Top Cuba Tour Operators for Americans

For the first time since the 1950s, Americans are allowed to travel legally to Cuba, but it's still not a simple process if you want to book a flight and hotel in Havana or Varadero, for both bureaucratic and supply related reasons. That's why Americans still book tours through companies that have won special approval from the U.S. State Department to run cultural-exchange trips to Cuba.

Going on a group tour means you're guaranteed not to run afoul of the still-sticky rules governing Cuba travel, which require that your trip focuses on cultural exchanges, not tourism (in other words, you should be meeting Cuban people and learning about their culture, not lying on the beach all day). Each of these companies has crafted tours full of cultural experiences that you'd be unlikely to arrange all on your own. Plus, you'll be traveling with companies that have had years of experience operating in Cuba and with guides who are intimately familiar with this fascinating country and its people.

Note that all Cuba tours are fully escorted, include all lodging and meals, and have a mandatory overnight in Miami for pre-trip trip orientation.