About Cultural Island Travel - Travel To Cuba Legally
Has Cuba captured your imagination? Do you want to see a country that is in every way set apart from all of the others? Travel with us to this enchanting island full of friendly faces and discover why even our most seasoned travelers call Cuba their favorite country. Fall in love with an island of people who put the arts first. Meet Cuba’s finest musicians, artists, and dancers. Visit inspiring community project leaders and entrepreneurs. The treasure of Cuba is its people, and you will meet these spirited people that make Cuba unforgettable. You will benefit from our exclusive connections forged since our involvement with the arts in Cuba began in 1999, when our director first witnessed the extraordinary musicianship on the island. At Cultural Island Travel, our sought-after unique experiences lead to a journey of a lifetime. Ask us about our custom tours where we can creatively craft an itinerary based on your group’s interests and budget. We have recently taken amazing musicians such as Questlove.We have no minimum passengers on our custom tours. Contact us at 1-800-494-1945 or [email protected] so we can plan your unique Cuba trip!
Cultural Island Travel - Travel To Cuba Legally (culturalislandtravel.com) has 184 customer reviews on Five Star Index, with an average rating of 5.0 out of 5.
Also known as
culturalislandtravel.com
Website
culturalislandtravel.com
Category
Activities & Tours
Location
New York, New York
Listed on Five Star Index
2026
About these reviews
Replies
The company replied to 29% of reviews.
Latest
Most recent review: October 2026.
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Reviews are shown as their authors wrote them. The company can reply, but cannot edit them.
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Cultural Island Travel - Travel To Cuba Legally reviews
184 approved reviews, newest moderated first
MV
Matthew V.
Thankful for CIT, Teresa & Ivan!
This trip was so successful for my group because of the thoughtful planning by CIT and the expert guides they selected. The CIT crew was friendly, well-organized, and our guide Ivan was amazing - not only as a guide, but as a person. Ivan really made our trip great and I'm thankful we had him throughout the week. There's simply no way we would have figured out how to do everything we did without Ivan and CIT.
Response from Cultural Island Travel - Travel To Cuba LegallyApr 6, 2023
Thank you for taking the time to share your positive experience with us at CIT and your tour leader Ivan. We are so happy to hear that the trip was a success and that our team was able to make your experience in Cuba a memorable one. At CIT, we take pride in providing thoughtful and well-organized travel planning, and we are thrilled that our efforts paid off for your group.
We are also glad to hear that Ivan's expertise and friendly demeanor made a difference during your trip. Our team takes great care in selecting tour leaders who are knowledgeable, personable, and passionate about sharing their love of travel and culture. Ivan is a true asset to our team, and he was thrilled to hear your feedback.
Thank you again for choosing CIT for your travel needs. We look forward to serving you in the future and helping you create many more memorable experiences.
MA
MarLin
A Wonderful Adventure
CIT provided regular communication and feedback during the entire preparation for our trip. With regard to the actual trip, it was fantastic. Teresa Sanchez with CIT was so helpful before the trip and our guide in Cuba, Ivan, was a real pleasure to have with us in Havana.
Response from Cultural Island Travel - Travel To Cuba LegallyApr 3, 2023
Thank you for taking the time to write such a positive review of your recent trip with CIT. We are excited to hear that you had a fantastic experience, and we are proud to have been a part of it. It is our pleasure to provide our clients with regular communication and feedback throughout the entire process to ensure that every aspect of their trip is smooth and enjoyable. We are delighted to hear that Teresa Sanchez and Ivan were both so helpful and made your trip to Cuba a real pleasure. We appreciate your kind words and hope to have the opportunity to assist you with your travel needs in the future to Cuba or any of our other destinations!
MW
Marah W.
Above and Beyond. Great service!
I recently took a group of 12 to Cuba and the experience with CIT was beyond amazing. From the first phone call with Teresa I knew I had found the right tour operator. She answered all of my questions, attended zoom calls with my travelers and touched base via text and email from the time I booked until after we traveled. Our guide was Ebony and she effortlessly managed our tour and all of its logistics. She even worked with me on adding additional stops and sites. By the end of our tour, everyone had established a bond with her and felt like they were leaving a friend.
I’ve been so impressed with CIT that I have two more tour groups scheduled for this year and I’m happy to work with Teresa and Ebony again and again.
Response from Cultural Island Travel - Travel To Cuba LegallyApr 3, 2023
Dear Marah,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your wonderful experience with CIT during your recent trip to Cuba. We are thrilled to hear that you had an amazing time and that your expectations were exceeded from the moment you first contacted us to the end of your tour.
It is a pleasure to hear that Teresa provided excellent service and support throughout the planning process, and that Ebony went above and beyond in managing your tour and creating an unforgettable experiences for your group. We are happy to hear that she was able to establish a bond with everyone and made them feel like they were leaving a friend by the end of the trip.
We are honored that you have decided to work with us again for your upcoming tour groups, and we look forward to providing you and your travelers with the same level of exceptional service and care. We are grateful for your trust and loyalty in choosing CIT for your travel needs.
Thank you once again for choosing CIT and for sharing your positive feedback. We hope to continue creating memorable experiences for you and your groups in the future.
Warm regards,
The CIT Team
RO
Ron
A few issues with my visit
A few issues with my visit, the tours were not what was described to me or as sold to me. Ivan the tour guide was great as were the drivers and the historic Havana tour guide. Teresa said “ our tours are better and much more personalized “ that was not quite the case at all.
The information she gave me regarding what currency that I should bring was wrong and created a problem.
When I tried to reach out to her, I didn’t hear back. Shabi (the owner) stepped in and took care of it. She also issued a partial refund for the tours.
