We invite you to participate in a one-week group trip to Cuba with your fellow Kinderlanders, February 14 – 22, 2015. Camp Kinderland staff, Board and volunteers are working closely with the Center for Cuban Studies and Marazul Charters travel agency to organize this educational People-to-People exchange program. The trip itinerary will include activities of interest to our community, such as museum and historical monument visits, and meetings and discussions with Cuban healthcare workers, educators, and artists. Please see the Activities List link below to learn more about what events and activities we tentatively have planned.

This trip marks the fifteen-year anniversary of the last Kinderland trip to Cuba. It is important to Camp Kinderland that we maintain a connection to Cuba – a country that advocates for and lives many of the values and ideals we are aligned with, and memorializes a history with which we identify. This trip is an opportunity for Kinderlanders to come together to show our solidarity with Cuba’s investment in the arts, education, public healthcare, and food sovereignty, and its commitment to honoring a history of socialist activism. We endeavor to learn more about Cuban history, society, culture and politics, as well as the impact of our own government’s policies towards Cuba. We also aim to raise awareness in our communities about Cuba, and its connection to Kinderland upon our return home.

The cost for this eight-day trip will be $3,200/$3,400 per person (double/single). The trip fee includes accommodations in Havana, round-trip chartered airfare from Miami to Cuba and back, ground transportation in Cuba, several meals, scheduled activities, and a small contribution to Camp Kinderland. This cost does NOT include your initial airfare to Miami or back, nor your accommodations in Miami; nor does it include all of your meals and expenses in-country.

If you are able, PLEASE HOLD OFF ON RESERVING YOUR AIRLINE TRAVEL to and from, and accommodations in Miami until further notice. If you absolutely must book your airline travel before we have more information on our flights between Cuba and Miami, please be aware of the following.  We will be departing Miami early on Saturday, February 14. Considering the likelihood of flight delays and cancellations during the winter months, you must plan to arrive in Miami no later than Friday evening, and plan to spend the night in Miami. Your hotel or other overnight accommodations in Miami are your responsibility. Please do NOT book a flight that has you arriving in Miami on Saturday morning. If you miss the arranged flight to Cuba with the rest of the group, we cannot get you on another flight. On the way home, please do not book a flight out of Miami that departs any earlier than 6:00pm on Sunday, February 22 to give you some flexibility for the layover between flights, or plan to stay in Miami on Sunday night, February 22, and fly out the following day.

We only have space for 120 participants, and participants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. To reserve your spot:

1. Complete a separate application for each participant (link below) and return it to the Center for Cuban Studies (CCS) with a nonrefundable $500 deposit per person and a copy of each participant’s passport as soon as possible, and no later than October 31, 2014. CCS will follow up with an invoice and your balance due date thereafter.
2. We cannot bring children under the age of 6. If you are Cuban-born, you must indicate this on the application.
3. Depending on the size of the group and the nature of each activity, we may split the large group into smaller subgroups at certain points during the trip. Please indicate on the “Traveling With” section of the application (link below) whether you have family members or friends with whom you intend to travel (this is separate from your rooming preferences, which should be indicated on your application).

The Kinderland to Cuba Committee and the Center for Cuban Studies will host 1-2 prep sessions for registrants, in person or via phone, prior to departure. More information will follow. We hope you will join us for this special program. We look forward to traveling with you!

Kinderland to Cuba Application

Who Are You Traveling With

Activity List

In response to recent questions about the application process:

• If you do not have an up-to-date passport, but plan to renew or apply for a passport in preparation for this trip, please submit your completed application and deposit as soon as possible with a note indicating that you are in the process of updating your passport and will send a copy as soon as it arrives. This will reserve your spot.
• Both certified and personal checks are accepted for the deposit.
• Please send your entire application, including all forms, passport copies and check, to the Center for Cuban Studies directly, NOT the Kinderland office. The address for CCS is on the application itself.
• If you are able, PLEASE HOLD OFF ON RESERVING YOUR AIRLINE TRAVEL to and from, and accommodations in Miami until further notice. We are still finalizing the return flight from Cuba to  Miami and hope to have it resolved by mid-November. As soon as we have more information, we will update the website. In any case, you must plan to arrive in Miami no later than Friday evening, February 13 and spend the night in or near Miami.
• If you absolutely must book your flights to and from Miami before we provide more information, and you must fly out on Sunday, February 22, it is highly recommended that you book your departing flight from Miami NO EARLIER THAN 6:00 PM.
• If you absolutely must book your flights to and from Miami before we provide more information, and you have some flexibility in your arrival and departure dates, it is highly recommended that you plan to stay in Miami on Sunday night, February 22, and fly out the following day or sometime during the following week.
• Because February 14-22 is a holiday week during high-season in Florida, airline travel to and from Miami may be significantly cheaper if you arrive in Miami prior to Friday, February 13 and/or depart after Monday, February 23. If you have a flexible schedule and a place to stay in or near Miami, consider flying into Miami earlier and/or departing later.

Please check this website regularly for updates. With any questions, please contact the Center for Cuban Studies directly at 212-242-1937 or email the planning committee at camptocuba@gmail.com.