Your Tour includes:

• Arrival and departure transfers
  • 9 nights accommodation
  • Havana – 3 nights(at hotel or B&B)
  • Trinidad – 4 nights (B&B)
  • Camagūey – 2  night (at hotel or B&B)
• Meals
  • Breakfast daily
  • 8 lunches
  • 9 dinners
    • Lunches and dinners include an appetizer, main course, dessert, and one drink
• All transportation is by car or van depending on group size.
• Children are allowed
• English speaking guide will be with guests during all scheduled tours, workshops, and most transfers.

 

Tour does not include:

• International or domestic airfares
• Taxes and fees related to air transportation
• Cuban entry visa
• Taxes & Medical Insurance
• Excess luggage
• Optional activities
• Personal expenses
• Travel Insurance
• Tips to guides or drivers
• Expenses of a personal nature
• Meals and services not mentioned in the itinerary

Hotels in your Tour:

 

City	Hotel Name	Room Type	Tripadvisor
First Class
Havana	NH Capri		4
Trinidad	B&B	Vivian y Pablo	5
		Casa Cantero	5
		Hostal Colina	5
Camarguey	B&B	Casa Durän	4
		Rodolfo Y Xiomara	4.5
Deluxe
Havana	Iberostar Parque Central		4.5
Trinidad	B&B	Casa Barmarin	4.5
		Hostal Lola	4.5
		La Casona	5
Camarguay	B&B	Casa Madiba	5
		Hostal Rafael	4.5

Hotels will be confirmed at time of booking

Day 1: USA, Havana

After passing Customs and Immigration at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana you’ll be met and greeted by the guide/driver that will transfer you to your hotel or B&B in Havana. The rest of the day is free to relax until dinner at a private restaurant. Overnight at your hotel or B&B. [D]

 

Day 2: Havana

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel or B&B before joining a walking tour through Old Havana and its five main plazas, with stops at the residence of the colonial era palace of the island’s Captain General, the Havana Cathedral, Obispo Street, the Capitol building, and more.  Most of our guests in Cuba start their cultural exchanges with a walking tour of Old Havana.   This event is directed by one of our professional English-speaking guides, and gives you a taste of the island in a very interesting activity that feels like stepping into a time machine.  Old Havana has buildings and streets that are some of the oldest in the Americas, with some buildings dating to the 17th century.  Though the buildings are hundreds of years old, they are still used to house a significant number of Havana’s inhabitants.  Old Havana features the first church built on the island, a street paved with wooden bricks, palatial residences, and much more! You will learn about the recent history including a few hangouts of Ernest Hemingway such as his old room at the Ambos Mundos Hotel and his favorite bar, El Floridita, known for his favorite daiquiri cocktail.  Old Havana is one of the largest, oldest, most authentic colonial areas in Latin America, and houses a significant number of Havana’s population. Feel free to chat up any of the artists you may see selling their works on the street. After the tour enjoy lunch at private restaurant. In the afternoon you’ll explore Modern Havana with stops outside El Capitolio (the “Congress”) and Havana University where you will learn about the influence of Art Nouveau and Art Deco in Cuban architecture as seen today at the Bacardi Building, National Hotel and others.  We will then visit the Gran Teatro, home to the National Ballet of Cuba ranked number three in the world.  This beautiful historic building has just been renovated and a real treat for architecture lovers.  We will continue to Revolution Square, the heart of Communist Havana, surrounded by monuments and important government buildings.  We will also drive through El Vedado and down Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue) in Miramar, Havana’s embassy and country club neighborhood.  This will give you a good perspective on how Old Havana and the newer parts of town all meld together as the capital of Cuba. Enjoy a Cuban dinner at Chef Justo Restaurant or similar.  After dinner you’ll have a short visit to La Cabaña Fort to see the beautiful Havana city nightscape and witness the cañonazo canon-firing ceremony that has been held every night for over a century returning to the hotel around 10:00 PM for overnight. [B/L/D]

 

Day 3: Havana (Viñales)

Early breakfast before today’s full-day tour to discover the UNESCO protected “Valle de Viñales,” and its unique rock formations. Tour includes the “Mirador de los Jazmines”, the “Cueva del Indio” (the cave of the Indian), - that includes a boat ride through its interior.  Visit to  a Tobaco Farm  and the “Casa del Veguero,” - the cigar maker’s home Lunch at a local restaurant before concluding your tour with a visit to the Prehistoric Painting Mural, which illustrates the evolution of life in the “Sierra de los Organos”.

