Cancun to Cuba – Everything You Need to Know
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Traveling from Cancun to Cuba is super easy although it can be a tad confusing for the first time visitor. So we put together this little article to let you know everything you need to get from Cancun to Cuba hassle free! (And while you are in Cancun maybe consider a trip to Tulum too!)
Cancun to Cuba – Everything You Need to Know
There are daily flights from Cancun airport to Havana run by Interjet, our new favorite airline. Interjet is a Mexican low cost airline that runs several flights a day to Havana and if you are lucky these flights are going to be around $90 one way. Once your flight is booked, all you have to do is get yourself to the airport.
Get the Tourist Visa
The first thing to do when you arrive at the airport in Cancun is to get a tourist visa for Cuba. Everyone needs to purchase one and the simplest way to do that is in line for check in. Interjet makes it super easy by having someone right there in line and you don’t have to go hunt them down. Make sure you have cash for the visa. The visa cost us $350 pesos or around $16 for the visa. In comparison, we ran into people who flew direct from New York, San Francisco and LAX and their visas were upwards of $75-$100 as the visa cost is determined by the airline. The same goes for flying out of Canada as well.
Once you have purchased your tourist card, check into your flight. You will need to show evidence of a return flight. After that you will be all checked in and ready to fly to Havana except for one last thing. You will need to fill out a currency declaration form for Mexico at your gate. As long as you have under $10,000 you will not need to declare anything but make sure you fill the form out before trying to hop on your plane.
The flight to Havana from Cancun is short, around 58 minutes. If you are on Interjet, they will have drink service and we know you guys can all drink at least one free beer during that flight! One thing to note, on the flight they will come by and spray some sort of disinfectant spray into the air ducts right before landing. Apparently this is mandated by the Cuban government. It’s not harmful (hopefully), just odd.
You Have Arrived in Cuba! Now What?
The first thing to do when you arrive in Havana is to go through passport control. They may ask you questions, they may not. We were not asked anything except to move for the camera. Some people were asked for a copy of their health insurance (we recommend World Nomads which we have used for all of our travels the past four years) and also an itinerary. Even if your itinerary changes, you should at least have a copy of it to share with them along with your health insurance. You also may be asked for the purpose of your journey. After that your passport and tourist card will be stamped and you just have to go through customs before officially arriving in Cuba!
After passport control you will be handed a customs form and unless you can get a table, wait to fill it out at baggage claim. Most likely you won’t have anything to declare so you can bypass the HUGE line for those who do. Hand the form over. Go through the doors and you have made it to Cuba!
Hola Cuba!
While it may seem confusing on how exactly Americans can get to Cuba, mainly thanks to a lack of cohesive information, it is actually fairly straightforward. Although do note, that technically Americans can’t come to Cuba just for tourism. Instead you must determine if your travels fall into one of the twelve categories approved by the US Treasury Department. These are self-regulated categories so you must decide if you fit into these categories.
Hopefully, with the borders opening up it will become easier day by day for us to visit this absolutely amazing country and it will be even easier to get from Cancun to Cuba!
We spent 3 weeks in Cuba. Click here to read all about our itinerary, budget and tips and tricks we picked up along the way.
Heading to Cuba soon? Don’t forget to buy travel insurance! Sure you may not use it but its always good to have. We recommend World Nomads which we have been using for years and have always made us feel secure as we travel around the world!
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Ashley
Ashley is a passionate traveler and all around geek who loves to nerd out over ancient ruins. Her passion for history and art drives her to explore the hidden depths of a culture and share them through her photography and writing.
18 thoughts on “Cancun to Cuba – Everything You Need to Know”
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A friend of mine said they check yellow fever vaccinations before the flight and diverted her to Lima to get it before letting her in! She was flying Peru to Havana so that may have had something to do with it. I’m flying Cancun to Havana, do you think I’ll need vaccination certificates?
It may be true from Peru to Havana but I don’t believe it is for Cancun to Havana. While we had them because of Costa Rica we were not asked for them and nothing we have read or experienced or people we have talked to have mentioned the need for a yellow fever vaccination from Mexico to Cuba. I would just double check this website: https://www.iamat.org/country/cuba/risk/yellow-fever but currently Mexico is not on the list so you should be fine! Hope that helps and enjoy!
How long will it take to check-in and get tourist card in Cancun airport if I fly by Interjet? I book a flight at 8:40AM and just want to know when I shall go to airport. Thanks.
