A&K Gets OK for Cuba Tours

Abercrombie & Kent USA has joined the growing list of companies offering people-to-people programs to Cuba with a 10-day itinerary departing Sept. 6, followed by additional departures throughout 2013 and into 2014.

The company, which recently received its license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, had tried to enter the Cuba market in September 2011 but pulled its programs off the market soon after they were introduced, pending a review and clarification of new Cuba regulations that had been issued by OFAC in July 2011.

"Much of Cuba's allure comes from the mystery surrounding an island lost in time," said Phil Otterson, president of Abercrombie & Kent USA. "From my personal experience, I can say its real charm is found in the culture, art, cuisine, music and personal stories shared by the people who live there."

Cuba: People to People, limited to 24 participants, will visit Havana, Caibarien in northern Cuba, the rural countryside of Vinales, the fishing community of Proyecto de Arte Por la Costa and the Unesco Biosphere Reserve.

The itinerary will offer opportunities to meet with musicians, artists, a salsa instructor, a ceramicist, farmers, physicians, a Foreign Service scholar and baseball players.

Land arrangements start at $4,995 per person, double, a savings of $300 when booked by Aug. 15. Charter air from Miami is $525 plus a visa fee of $75.