18 Year Old & Cuba

Hi. Dilemma that I need help with. My 18 year old daughter, who has finished High School and is working for a year before going back to school, would like to go to Cuba with her boyfriend and another couple and I honestly don't think it's a good idea, not because I don't think she is responsible, but for a lot of little reasons. She's so young, it's a foreign country that I honestly don't know is it a stable one?, neither one of them have really strong, confident personalities and I worry about them getting scammed, or worse, either booking or once they get down there. I just really feel uncomfortable, but I'm not sure it's partly selfish, they want to go within the two weeks before we go to Disney in April. Originally they were thinking of coming back the day before we leave for Disney, but could move it up some. I must admit, I get uptight the closer it gets to any trip, worrying about something happening and we won't be able to go. This is a reunion, I have one brother and we are meeting him and his family there, he lives over 2000 miles away from me and we only see each other once every 4-5 years, and our elderly parents are going too, this may be the last time we can all get together like this. Am I being paranoid? I know, god fobrid, anything can happen to any of us at any time, but to have her go that far away to somewhere strange is really freaking me out, and just before our trip, I'm just really nervous about saying yes, along with all the other things I don't like about it.

Any thoughts? I could really use some objective opinions :blush:

Despite Cuba being poor and a communist country it is essentially stable. Granted that can change with power now passing from Castro to his brother Raul. Because of the American restrictions on travel to Cuba it is possible they may not even be able to get permission to travel to Cuba in the first place.

Have they ever gone on any trips by themselves before? And if the answer to that question is yes, how did those trips go? If they have experience by themselves on trips and it went OK then I would not be as concerned about them doing this trip. However since you mention that you are concerned about them getting scammed and if this is their first trip on their own then I would be hesitant to let them go to a place like Cuba as their first independent trip. Maybe you can suggest that they take their first trip to someplace here in the states before they solo out of the country and especially in a place like Cuba.

Don't get me wrong, from what I have read the people of Cuba are very friendly kind people unfortunately though their government leaves a lot to be desired and has a lot of draconian laws that unaware foreigners can easily violate unintentionally.

The bottom line is to really take stock of the abilities of the people going and make your decisions accordingly. Of course, at the age of 18 your daughter is legally free to do what she wants so make sure you take the time to really talk to her and explain your concerns and hope she understands!

My only question is... why Cuba? What do they plan to do and see there? When I was fresh out of high school that would've probably been one of the last places I'd want to go. Heck I'm out of college now and there are still so many places I'd rather see before Cuba. My first independent trip was to WDW with my boyfriend when I was 19.
Yes you're daughter is legally able to do as she pleases but if she still lives under your roof and if you are still helping to support her then I think you have to speak up if you aren't comfortable with her going there. I think you should sit down, find out what their itinerary will be, and do your own research about the country and where travelers should and should not go and what they need to be aware of.

You should check with the Canadian government regarding any travel advisories.

My best friend and I traveled to Cuba when we were 18 in (1992) - we went because it was cheap and we were college students that needed to get away!

For Canadians and Europeans, Cuba is a huge travel destination and it the resorts are 4 or 5 stars and very exclusive and beautiful. You need a passport and a tourist visa obtained thru your travel agent.

When we arrived in Cuba, we arrived on the tarmac and had to walk into the airport - I have had to do this at St Petes in Florida as well, and even in Toronto because the gate would not stretch out to the plane - no big deal. The airport was nothing great, but no problems with it.

Cuban customs were the same as any customs, random bag checks - don't bring anything stupid and you won't have a problem getting into the country (ie bringing fruit into a foreign country, etc).

Our bus trip to the hotel took us thru 'downtown', we did see some armed guards - nothing really different than seeing armed police (Cubans have bigger guns though!). The countryside is beautiful, a lot of the homes are made of cinder block with no real windows - makes you grateful for what we have.

Traveling as 2 single females, we were hit on BUT as soon as we told them we were not interested they backed off. The laws in Cuba are very strict and if we had of filed any sort of complaint it could have easily landed them in jail.

Cubans are only allowed to have a small amount of American money on them (The currency is American dollars for tourists ironically). If they are caught with more than a very small quantity of American money - they will be jailed. There are 3 forms of currency in Cuba: American dollars which most tourists use, Cuban tourist dollars - we never even saw this when we were there, and the Cuban dollar which is only for Cubans.

