Cuba Information Manual: The Definitive Guide to Legal and Illegal Travel to Cuba [Paperback]

Michael Bellows (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2009

For forty-six years and counting, the U.S. government has forbidden its citizens from traveling to Cuba. The threat of stiff fines and jail time cause even the most adventurous American traveler to break out in a cold sweat at the mere thought of visiting Cuba without the proper permits from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
But now, in a trailblazing first for travel guides published in the U.S., this daring and unconventional new guidebook openly challenges the U.S. embargo laws by offering inside secrets, tips, loopholes, and advice in order to help U.S. citizens travel legally or illegally to a country that has become known as the forbidden fruit in a Caribbean paradise.
Written in a style that is easy to read and seductively informative, this handbook decodes the intimidating and often misinterpreted embargo laws and offers tried-and-true information about how to get there, where to stay, how to get around, changing money, staying out of trouble with the Revolutionary police, dangers and annoyances, and navigating the very different laws and social customs that govern the communist country. Included in the manual are maps, an extensive reference section, and engaging color photographs that capture the flavor and character of an enigmatic tropical nation and her people who are the friendliest and most sociable on the planet.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is indispensable for anyone who doesn't realize how difficult or how easy it is to get to Cuba, as a U.S. citizen. Here at the Center for Cuban Studies, we spend hours answering questions such as "How can I get to Cuba?" What makes me eligible to go legally?" "What will happen to me if I travel without a Treasury Department license?" "How do I apply for a general license?" (the worst, since you don't, try explaining THAT!) "Am I eligible for a specific license?" "Can I take a camera? Can I take pictures?" "Will the police arrest me for x, y, z?" "Can I wear a, b, c?" "What's the money?" The questions don't stop. From now on, we will just say, BUY THIS BOOK! IT WILL ANSWER ALMOST EVERY QUESTION YOU HAVE!" ----Sandra Levinson (March 2009), executive director, Center for Cuban Studies, N.Y.C.

"Mike Bellow's Cuba manual is intelligent plain talk--a guide to reducing fear while raising alertness to rules, laws, customs, and quirks that will impact anyone's visit to that country." ----Tom Corcoran (March 2009), author ofHawk Channel Chase, Air Dance Iguana, Bone Island Mambo,and other books in the Alex Rutledge Series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 262 pages
• Publisher: Kettle Publishing; First edition (February 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615266916
• ISBN-13: 978-0615266916
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #856,684 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Bellows lives in Key West, Florida. He was born in
Washington, D.C. and grew up on the Lower East Side in New York
City and the Mediterranean island of Ibiza, Spain. He has lived and
traveled extensively in the United States, Europe, the Caribbean
and Central America. With his sister Jo, he owned and operated a
travel company and led anthropological and archaeological tours to
Mexico. In 1989, during the contra war in Nicaragua (and with his
other sister Susie), he volunteered as a driver transporting
equipment and supplies to the Managua office of the U.S.-based
watchdog group Witness for Peace.

After graduating from Dowling College in Long Island, N.Y. in
1981 with a Bachelor's degree in business, he pursued freelance
journalism. His articles have appeared in various newspapers and
magazines throughout the U.S. and cover a wide range of subjects
including urban homelessness, New Age healers, folk rock
musicians, poet Allen Ginsberg, and actor and comedian Dom
DeLuise.

His interest in Cuba intensified after cultivating a close friendship
with a Cuban man who fled the Caribbean nation on a makeshift raft during the Cuban balsero (rafter) crisis in 1994.

Two weeks after moving to Key West in 1996, he bought his first
sailboat (a 26-foot, no-frills '69 Seafarer), took crash courses
(literally) in sailing from his buddies "on the hook" off Christmas
Tree island, and a few months later sailed to Cuba to investigate
things for himself.

The 100-mile crossing took him ten days because of delays
caused by bad weather, hull leaks, a jammed keel, a ripped sail,
and a busted boom. He would like to take this opportunity to thank
Tito and Diana of the fishing vessel Crusader for the wonderful crab
salad on crackers during this ordeal, and also Dry Tortugas park
ranger Roy Apuglese for the emergency water ration.

Bellows has since improved his sailing skills considerably, and
he has traveled to the forbidden island many times, by boat and by
plane. The country has become a second home for him, and many
of the people he has met during his explorations, including the
relatives of his balsero friend in Key West, have turned into a rather
large extended family across the Straits. Cuba Information Manual: The Definitive Guide to Legal and Illegal Travel to Cuba is a result of all those years of research and discovery and would not have been possible without the kindness, generosity, willingness, and trust of all these wonderful Cuban people.

Bellows understands that the issues of U.S.--Cuba relations, the U.S. Trade Embargo against Cuba, and the travel restrictions are not only complex, but emotional too. In this light, and in the spirit of dialogue, healthy debate, and exchange of information, he extends an open invitation to anyone to meet him for a cafe con leche at Harpoon Harry's diner in Key West, Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Guide Book Valuable as a Dictionary and Readable as a Novel, March 22, 2009

By 

Lucy Kent Sisco (Maine, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cuba Information Manual: The Definitive Guide to Legal and Illegal Travel to Cuba (Paperback)

This comprehensive guide is long overdue. Initially, Michael Bellows demystifies the "how to" process as he explains every step in getting to and leaving Cuba - with and without government sanction. Then he describes accommodations, dining and in-country travel options and distinguishes between the currencies, as well as imparting everything else a visitor would like to know. I foresee many copies of Cuba Information Manual dirty and dog-eared as they make the trip repeatedly. In addition to being an indispensible guide book I believe Bellows book will also stand over time as his paean to the Cuban people, rendering it a "why to" book as well.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book cuts our phone time in half!, March 19, 2009

By 

Sandra Levinson (Center for Cuban Studies, NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cuba Information Manual: The Definitive Guide to Legal and Illegal Travel to Cuba (Paperback)

This book is indispensable for anyone who doesn't realize how difficult or how easy it is to get to Cuba, as a U.S. citizen. Here at the Center for Cuban Studies, we spend hours answering questions such as "How can I go to Cuba?" "What makes me eligible to go legally?" "What will happen to me if I travel without a Treasury Department license?" "How do I apply for a general license?" (the worst, since you don't, try explaining THAT!) "Am I eligible for a specific license?" "Can I take a camera? Can I take pictures? Will the police arrest me for x,y,z,?" "Can I wear a,b,c?" "What's the money?" The questions don't stop. From now on, we will just say, BUY THIS BOOK! IT WILL ANSWER ALMOST EVERY QUESTION YOU HAVE! Sandra Levinson, [...]

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Does Not Need to Travel to Cuba to Enjoy this Book!, March 18, 2009

By 

A. Burrows (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cuba Information Manual: The Definitive Guide to Legal and Illegal Travel to Cuba (Paperback)

In reading the "Cuba Information Manual, The Definitive Guide to Legal and Illegal Travel to Cuba", I found it most interesting and a highly organized, easy to understand read. This book contains subjects of interest from what you should bring on your trip, what you should do and not do once there, and some local humor and customs, in addition to what the locals can and cannot do as well. The "Cuba Information Manual" can be classified as a book for tourists AND a book for readers. Mike Bellows, the author, did an excellent job of bringing to-the-point facts, information, and humor with keen expertise.