Old American cars are a common sight in Havana.

HAVANA — Barack Obama would lift restrictions on visits by Cuban Americans to the hemisphere's only communist country if elected president. A growing chorus of Democratic and Republican lawmakers would go even further, loosening the U.S. embargo enough to allow all Americans to travel to Cuba.

But thousands of U.S. tourists already travel to Cuba behind Washington's back, and many say being sneaky is part of the fun. Some are scrambling to get to the island while Fidel Castro is still alive, fearing the U.S. government could scrap the travel ban once he's gone and bring profound change to Cuba.

"The fact that you're not supposed to be there, that was the top for me," said Amit, 29, a New York City native who visited Cuba in September 2006, shortly after the 81-year-old Castro fell ill and ceded power to his younger brother.

"I was like, 'It's time to go,'" said Amit, who asked that his full name not be published to avoid U.S. fines. "You just don't know what Cuba will be like after Castro's gone."

CUBA'S THE 'ENEMY'

Traveling to Cuba is not illegal for Americans, but provisions of the Trading With the Enemy Act prohibit spending money here without authorization." If caught, unauthorized U.S. tourists can face large civil fines, though many settle for smaller amounts. (U$250-1000)

Since January 2006, 19 Americans have paid fines for sneaking to Cuba, including four people involved in making Oliver Stone's documentary about Castro, "Comandante." Fellow filmmaker Michael Moore is now being investigated for filming "Sicko" without permission in Cuba.

Locally, Carrie Houk, an acting teacher at Webster and Washington universities in St. Louis, spent three weeks in Cuba in June with two other professors. The three went legally to do educational research, and spent much of their time in Havana.

"It's a beautiful place, the people are gorgeous, there's music everywhere, on every corner, no matter what city," she said. "We ran into no anti-American feelings whatsoever. In fact, I would say it was the opposite. They welcomed us wholeheartedly."