Greater Richmond Chamber Plans Trip to Cuba

Posted: Jul 07, 2014 6:07 PM EDTUpdated: Jul 07, 2014 6:28 PM EDT

By WRIC Newsroom 

 

Cuba is only about 100 miles from Florida, but most Americans have only seen pictures of it. The Greater Richmond Chamber is offering a chance to travel there in January.

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -

Cuba: Even though it's fewer than one hundred miles from the Florida coast, most Americans have only seen http://www.wric.com/story/25959154/greater-richmond-chamber-plans-trip-to-cubapictures of the colorful country. 

This is due to the fact that the United States government banned travel to Cuba more than 50 years ago. Now, there's an opportunity to visit the island nation, legitimately, through the Greater Richmond Chamber.

Christy Schneider McCurdy with the Greater Richmond Chamber says, "I think there's always been an interest in checking out Cuba and we just thought that this would be a great way to offer it to the public."

The Chamber is partnering with a California company licensed by the U.S. government to take travel groups to Cuba. The trip is slated for next January, and is open to anyone with a curiosity for Cuba...and $3,600.

According to McCurdy, “It's not a beach vacation. You'll be very busy on the trip. You'll be scheduled from in the morning through the evenings and you'll get to meet a lot of really interesting people and see a lot of things that most Americans don't have the chance to see."

The trip is considered a "people to people" excursion, meaning participants will meet one-on-one with people who live there. That is the only legitimate way for most Americans to visit Cuba. 

So the busy itinerary isn't a choice--it's required of everyone traveling in the group. 

The Chamber emphasizes that this will not be a visit to drum up business or commerce.

McCurdy adds, “It's more about see this part of the world, learn about the culture learn, about the history, learn about the relationship between the US and Cuba."

For more information on how to register for the trip, please click here.

Copyright 2014 by Young Broadcasting of Richmond 

http://www.wric.com/story/25959154/greater-richmond-chamber-plans-trip-to-cuba