it fine since we are heading from CUN anyways?
If we do end up going to HAV, I don't see any nonstop award possibilities for CUN-HAV. Revenue is $234 pax r/t for May 10-14, and award is 30k AV pax r/t on AM. Seems like eating revenue and paying with Barclay Arrival is the only way, but I'm open to other alts, if any.
Any recommended tour guides, excursions, places to eat, and places to visit in Cancun, Tulum, and Havana? We plan to use Uber in MX if cheap for closer locations, but if hiring a driver for a few days is best, let me know.
For hotels, we're going cheap with Aloft in CUN at 4k SPG/night. I'm still researching Tulum which is probably going to be AirBnb, and HAV has a Four Points, but it's 12k SPG and revenue is $184/night, so doesn't seem worth it. Worst case, we could stay at casa particulares, but I would need wifi to work. Any recommendations on CPs in Cuba? If we decide to do Four Points, would that be an issue being that my SPG account shows me as a US citizen? Would we need Visas still?Hope that makes sense.

Any other tips? All help appreciated.

Traveling to Cuba is legal if you're traveling for one of the permitted reasons for travel. You do not have to be part of a tour. You still need the visa no matter what.
A heads up but Cuba can be very expensive especially when it comes to data/internet access.
The food, culture and dancing is great though.

Tulum I liked a lot and if you're going to stay there for a night or three I suggest Be Tulum. It's a small beachside hotel that is very relaxing and actually has a great restaurant which is something I generally avoid but this one really does a good job. Mateo's has great fish tacos, Casa Banana often has a long wait but the food is well worth it & El Camelo in the town of Tulum is a great authentic spot mostly full of locals and is very very affordable.

A Tulum alternative is Isla Holbox which is a little closer to Cancun but less popular.

Thanks for the info. I'll add them to the list. I appreciate it.

I was in Playa Del Carmen and Havana last month. You can buy a Cuban Tourist Card at CUN for $20. They were selling them at the Interjet checking area when we arrived.

Tulum was ok, the scenery is lovely but I found it a bit boring otherwise. The Mayan ruins at Cobá are much more interesting. Booking a guided tour is probably the best option to see these places.

I found internet to be non-existent in Cuba. At HAV I bought a prepaid wifi card for the airport wifi which only worked airside. They didn't tell me this beforehand and I needed online to buy the Canada eTA before being able to go airside. Otherwise, none of the touristy bars we visited had wifi.

Thankls for the info.

If you are a USA citizen or resident, you an easily go to Cuba via Mexico. However, you are still subject to the current regulations governing American resident and citizen travel to Cuba, as set forth by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U. S. Treasury.

Though nobody I know of recently (I do know people who traveled to Cuba via Canada and Mexico who were fined by the US Government) has been fined, I'd not put too much reliance on what the current Administration might or might not do vis a vis Cuba.

Read the Wikipost at the top of this page in the thread, as well as the thread. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cuba/...nces-only.html.

If you are a legal USA citizen or resident, you must:

1) You must declare you visited Cuba otour US Customs and Immigration form, or if asked where you've visited. US ICE and CBP don't largely seem to care, but hiding your visit technically violates 18 USC 1001*, with a potential 5 years of prison and large fine (ask Martha Stewart how that law works). At least you may well lose any Global Entry and PreCheck you may have.

*which generally prohibits knowingly and willfully making false or fraudulent statements, or concealing information, in "any matter within the jurisdiction" of the federal government of the United States, even by mere denial.

2) All Americans traveling to Cuba without a specific license must be at least able to self declare their visit was under one of the twelve categories okayed by OFAC.

This may seem okay to be taken lightly, but we are talking about Federal laws here. And yes, I have been to Cuba; yes, I know people who were found out and sanctioned for unauthorized visits to Cuba.