ES / EN
- July 10, 2025 -
No Result
View All Result
OnCubaNews
  • World
  • Cuba
  • Cuba-USA
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Infographic
  • Culture
    • Billboard
  • Sports
  • Styles / Trends
  • Media
  • Special
  • Cuban Flavors
  • World
  • Cuba
  • Cuba-USA
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Infographic
  • Culture
    • Billboard
  • Sports
  • Styles / Trends
  • Media
  • Special
  • Cuban Flavors
OnCubaNews
ES / EN
Home Cuba

Canadians return to Cuba

Under Cuba’s new protocols all trips must be pre-booked in a vacation ‘package’ that includes flight and accommodation. It is currently not possible to turn up in Cuba without a hotel booking. Most operators offer special Covid-19 medical insurance as part of the package.

by
  • Brendan Sainsbury
    Brendan Sainsbury,
  • brendansains
    brendansains
November 7, 2020
in Cuba
3
Photo: Prensa Latina

Photo: Prensa Latina

Cuba’s premier beach resort, Varadero, disinfected its sun-loungers and reopened to international visitors in mid October as the country tried to lure lockdown-weary tourists to a new post-pandemic reality.

It was not the first resort to relaunch. Cuba originally announced it was ready to receive foreign tourists in early July, but the start up didn’t properly get underway until September 4th when an Air Canada flight from Montreal touched down in Jardines del Rey airport in Cayo Coco with 104 Canadians on board.  

The airplane’s arrival marked the beginning of phase two of Cuba’s gradual reopening in which international travelers – most of whom are Canadian – are able to fly directly to resort islands off the country’s north coast but are not permitted on the Cuban mainland.  

Unlike other countries that insist on a 14-day quarantine or ask visitors to produce evidence of a negative Covid-19 test on arrival, Cuba screens all tourists at the airport free of charge. Visitors are then transported directly to a pre-booked hotel where they can take off their masks and savor a vacation with surprisingly few restrictions. The only real caveat: you are not allowed outside the designated tourist ‘bubble’. 

Photo: Meliá Cuba

The Cayo Coco tourist bubble

Cuba’s first tourist bubble was established on Cayo Coco, an island of blonde beaches and thick mangroves off the north coast of Ciego de Ávila province which, along with the neighboring keys of Cayo Guillermo and Cayo Cruz, hosts 30 all-inclusive resorts but no permanent Cuban population. With a small international airport, a well-equipped medical clinic and an easy-to-monitor causeway connecting it to the mainland, it was an obvious place to set up the country’s first Covid-free vacation zone. 

Related Posts

Sandra Sotolongo, co-director of the “inSurGENTES” project, during an activity in the vegetable garden. Photo: Courtesy.

Insurgents, an open-air revolution

July 10, 2025
Private business on Infanta and 23rd Streets, in Vedado, Havana. Photo: AMD.

MSMEs barely growing and their slowdown hinders competition and economic dynamism

July 9, 2025
Entrance to San Juan Park, located east of Santiago.

San Juan Hill: heritage in the attic?

July 6, 2025
Headquarters of the Matanzas People’s Court, where the trial was held. Photo: Matanzas People’s Court/Facebook.

Prosecutor’s Office requests up to 9 years in prison for synthetic drug trafficking in Matanzas

June 30, 2025

To date, only half a dozen hotels have opened on Cayo Coco, but more will likely follow as demand increases and Cuba enters what is traditionally its high season in mid-November. All Cuban staff on the cayos are screened for Covid-19 before being bussed in to work three-week shifts at the hotels where strict new hygiene standards have been adopted. Staff don masks while at work, but guests are not obliged to wear them outside of airports and transfer buses. New pandemic protocol means à la carte menus have replaced the hotel’s traditional all-inclusive buffets. Otherwise, land and water-based excursions are offered as normal, as long as groups don’t leave the cayos. Guests may also rent bicycles or scooters to get around the islands and enjoy musical performances at the resorts in the evenings. 

So far, Cayo Coco’s reopening has been largely successful. Flights operated by Air Canada arrive twice a week from Toronto and Montreal and, according to the Cuba Tourist Board in Canada, no one has yet tested positive for coronavirus. 

Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez

Other resort openings

In the wake of Cayo Coco, the islands off Villa Clara province and the hotels of Varadero will adopt similar operating measures as they get ready to receive their first flights from Canada in early November. 

In Varadero, to keep foreign visitors separated from vacationing Cubans, only a dozen hotels at the eastern end of the Hicacos peninsula – the so-called ‘zona hotelera’ – will be open to international tourists. Visitors will also have access to two of Varadero’s marinas and the Plaza América shopping mall.  

There are still no concrete reopening dates for the resort areas of Guardalavaca in Holguín province or Playa Santa Lucía in Camagüey. However, if Cuba’s steady management of Covid-19 continues – it currently has the lowest death rate (per million inhabitants) in Latin America – early 2021 might be a possibility. 

Photo: Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez

The Canadian connection

With Europe and South America still recording high Covid-19 rates, almost all the visitors to Cuba since its September reboot have been Canadian.  

Canadians first began vacationing in Cuba in large numbers in the early 1990s as the country turned to tourism to bolster its faltering economy after the fall of the Soviet Union. By the late 2010s around 1.1 million Canadians were visiting Cuba annually – over a quarter of all tourist arrivals – and contributing significantly to the country’s economy.

Cordial relations between the two nations and the relatively short three-hour flying time from Toronto has led to a quick renewal of Cuba-Canada bonds post-pandemic compared to other countries.    