As far as safety - I FELT VERY SAFE IN CUBA and would not hesitate to go back, many of my friends and family have been several times. I felt more safe in Cuba than I did as a married woman in the Dominican Republic with my husband - I will not go back to Dominican. Many of my friends have also said they would go to Cuba over Mexico in a heartbeat, given the news reports on Mexico I would hesitate to go there.

Again, Cuba is a huge European and Canadian vacation destination. She will be with friends and I am sure she will be fine! Our parents had huge reservations about us going, but when we went Cuba was just gaining popularity and now so many people go!

When I made my first reply I failed to notice that your address was in Canada. That does change my tune a great deal because the travel restrictions are tremendously different for Canadians than for Americans. The attitude of Cuban officials is also VERY different for Canadians than Americans (imagine that uh!)

However, this does not change the fact of your concern about whether or not your child and her companions are ready to solo on a trip like that.

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Originally Posted by Flower

Again, Cuba is a huge European and Canadian vacation destination.

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Being American, I did not know this, which is why it seemed like such an odd choice to me. I know that Cuban restaurants are very popular around here but I don't know a single person that's been there. From your experience it seems like it is indeed a safer place to travel than where most American 18 year olds go on their spring breaks or high school grad trips.

WOW - this is totally amazing to me as I never heard of anyone wanting to go to Cuba. I never realized it's a vacation spot for Canadians and Europeans. You learn something new every day!

I think I would be hesitant simply because of the "changing of the guard". You never know what could happen with brother Raul taking over. Fidel is not one that would give up power very easily. It makes you wonder if he did this because he knows he does not have long to live. I would not want to be in Cuba if/when this happens.

Just a thought....If they want to go to a spanish caribbean island, why not Puerto Rico? The climate and the spanish influence is there. However, it is a US territory where the majority of the people speak english.

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Originally Posted by tink2006

Just a thought....If they want to go to a spanish caribbean island, why not Puerto Rico? The climate and the spanish influence is there. However, it is a US territory where the majority of the people speak english.

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The majority of resorts have English speaking workers, the exception is a lot of the house keepers will speak minimal English. Several of the cooks and bar tenders we met were actually from Spain and fluent in Spanish & English - we did not have any problems; again the tourists are from Europe & Canada (Great Britain, Germany, etc). Of note, several travel company's also had staff at the resorts so if there were any problems we could go directly to them.

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Originally Posted by tink2006

I think I would be hesitant simply because of the "changing of the guard". You never know what could happen with brother Raul taking over. Fidel is not one that would give up power very easily. It makes you wonder if he did this because he knows he does not have long to live. I would not want to be in Cuba if/when this happens.

Just a thought....If they want to go to a spanish caribbean island, why not Puerto Rico? The climate and the spanish influence is there. However, it is a US territory where the majority of the people speak english.

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I agree Puerto Rico is a great place to visit. If you are wanting to visit a safe place with spanish culture.....it's a great choice.

Thanks everbody, I feel a little better, and we are talking about it, so that's good. She says she won't go if I really don't want her to, so we'll keep talking and decide together.:)

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Originally Posted by Flower

The majority of resorts have English speaking workers, the exception is a lot of the house keepers will speak minimal English. Several of the cooks and bar tenders we met were actually from Spain and fluent in Spanish & English - we did not have any problems; again the tourists are from Europe & Canada (Great Britain, Germany, etc). Of note, several travel company's also had staff at the resorts so if there were any problems we could go directly to them.

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Sounds a lot like Central Florida's hospitality industry:secret:

My reply is very simple and blunt. No way would I let her go. Remember Natile Holloway. If something happens to your daughter while in Cuba that government will be of no help at all. Sorry to be so negative but I just don't see how it would be safe for her.

Especially because of the fact that Cuba is now in a transitional phase with Fidel stepping down, I'm not quite sure now would be the best time for a visit.

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Originally Posted by NJGIRL

My reply is very simple and blunt. No way would I let her go. Remember Natile Holloway. If something happens to your daughter while in Cuba that government will be of no help at all. Sorry to be so negative but I just don't see how it would be safe for her.

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That was my thought exactly! I would also suggest Puerto Rico. At least, God forbid, if something happens there you have a gov't where you understand the laws and the process.