Cultural Island Travel - Travel To Cuba LegallyReviews of culturalislandtravel.com

I love travel. I have been in most parts of the world usually without a tour. I also have been on tours in various countries, mainly with good results, some poor, some great. Cultural Island Travel is beyond the great ones. I feel I owe them money, or something better than that, beyond their charges, which seemed high before doing the trip. The company is as human as it gets. The founder is a young woman in love with Cuba and its music. She expanded her love through this tour company, of course the best way to start a business. She hires only like-minded, passion driven people. Krista who handled our complicated details was a model of warm response, calling me back once at midnight her time to answer a question not deserving that care. She knew me and cared about the details. She listened to what I wanted and did it. Our guide in Cuba was extraordinary. My family of five, from 3 years old to my 70, fell in love with her, partly because of her nature and partly from her dedication to the Cuban ways. She did not have the normal high pitched personality of tour guides. She had a care for us, an intelligence both emotional and intellectual, which made every part of the trip personal. It is not Cultural Island Travel’s doing that Cuba is the way it is, the preserved way humans used to live at their best, in the days of kindness on the streets, when innocence was in the air. Cuba was the heart of our week of joy, but it was Cultural Island Travel which presented the people and land the way they should be, without dilution or self-serving distortion of a normal tour company’s ways.

Cultural Island did a great job of arranging all facets of my trip to Cuba. They matched me with people I enjoyed and were willing to accommodate any wishes we approached them with.There was the right mix of time spent with our guides and time exploring on our own. I would travel with them again.

I scheduled a trip to Cuba through Cultural Island Travel (CIT) back in May 2015. It had always been a dream of mine to visit Cuba, and the first chance to go, I went! This was my first time traveling out of the country and was nervous about all the paperwork that goes into traveling, but CIT made it so easy! They handled ALL the documents and official paperwork that would have probably not done in time or correctly. All I had to do was get my passport and get to the airport! Because it was a "group travel" type situation, I traveled alone and met up with other members of the group once arriving in Havana, which I was very thankful for our small group because I know ZERO Spanish, and wasn't sure how I was going to get around without them. We met our travel guide, Ebony, who was amazing! She made sure ALL of us got to see and do everything we were interested in and made time for things that weren't necessarily on the agenda. For some reason, I was under the impression that the whole time I was there, that I would be supervised, but I was pleasantly surprised that we had free time to be on our own and really EXPLORE the city! I went on the "People to People Havana Weekend" Tour and in just a few days felt like I really got to experience the culture of the city first hand! The people were friendly, the architecture is beautiful and the mojitos were great too! I am planning to return again soon...and learning some Spanish before I go this time! : ) Anyone who is looking to visit Cuba, I would definitely recommend CIT for an authentic experience!

I assumed that Cultural Island Travel would have a difficult time of it when planning this trip. I wanted to see Cuba, January 16-22, 2015. With 11 close friends. Mostly coming from NY, but we had one friend was coming from the Midwest and the another from Europe. In addition, not everyone from NY was traveling on a US Passport. None of this was an issue. Then we said, we wanted an authentic experience. We weren't looking for an all inclusive 'removed' vacation where we witnessed the country instead of experiencing it. We got that as well. The restaurants we ate at were a mix of paladars (privately owned restaurants run out of homes) and other incredible restaurants with delicious food and outstanding views. We stayed in rented apartments instead of hotels. We met local musicians and had private concerts. We toured the city of Havana with informative tourguides. We met local artists and visited a town made completely of mosaics. In addition, we went to Trinidad...a UNESCO world heritage site...and a Spanish colonial town that looks like it hasn't been updated since 1850. Cobblestone streets and horses as the main means of transportation, we experienced horseback riding and waterfalls. We ate with locals and drank the freshest sugarcane drinks I've ever had. I cannot say enough how wonderful Cultural Island Travel was in dealing with such a large and diverse group of people. They custom tailored a trip to our specifications and the tour guides were all incredible.

From the time of booking my trip until the final ride back to the airport in Cuba my trip was wonderful. Well organized and very friendly staff. Culture Isalnd Travel gave me an unforgettable experience. I would recommend Culture Island to anyone who would like to experience Cuba's beautiful people and culture.

Our trip was a relatively last minute decision. Cultural Island Travel did a wonderful job organizing an itinerary that was personal to us. All the staff was gracious, accommodating and helpful. Our guide was very informative and made every effort to add some of our last minute requests. We loved every minute of our time in Cuba and can only thank Cultural Island for making it such a great experience.

I once read that the problem with traveling is that when is over you can't take that tour guide home with you. That person that showed you a new world, a new perspective. Cuba is the most fascinating place, indeed. But Shabi and her dedicated loving team made this the best trip for me and my boyfriend. It was his birthday and they orchestrated a bunch of surprises for my painter/musician lover. Even though we never repeat destinations as a policy, we will be going back in March 2016 with 4 friends who have never been. We want to stay at the same places and do the same activities and more! I just loved everything about this tour company. Sadly, that writer was right: I couldn't bring my guide home, but I can certainly come back to Cuba with her. #Cuba2016 here we come!

I really enjoyed seeing Cuba through Cultural Island Travel. They provided every I needed as a traveler. Thank you so much Eboni!