Whether this is your first trip to the Republic of Cuba (Cuba) or your one hundredth, it’s still useful to know some travel facts before you go:Where is Cuba?
Cuba is a 42,800 square mile (110,860 square kilometer) topical island located in the Caribbean, 95 miles (150 kilometers) south of Key West, Florida. Although the island is the largest in the Caribbean, due in part to its recent communist policies, it is also the least commercialized of the Caribbean islands.Who are the Cubans?
As at its last census, Cuba had a total population of 11 million people. Its people are a mixture of a majority of Spanish descendents – 60 percent of its population – and others who have descend from the Caribbean’s colorful slave-trade history -11 percent of its population descend from mainland Africa. Recent population influxes from fellow communist China account for approximate 1 percent of the modern-day population.What languages do they speak?
Spanish is the official language of Cuba; however, it would be fair to say that Cubans residing in major towns speak English adequately enough for this not to be a major issue if you don’t happen to speak Spanish.Aren’t there travel bans on visiting Cuba?
Currently, The Helms-Burton Act prohibits travel to Cuba from the United States.Do I need a Visa?
Yes; to all intense and purpose all visitors to Cuba are required to have a Cuban visa or tourist card. However, provided that you are located outside of the United States, visas to Cuba are not particularly onerous to obtain and should be arranged as part of your package tour/travel arrangements with your tour operator when you make your booking.Do I need any other documents?
Besides your visa, all visitors to Cuba are required to have a valid passport and return ticket. In the event that you are considering hiring a car on the island, you’ll also need to bring your driving license, and carrying an international driving license might also be considered prudent practice.Is there anything else I need to be aware of?Although largely under commercialized, comparable with other Caribbean islands, Cuba is very pleasant in that there is little to no violent crime committed against tourist on the island. A large part of this lack of tourist-related crime may be due to the very heavy penalties in place against those caught perpetrating a crime against a tourist. That said, any visitor to the island should still maintain a healthy level of vigilance. With this in mind, the only real concerns that you need to keep in mind are of pick-pockets/handbag snatches (which does occur in the major cities) and the numerous sales “pitches” made to you – not all of which are genuine!
