cahale Loc: San Angelo, TX

Given this, why would anyone want to go to Cuba. I've heard that some of the unwilling guests there really don't like it. Go to Puerto Rico instead. And remember that it's "Pwerto," not "Porto," as all the Jeopardy contestants seem to think.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

Ronichas did not say that Cuba has a better health care system than the US. She said that "They have better health care than many in the USA have."
https://www.pbs.org/healthcarecrisis/uninsured.html
From the foregoing article: "About 44 million people in this country have no health insurance, and another 38 million have inadequate health insurance. This means that nearly one-third of Americans face each day without the security of knowing that, if and when they need it, medical care is available to them and their families.

Having no health insurance also often means that people will postpone necessary care and forego preventive care - such as childhood immunizations and routine check-ups-completely. Because the uninsured usually have no regular doctor and limited access to prescription medications, they are more likely to be hospitalized for health conditions that could have been avoided.

Delaying care for fear of medical bills is a downward spiral that leads to ultimately higher health care costs for all of us. More than one third of uninsured adults reported they have problems paying their bills, which helps explain why many of the uninsured don't seek out the care they need until the last minute."

How do you know that things haven't changed that much in Cuba in six years? Did you visit and see with your own eyes? And you seem pretty comfortable accusing someone of being paid by the regime to propagandize. If Cuba was such a pleasure to live in during the reign of Batista then why did the populace welcome Castro and his promise of democracy? Why didn't they fight for Batista?

berchman Loc: South Central PA

Only in your own fevered right wing imagination is anyone here promoting or praising communism. I enjoyed traveling through Burma and taking pictures. Does that mean I praise a military dictatorship which commits atrocities on the Rohinga? The Burmese I met were very nice. I traveled in Iran whose people have the well-deserved reputation of being the most hospitable of all people. Does that mean I approve of Sharia law and the religious fanatics who rule?

berchman Loc: South Central PA

The first YouTube video you link to is right wing propaganda produced by Turning Point USA:
Turning Point’s budget of over eight million dollars is funded by donors, many of whom prefer to remain anonymous. However, founder Charlie Kirk admits that donors include those “in the fossil-fuel space”— perhaps why Turning Point has organized campus opposition to calls for schools to divest from fossil-fuel companies......Turning Point may have violated federal rules prohibiting 501(c)(3) charities from engaging in political activity by aiding Republican political campaigns, according to reports in the Chronicle of Higher Education and the New Yorker.

The guy making the second video says that Cuba is beautiful and the people are great. It shows typical third world poverty, so what else is new? No one here is praising Communism, but how about focusing on how our great country is rapidly becoming a banana republic?

Starman441 Loc: Iguana Land, Fl.

This link has rhe latest D.O.S. Restrictions as of 1/20/2020:

https://www.state.gov/united-states-further-restricts-air-travel-to-cuba/

It lays out what, when & why.

aellman Loc: Boston MA

Yeah, he might run into the very car he traded in 30years ago!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I've know a couple of people who have gone there. Basically, you stay with a family. I'll see if I can get more info. Below is a picture a my friends in their rental car.

ronichas Loc: Long Island

Here are a few images of the team we use in Cuba.
Our group from January 2020, our guide and driver are kneeling in the front.

philo Loc: philo, ca

the statement talks about charter flights; what about regular flights i.e. American Airlines? they have flights going everyday.

truckster Loc: Tampa Bay Area

I try to avoid discussions with wing nuts although I applaud you in your attempt. It is something akin to playing chess with a pidgeon. The bird struts around knocking over the chess pieces, defecates on the board, and acts as if it won.

gmw12 Loc: Indianapolis & Windsor/UK & Montreux/Switzerl

I never felt unsafe even in Havana centro. Just avoid the inevitable hookers (usually asking for a drink when they spot a lonely male at the bar).

I was solo. I booked rooms in so-called casa particulares, i.e. private homes in great conditions, often tastefully decorated. When you need transportation, ask the home owner to make the arrangement and always ask for the cost beforehand. Bring cash, it's easier. American Express is definitively not welcome...(It's actually useless).

Cuba is great for street photography: check out my two latest posts here. Havana is worth 2 or 3 days, Trinidad another couple of days, as well as Cienfuegos. Santa Clara has a Che Guevara memorial, and the train he robbed for weapons.

You can PM me if you have specific questions.

truckster Loc: Tampa Bay Area

I'm guessing those that talk down about other countries haven't really been to many major American cities, like Baltimore, St Louis, Kansas City, Kansas ... Flint and Detroit.

I've seen the poverty in Cuba, but I have also seen parts of Detroit, Camden, New Jersey, West Philadelphia, Baltimore, South Atlanta, and parts of Miami. Our country has been on a forty-five-year course to destroy itself. Once the world looked to us for examples to become themselves. Now we are reduced to selling off parts of America while our infrastructure and our cities deteriorate and wither.

redorb

Going solo is risky. Never say anything negative about the government, everyone's a spy. They don't take credit cards or dollars bring euros. Try and stay in a hotel for safety. Traveling alone and staying at an airBnB you don't know the neighborhood and at night, risky. When I came back to the States I was questioned as to what I was doing there, fortunately I was there on a photo shoot.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

The reply from my friend -

Ah Cuba! A wonderful country, so close yet so far!

Travel is restricted, yet open.

US Carriers are prohibited, but individuals can travel on their own from other countries.

Some US Travelers are permitted with special visas. (this has always been the case, since 1959, cultural visas, scientific, etc. but are still restricted)

Best advice - See US State Department information and other sites….


https://www.adventurouskate.com/can-americans-travel-to-cuba/


https://www.viahero.com/travel-to-cuba/can-i-travel-to-cuba

https://cu.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/traveling-to-cuba/

The US Embassy information would be the best advice!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

More from my friend -

There is so much official information out there! Research to do, decisions to make and not trust single individuals.

Our trip to Cuba was for 14 days. Lots to see and do, of our travelers, many had different opinions, and observations.

Again the US Dept. of State is a wonderful resource.