My review of Havana’s new Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski for the Independent Travel section:
Browsing Category Travel
In the footsteps of Che Guevara in Bolivia 50 years after his death
My story for Guardian Travel on the Che Guevara Route in Bolivia on the 50th anniversary of his death https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/sep/27/bolivia-che-guevara-trail-last-days-la-higuera-vallegrande
Review of Havana’s Manzana Kempinski Hotel
My review for The Holiday Place on Havana’s first truly luxury hotel – the Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski
My LATA award for best blog post 2017
I was awarded the 2017 Latin American Travel Association Award for the best online blog post on the annual burial of a live man in Cuba for The Holiday Place:
http://news.wearelotus.co.uk/winners-revealed-at-tierra-hotels-lata-media-awards-2017/
http://holidayplace.co.uk/blogs/posts/115562/the-burial-of-pachencho-in-cuba
Undiscovered Asia
My Vietnam and Laos tips for Guardian Travel’s Undiscovered Asia:
Is Gibara Cuba’s best-kept secret?
My article on exploring the caverns, culinary scene, and cinema of Gibara on Cuba’s north coast for Telegraph Travel:
My article on riding Cuba’s Hershey train
My article on riding the Hershey train along Cuba’s north coast and hopping on and off for Guardian Travel:
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/apr/15/cuba-hershey-town-chocolate-train-beaches-hotels
Why visit Vietnam’s Phu Quoc island
My blog post for Weather2Travel.com on the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc.
http://www.weather2travel.com/blog/why-phu-quoc-island-vietnam-for-winter-sun-holidays.php
Tourist card (visa) guide for Brits flying US to Cuba direct
Once you’ve bought your airline ticket for a direct flight from the US to Cuba, and ticked one of the 12 categories of permitted travel to Cuba for US citizens and all other foreigners (authorised by the US Treasury’s OFAC office) , you need to get a tourist card (sometimes, erroneously, called a visa) to enter Cuba. This card needs to be presented at the check-in desk before leaving the US.
However, uncertainty has emerged over the Tourist Card needed to enter Cuba from the US. If you are flying from the UK or a European departure airport, the UK’s Cubaism sells the card for £23 including P&P – the cheapest I have found for UK travellers. You can also buy it from the Cuban consulate in London, but less hassle is an online purchase from an authorised provider.
Over in the US, American Airlines charges US$85 through Cuba Travel Services, which has a desk at Miami International Airport, and Delta charges US$50. You would need to check on the Cuba advisories on each airline’s website on their charges.
The big thing to note, though, is that tourist cards bought in the UK are ineligible on US-Cuba flights. Washington DC Cuban Consulate-issued pink tourist cards – bought direct from the consulate in the US, or via the airlines, are the only valid Tourist Cards for US-Cuba flights, the Cuban Consul General in Washington DC, Alejandro Padrón Corral, confirms.
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