These organizations offer trips and/or can arrange trips for licensed academic and cultural organizations:
Art Quest International (801 Idaho Ave., Suite 15, Santa Monica, CA 90403, tel. 310/393-3435, www.artquestintl.com [1]), formerly Cuba Cultural Travel.
Center for Cuban Studies (231 W. 29th St., New York, NY 10001, tel. 212/242-0559, www.cubaupdate.org [2]).
Global Exchange (2017 Mission St. #303, San Francisco, CA 94110, tel. 415/255-7296, www.globalexchange.org [3]). This left-wing organization offers “Reality Trips.”
Marazul Tours (8328 SW 40th St., Miami, FL 33155, tel. 305/559-7114 or 800/993-9667, www.marazulcharters.com [4]).
Ya’lla Tours (tel. 800/644-1595, www.yallatours.com [5]).
The Bush administration rescinded the fully hosted travel and person-to-person exchange provisions permitting “solidarity” tours, in which participants perform voluntary work that contributes to the human community while learning some invaluable life lessons. Nonetheless, the following agencies offer programs.
Pastors for Peace (418 W. 145th St., New York, NY 10031, tel. 212/926-5757, fax 212/926-5842, www.ifconews.org [6]), which operates without a license, delivers humanitarian aid to Cuba through the annual U.S.–Cuba Friendshipment Caravan, which travels via Canada or Mexico.
The Venceremos Brigade (P.O. Box 5202, Englewood, NJ 07631-5202, tel. 212/560-4360, www.venceremosbrigade.net [7]) organizes annual solidarity trips and “work-camp” brigades (also without a license).
Volunteers for Peace (1034 Tiffany Rd., Belmont, VT 05730, tel. 802/259-2759, www.vfp.org [8]) has “International Workcamps” in Cuba for volunteers.
Friendship Force International (34 Peachtree St. NW, Suite 900, Atlanta, GA 30303, tel. 404/522-9490, www.friendshipforce.org [9]) has taken participants to Cuba in past years, as have People to People Ambassadors (Dwight D. Eisenhower Bldg., 110 S. Ferrall St., Spokane, WA 99202, tel. 509/568-7000 or 866/794-8309, www.ambassadorprograms.org [10]) and Witness for Peace (3628 12th St. NE, Washington, DC 20017, tel. 202/547-6112, www.witnessforpeace.org [11]).
Most entities that held licenses to operate academic and cultural-exchange programs no longer do so. Such programs have in past been offered by the Cuba Exchange Program (School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, 1740 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036, tel. 202/663-5600, www.sais-jhu.edu [12]); MacArthur Cuba Scholarly Exchange (Center for Latin American Studies, University of Chicago, 5848 S. University Ave., Chicago, IL 60637, tel. 773/702-8420, http://clas.uchicago.edu [13]); Plaza Cuba (P.O. Box 3083, Berkeley, CA 94703, tel. 510/848-0911, www.plazacuba.com [14]), which specializes in music and dance workshops; and the Center for Cross-Cultural Study (446 Main St., Amherst, MA 01002, tel. 413/256-0011, www.cccs.com [15]), which also oversees the Cuba Academic Alliance (www.cccs.com/CubaAcademicAlliance [16]), working to challenge restrictions on academic travel.
Links:
[1] http://www.artquestintl.com
[2] http://www.cubaupdate.org
[3] http://www.globalexchange.org
[4] http://www.marazulcharters.com
[5] http://www.yallatours.com
[6] http://www.ifconews.org
[7] http://www.venceremosbrigade.net
[8] http://www.vfp.org
[9] http://www.friendshipforce.org
[10] http://www.ambassadorprograms.org
[11] http://www.witnessforpeace.org
[12] http://www.sais-jhu.edu
[13] http://clas.uchicago.edu
[14] http://www.plazacuba.com
[15] http://www.cccs.com
[16] http://www.cccs.com/CubaAcademicAlliance