It really depends on how many people are on your flight. We lucked out and there were only a few people in front of us so the tourist visa only took about twenty minutes. To be safe I would give yourself at least two hours. I would also maybe check with the airline to see what they recommend. They would know better and probably be able to advise you with more accuracy. Hope that helps!
Hi great info! So when you came back to Cancun, were you given another 180 day tourist visa for Mexico?
I believe we were. We were only in Mexico for a week so I didn’t pay too much attention to the visa, to be honest. But I think we were given another one of their standard tourist visas.
Hi
We are planning on going for our honeymoon to Cancun FROM New Zealand. We dont have much time. So if you were to choose between going to Costa Rica and Cuba, which one will you choose (only for a couple of days) considering costs and safety please and activities as we love exploring and doing things rather then sitting by the pool and a bit of partying is also on the cards.
Thanks in advance!!
Hey Doreen,
Unfortunately, we spent very little time in Costa Rica and only experienced San Jose so we may not be the best help! From what I know of Costa Rica and Cuba both have fantastic options for activities and exploration. It just depends on what you are looking for. Both countries seemed very safe and honestly, they cost about the same so I think it will really come down to what you want to do. We mainly stuck to the major cities in Cuba so we just explored on our own. Havanna has plenty to do in the city and is great if you want to be in a capital city and just explore on your own. For Costa Rica though, many people don’t stay in San Jose and instead opt to head to the beaches or the mountains. If you want to learn more about travel to Costa Rica I would check out My Tan Feet. They run a phenomenal blog on Costa Rica and have a ton of information on the country. If you have any other questions about travel to Cuba we would be happy to help!
Thank you for this post. I have visited Cancun But did not plan for Cuba. Actually, due to less time I am unable to visit Cuba. In Cancun I feel very comfortable to visit from one place to another place and one of the guides Oscar Cancun Shuttle helped me more. Next I will plan to visit Cuba, but is there any facility for Hotel and transportation like Cancun?
Hi there! Do you have any recommendations for places to stay – we were just going to make a short trip to Havana from Cancun. Thanks in advance!
Hey Lisa,
Your best bet for accommodations is to book through Airbnb if you want to book ahead of time. There are a lot of people who find their way into Havana and then find accommodation on the street, however, now with Airbnb you don’t have to do that. Also, you can pay ahead of time so you don’t have to factor in accommodation to the cash you are bringing with you. I would suggest looking at Old Havana if you want to be in the heart of things.
Hope that helps and enjoy!
Hello there,
Could you be more specific about what you mean by “You will need to show evidence of a return flight.” Does the return have to be back to Cancun or can you go onward from Havana to some other place? Or onward to the US?
It can be to anywhere as long as you have evidence of a flight leaving Cuba. Hope that helps!
hi ashley, thanks for the info. do you think every nationality can apply for cuban visa at cancun airport? i am thai nationality.
thanks.
Unfortunately, I don’t know. A brief look online showed this result: https://www.ivisa.com/cuba-blog/cuba-visa-for-the-citizens-of-thailand but I would check with the Cuban embassy.
Looks like you guys had fun! I got my visa in London but had to have an interview. Not sure if they have changed this yet.
Hello!
This seems like such a great resource for Cuban travel! My husband and I are thinking of going to Cancun and heading to Cuba from there. We are American so it seems like the easiest way to go. Do you have advice on the smoothest way to get there from Cancun?
We want to stay for 5 days. Any input into an itinerary? It sounds like we travel the same way you do, eating and drinking at local places, seeing some culture, a little beach time and I always take a cooking class!
Any input is much appreciated!
Lynn
Hey Lynn,
For the smoothest way to get to Cuba from Cancun, I would definitely look at flying Interjet. It was straight forward, we could buy our visa in line and the airline is a fantastic budget airline. 5 days is a great amount of time. I would definitely suggest Havana and Trinidad for the food and culture. Vinales was fantastic to get out in nature and learn about the tobacco trade but if you only have 5 days it might be a little bit hard to fit in. There are also supposed to be some great beaches just outside of Havana like Vadaredo but unfortunately, we didn’t get to them. You can also check out Bacon is Magic for more information on Havana beaches. Also, her website is all about food and she lived in Havana so she might have some great recommendations for a cooking class as well.
Hope that helps and enjoy your trip!
Cheers,
Ashley