Travel&Vacation

Cuba—long off-limits to ordinary American tourists—may once again become an enticing vacation option. Last month, U.S. representatives Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) submitted a bill that would require the administration to allow U.S. citizens to visit Cuba and allow U.S. travel agencies to book them; a similar bill was subsequently filed in the Senate. Press reports indicate that both bills enjoy bipartisan support.

Although the new bills represent a potentially major policy change, final implementation is by no means certain. U.S. policy toward all things Cuban has been largely controlled by the Republican power structure in Florida, which caters to the fiercely anti-Castro exile community. It remains to be seen whether Congress can come up with enough votes to pass a final bill, and if it does, whether the president will sign or veto it.

Cuba, at one time, was a highly popular winter vacation destination for American travelers, especially from the Northeast. If you’ve ever seen that great musical “Guys and Dolls,” you’ll remember that an important element of the plot involved Sky Masterson’s bet that he could con the lady from the Save-a-Soul Mission into an evening in Havana (which he did). Until Castro took over the government in 1959, Cuba offered three main appeals to U.S. visitors:

• A wide-open Havana, with casino gambling and easily available prostitution, both with reputed strong connections to the mob.
• The more sedate allure of history, culture, and cuisine.
• Fabulous Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean beaches—most notably Varadero, about 70 miles east of the capital.

I vaguely remember my parents’ taking me to Cuba for two weeks as a 10- or 11-year-old, just before World War II. I don’t remember much of Havana, but I do remember staying at the only hotel in Varadero, a ramshackle two-story wooden structure. After the war, I clearly remember big-time tourism to Cuba, including nonstop flights from New York to Havana and Miami to Varadero.

When Castro took over and expropriated property owned by U.S. corporations and individuals, the U.S. reaction was to clamp down on tourism to Cuba, which got even tighter after the Bay of Pigs invasion. Since then, Americans can visit Cuba legally only as part of an accepted religious or educational tour, or illegally by traveling through Canada, Mexico, or a Caribbean country.

Despite losing the U.S. market, Cuba pushed ahead with tourist developments aimed at other visitor sources. Varadero, in particular, has been built up, largely with European-based hotels, into a beach resort complex rivaling those on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. Dozens of planeloads, mainly charters filled with visitors from Canada and Europe, arrive there every week: For a look at the development, check out the Canadian tour operator Sunquest. Other Cuban beach centers, too, boast world-class tourist accommodations and resorts.

My guess is that if the new initiative passes, your initial options will be package tours that include air, hotel, and transfers. I suspect the Cuban government won’t want too many individual U.S. tourists roaming around unsupervised.

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