Last flight to Havana
Demond Simmons, a firefighter in Oakland, Calif., was surfing his favorite jazz Web site when he saw it: an advertisement for a trip to Cuba. He signed up and spent five days walking the streets of Old Havana, listening to jazz bands groove in centuries-old courtyards. But he still can't quite believe that it was legal. "I was surprised--I'd never heard of anyone going, and I never thought it would be this easy."
Tom Popper, director of Insight Cuba, the company that organized Simmons's trip, has heard that before. "Some of my own friends still don't believe that you can go legally," he says. But under new Treasury Department restrictions that take effect in January, people-to-people exchanges--the license under which Americans can join authorized tour groups to Cuba for cultural exchange activities--will start to disappear. The Bush administration cites Fidel Castro's crackdown on dissidents earlier this year and argues that staying at state-run hotels only supports the regime. Trip organizers counter that tourism is one of the few ways to connect with the isolated Cuban people. "With the world the way it is, the more friends Americans have, the better," says Michael Eizenberg, who first visited Cuba as a faculty member at Bentley College. He was hooked: "It was just so beautiful, the drums of Africa fusing with the guitar melodies of Spain." Today he runs eTrav, a Boston-based tour company, which has arranged a trip to the Havana Bienal art exhibition next month; space is still available (www.etrav.com or 617-695-9099).
Travel tips. For fast-acting yanquis, there are a few chances left to see Fidel's island. Through the end of the year there are four-to-14-day immersions in Cuban jazz, food, and architecture through organizations like Insight Cuba. Daily flights also arrive directly in Havana from Miami, as well as weekly flights from Los Angeles and New York (www.insightcuba.org has schedules and prices, which hover around $1,800 for an eight-day trip to Havana and Trinidad). In the future, says Popper, there may be humanitarian programs that Americans can join. But since those may involve construction work or similar labor, they might not make the best vacations. University faculty members and students will still be able to visit Cuba legally under a general license, for which schools can apply.
Dennis McCroskey organizes amateur baseball trips to Cuba (www.baseball adventures.com) and hopes to take a team next year under a special sports license. He loves watching baseball played as it was here once upon a time: "on street corners with a taped-up rock and a stick." His teams haven't offered much competition for their Cuban opponents, but they bring something else in exchange: real American baseballs.
Old World Style, New World Sun
Cuba isn't the only island in the Caribbean with Euroflavor. Try these:
Dominican Republic. Built by Columbus's brother, Santo Domingo was the first European city in the New World. Stroll the cobblestone streets and see the 17th-century Spanish colonial architecture, including the oldest cathedral still standing in the Americas. Find $75 one-way, Web-only fares from Miami, $125 from New York through fly aeromar.com.
Curaçao. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it's a mini-Amsterdam in the middle of the Caribbean. Wind through the narrow alleys of Willemstad, and check out the 18th- and 19th-century Dutch colonial homes. Consult www.frommers.com/ hotspot/deals/ for some of the most up-to-date bargains.
Jamaica. An alternative to the all-inclusive: Rent the antique-filled Great House (circa 1755) in the middle of the hill country--complete with pool, hot tub, and horse stables (www.jamaicavillas.com). -Anna Mulrine
This story appears in the October 27, 2003 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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