Is it okay for U.S. citizens to visit Cuba from the D.R.?

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Potato_Salad

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Oct 13, 2005
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Hey everyone :)

I plan to visit the Dominican Republic early next month.

Is it okay for U.S. citizens to visit Cuba (from Santo Domingo to Havana and then back to Santo Domingo)?

My friend told me that if I depart from Santo Domingo and arrive in Havana, the Cuban officials will NOT stamp my passport. Therefore, there is no proof that I went to Cuba.

I just want to tour Cuba and try its food and see what its culture is all about. :classic:
 
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Escott

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Jan 14, 2002
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Potato_Salad said:
Hey everyone :)

I plan to visit the Dominican Republic early next month.

Is it okay for U.S. citizens to visit Cuba (from Santo Domingo to Havana and then back to Santo Domingo)?

My friend told me that if I depart from Santo Domingo and arrive in Havana, the Cuban officials will NOT stamp my passport. Therefore, there is no proof that I went to Cuba.

I just want to tour Cuba and try its food and see what its culture is all about. :classic:
Click to expand...
Just ask them not to stamp your passport. Better yet take a Dominican and have them pay for you. Not actually illegal to travel there but illegal to spend money there.

Other than the the Ballet there is NO culture and FOOD is hard to come by. People are starving there. They go to jail if caught with more than a minimum amount of rice. Speak to a gringo and they also go to jail. Hookers are no longer in Cuba. Castro after all the years of attracting people to Cuba for that alone is no longer letting that happen. Now the only hookers you will see are paying off the police. Go to a restaurant that only accepts foreign currency and they have a 12 page menu but only have 2 things if you are lucky! Go to a peso restaurant and they have NOTHING.

Non Peso stores have minimal. Peso stores have NADA.

Hotels are as expensive as any major city. When you get there tell them you are staying at the National. If you don't have a place to stay they book you into the most expensive place in Havana. Go to the hotel district and ask a cab for a private residence. 30 bux a person mas y menos.

I wouldnt go there again till after the fall. Just not pleasant.

Escott
 
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Ricardo900

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Jul 12, 2004
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Also,

Cuba will not accept US Dollars or US Bank credit cards, so you will need to convert your greenbacks to Canadian or Euros. If you are smart you will invest in a money belt to hide some emergency cash. Also, if the Cubans won't stamp your passport on your way in, the dominicans definitely will stamp it on your return and then you'll have to explain the reason for 2 entrada stamps and only 1 salida on your trip to the DR.

I advise that you travel on your birth certificate to the DR and back.
And then use your passport via cuba and back
 
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Potato_Salad

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Oct 13, 2005
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Escott said:
Just ask them not to stamp your passport. Better yet take a Dominican and have them pay for you. Not actually illegal to travel there but illegal to spend money there.

Other than the the Ballet there is NO culture and FOOD is hard to come by. People are starving there. They go to jail if caught with more than a minimum amount of rice. Speak to a gringo and they also go to jail. Hookers are no longer in Cuba. Castro after all the years of attracting people to Cuba for that alone is no longer letting that happen. Now the only hookers you will see are paying off the police. Go to a restaurant that only accepts foreign currency and they have a 12 page menu but only have 2 things if you are lucky! Go to a peso restaurant and they have NOTHING.

Non Peso stores have minimal. Peso stores have NADA.

Hotels are as expensive as any major city. When you get there tell them you are staying at the National. If you don't have a place to stay they book you into the most expensive place in Havana. Go to the hotel district and ask a cab for a private residence. 30 bux a person mas y menos.

I wouldnt go there again till after the fall. Just not pleasant.

Escott
Click to expand...

Thank you Escott for the information. I greatly appreciate it. :classic:

Wow, I did not know that Cuba was that rough and tough. But I will stay at the National like you said. I just hope that I do not bump into Castro. lol :rambo:

Have a good day!
 
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FireGuy

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It is my understanding that they will not accept $CDN or Euros either. All foreign currency now has to be exchanged for what is called the Convertible Peso and in the conversion 1$US = 1 Convertible Peso* with the other currencies trading at approximately their exchange rates vs the $US against the Convertible Peso.

*The exception to this is the $US. Even though on the face 1$US = 1Convertible Peso when you exchange $US cash for Convertible Pesos you are penalized 10% unlike other currencies like $CDN or Euros.

This happened in November 2004.

If you Google "Cuba convertible peso" without the quotation marks you will get tons of info.

Gregg
 
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Potato_Salad

On Vacation!
Oct 13, 2005
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Ricardo900 said:
Cuba will not accept US Dollars or US Bank credit cards, so you will need to convert your greenbacks to Canadian or Euros. If you are smart you will invest in a money belt to hide some emergency cash. Also, if the Cubans won't stamp your passport on your way in, the dominicans definitely will stamp it on your return and then you'll have to explain the reason for 2 entrada stamps and only 1 salida on your trip to the DR.

