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| Above, the El Capitolio in Havana. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The following on travel to Cuba doesn't really do Americans much good since travel restrictions were re-imposed in 2019. Thankfully, I managed to cruise down to Cuba with Royal Caribbean about two months before those restrictions were re-imposed.
However, should they be lifted by the Biden Administration (so far, they haven't done a thing), the following by Forbes is of interest to potential travelers.
They begin with:
The Day-Glo colored American cars from the pre-Castro 1950’s are again rolling through the streets of Havana, restaurants and hotels have re-opened or newly appeared on the scene, the quarantine requirement ended in November and 90% of the islanders have been vaccinated against COVID (and there’s a mask mandate.)
Cuba has really had a seesaw tourism experience with the U.S. over the last few years: mostly blocked from Americans for decades until restrictions were loosened in 2015 leading to a veritable avalanche of tourists arriving on new direct flights and cruise ships. New restrictions came back during the Trump years and haven’t yet been reversed, blocking Americans from any business (among them: major hotels such as the Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski La Habana) in which the government is a partner, then the pandemic flattened travel worldwide. Now, even with fits and starts travel is resuming and equipped with a well-developed medical structure that can add a level of security to travelers, Cuba is well positioned to welcome travelers back just as winter sets in. And the warmth of the weather would be matched by the warmth of the people, expressed in a palpable joy to see American travelers visit as they did in the first wave in 2015.
To read more, go here.
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