Travelling to Cuba Now: Blackouts, Shortages and the Hotels Still Open

Cuba still attracts international visitors to its beaches, hospitality and nightlife, but anyone planning a trip today will find an island under strain. Recurring power blackouts and fuel shortages have disrupted hotels and other businesses since 2024, and Americans cannot travel freely to the country.

Key facts

• Since 2024, recurring blackouts have disrupted Cuban businesses and hotels
• Travellers face shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine, plus frequent power outages
• Americans cannot travel freely to Cuba; Canada and Russia are among the top sources of visitors today
• A US trade embargo has been in place since 1962, with limited exceptions for food, medicine and humanitarian exports
• On 29 January 2026, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a process for additional tariffs on imports from countries that provide oil to Cuba

What will travellers find in Cuba today?

Shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine, together with recurring power outages, shape daily life on the island. At the same time, historic buildings dot the country, vintage cars keep a distinctive streetscape, and tourists still arrive for its beaches, hospitality and nightlife.

Havana's skyline now combines historic buildings with newer hotels and high-rises, reflecting a continued government focus on tourism amid what the photo survey describes as a wider housing and infrastructure crisis. Deteriorated historic buildings remain part of the daily landscape, the result of decades of repair, scarcity and preservation efforts.

Recent reforms have begun to open Cuba to more private businesses and imports, and the government has announced broader measures to attract investment. The state nonetheless remains central to the island's fragile economy.

Can US travellers visit Cuba?

Americans cannot travel freely to Cuba. The US has maintained a trade embargo on the island since 1962, restricting most US commerce apart from limited exceptions for food, medicine and humanitarian exports.

On 29 January 2026, shortly after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and blocked Venezuela's oil shipments to Cuba, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a process to impose additional tariffs on imports from countries that directly or indirectly provide oil to Cuba.

Decades of economic animosity and restricted access to US markets have deterred foreign trade and investment in the country, contributing to its economic isolation. Visitors from other countries still support the tourism industry, with Canada and Russia among the top sources of international arrivals today.

Which hotels are open?

Some landmark hotels still operate. The Hotel Nacional de Cuba, which opened in 1930 and hosted celebrities, politicians and organised crime figures in the 1950s, remains open today as a luxury hotel. The Hotel Riviera opened on Havana's Malecón in December 1957 and became one of the city's best-known casino hotels.

Cuba nationalised foreign-owned hotels after the revolution, and state enterprises still control much of the industry. Recurring blackouts have disrupted businesses and hotels since 2024, as severe fuel shortages and frequent failures in the country's ageing power plants strain the energy grid.

What this means for travellers

Visitors should expect power outages to affect hotels and other businesses, alongside shortages of fuel and everyday goods. US travellers cannot travel freely to Cuba, while tourists from other countries continue to arrive. Anyone planning a trip can weigh the state of historic hotels and infrastructure against the island's still-drawcard beaches, architecture and nightlife.

Cuba's government has announced broader measures to attract investment as recent reforms open more space for private businesses and imports. No further dates or measures were announced in the material reviewed.