I advise that you travel on your birth certificate to the DR and back.
And then use your passport via cuba and back
Click to expand...

Thank you Ricardo900 for the information. I greatly appreciate it! :classic:

So the Dominicans will stamp my passport when I return from Cuba?
I heard that from now on, all foreigners who visit the DR need to provide a passport (which I do).

Hmmmmm, if this is the case, then I would have to wait until the U.S. and Cuba established diplomatic ties which will not happen in the next 30 years. *:cry:

Thank God we can at least visit the DR freely!!! :classic:
 
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Potato_Salad

On Vacation!
Oct 13, 2005
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FireGuy said:
It is my understanding that they will not accept $CDN or Euros either. All foreign currency now has to be exchanged for what is called the Convertible Peso and in the conversion 1$US = 1 Convertible Peso* with the other currencies trading at approximately their exchange rates vs the $US against the Convertible Peso.

*The exception to this is the $US. Even though on the face 1$US = 1Convertible Peso when you exchange $US cash for Convertible Pesos you are penalized 10% unlike other currencies like $CDN or Euros.

This happened in November 2004.

If you Google "Cuba convertible peso" without the quotation marks you will get tons of info.

Gregg
Click to expand...

Thank you Gregg for the information. I greatly appreciate it! :classic:

Cuba is just like North Korea--a mess (economically)!
 
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ricktoronto

Grande Pollo en Boca Chica
Jan 9, 2002
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FireGuy said:
It is my understanding that they will not accept $CDN or Euros either. All foreign currency now has to be exchanged for what is called the Convertible Peso and in the conversion 1$US = 1 Convertible Peso* with the other currencies trading at approximately their exchange rates vs the $US against the Convertible Peso.
Click to expand...

Lots of people will accept CAD or Euros, since you can use them to buy CUC's. Casas particular price their rooms as to be paid in CUC's but are happy to get hard currency as a hedge. The US$ is accepted for exchange to CUC's with a 10% penalty applied which is more than the usual exchange rate loss you'd face buying CAD or Euros so you are better off buying them initially.

There are people to meet and talk to and no jail and there are still companions freely available, not as hard core as the jiniteras of before but there are lots.

There is no shortage of food for tourists as well. None at all.

Many US Citizens will use Canada or Mexico to access Cuba - you can still enter Canada with ID and Mexico is famous for waiving stamps (and don't use exit stamps, same as Canada) for a small fee.

If you have enough stamps in your US passport I doubt INS would open it and start auditing in and out stamps anyway. That is theoretically possible though I suspect at the point they think you were there for some other reason, like that Che! T-Shirt you are wearing.

I think one of the biggest dangers if they haven't improved the fleet is flying Cubana on Ilyushin or Antonov jets. Cubana flies ex-Canada and the Canada gov't prohibits these aircraft, and I think they actually use aircraft services provided by TACA with Cubana livery and Airbuses.
 
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helpmann

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May 18, 2004
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Cigars, Rum, and Women = CUBA

Was in Cuba in March 2005. I would continue to go back if it were not for the time, expense, and recent rumors of increased searches at US Customs (I have to bring back rum and cigars.) Otherwise, a lot of fun!!


Have a good time!!!
Helpmann


LOGISTICS:
1. Cubana airlines flys between Havana and Santo Domingo (SDQ) on Thursdays and Sundays. [SDQ->Havana: Thr/Sun: 1:35pm - 3:30pm; Havana->SDQ Thr/Sun: 9:55am - 12:05pm]
2. COST: US$409 + US$20 (tourist card) + US$20 (departure tax) = US$449.00 cash
3. The round-trip ticket was bought at the Cubana airlines check-in desk at Las Americas 2 hours before the flight (the Cubana SDQ desk is only open the day of departure, 2-3 hours before the flight lifts off.)
4. The ticket was purchased by a man working out of his suitcase, standing next to the check-in desk (I was directed by a Cubana employee at the check-in desk to purchase my ticket from him.)
5. I checked-in approx. 90lbs of luggage (2 suitcases) and brought one carry-on. On the return flight, I could only check-in 30 Kilos of luggage. I was 13 Kilos overweight and was charged approx. US$4.50/lb (cost of US$60.)
6. Flight time: 2 hours on a Russian Jet (a meal was served, it was not very good :(.)
7. While passing through customs, I was questioned about my reasons for being in Cuba (leisure)
8. My passport was not stamped (it's a given that Cuban officials will not stamp US passports.)
 
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