The Regulations Are Out! Get Ready to Book Your Next Trip to Cuba

(TV commercial captured by Inha Hale)

I'm interrupting my scheduled programming (come back next week for Freebie Friday) to announce that the Treasury Department has finally released its new regulations for travel by Americans to Cuba. This is a step that was announced three-months ago, but without the actual regulations in hand, tour operators were understandably wary of putting together new packages for travel. With these now out, we should see an explosion of options in the coming months.

I mention tour operators because individual travel--except by journalists, business people or doctors (under very strict guidelines), and persons visiting family members in Cuba-- is still verboten under the law. To visit, one will have to go under the auspices of a religious organization (a term very loosely defined for constitutional reasons, so yes, you could likely form your own church and then announce a tour); an educational institution (tellingly, you don't have to be pursuing a degree to take an educational trip); or some volunteer vacation organizations.

To read the legalese put out yesterday by the Department of the Treasury, click here.

Organizations that I expect to see announcements of tours from soon include: Marazul and Cuba Education Tours.