 

Option [1] Immersion in nature and rural life in Cuba.

We will drive up to the entrance of the National Park of Viñales. There we’ll switch to horses to complete the tour. Our first stop will be about 15 minutes later, in the middle of the exuberant nature of the Valley of Silence, to visit a tobacco dryer amid plantations and enjoy the "guajiro" (tobacco farmer) himself explaining the whole process of plantation, cultivation, collection and drying of the tobacco until the manufacture of the Habanos. Later we will continue to the coffee plantations, their cultivation, process and taste local coffee in either the peasant houses or under the trees, drink sugar cane juice in the middle of the nature and to watch the process of production of the honey of Earth. During the journey you will be able to observe many of the typical Cuban crops, many peasants on horseback, oxen plowing and the routine life of the countryside. We’ll finish at fantastic viewpoint over the heart of the Viñales Valley and a lunch prepared by typical Cuban farmers.

 

Return to Havana arriving in time for dinner at your hotel or B&B. [B/L/D]

 

Day 4: Havana, Zapata Swamp, Cienfuegos, Trinidad

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel and be ready for today’s trip to Trinidad, with stops in Guamá and Cienfuegos.

Once you arrive at Zapata Swamp, your first stop is in Boca de Guamá to visit a crocodile-breeding farm for a crocodile encounter.  Afterwards, if there are enough boats available, you’ll take a boat to the “Aldea Taina,”  a reproduction of a precolonial Indian village consisting of overwater bungalows scattered along the 12 islets in the middle of the Laguna del Tesoro. Continue for lunch at a private restaurant in Playa Larga. Afterwards, drive to Cienfuegos for a panoramic driving tour of the city stopping the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Conception, “Paseo del Prado”, Provincial Museum and “Palacio del Valle”. The last drive will bring you to Trinidad where, after checking-in at your hotel or B&B you’ll have dinner at a private restaurant. Overnight at your hotel or B&B. [B/L/D]

 

Day 5: Trinidad

After breakfast start a walking city tour of Trinidad, a city founded in 1514, that has some of Latin America’s best preserved colonial era houses.  Stops at the “Plaza Mayor,” the Church of the Holy Trinity, the Plaza Santa Ana and “Tres Cruces” (three crosses), the Palace of Count Brunet which, currently, houses the “Museo Romantico” and more. By now you must be hungry so we have scheduled lunch at a private restaurant. In the afternoon we will departure to Sugar Mills Valley outside Trinidad, where we will visit the Manaca Iznaga Sugar Mill ruins, one of the 56 major mills that once flourished in the region.  Cuba was a former economic leader due to its sugar production and the Iznaga family held great power until it declined after a tragedy of love. We will drive to Trinidad afterwards. You’ll have some time to relax before dinner at a private restaurant followed by a live music show at Casa Segarte. Return to your hotel or B&B for overnight. [B/L/D]

 

Day 6: Trinidad (Topes de Collantes)

After breakfast, departure by Russian truck to Topes de Collantes. Then enjoy a magnificent panoramic view of the City and the Caribbean Sea from a lookout point. Visit to “Casa del café”. Drive through the tropical rain forest and coffee plantations to arrive at “Casa de la Gallega” and access the trail called “Centinelas del río melodioso” (Melody River Sentries) guided by an expert on the Cuban flora and fauna for a length of 2 miles. Time for swimming at the pond “El Venado” and the waterfall “El Rocío”. Light lunch included. Return to Trinidad.

 

Day 7: Trinidad (Cayo Las Iguanas)

Today will be an amazing day. Board a Catamaran to cruise to Cayo Las  Iguanas on the south coast of Cuba.

