Cuba has been in life's crosshairs of late after a hurricane, a U.S. State Department warning and the discussion of renewed restrictions, leaving travelers confused. To these three issues dogging the island nation, we may need to add a fourth that also may prove a deterrent to travel. Here's a look at how recent events might affect your Cuba plans.
STORM DAMAGE
Hurricane Irma inflicted its Category 5 wrath on Cuba when it hit the weekend of Sept. 9. Havana suffered flooding and some damage to buildings, but Irma's lash was felt most acutely in the eastern part of the country.
Havana was affected, said Manny Kopstein, owner of the Bay Area's Cuba Travel Adventures Group, which specializes in group travel with a philanthropic focus, but several all-inclusive resorts and the Cuban keys to the east were hit hard.
Those places are not on most Americans' radar because of the requirement that travel to Cuba be more than a beach vacation. (That did not change even when restrictions were rolled back in 2014.)
"There's a massive effort to repair and rebuild in advance of the November-December tourist season," Kopstein said.
How this might affect your plans: If you're an American it probably won't. Trinidad and Cienfuegos, towns often on Americans' itineraries, were spared, Kopstein said.