National carrier, Air Canada, resumed flights from Ontario and Quebec after a six-month gap in September. They will be complemented by Westjet in early November and low-cost airlines, Sunwing and Air Transat in early December. A brand-new Canadian airline called OWG (an acronym for Off We Go) is also due to launch flights between Canada and Cuba this winter.

Under Cuba’s new protocols all trips must be pre-booked in a vacation ‘package’ that includes flight and accommodation. It is currently not possible to turn up in Cuba without a hotel booking. Most operators offer special Covid-19 medical insurance as part of the package. 

Photo: 5 de septiembre.

Cuba’s next moves

Meanwhile, in Cuba, the government announced a comprehensive plan to return to a ‘new normal’ on October 9th aimed at protecting public health while, at the same time, rebooting the struggling economy. 

With an encouraging nod to tourism – which makes up 10% of Cuba’s GDP – the proposals include restarting several more of the country’s provincial airports and the gradual reopening of the rest of the country. Russian airline, Aeroflot and German charter, Condor were quick to respond to the changes saying they would re-establish flights to Cayo Coco and Varadero respectively starting in early November. According to Cuban prime-minister, Manuel Marrero, all visitors from abroad will continue to be screened for Covid-19 and will have to sign a sworn declaration of good health on arrival. Outside of tourist resorts, masks remain mandatory for Cuba’s indoor spaces.

Havana, which has endured tougher Covid-19 restrictions than other parts of Cuba, is not included in the next round of airport re-openings. However, some companies, including American Airlines, have already started taking flight bookings for the city’s José Martí International Airport for late November.  

New restrictions for Americans

While Canadians are beginning to head tentatively back to Cuba, travel for Americans recently became more difficult. New restrictions announced by the Trump administration on September 24th, 2020, bar US citizens from staying in any state-run hotel, prohibit the import of Cuban rum and cigars, and have eradicated two of the 12 categories of authorized travel to the country. Until the Cuban mainland completely reopens, legal travel for Americans remains tricky.   

Pandemic, elections and travel between Cuba and the U.S.

  • Brendan Sainsbury
    Brendan Sainsbury,
  • brendansains
    brendansains
Tags: coronavirus in CubaCuba and Canadatourism in Cuba
Previous Post

Information Phase in western and central Cuba in face of Eta threat

Next Post

European Union, PAHO and Cuba to expand cooperation against the pandemic

Brendan Sainsbury

Brendan Sainsbury

Brendan Sainsbury first visited Cuba in 1997. He has returned over 25 times in the years since, often for extended periods, to work as a travel guide and a writer. He is the author of the last seven editions of the Lonely Planet Cuba guidebook and has written numerous articles for the likes of the BBC and the Washington Post. Originally from the UK, he now lives in British Columbia, Canada.

brendansains

brendansains

Next Post
Application of Nasalferon, nasal version of Interferon alfa 2-b, as a preventive treatment against COVID-19. Photo: ACN/Archive.

European Union, PAHO and Cuba to expand cooperation against the pandemic

46th President-elect of the United States

A couple walks their son in Havana. Photo: Ernesto Mastrascusa/EFE.

Cuba reports 39 cases of COVID-19, the majority in Pinar del Río

Comments 3

  1. Marcel Grenier says:
    5 years ago

    I have a reservation for flight only with Air Canada in two weeks and a reservation at a Casa Particular in Cardenas so I think your statement that “all trips must be pre-booked in a vacation ‘package’ that includes flight and accommodation” is incorrect. I’m going to do my due diligence again but you might want to also.

    Reply
  2. Brian says:
    5 years ago

    You info is not up to date. My friend left for Cuba ONE WAY • Nov 7, 08:35
    • Air Canada
    • AC1420
    • YYZ-VRA
    and left the airport within 2 hours

    Reply
  3. Wendy says:
    4 years ago

    I am booked into cayo coco resort vacation package on October 16 until October 30,thus my 14 day quarenteen. Can I then go to the mainland to my winter casa particular?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

The conversation here is moderated according to OnCuba News discussion guidelines. Please read the Comment Policy before joining the discussion.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Most Read

  • Flags of Cuba and the United States, seen in perspective in Havana. Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

    Trump reinstates hard-line Cuba embargo as Havana condemns US measure as “criminal”

    29 shares
    Share 12 Tweet 7
  • Lester Lescay: “I left Cuba because I didn’t want to spend my youth there.”

    16 shares
    Share 6 Tweet 4
  • San Juan Hill: heritage in the attic?

    12 shares
    Share 5 Tweet 3
  • Los Palacios, land of Cuban rice harvested by Vietnamese

    11 shares
    Share 4 Tweet 3
  • A sanctuary for jazz in Cuba: César López’s dream

    15 shares
    Share 6 Tweet 4

Most Commented

  • Photo: Kaloian.

    Private sector and tourism in Cuba. Why not?

    12 shares
    Share 5 Tweet 3
  • About us
  • Work with OnCuba
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Moderation policy for comments
  • Contact us
  • Advertisement offers

OnCuba and the OnCuba logo are registered® trademarks of Fuego Enterprises, Inc., its subsidiaries or divisions.
OnCuba © by Fuego Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • World
  • Cuba
  • Cuba-USA
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Infographic
  • Culture
    • Billboard
  • Sports
  • Styles / Trends
  • Media
  • Special
  • Cuban Flavors

OnCuba and the OnCuba logo are registered® trademarks of Fuego Enterprises, Inc., its subsidiaries or divisions.
OnCuba © by Fuego Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}