Southern Cross Brigade

28 December 2019 - 17 January 2020

Due to COVID-19, the 2021-22 Southern Cross Brigade to Cuba has been postponed. We plan for the 2022-23 brigade to proceed. Dates and further details for the 2022-23 brigade will be posted to this website in early 2022. If you would like to join the 2022-23 brigade, please email southerncrossbrigade@gmail.com to register your interest and we will keep you up to date!

Join the 37th annual Southern Cross Brigade to Cuba from 28 December 2019 to 17 January 2020! This three week trip gives Australians and New Zealanders the chance to understand Cuba’s unique, yet often misunderstood, political history and to participate in Cuba’s rich cultural heritage. As the Cuban Revolution celebrates its 61st Anniversary this coming January, there is no better time to join the brigade and to find out what life is like in socialist Cuba!

The Southern Cross Brigade offers the opportunity to experience the cultural, political and social conditions in socialist Cuba firsthand through visits to hospitals, schools, urban agriculture projects, historical sites and more! Brigadistas (brigade participants) will also meet with a range of Cubans who work for national organisations, such as the unions and the Women’s Federation, as well as people working in government, including economists and foreign affairs experts. Participants will also experience agricultural life, spending five mornings alongside Cuban farmers doing agricultural activities such as fruit picking, pruning or planting.

The majority of the three week trip will be spent in a camp about an hour’s drive outside of Havana. This year’s program will also give participants an opportunity to spend time in Havana and to travel from Havana, on the west side of the island, to the city of Santiago de Cuba in the south-east of the island and also to Holguín Province in the east of Cuba.

The 2019-20 Southern Cross Brigade program can be found here.

The Southern Cross Brigade costs approximately $AU1200 in total, per person. This cost is paid in two parts:

  1. There is a non-refundable* registration fee of $AU250 to be paid by 31 October to secure your place on the brigade.
  2. On arrival at the camp in Cuba you will need to pay a further 685 CUC (Cuban Convertible Pesos) in cash, which equates to approximately $AU950. This cost covers all accommodation, food, travel and activities for the duration of the brigade. Please ensure you arrive with Euros, Canadian Dollars or Mexican Pesos, not Aus or N.Z. dollars as you cannot change this currency in Cuba. ACFS recommends that you avoid bringing US dollars, as these incur an extra surcharge to exchange in Cuba. International flights, visas and health insurance are not included and must be arranged separately.

*Subject to usual consumer rights laws.