Most of what you’ll read online about Americans and Cuba is either out of date or written to scare you. This page does neither. It tells you what the US regulations literally say, quotes them, links them, and leaves the interpretation to you and, where it matters, to your own counsel. We checked every citation directly against the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations on September 1, 2026.
The short version
US law prohibits tourist travel to Cuba. The same regulation that says so also lists twelve categories of travel it does authorize — and for the most-used category, the regulation itself names staying in privately owned Cuban accommodation as an example of a qualifying activity. Those two sentences are not in tension. They’re the whole framework, and the details below are what make the difference.
1. Tourism is prohibited — by the regulation’s own words
31 CFR § 515.560(f): “Nothing in this section authorizes transactions in connection with tourist travel to Cuba.” That’s the baseline, and it hasn’t moved. A presidential memorandum signed June 30, 2025 (NSPM-5) directed Treasury to keep regulations aligned with the statutory tourism ban and called for regular audits of Cuba travel. Plan around that reality, not around a loophole.
2. Twelve categories of travel are authorized
The same section, § 515.560(a), lists the travel categories that may be authorized by general or specific license: family visits; official government business; journalistic activity; professional research and professional meetings; educational activities; religious activities; public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitions; support for the Cuban people; humanitarian projects; activities of private foundations or research or educational institutes; exportation, importation, or transmission of information or informational materials; and certain authorized export transactions.
A general license means there is no application and no paper certificate. You self-qualify by meeting the conditions of the category, you state the category to your airline when asked, and you keep records. The records requirement is real — more on that below.
3. Support for the Cuban People — what the regulation requires
The category most individual travelers rely on is Support for the Cuban People, 31 CFR § 515.574. The general license has three working parts: your activities must “promote independent activity intended to strengthen civil society in Cuba”; you must keep “a full-time schedule of activities” that “enhance contact with the Cuban people” and “result in meaningful interaction with individuals in Cuba”; and your schedule “does not include free time or recreation in excess of that consistent with a full-time schedule.”
Here is the part that matters for where you sleep. Note 2 to § 515.574(a), quoted in full: “Staying in a room at a rented accommodation in a private Cuban residence (casa particular), eating at privately-owned Cuban restaurants (paladares), and shopping at privately-owned stores run by self-employed Cubans (cuentapropista) are examples of activities that qualify for this general license. However, in order to meet the requirement for a full-time schedule, a traveler must engage in additional authorized Support for the Cuban People activities.”
Read that twice. Where you stay counts toward the category — and it is not enough on its own. The regulation’s own worked example describes a traveler who stays in a casa particular, eats at paladares, has breakfast with the Cuban host, and fills the rest of the schedule supporting Cuban entrepreneurs. Its counter-example is a traveler who rents a bicycle, goes to the beach, and chats with vendors: that trip does not qualify.
4. Where you sleep is regulated by name and address
31 CFR § 515.210 prohibits lodging, paying for lodging, or making a reservation “at any property in Cuba that the Secretary of State has identified as a property that is owned or controlled by the Cuban government” or by prohibited officials and their close relatives. The State Department publishes those properties on the Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List — the version in force as we write this is dated July 14, 2025.
One honest warning the booking sites skip: state hotels are only part of the CPA List. It also includes properties “marketed as a ‘casa'” that the State Department identifies as government-controlled, and at least one genuine casa particular that meets the listing criteria anyway. “It’s private, so it’s fine” is not a rule. Checking the list is. We screen every villa and penthouse in our rental collection against the current CPA List and the Cuba Restricted List before it goes live, and we recheck when the State Department updates either list.
5. The record-keeping rule most sites get wrong
Nearly every travel article still says keep your Cuba records for five years. The regulation says otherwise: 31 CFR § 501.601, amended September 13, 2024, requires a “full and accurate record of each such transaction,” available for examination “for at least 10 years after the date of such transaction.” Keep your daily schedule of activities, your lodging confirmation, and your receipts. Ten years. It costs you a folder.
6. The practical layer
Cuba, for its part, asks every traveler for a visa or tourist card, an advance arrival form (D’Viajeros), and proof of medical insurance. And one thing the regulations technically permit but reality doesn’t: US-issued credit and debit cards mostly do not work in Cuba. Bring cash for on-island spending, and plan amounts before you fly.
How we fit in
Every villa and penthouse in our rental collection is privately owned, screened against the CPA List and the Cuba Restricted List, and personally inspected by our Havana team. Because payment for your stay is settled on arrival, you pay the private owner’s side directly — and we document every service so your file holds up. If you tell us you’re traveling under Support for the Cuban People, we’ll build your stay around people, not around a pool: private chefs shopping the agromercado with you, cultural guides who are historians, music in living rooms rather than state cabarets. We are not lawyers and this page is not legal advice. It is the homework, done properly, with the sources in plain sight.
FAQ
Is it legal for Americans to travel to Cuba in 2026?
Tourist travel is prohibited by regulation (31 CFR § 515.560(f)). Twelve categories of non-tourist travel are authorized under § 515.560(a), most of them by general license. Whether your trip fits a category depends on what you actually do there — that part is your responsibility.
Do I need to apply to OFAC before I go?
Not for a general-license category. There is no application and no certificate; you must meet the category’s conditions and keep records. Specific licenses exist for cases that don’t fit a general license.
Can I stay in a private villa under Support for the Cuban People?
The regulation’s Note 2 to § 515.574(a) names staying in a rented room in a private Cuban residence as an example of a qualifying activity — and says lodging alone doesn’t satisfy the full-time schedule requirement. The property also must not appear on the State Department’s Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List; we screen every listing against it.
What records do I keep, and for how long?
A full and accurate record of your travel transactions — your schedule of activities, lodging confirmations, receipts — available for examination for at least 10 years (31 CFR § 501.601, as amended September 13, 2024).
Will my US credit card work in Cuba?
Assume no. Whatever the regulations permit on paper, US-issued cards are generally not accepted on the island. Bring cash.
Where do I check the official rules myself?
The Cuban Assets Control Regulations live at 31 CFR Part 515 on ecfr.gov; OFAC’s Cuba sanctions page and FAQs are at ofac.treasury.gov; the Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List and Cuba Restricted List are at state.gov/cuba-sanctions. Read the current versions — this area moves.
Disclaimer
This page describes US regulations as published on the dates cited and is provided for general information only. It is not legal advice, and it does not guarantee that any particular trip qualifies under any category. Regulations and lists change; the current official texts control. You are responsible for your own compliance. Questions about your specific situation belong with a qualified attorney.