Opportunities for Cuban Travel in the Next Several Months Are Underwhelming

It is now nearly a year since the Obama Administration announced it would permit religious, cultural, or educational tours of Cuba as an exception to the general embargo against travel to it. But despite an initial belief that substantial numbers of people would arrange for such trips, the results have been disappointing. As best I can tell, seven companies -- Austin-Lehman, National Geographic, Witness for Peace, Globus, Abercrombie & Kent, Friendly Planet, and Insight Cuba -- have announced they would each operate relatively small programs (five or six departures per year, in most instances), but one of those companies (Abercrombie & Kent) has decisively cancelled the program after learning further details of the regulations, and two other companies (Globus and Austin-Lehman) have been extremely tentative in describing their vague intention of going into the Cuba market. Globus, for instance, has said it is still waiting for a license that it would enable it to operate the program.
 
So you have only four tour operators with remaining, small programs on the books. And three of those operators charge so much for the trip -- at least $4,000 in high season (not including airfare) per person, based on double occupancy -- that the market for their offerings seems slight. Even Friendly Planet is charging over $450 a day per person for its four-day program to Cuba.
 
It's apparent to me that the fierce opponents of any "opening up" of relations with Cuba have effectively (or at least partially) closed the door to any major travel movement. These include Cuban-American members of Congress from Florida, and New Jersey's Senator Robert Menendez.
 
As in so many other fields, we'll have to await political developments -- namely, the national election in November of 2012 -- for further clarification. Until then, and unless you are willing to make large expenditures for the trip, you can put aside those hopes for travel to the Caribbean nation.