Running along the south coast, 15 nautical miles from the Ancon Peninsula is located Las Iguanas Key, a small paradise that seems to be floating on the blue waters of the Caribbean. A path, only 700 meters long, allows you to discover the wild fauna: iguanas and jutias moving quickly in the vegetation, and also small and private coves with exclusive areas for swimming. Seafaring in majestic and comfortable catamarans, snorkeling in well-preserved coral reefs with abundant fauna, together with the exquisite marina rice and lobster wrap up this pleasant journey.

 

Day 8: Trinidad, Camagūey

Good bye Trinidad and welcome Camagūey!  After breakfast be ready for today’s drive to the city of Camagūey where you should arrive in time for lunch at a private restaurant. In the afternoon enjoy a tour of the city founded in 1514 and known, at the time as “Villa de Santa Maria del Puerto del Principe” and now a World Heritage Site.  It is the birthplace of many notable Cubans, including Ignacio Agramonte – a Cuban revolutionary who participated in the Ten Years War - Gertrudis Gomez de Avellana – a Cuban born Spanish writer -, Dr. Carlos J. Finlay – the Cuban physician who discovered that mosquitos carry the Yellow Fever from human to human - and Nicolas Guillen – A journalist and activist known as the national poet of Cuba. 

This afternoon, enjoy your welcome tour of Camagüey starting among medieval churches and plazas. Visit the town’s scale model and walk around the five initial squares of the old village, whose buildings’ architectonic value stands out, being one of the reasons why the center of Camagüey was declared a World Heritage Site. A stroll along the “Street of Cinemas” before continuing to Agramonte Park, Ignacio Agramonte’s home, the Church of the Sacred Heart, Soledad Church, the “Plaza del Carmen” and some other places of interest. Dinner in the colonial Restaurant 1800 followed by a night of Cuban traditional music at Casa de la Trova. Return to your hotel or B&B for overnight. [B/L/D]

 

Day 9: Camagūey  (Sierra de Cubitas)

Today discover the diversity that enriches the hills of Sierra de Cubitas! In a small town, you’ll find nothing less than the only lutherie that makes violins in the country. We will visit an old sugar mill to complement our knowledge of the sugar industry in Cuba. Then tour a crocodile-breeding center where you could hold a young crocodile in your hands for as long as it takes to take the photo. Rafaela, a local Indian descendent, will offer you coffee served in a fruit shell. To finish, enjoy the beauty of Los Cangilones of Máximo River and, of course, go for a swim. A box lunch is included so you may eat during a break in the tour. Later have dinner at D´Emi Restaurant and return to your hotel or B&B for overnight. [B/X/D]

 

Day 10: Camagüey, USA

All good things come to an end! Today is the last day of your tour. After breakfast at your hotel or B&B be ready for your transfer to Ignacio Agramonte International Airport in Camagüey to board your return flight to the USA. [B]

 

[D] = Dinner | [B] = Breakfast | [B/L/D] = Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner | [B/X/D] = Breakfast, Box Lunch and Dinner

 

Note: We will make our best efforts to follow the above itinerary, however we reserve the right to substitute and/or make changes to certain elements of the itinerary including but not limited to routing, restaurants, hotels and activities in the event of unforeseen circumstances. Please note that activity times shown are for reference only and that actual times may differ significantly – everything runs on “Cuban time” and is part of the cultural exchange experience.

Tour prices:

 

Season	Minimum 4 passengers
	Double	Single
First Class
May-Oct	$3,739	$4,275
Nov01-Dec21	$3,935	$4,589
Dec22-Jan02 '18	$4,129	$4,905
Deluxe
May-Oct	$3,919	$4,415
Nov01-Dec21	$3,919	$4,415
Dec22-Jan02 '18	$4,099	$4,605

 

Option:

Description	Price
[1] Immersion in nature and rural life in Cuba	$45

Prices are per person and may change without notice

Prices are valid up to January 2018

 

Tour Code: CU07HAV17FFV

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