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
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The company replied to 29% of reviews.
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Most recent review: October 2026.
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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
BE
Becca
Lots Of B.S. Do your Research!
Decent tour : but not necessary!
We booked our trip, last minute wanting to go to Cuba, Kristen was the one that assisted us with our travel arrangements and told us we would have all the necessary Certificate travel documents that are needed under the new regulations. Little did we know, all of this was bogus and totally unnecessary paperwork and expenses. We spotted warnings about Hurricane Irma a week before leaving and asked if it was going to be approaching close, during the time of booking. If we should be worried, the response When alerting Kristen was , "oh no, Thats on the atlantic side if something happens it will hit me in florida not in Cuba!". She offered travel insurance, but, Making it seem as though it was a dumb question.
We all know what happened after that, Hurricane Irma hit!
This could have put our well being in jepordy because the agency wanted to make a quick buck on us and didn't do their do diligence to make sure that us as customers were not going to be in danger for sure during our trip. Thank god we got out on the last flight before the hurricane did hit! (We got lucky) I feel bad for other travelers that were arriving the day the hurricane did hit!
Besides this, I have to say the company was fairly organized and our Tour guide was great Mario. But, what we would have liked more is, for them to tell us about places to go and see on our own,( not only the places where there were kickbacks for the company). We eneded up at some amazing places but not reccomendations from the tour company or Mario but from the hotel and other Cubans we met.
When inquiring about the top 5 star hotels, we were told that only two existed, Iberostar and one other close to the water, but that was definetly not the case! We arrived and across the street there was a fabulous new Kempinski Hotel that was brand new and on a completely different level then our hotel. Sadly, the price difference wasn't even that much either. They said something about not being able to book rooms there but I don't buy it. We found out other clients were staying there and able to book just fine. Our rooms had rock hard beds and run down green carpet, a pretty big comparission to the New hotel that was Luxurious and had all New Amenities we had asked for when booking. Its a joke to even say that our hotel was 5 star or even close. Maybe 3 star at the most. Decent breakfast, but extremely run down and small showers.
The guided tour of the city was decent, we got to see certain things we probablly wouldnt have done on our own but for the most part not really worth spending the extra $300 a day. They didn't tell us about other amazing restaurants we found out about on our own in the city. Also, going to Pinar del Rio 2.5 hours away to a cigar factory that was a total waste of time, theres a few dry leaves hanging there and you don't even get to see the actual process, then they try to sell you fake cigars. Would not recommend that! They did take us to a farm to table lunch in the country side which was pretty great. They have art and music and it benefits the people and kids in the community so that was great but again the drive there back was rough, we would have prefered to go to the resort beach town which we heard so many amazing things about!
On our way back to the states, we didn't have to use those Travel Certificates not once! Thats when we knew we really didn't need to go through a travel company to go to Cuba. Its just a scare tactict so that you spend more $ with them. It was a decent expereience, would have expected a bit more since the reviews were so good. Disappointed with the lack of information or follow up especially with hurricane warnings. Would have loved to hear about other amazing restaurants then the ones that they get kickbacks at, and most importantly not wasting our time with seeing things that were mediocre.
Response from Cultural Island Travel - Travel To Cuba LegallySep 12, 2017
Hi Rebecca,
I am very sorry to hear that you did not fully enjoy your experience with Cultural Island Travel. I was surprised to see your review as we have had all positive reviews in the past. Our itineraries are created with my 20 years of experience on the island to show you the best of Cuba's architecture, musicians, artists, and overall people in Cuba. I believe there are some misunderstandings that I would be happy to respond to below:
Regarding your lodging:
The hotel you stayed at, the 5 star Iberostar Parque Central, is actually rated the #1 hotel in Havana on TripAdvisor. We've been booking clients here for years and have never had a complaint. By no means did we try to suggest that this is the only 5 star hotel in Havana, but this hotel and the other one you referred to (the Melia Cohiba) are generally considered the best overall options in terms of amenities, quality, and location.
