So yeah I went to another country with a friend, we bought a ticket to Cuba from a drunk Mexican at the airport in Cancun and almost went to blows inside Margaritaville at Cancun airport.  But in the end, the process was still an adventure that was nothing short of PRICELESS.

In preparation for our trip, there was a combination of excitement, nervousness and even doubt.  With the embargo in place, we knew this trip would be a risk but what’s life without a bit of tomfoolery.  We scurried the Internet for real life stories of everyday Americans that successful trekked to Havana, Cuba.  The web was full of great insight and suggestions from the blogger community, however some things just didn’t go as planned when we got there.  Even with the conflicting accounts online, here’s a few blogs we found helpful:

http://dontforgettomove.com/americans-traveing-to-cuba-illegally/#

http://triphackr.com/how-to-travel-to-cuba-illegally

Want to travel to Cuba illegally too?  Here’s the inside scoop on what to understand and expect:

1.    Legal Travel vs. Illegal Travel – Please be warned traveling from America to Cuba legally is expensive. Since President Obama has been in office, the US has eased up on restrictions allowing Americans to visit Cuba under very specific guidelines and special visas.  The legal option would require going through a tour company or group under educational, cultural, journalistic or religious purposes.  On the contrary, traveling illegally is very affordable depending on the country from which you enter.  The Cuban community is very open to American travelers and offer housing also know as Casa Particulars, as an alternative to resort or hotel lodging.

2.    Getting There – You can either pre-book (highly suggested) or figure it out when you get there.  We decided the latter, hence getting our entire trip booked through a drunk Mexican dude & having a stressful heated exchange in the middle of Cancun airport.  It was risky, however we got there safe & sound with ZERO incident from our ‘travel agent.’  He was very resourceful and even secured our shuttle service to Playa de Carmen where we stayed two nights before our departure to Cuba.

There are multiple cities that have direct flights to Havana.  We decided on Cancun after reports of frequent flights along with affordable ticket prices through AeroMexico, Copa Airlines and Cubana Aviacion.  Please note that some airlines have limited departures based on days of week for flights departing to Cuba.  Our round-trip ticket prices from Cancun to Cuba cost between $300 – $750.

3.    Passport, stamped or no? – It is imperative to pre-purchase your Cuban visa before boarding your flight.  In Cancun it costs $25 and was a very simple process, just be sure to keep this slip for your return flight.  The passport stamping process was the tricky part for us.  Most bloggers wrote that Cuban customs officers will stamp the visa receipt, which is recommended and preferred.  However, our American passports were actually stamped by Cuban customs officers.  We were completely freaked out!  Just be warned that this may happen and be prepared for any outcome.  Luckily our return to US was uneventful.

4.    Currency: CUC vs. Cuban Peso – You cannot use US debit or credit cards once inside the country, so please be sure to bring plenty of cash.  As tourists you will need to exchange USD to CUC, which is convertible to about 1:1 with additional exchange fees.  The Cuban Peso is used only by local Cuban’s which is the unit in which their salaries are paid.  For perspective the CUC is 25 times more valuable than the local Cuban peso.

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There is so much more to know about this beautiful city, however we will leave that up for individual interpretation through future posts on our specific experiences in Old Havana.  Please be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my blog, to get updates on our Cuba trip & other exciting adventures in the horizon.