Going to Cuba in Luxury

By RACHEL LEE HARRIS
Five-star hotels and luxury motor coaches may not be the first things that come to mind when you think of Cuba. But now they can be part of the experience. Abercrombie & Kent, the luxury travel company, is offering trips to Cuba from the United States made possible by President Obama’s loosening of travel restrictions earlier this year.
According to the new policies, any United States citizen can now go to Cuba, which is still under an American economic embargo, as long as the travel is done with a group licensed by the Treasury Department. Abercrombie, the first elite travel company to offer this type of tour, has partnered with the Foundation for Caribbean Studies, a nonprofit organization, in order to make the trips possible. The foundation obtained its “people-to-people” license, as the new permits are being called, from the Treasury Department earlier this month and worked with Abercrombie to plan an itinerary that would put visitors in touch with people who could teach them about Cuba’s history and culture. Participants will meet with a tobacco farmer, for example, and take a tour of Old Havana guided by a local architect.
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