The Top Ten Travel Adventures for 2016

Patagonia (Courtesy of Lauren Hefferon, Founder of Ciclismo Classico)

I am a huge adventure travel fan and with so many options around the world it can be overwhelming.  I want to make it easier for adrenaline junkies and explorers to choose their next trip with some very special locations for 2016.

Americans find ways around Cuba travel ban

Americans find ways around Cuba travel ban

HAVANA - "Is travel to Cuba for tourist activities permitted? No." That's what the U.S. Treasury Department website says. And yet Havana is loaded with Americans, from the Floridita bar, where they pose for photos with a bust of Ernest Hemingway, to the Rum Museum, where they swig rum samples.Sure, some Americans follow the rules on sanctioned travel, bringing supplies to Cuban churches or synagogues, for example, on a religious activities license. Others come on approved group tours known as people-to-people trips with themed itineraries such as the arts.

Traveling to Cuba: When to go and how to get there

Traveling to Cuba: When to go and how to get there

ATLANTA — With a U.S. embassy opening soon in Cuba, people may be considering planning a vacation there, but it’s not as simple as getting online and booking a trip like they would for other destinations.

"You can't just book an all-inclusive package or rent a car and hit the beach," Collin Laverty, president of Cuba Educational Travel told Channel 2 Action News Anchor Craig Lucie in Havana.

Laverty and his company handled the logistics for the recent mission to Cuba involving Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and business and educational leaders from Metro Atlanta.

Channel 2 Action News was the only television station in Cuba with the delegation.

While Lucie, his producer and photographer ran into logistical challenges traveling to Cuba, he learned there are ways for tourists from Georgia to visit the communist nation.

How much will it cost to travel from Washington to Cuba?

President Obama announced this month that he would ease the United States’s longtime travel ban to Cuba, making it the easiest it’s been for Americans to travel to the Caribbean nation in more than 50 years. Under the new law, Americans will not need to obtain a government license to fly to Cuba and can make the trip provided they are traveling for professional, government, religious, or other approved reasons. Traveling for purely recreational purposes is still banned.

Last week. travel Web site Kayak.com started postings flights from Washington-area airports to Havana. A person can only book flights through travel agencies licensed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, so you can’t actually book these tickets through the popular travel search engine, but it’s still fun to play around with.

Note: U.S. airlines are still not offering scheduled flights to Cuba and all of the U.S. flights currently listed on Kayak.com to Cuba are routed through another country.

Cuba Travel Restrictions Ease But Tourism Trips Still Banned

VENTURA, Calif. - Decades of U.S. travel restrictions on Cuba have come to an end.  The new rules will allow Americans to travel to the country, but there are some restrictions.

The White House has released a list of 12 reasons traveling to Cuba is acceptable.  They include: education, religious, humanitarian projects, among others.  The list prohibits traveling for leisure.  So if you are just wanting to sight see or enjoy the beach, you will not be able to go anytime soon.

If you have you heart set on going to the long forbidden fruit there still is a way.  Local travel agents are currently working with international companies to set up educational trips to Cuba.

Cuba part 1 - Scuba Diving in Cayo Largo

Scuba in Cayo Largo, Cuba, 2006

Underwater images shot around Cayo Largo, Cuba in Dec. 2006. Stunning unspoiled dive sites. Shot in HDV (not that it shows here:-)) looks great on a proper HD monitor

Cuba part 2 - Cuban Salsa Dance Styling

Cuban Salsa Dance Styling in Havana - Clip of the Boogalu Productions DVD "Mueve La Cintura"

Features seven remarkable Cuban dance couples (professional and amateur) who dance together as a group, and who also dance as individual couples demonstrating their personal styles, at slow and fast dance tempos.

Cuba part 3 - Havana singing

Havana singing - HAVANA (Cuba) Places like the Hotel Nacional, Havana Vieja or make Floridita Havana a destination not to be missed.

Cuba part 4 - Snorkeling in Varadero

Snorkeling in Varadero - Cuba - Testing my new camera's video mode during a catamaran/snorkeling excursion

Cuba part 5 - Varadero resort

Varadero resort - 20 km of beautiful beaches!

Cuba part 6 - Shark encounter in Cuba

Shark encounter in Cuba

It's me with the yellow fins ;-)
They were feeding the sharks from the boat and I wanted to take pictures in the surface. My friend was freediving with his video camera.

Cuba part 7 - Cuba Emotional, travel, attractions, hotels

Cuba Emotional. Cuba travel. Cuba Attractions Cuba hotels

Cuba Emotional. Sol Melia Cuba Travel for leisure or business travel. Accommodations, attractions, beach vacations, circuits. City hotels or beach hotels. Online hotel reservation, online hotel booking in Cuba.

Cuba part 8 - Holguin, Cuba

Holguin, Cuba - Video of Holguin, Cuba

Cuba part 9 - Paraglider flight in Cayo Coco

Paraglider flight in Cayo Coco - Cuba

Cuba part 10 - Zapata Peninsula

Zapata Peninsula - Video of Zapata Peninsula in Cuba

Cuba part 11 - Travel to Pinar del Rio

Travel to Pinar del Rio - Video of Pinar del Rio in Cuba

Cuba part 12 - Jardines del Rey

Jardines del Rey - Video of Jardines del Rey in Cuba

Cuba part 13 - Diving in Cayo Guillermo

Diving in Cayo Guillermo, Cuba - Travel Report from Cuba in April 2007

Music: Ruediger track mountain

Cuba part 14 - Attractions of the Santiago De Cuba

Attractions of the Santiago De Cuba

SANTIAGO DE CUBA (CUBA) is located in the Caribbean and has a wonderful location, thanks to which was the first capital of Cuba, since its founding in 1515 until 1556. It is a unique city, combining values ​​and attractions that show the idiosyncrasies of its people, culture and history of the place, besides the enjoyment of the exotic nature. Known as the Hero of Cuba City, a title that was granted for the support of his people to the exploits of the Cuban libertarian.

Cuba part 15 - Cuban rom diary

Cuban rom diary - Viva Cuba!

The name Cuba comes from the Taíno language. The exact meaning of the name is unclear but it may be translated either as where fertile land is abundant (cubao), or great place (coabana). Authors who believe that Christopher Columbus was Portuguese state that Cuba was named by Columbus for the ancient town of Cuba in the district of Beja in Portugal.