Shabi did everything she could to ensure my trip was enjoyable.
In my opinion, the issues were from poor communication from Teresa.
If I returned to Cuba, I would use another agency or do everything myself.
Response from Cultural Island Travel - Travel To Cuba LegallyMar 30, 2023
Dear Ron,
As I've communicated to you privately, we are very sorry that you were unhappy with our services.
We were happy to create a totally private, custom 2-day itinerary for you, so that you could attend the Tobacco Festival events at your leisure and still do some touring with our fantastic guides and team. We provided you with your hotel reservation, airport transfers, visa, ticket to the Tropicana, and pre departure information as promised, even extending your hotel on the ground last minute per your request at a lower cost than the hotel website rate. Since you were not doing a full tour with us, we even took the time to send you a personalized list of nearby restaurants near your hotel, with a screen shot showing directions and a brief description of each one. It is our priority to make sure our travelers are safe, happy and prepared.
When you were feeling ill, one of our drivers personally brought medicine to you. When you needed Euros, a member of our team brought them to you, and as a courtesy we paid for the conversion charge. When you wanted to add an excursion, our driver took you. At every step of the way, our team did everything and beyond to accommodate you and keep you happy. I don't know any other company that would do all of these things.
This is the first complaint in 8 years that I have ever received about Teresa privately or on a review. Teresa is known for being extremely detail oriented and communicative. When you say that you didn't hear back immediately from Teresa, that is because she was also in Havana just for a few days, as she had informed you she would be. Before heading to Havana, she provided you with the WhatsApp phone number of our coordinator in Havana so that you could reach out to her instead. Our coordinator brought Euros to you right away.
Teresa spent hours on the phone with you, more than she usually spends coordinating our large groups, and she communicated with you back and forth in over 70 emails. When you were having issues confirming your tickets to the Tobacco Festival, Teresa spent hours on a weekend trying to resolve this for you even though we have nothing to do with the Tobacco Festival and have no control over the ticketing. She put in a tremendous amount of work for you.
Regarding the currency, Cuba's currency situation is constantly changing. Each hotel, store, and restaurant in Havana has a different preferred currency and exchange rate, and this changes literally all the time. Under the "Support for the Cuban people" category, our clients rarely make any purchases at government run stores since the purpose of our tours is to support the Cuban people directly. In the email you wrote to demonstrate that the "correct" information was easily available online, you sent me screenshot information that included the CUC, a currency that has not existed in Cuba for over a year. I point this out merely to emphasize how fluid the currency situation in Cuba has been and still is.
Again, I am so sorry that you did not have a great experience with CIT, but we stand by our service and feel that we not only did everything we could have, but that we went above and beyond what any other agency would do as we do for all of our clients.
Regards,
Shabi
BW
Brenda W S.
Teresa Sanchez
Teresa Sanchez, our Cuba Travel Specialist for Cultural Island Travel did an outstanding job putting our itinerary and travel together. She is from Cuba and very knowledgeable. We will definitely be using Teresa in the future. She is based out of New York. Our tour guides who live in Cuba, Irmita and Ivette were awesome. They knew everything about Cuba culture, history, etc. We attended the 2023 Jazz Festival in Havana. Spent total of 11 days in Cuba and all of our accommodations were excellent. Private concerts were arranged for our group. The music, art, food and everything we did in Cuba was first class and worth the trip. We spent one day in Trinidad and stayed at a lovely B&B. Had a courtyard so we could all enjoy refreshments and cocktails in the evening. Also went to Cienfuegos for a day. This is a beautiful city. Our itinerary was tweaked to include things we had said we were interested in doing and seeing in Cuba. We got to see and do things outside of our group which made us feel very special. My husband celebrated his birthday in Cuba for days! Thanks to Teresa, Irmita and Ivette. Let's not forget our driver, Henry. He was courteous and very caring for everyone in our group. If anyone needed any assistance; Henry was there immediately...without being asked!
PR
Preeti
I highly recommend Irma from Cultural Island travel to Mexico City
I highly recommend Cultural Island travel for holiday to Mexico City. We travelled in December '22. We were 2 families - 6adults and 2 under 19 and Irma, our tour guide, did an excellent job of ensuring our trip went smoothly and arranged a minibus for our daily tours and travel. Nothing was too much trouble for Irma, and she took care of our every need, right from our dietary requirements to arranging tours to entertain all ages. Irma booked lovely boutique and luxury hotels in the city, which had incredible sense of history. Irma organised a local dance class which was very educational and entertaining to watch some of the family moves!!
I highly recommend visiting some of the museums, the artisan markets, canals of Xochimito-with live entertainment aboard our own private gondola. Also the most picturesque spot was visiting the monarch butterflies reserve, which took us halfway up the mountain on horseback.
Our highlight of the tour was watching a freestyle masked Lucha Libre wrestling show and New Year's eve in San Miguel.
Thank you so much Irma and team for making this trip a memorable one for me and my sister's family, and
would recommend you without any hesitation.
NW
Neil W.
Karell (Carlos) is an excellent and…
Karell (Carlos) is an excellent and knowledgeable Tour Guide. He is what we call in the States the GOAT 🐐 of “Tour Guides.”He made our trip to Cuba one of the most memorable trips we have ever experienced. We learned so much from him about Cuban culture, there was nothing that we couldn't ask him that he couldn't answer for us, and he made sure he made sure we were always comfortable no matter the situation. I would give him ten stars if I could that's how great he was. I promise you can't go wrong with him as your guide. You will leave knowing that you have had an authentic cultural experience.
RM
Rena M.
My experience was amazing
My experience was amazing. The team is professional and the itinerary far exceeded my expectations. I would definitely work with them again.
