NOTE: If you do plan to visit, you still need to be in one of the 12 qualifying categories.

jetBlue put its planned Cuban routes from Fort Lauderdale on sale today for $99, each way. They are available to the following:

• Santa Clara [SNU]
• Camagüey [CMW]
• Holguín [HOG]

American is matching some of it. They have broader coverage to Cuba than just those three cities with plans to service the following from Miami:

• Santa Clara [SNU]
• Camagüey [CMW]
• Holguín [HOG]
• Cienfuegos [CFG]
• Varadero [VRA]

As you can see, Havana [HAV] is not listed. The US Department of Transportation just recently approved airlines to have the right to fly to Havana. American and jetBlue will have service from Dallas [AA] and Miami [MIA] while jetBlue will be out of Orlando [MCO], Fort Lauderdale [FLL] and New York [JFK]. If you want to go to Havana, we suggest you wait until all the airlines put it on sale. There will be 20 flights a day (most of which will be out of Miami / Fort Lauderdale) from 8 airlines including American, jetBlue, Delta, United, and Southwest.

Service to Cuba starts on August 31st with jetBlue. The cheap prices are from Miami or Fort Lauderdale. 

Again, if you do plan to visit, you still need to be in one of the 12 qualifying categories.

Here are some practical travel tips to Cuba.

Santa Clara, Cuba – Photo: Marika Bortolami via Flickr, used under Creative Commons License (By 2.0)

At the moment, there isn’t really a good way to easily search for availability. The two best options are to use:

• jetBlue’s Best Fare Finder for jetBlue availability
• or on AA.COM and punch in your dates and see availability +/- 3 days at a time.

Here’s what we found for American from Miami to Santa Clara

Accommodations

• TripAdvisor - One of the leading hotel meta-search engines. Find the lowest hotel prices from 200+ sites.

Car Rentals

• Rental Cars - One of the world’s leading car rental agencies. Includes all the major brands like Hertz, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise etc.

Activities and Tours

• Viator – The world's largest marketplace for destination activities and tours

Background Information:

• Visa Requirements: US Citizens – Need to be in one of the 12 qualifying categories. Other nationals, check the TIMATIC Visa Database
• Currency: Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC). $1USD = 1 (CUC)

Tips for saving when using credit cards at international destinations:

• No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards to save on international purchases
• Don’t get hit with Dynamic Currency Conversion
• Get your taxes refunded when shopping
• How to Avoid International Data Roaming Charges

For more of the latest cheap Flight Deals:

• Go to the The Flight Deals page

* The Flight Deal will receive a commission if you use the Priceline, accommodation, car rental, activities, or travel insurance affiliate links to make a booking. Thank you for your continuing support.

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