Glenview Chamber Plans Cuba Trip for Residents

The lure of legal travel to Cuba drew a dozen Glenview residents to Park Center on Jan. 14, but there's room for plenty more on the Glenview Chamber of Commerce's "person-to-person" cultural trip in May.

The trip, from May 4-11, includes Havana and its Old City (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Museum of the Revolution and San Jose Market, Ernest Hemingway's home, and a tobacco farm and cigar factory in Pinar del Río province on the island's western tip.

"This trip is a people-to-people cultural exchange, so we have things every day to learn about the people and culture of Cuba," said Betsy Baer, the chamber's executive director.

A business exchange trip could be planned if there's interest in doing so from the Glenview business community, but "I'm going to wait and see," Baer said.

While 12 residents came to the initial informational meeting at Park Center, as many as 40 people can sign up for the trip, Baer said.

The tour includes hotel accommodations, meals, professional tour escort, a Cuban travel visa and Cuban medical insurance, sightseeing and admission to all attractions on the itinerary.

Tour price is $4,095 per person, double occupancy, which includes roundtrip airfare from Miami to Cuba (Baer said it's actually cheaper for travelers to arrange their own flights from Chicago to Miami than to include that in the package). There is a $100 per person discount for signing up by Feb. 15. The deadline for signing up and paying in full is Feb. 19.

"I think it's going to be an incredible, incredible trip," Baer said.

The Glenview Chamber has sponsored similar trips in previous years, including one to Greece last October and one to China in 2012. The chamber is also offering a "Blue Danube" trip Sept. 15-26 on the Danube River from Prague, in the Czech Republic, to Budapest, Hungary.

Glenview's isn't the only north suburban chamber interested in Cuba: The Winnetka-Northfield Chamber has a trip that departs Miami on May 11.

Source: Chicago Tribune