Getting There

From Mexico: Costs of flying on Mexicana are about $220 from Mexico City and $110 from Cancun each way. Several have recommended travel agent Divermex in Cancun, phone 011-52-98-84-50-05 (be advised that they don’t speak English) or visit the Divermex web page. Also mentioned are English-speaking Cuba Travel Service, contactable by e-mail or on the web. Prices are about $175 RT (on AeroCaribe or Cubana). Travel packages with air only or with several nights’ accomodation are readily available on short notice from many travel agents around Cancun.

You can also get tix on Cubana right at the Cancun airport. I’ve received 3 separate price reports: $182 R/T, $75 RT, and $190 RT including tourist card. Make sure you get there a couple hours early or they won’t sell you a ticket. And be careful on the return date, as you may be bumped or the flight may be cancelled, so don’t schedule your return too closely to a connecting flight from Cancun back home. You can check the Cubana schedule on the web.

From Tijuana, Taino Tours charters Aero Mexico for a once-weekly flight for $530 RT. It leaves on Saturday at 6 pm PST, stops in Monterrey, and arrives in Havana at 3:30 am EST. Call (66) 84-70-01 to book. (from mrjjs@adnc.com)

If you are coming and going from Mexico, be aware that there is a new law in Mexico where you can only arrive with a maximum of one box of cigars, three liters of alcohol and 200 cigarettes--even if you are just in transit. In Cancun, customs will be all over you; it’s hard to avoid. (from kcfoster@hotmail.com)

Between the US and Mexico: kcfoster@hotmail.com successfully flew Airhitch between San Francisco and Cancun for $209 RT. For this kind of trip you have to be flexible on your departure and return dates, so it’s not for the short-on-time.

From Canada: Toronto is the most common Canadian jumping off point. Try watching the major Canadian newspapers for tour companies offering last-minute or not-so-last-minute air only transport for low prices. Vancouver to Varadero RT tickets have been seen for as low as $199.

Promtrav@istar.ca was happy with quotes obtained from local (Toronto) travel agents through www.tripquote.com.

Cuba@together.net has had good luck with Club Stan-Buy in Montreal. They’re consolidators that sell last-minute seats, with prices ranging from $140 to $425 (average $225) depending on demand and availability. You have to return within 2-3 weeks, however. If you overstay the expiration on your ticket, you’ll need to buy a one-way ticket back (about $200) from Signatur, Club Montreal, or the other tour operators in the big cities.

Netssa sells tickets and packages from Canada and posts airfares from Toronto every week (self-referral).

From the Bahamas: Cubana flies daily from Nassau to Havana (the Havanatur office in Nassau can be reached at 394-7195). Tickets are $200 RT including tourist card, cash only. There’s a $15 departure tax from Nassau unless you’re only in transit. This info is from David.Maurel@ctr.renault.fr who also reported that he changed his return date and had to pay $25 to modify the tourist card.

If this is your transfer point, be prepared for U.S. customs hassles and confiscation of cigars and rum on your return to Nassau, however. The U.S. customs office has a “preclearance center” there, and while it doesn’t arrest or fine U.S. citizens coming from Cuba, it does give them stern lectures. Here are some tips about maneuvering the customs system.

From Holland: Martinair offers low fares and flies from Amsterdam to Holguin and Varadero and back each Sunday (from berg.chabot@pi.net).

From France: AOM flies Monday and Friday from Paris to Havana and also flies to Santiago (from jeanpaul.teinturier@hol.fr and stephen.psallidas@granada-learning.com).

From Spain: Iberia Airlines flies daily from Madrid to Havana (from jeanpaul.teinturier@hol.fr, who warns of delays with Iberia).

From Belgium: City Bird flies weekly from Brussels to Cuba, alternating between Varadero and Camaguey for about US$555 (20,000 Belgian francs). Cubana flies from Brussels to Havana every week for about US$590. (from frederik.vanhaverbeke@elis.rug.ac.be)

From Denmark: Cubana flies from Copenhagen to Havana via Manchester, England beginning mid-December, 1997. (from jonanders@geocities.com)

From Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, & Ireland: Aeroflot flies via Moscow and Shannon, Ireland to Havana for US$630 from Switzerland and US$560 from the Czech Republic or Slovakia. Jets are comfortable, luggage compartments huge, and flight crews polite. (from colarowl@chlsnr.nestrd.ch)

From Central America: Third-hand reports say that inexpensive packages such as $350 RT from Costa Rica to Havana including a week in a hotel are available.

Departure Tax: The departure tax for international flights leaving Havana is $30.

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