With President Obama poised to make his historic trip to Cuba, it’s time to share my secret on how to get to Cuba legally and inexpensively.

I’ve wanted to go to Cuba since I was a child growing up in Miami.

Despite the politics that always swirled around Cuba, I’ve remained enchanted. It was the forbidden fruit of travel and I had to have it.

Over the years I watched as family members were allowed to go and US tour groups went to Cuba. Some individuals flew through Mexico, Canada, Jamaica, the Bahamas and other countries to get in illegally.

There are any number of group trips available, but most are for a week or longer and often at prices I deemed too high ($3500-5000).

I yearned to go on my own and not deal with a busload of companions on a prescribed trip of someone else’s making. I wanted to see Havana and its art, architecture and culture and I wanted to be independent.

So I was thrilled when two important pieces of information came my way. First I got the email address and phone number of the woman who coordinates Airline Brokers’ charter flights to Cuba out of Miami. At about that same time, a friend who is a pastor at a local church, told me his church had sponsored a visit to Cuba a year or so ago. Why not go through his church?

The planets seem to have finally aligned. I asked my niece, Kelly, who is as big a travel junkie as I am (at age 32, she has visited 99 countries) if she wanted to come with me to Cuba.

We picked a date and I began the process of getting all the paperwork together.

Here’s the process to visit Cuba legally.

Alexis Lombana (arl@airlinebrokers.net) at Airline Brokers told me her team could handle our travel arrangements, book hotels, guides, shows and take care of necessary visas and the American license for travel.

Alexis sent us all the appropriate forms. A visa is required to enter Cuba and several forms must be completed to apply for it, along with reservation forms. Medical insurance is required by Cuba, as well. Alexis and her team sent us the forms, we filled them out and then Airline Brokers took care of processing. The cost of the airfare, medical insurance, visa and all processing was $555.31 per ticket round trip from Miami to Havana. Yeah, it seems like a lot to fly 90 miles, but I figured I would save by not being in a group and going for just a long weekend.

All U.S. travelers must obtain a U.S. government approved Cuba travel license. Licensing categories include an educational institutional license, a professional research license, or a religious activities license.

Check out http://LegalCubaTravel.com If you read this carefully, you will see that it is not difficult to meet one of these requirements for a license. To meet the religious license, all we needed was a letter on church letterhead from our pastor friend stating what we intended to do in Cuba. Since my niece is a musician, we said we were planning to research the effect of music on spirituality. We embellished the wording a bit, but no one ever asked to see the letter – other than the folks at Airline Brokers. Even coming back into the US, we walked right through customs with no problems. We were asked where we had been. Cuba. Why were you there? Church mission. Welcome back to the US, ladies!

The professional research category can work well, too. A friend, who is a physician (now retired), went and wrote a paper about his trip. Legal and perfectly acceptable.

Be ready for challenges in the arrangements

I had done research online and knew I wanted to stay at the Saratoga Hotel. I wanted a historical building with as much luxury as possible. I had heard that hotels in Cuba were not up to US standards and I’m not much of a roughing it kind of gal, so I wanted a hotel that was as nice as possible. (Beyoncé and JayZ stayed there on their recent visit!)

In our case, we thought we had everything arranged and were ready to go, when we found out the woman at Airline Brokers who had made our arrangements, was no longer with the company. When we finally got a tentative invoice for our hotel and guides, the price was more than I had expected ($3770). I asked for an itemized bill so we could deduct some items to get the bill lower and Airline Brokers was not able to supply it.

Two weeks before our scheduled trip Alexis connected us with Cuba Explorer Tours out of Vancouver, BC. In a matter of days, Leonardo Hechavarria put together our trip at a reasonable price ($2600) – complete with guide, a car and driver and a detailed itinerary of all the places we wanted to see.

The only hitch in the program was that we were unable to get into the Saratoga Hotel. Everything was booked and over-booked and we were scheduled into a junior suite at a 3-star hotel, Las Failes. (The Cuban government owns at least 51 percent of all the hotels and they can pretty much do whatever they like.)

When we arrived at Las Failes, we were told there was no junior suite, so we had to take a standard double room. It was clean and we were in a great location. Other than that, the air conditioner worked on and off and no one seemed to know how to make it run continuously. There were no windows in the room and the beds and pillows were OK, nothing more. We each got one towel and there was one hand towel between us. We stayed in the standard room for two nights and on our third night were able to switch to an available junior suite – which blessedly had huge windows and a balcony.

On the way in from the airport, our guide had told us that hotel reservations are “iffy” in Havana. So we weren’t too surprised and were able to be flexible – a quality that is highly necessary for a visit to Cuba.

Things to do and see in Havana

Cabaret Tropicana’s show – continually running since 1939! A two-hour show of dancing and singing with the most spectacular costumes and headdresses you’ve ever seen. Sure, it’s touristy there, but we loved it.

Buena Vista Social Club. These guys are still rocking and they give regular shows (when they are in Havana) at the Café Taberna, located in Old Havana. You can buy tickets to have dinner and see a show or just see the show. Our show started at 9:30 and we had 1.5 hours of solid Cuban music. Lots of fun and a real treat to see these famous and talented guys.

Old Havana is structured around squares. They are beautiful to see and the center of life for many Cubans. Don’t miss Revolution Square, San Francisco Square, Plaza Vieja.

Finca La Vigia, the house and farm of Ernest Hemingway, now a museum. A popular spot, but well worth the visit.

Museum of Fine Arts, Cuban Collection. We had our own private guide who explained each decade of art from the early 1900s to present. Kelly and I are both art geeks, so we loved it. Be sure to get a guide, as the history of the island is so wrapped around all the art. And have US currency with you in small bills for tips to locals and guides. We tipped our museum guide $10 and knew it meant a lot to her.

Capitolio Nacional, the capital was being renovated, but it is an impressive edifice.

National Hotel, famous for hosting some of the world’s greatest celebrities, and once owned by the Mafia.

Jazz clubs are located all over town. Ask your guide for suggestions or wander around the streets until you see crowds and hear the music.

Museum of the Revolution. Sure it’s a one-sided presentation of Cuba’s revolutionary past, but a great way to learn about the island’s tumultuous history.

Fuster’s Gallery. A friend who visits Cuba often to see his family, told us about this artist and his home. It was one of the highlights of our trip. Fuster’s house looks like tile mosaic gone mad. Everywhere you look are walls, statues, fountains and structures – all covered with colored tiles. A real feast for the eyes. Fuster also sells art here.

Note: The good thing about a dictatorship is that the city is safe. You can walk anywhere and be totally safe. Men do comment about women from time to time, but we ignored the comments or had a few good laughs about them.

Restaurants

In old Havana, there are lots of small cafes and restaurants (called Paladars). Many are privately owned. If you walk around the city, just look for places with lots of people. Many of the spots have outdoor cafes, so you can see what people are eating and pick a spot that looks good. Our experience with hotel food was mediocre. Our worst meal was at our hotel and we ate at several of the larger restaurants that cater to tour groups and they were above average, but nothing fantastic.