How to Plan a Trip to Cuba: Travelogue Podcast

Navigating Cuba (and the American restrictions still in place) can be a challenge. Here's what you need to know before you go.

How do you plan a trip to a country where the rules keep changing? In the past 18 months, since the United States and Cuba eased embargo tensions and opened up borders, we've been scrambling to get to the island nation before the proverbial door's shut in our face again. (Hey, you never know.) Cuba was listed as one of Traveler's Top 17 Places to Visit in 2017 for good reason: We can't stop talking about the art scene in Havana; the horseback riding in Viñales; the colonial architecture of Trinidad. Notice we're not talking about downing mojitos on a beach somewhere (though we did down plenty of mojitos)—technically, Americans still can't travel to Cuba just for tourism. You have to visit under one of 12 categories of authorized travel established by the U.S. government—including family visits, humanitarian projects, and journalistic activity—but even those categories keep changing. Half of today's podcasters visited under an early "people-to-people tour" mandate; that's since been abandoned in favor of a broader "support for the Cuban people" category.

And once you're there, can you use U.S. credit cards? Is there actually Wi-Fi? Do you need to speak Spanish? Are the hotels any good, or should you Airbnb? How do you fly there? Can you rent a car? These are typical travel questions, but this isn't your typical holiday, so it's best to be as well prepared as possible before you go. Like we said, the rules keep changing—but that's where we come in.

In this week's Travelogue podcast, we break down how Americans can actually get to Cuba, right now, and the best things to do once you're there. Thanks to host Brad Rickman, Laura Redman, Francina Morel, and Alexandra Bousquet-Chavanne for the all the tips. As always, many thanks to Brett Fuchs for engineering and mixing. Check back every Friday for the latest installment of Travelogue. To keep up with our podcast each week, subscribe to Travelogue on the iTunes store or the podcasting app of your choice.