Tribe Caribe’s Field Notes on Cuba Travel in 2024
Field Notes are firsthand travel recommendations for and by our ECT Clubhouse members. Get the lowdown on destinations across the globe from travelers and locals alike. This week, Bella Luna from Tribe Caribe, shares her intel on travel to Cuba in 2024.
¡Hola! My name is Bella Luna, Director of Narrative (and wearer of many hats) for Tribe Caribe Cayo Hueso—a new boutique hotel in Centro Havana. Here’s a recent feature in Travel+Leisure highlighting that it IS legal to travel to Cuba and how to get there.
Not many people know this, but entrepreneurship and private sector business was made legal in Cuba only recently. So when it comes to hospitality, restaurants, service industries, a lot of Cuban entrepreneurs are going off of instinct, passion, and are evolving along the way.
Stay
Tribe Caribe Cayo Hueso: Lovingly deemed the Harlem of Havana, we’re at the center of an iconic neighborhood, Cayo Hueso, with deep music roots in rumba and the origins of Latin jazz. Our 11-room boutique hotel is an artfully restored eclectic colonial building furnished with locally sourced pieces signaling Cuba’s handcrafted design. Every room and common area feature original works of Cuban art expressing sensuous and important themes of everyday life in Havana and across the Caribbean.
Shop/Eat
Ama Havana: Ana and María of Ama Havana, are talented musicians who started making handcrafted wearable art and jewelry during the pandemic when they could no longer perform due to strict lockdowns. Since then they expanded their business by opening a cafe and juice bar in a light-filled house in the green neighborhood of Vedado, where you can also shop their collections and participate in workshops. Their pieces are as bright and loving as they are! I bought beaded necklaces for every woman in my close family. Their juices and bites are ¡delicioso!
Also included in her notes:
travel tips to know before you go, covering visas, cash, and connectivity
the tours she recommends that “directly support our wonderful community in Havana and meet the itinerary guidelines for Supporting the Cuban people.”
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