Apr 10, 2008, 09:23 PM
I've recently started making plans for my next trip to Havana using Taino Tours. I have used them 5 times since 1999 and have no complaints to report. Flights always left and arrived on time, and service overall was good.
DISCLAIMER: I'm not promoting this route over other ways to travel. Other routes may be more appropriate to ones geography/timeframes. I'm merely offering useful info to anyone who might want it.
Taino Tours offers round trip Tijuana-Havana fares. At present, the fare is $669 most of the year, and $789 during heavy travel season of late November/all December. Add to this the $25 Cuban visa fee. I've only paid in cash, so I'm not sure about paying in other ways.
IMPORTANT-Flights are arranged in WEEK INCREMENTS-ie they leave on a Saturday and return the following Sunday. So your length of vacation time will have to be specifically one week, two weeks, three weeks, etc. This is a big turnoff for some, but it's worked fine for me.
The departing Aeromexico flight is a redeye. It leaves late Saturday afternoons, and arrives in Havana around 5 AM Sunday mornings. The return flight is the next Sunday in the early morning. You arrive back in Tijuana mid Sunday morning, as the time change favors you on the way back.
There is a short layover in Monterrey where you leave the plane, pass through Mexican customs, get a visa stamp, and reboard the plane.
Tijuana as a transit point has some significant plusses and minuses, which I'll discuss in a separate thread.
DISCLAIMER: I'm not promoting this route over other ways to travel. Other routes may be more appropriate to ones geography/timeframes. I'm merely offering useful info to anyone who might want it.
Taino Tours offers round trip Tijuana-Havana fares. At present, the fare is $669 most of the year, and $789 during heavy travel season of late November/all December. Add to this the $25 Cuban visa fee. I've only paid in cash, so I'm not sure about paying in other ways.
IMPORTANT-Flights are arranged in WEEK INCREMENTS-ie they leave on a Saturday and return the following Sunday. So your length of vacation time will have to be specifically one week, two weeks, three weeks, etc. This is a big turnoff for some, but it's worked fine for me.
The departing Aeromexico flight is a redeye. It leaves late Saturday afternoons, and arrives in Havana around 5 AM Sunday mornings. The return flight is the next Sunday in the early morning. You arrive back in Tijuana mid Sunday morning, as the time change favors you on the way back.
There is a short layover in Monterrey where you leave the plane, pass through Mexican customs, get a visa stamp, and reboard the plane.
Tijuana as a transit point has some significant plusses and minuses, which I'll discuss in a separate thread.