Living in the center of Havana in carefully selected and top quality private accommodations, dance classes with personal Cuban dance partners, rhythm and percussion classes from internationally renowned musicians: to my knowledge, “Danza y Movimiento” is the first and only tour operator worldwide offering a travel program specialized in music and dance to Cuba in cooperation with a US agency, which is licensed by US authorities and thus provides a legal participation to such a program in Cuba.
Clic on the photo and find more information about the first group travel in January 2014!
Here are some tips on how to determine who is offering legal travel to Cuba, and what to expect when choosing us or other tour operators:
Regarding the people-to-people-program, US citizens using other legal tour operators usually experience a tightly organized sightseeing program, which (in contrary to the associations the term “people-to-people“ might evoke) hardly offers a direct contact with the Cuban population and especially not with the up-to-date dance and music scene in Havana and Santiago.
There are also some tour operators promoting “legal journeys to Cuba”, without being able to provide an actual proof of legality.
You can find out yourself if an offer is legal (by US law ) or not:
1. License period
According to our knowledge, licenses are issued for a maximum of one year only.
2. Only US companies
Only companies with US residency can offer legal travel to Cuba.
This is why we are working this program through a legalized US company. We have organized highly qualified cultural journeys to Cuba for 17 years now. Our headquarters are located in Germany. This is why you do not book your legal journey with us, but with our American partner who uses our infrastructure. So if for example a Canadian travel agency offers “legal journeys to Cuba” on their websites, these journeys can very well be legal according to Canadian law, but not according to US law.
3. Letter of authorization
If you book your trip to Cuba ask for a a letter of authorization! Our program was developed strictly on the basis of the requirements of US authorities. The participators stay in Cuba on legal terms with the permission of the OFAC. They experience Cuban everyday-life from their arrival until their departure and receive classes by highly qualified dance and percussion teachers. If you book this journey, you will receive a letter of authorization for submission to authorities and insurances.
4. Prices
Legal travel to Cuba needs a lot of bureaucratic work and a very special travel plan. The providing of this service requires a lot of work and investments, special in our case offering a program that is totally different from what you will find elsewhere. However, the price of such a journey is still cheaper than the one offered by other legal tour operators. Certainly, our price is higher than the price of journeys offered by tour operators, who cannot provide a letter of authorization from the OFAC on your request.
We are offering something nobody else does ... Dance, music, rhythm and percussion determine a journey which makes you experience Cuba in a unique way.
Just contact Matthias to ask any question you might have!
