SUSTAINABLE CUBA:
How Cuba Meets its Food, Medicine, Shelter and Energy Needs While Protecting its Environment
December 27, 2009 - January 5, 2010

Thank you for your interest in the Sustainable Cuba Delegations, December 27 - January 5.

Hopefully you have had time to study our Sustainable Cuba web page that further explains the content of each of the five delegations, as well as the web page on each of the five delegations. We also highly recommend the articles on environmental protection and sustainable development in Cuba that are found in the right sidebar of that web page and at Eco Cuba Exchange.

We will do our best to insure that you have the opportunity to meet with the Cubans who can best advance your understanding of Cuban policies and practices in these fields, especially in relation to your particular area of expertise and interest. We gather this information from our communications with you and from your application form and CV. For this reason the final itinerary will not be available until shortly before the delegation departs.

After you have applied, you will receive an Orientation Packet with more details on what to expect in Cuba, how to pack, etc.

You may already have received the application materials in an email; these materials are also available online at Cuba Reality Tours Registration Forms. You may download and print out these forms.

If you wish to join us, please fill out and sign the application, health and liability forms and Travel Affidavit, and return them to us, with your CV, by fax or email, along with your deposit . (The cost for this tour increases by $50 after October 31 to ensure our reservations during high tourist season in Cuba.)

Important Information:

Our place of departure for Cuba is eitherCancun, Mexico or Miami, Florida. For Cancun, you will make your plane reservation to arrive in Cancun by 5 pm on December 27. Your return flight from Cancun should be arranged after 10:30 am on January 5.

(The Miami arrival and departure times are being determined. Please do not purchase your flights until you have spoken with a Global Exchange representative regarding your connecting city for the flight to Cuba.)

The final price for this research tour and conference is $2550, in a double room (if available); the extra for a single room is $300.

The price includes: Round trip airfare Cancun/Havana/Cancun; Cuban Visa; Conference Fee; Accommodations; Two meals per day; Transportation; Program; Translation; and Program Guides.

Our licensed Travel Service Provider for this tour will be Global Exchange Reality Tours.

All professionals will be traveling on what is called a "general" license, as this tour is primarily for the purpose of professional research. Basically, this means you do not have to apply to the U.S. government for a license to travel to Cuba to participate on this tour. The application forms you fill out for us are sufficient.
Some participants will be traveling on a humanitarian license.

Information on our Cuba Reality Tours Registration Forms is detailed below:

Document 1 (Application form) to be sent in with your CV / resume, and $500 deposit).
The purpose of this form is to determine your contact information, passport information, as well as your areas of expertise and interests to assist us in developing the itinerary for the extended research tour. Also include your CV or resume, describing your work history, any publications, and your current place of employment or study. We use this information to help us develop your itinerary.

When we have received the application form, the CV and the deposit, we will begin to process your application for inclusion in the delegation.

Document 2 (Health and Liability forms)
Self explanatory.

Document 3 (Flight Information Form)
After you have made your plane reservations, you will send in your Flight Information to Cancun, along with your final payment (due by November 1).

Document 4 (Travel Affidavit)
The Travel Affidavit is a form Reality Tours, as a licensed Cuba Travel Service Provider, is required to keep on file regarding the legal status of your Cuba travel. The professional category has been checked, as that is how most of you will travel. Print it out from the attachment, sign it, and send it in along with your other forms.

Those of you traveling under a humanitarian license will fill in your license # in category 7. We will email you that number at a later date and you may send it in at that time.

(All forms may be mailed, faxed or scanned and emailed.) Send these forms and your deposit to:

By email: Leslie Balog

By fax: 415-255-7498

By mail:

Cuba Reality Tours Coordinator
Global Exchange
2017 Mission Street, Second Floor
San Francisco, CA 94110

You may also call in your credit card information to Leslie Balog, or one of her assistants, at 415-575-5530 or 800-497-1994, ext 242.

Document 5 (OFAC Cuba Travel Regulations)
This document from the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the Treasury Department describes the categories of legal travelers to Cuba, based on current policy. (We expect these policies to liberalize before the end of the year.) This document contains more information than you need or probably want to know about the Bush Administration's Cuba Travel regulations, still on the books. It's for your background information.

Document 6
In addition, we ask that you carefully study the Global Exchange Reality Tour Travel Guidelines, Code of Conduct, Cancellation Policy.

You may also find the following articles helpful (on the Reality Tours home page, in the Downloads section on the right sidebar): How to be a Socially Responsible Traveler, Fundraising Packet, and Reality Tours 'Make a Difference' Toolkit.

In addition, you will find on these web pages, information about other Global Exchange Cuba Reality Tours, tours to the other 30 countries and U.S. destinations, organized regularly by Reality Tours, and Customized tours for groups.

Document 7
SUSTAINABLE CUBA Flyer to share with family and friends.

We strongly recommend travel insurance for all international travel!

Do check at this time to make sure your passport is up to date! You have time to update it, if it has expired or is about to.

If you have any questions about these forms, this process, program content, OFAC regulations on Cuba travel, logistical, practical or monetary issues, etc., please feel free to contact:

For Education, Architecture/Urbanism, and Community Development/Humanitarian delegations:
Leslie Balog, Cuba Reality Tours Coordinator

For Environmental/Sustainable Development and Health delegations:
Pam Montanaro, Eco Cuba Exchange Coordinator.

FAQ:

How do I qualify for participating in a Cuba Research tour?
If you are a full-time professional, journalist, or student and your work/study directly relates to the theme of one of our delegations, you probably qualify to travel to Cuba.

What does it mean to be a full-time professional?
Global Exchange cannot determine if you are a full-time professional. You might have a degree in your field, and/or some years of working experience. You may be working for (or providing services to) a professional organization, university, agency, association, or business, for profit or not for profit. Professionals may travel on a "general" license.

How does a student qualify?
Students must demonstrate how their major, thesis, or dissertation directly pertain to the subject of the tour. Currently all students must apply for a "specific" license. We can help you with that process. Some students may qualify for the humanitarian license on this delegation.

What documentation, if any, do I need to carry with me as I travel?
In addition to the normal documentation for international travel -- your passport, for example -- you will need to have the following documentation on your person when you return to the U.S.: your CV; your itinerary that we will provide; and your Travel Affidavit.

When do I need to arrive? How do I arrange my flight?
You are responsible for arranging your flights from the U.S. to Cancun. The first date of the tour is the arrival day and the last date of the tour is the departure date. Program activities usually do not start until the evening of the first day and end the morning of the last day. All major U.S airlines fly to Cancun, our normal place of departure for Cuba trips, but you can also try some Latin American airlines like Mexicana, Lacsa/Taca, Varig, or Copa, or try a local travel agent specializing in Latin America. Online travel agencies like travelocity.com or expedia.com are good choices as well. Do I need a visa?
We take care of your Cuban Visa.

What does the price of the delegation include?
The cost of the trip includes your Cuban visa, double accommodations, transportation in-country (with the group), full program, guide/translator and trip leader, honorariums, two meals per day. Tour price includes airport pickup and drop off (with the group) on the first day and last day of tour dates.

Who are the delegation leaders?
The leaders for these delegations are either people who live in-country or experienced Global Exchange Reality Tours staff.

What is the process once I register?
Once you register for a tour, you will receive further detailed information, including an Orientation Packet with detailed information on currency, climate, health requirements, clothes to pack, electricity, group process, etc., a tentative itinerary and a complete list of hotels, dates and contact information for you to give to family & friends and emergency contact numbers for Global Exchange.