Art of Diplomacy Tours:
The Cuba Experience
Founded by Ambassador Charles Shapiro and Amanda Mattingly, Art of Diplomacy Tours started with the idea of taking curious, policy-minded American citizens to Cuba. Charles and Amanda led their first delegation trip to Cuba in June 2023, followed by trips in 2024 and most recently in June 2025.
We hope to return to Cuba in 2026, conditions permitting. We are also planning a trip to Colombia! We'll let you know dates for our next adventure soon and hope you'll consider joining us!
Charles and Amanda have traveled to Cuba many times over the last 20 years and believe that U.S. government-licensed, people-to-people exchanges such as these make a difference and can open important dialogue between the people our two countries. So much about the U.S.-Cuba relationship is misunderstood, but educational travel trips like these can help Americans and Cubans gain a better understanding of one another. It is our hope that citizen diplomacy and advocacy can help improve U.S.-Cuba relations over the long term.
All trips are legal under U.S. law and licensed through the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control.