As for the new Kempinski hotel that you mentioned, it *is* actually the case that US Citizens are not allowed to book there anymore. The hotel is operated by the Gaviota group, which is run by the Cuban military. After Trump's announcement, new bookings at this hotel are not considered legal for US citizens, since it would be considered doing direct business with the Cuban military. You can read more about that here: "Peek Inside the Luxury Hotel Trump Won't Let You Stay At": http://reason.com/blog/2017/09/05/peek-inside-the-luxury-hotel-trump-wont#slide1. The people you met who successfully booked there may have made their reservation prior to Trump's announcement, in which case they would have been okay.
Regarding the tour and legality in traveling to Cuba:
While I understand that you would have liked to visit the beach town of Varadero, such a trip is unfortunately not considered legal. Even prior to Trump's June 16th announcement, US travelers going to the island on their own were legally required to do a full cultural itinerary during their stay, and going to the beach is not considered a cultural activity. You can read more about how travel needs to be cultural in order to be legal on the Treasury Department's own website: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/cuba_faqs_20170616.pdf
The trip out to the countryside (Pinar del Rio) is generally a highlight for our clients, so I was surprised to hear that you did not enjoy your visit. The Montecino tobacco farm that you went to is a 4th generation family farm responsible for making Cohiba brand cigars, which are considered the best cigars in the world. The cigars that they sell at the end are freshly hand rolled with the same tobacco grown on site. While they do not have the fancy Cohiba stickers and do not come in the Cohiba box, they are not, in fact, fake. I have personally visited this site with cigar aficionados who have told me that these were the best and freshest cigars they have ever smoked.
Regarding the restaurants:
We do not receive any kind of commission for taking our clients to particular establishments, and when we do receive a request for a restaurant that we don't typically visit, we are always happy to oblige.
The restaurants that we recommend - 304 O Reilly, Corte de Principe, El De Frente, San Cristobal, Starbien, La Guarida, Rio Mar, to name a few - are broadly considered some of the most respected and well liked establishments in Havana, which is why we recommend them. This does not necessarily mean other good restaurants don't exist. Similarly to how, for example, if a friend were to recommend restaurants in New York or San Francisco, you wouldn't automatically assume that those are the *only* good restaurants in those cities.
Food in Havana can really be hit or miss, so we find it important to recommend only places that have stood the test of time and consistently get good reviews from clients.
Regarding the hurricane:
When you initially called in on August 29th, Irma was indeed still a tropical storm with potential of becoming a hurricane with no definite path determined. On the day that you departed for Cuba, September 3rd, the most updated information from the National Hurricane Center was still vague:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/xgtwo/gtwo_archive.php?basin=atl&fdays=5¤t_issuance=201709030846
Historically, hurricanes do not hit Havana straight on; they typically hit the eastern provinces of the island, as was the case with Hurricane Matthew last year. Most predictions in the days leading up to landfall in Cuba had the hurricane skirting Havana and turning northwards towards Florida.
We are surprised and sorry to hear that you felt unsafe during your time in Cuba; we did not receive any communication from you during this time. Any and all clients that contacted us asking to change their flights prior to their scheduled departure were granted their request without hesitation. I left Havana on the same day you did, September 7th, and it was a clear and sunny day with no rain or even wind. You left 2 full days before the hurricane hit. Even as late as that date, the news showed Hurricane Irma turning north to Florida and not hitting Havana at all. We would never knowingly place our clients in the path of danger. Our clients that decided to stay in Havana despite the hurricane have reported to us that they are safe and having a great time.
If you still have questions about the legalities of Cuba travel, I encourage you to visit and carefully read the Treasury Department's webpage on Cuba sanctions. Doing a full cultural itinerary in Cuba is indeed necessary whether or not you are asked for your paperwork at the airport. As someone who has traveled to and from Cuba dozens of times in the last few years, I understand that the experience at the airport can vary, but that does not change the actual legal requirements.
All travelers going to Cuba are eligible for an audit regarding their trip for up to five years, so it is important that you continue to hold onto your paperwork and your itinerary.
Warm regards,
Shabi Samoohi
Director, Cultural Island Travel
