Legal Travel to Cuba

The Law Regarding Travel to Cuba

Any American citizen or resident wishing to travel to Cuba must abide by regulations set forth by the U.S. Treasury Department.  You may be asking yourself, “Why the Treasury Department?” It is because all U.S. dollars, regardless of whether they are in your wallet or not, are controlled by the U.S. Treasury Department.  When the U.S. Government decided to limit trade with Cuba and restrict travel for its citizens, it did so by placing strict controls on U.S. currency.  To monitor the situation the Treasury Department has a division dedicated solely to monitoring and controlling U.S. dollars outside of our country.  This department is called The Office for Foreign Assets Control (OFAC); and it plays a key role in governing all activities concerning Cuba.  All travelers and charter flights to Cuba must abide by rules set forth by OFAC. Any transaction involving Cuba or a Cuban National, must comply by regulations written and enforced by OFAC.

Recently, President Obama issued an executive decree making it possible for U.S. citizens to visit Cuba under certain circumstances.  One travel category is described as People to People Educational Exchanges.  This category stipulates that visitors to Cuba will engage in a full-time schedule of educational exchange activities resulting in meaningful interaction between the travelers and individuals in Cuba.

Cuba Cultural Travel was granted a People to People license by the Treasury Department on July 15, 2011.  This one-year license allows Cuba Cultural Travel to operate tours in Cuba. These tours are open to all Americans, and no application or approval process is required.  This license stipulates that our travelers must be part of a group and must adhere to the approved itinerary.