About Your Trip 

ITINERARY

Day 1 / Feb 15, 2025 / Havana

Bienvenido a Cuba! Welcome to Cuba! Upon arrival, soak in the decaying beauty of Havana and the surreal feeling that you have entered a bygone era. This is a very historic time to visit Cuba. As the gates finally creak open to a country so long forbidden, an opportunity has arisen to support the Cuban people and explore their incredible country. As there are no activities planned until your important welcome meeting at 6 p.m., why not take a stroll to get acquainted with Cuba’s capital, where vintage cars, plumes of cigar smoke, Neo-Gothic churches, and Art Deco theaters come together in a unique mesh of histories? After your welcome meeting, enjoy dinner at a local paladar, a privately owned restaurant that is a great example of Cuba’s incremental shift to a more free-market economy. Paladar means ‘palate," but the popular usage of the word to describe this kind of restaurant references a Brazilian soap opera popular in Cuba in the 1990s.

Accommodation

Premium Guesthouse (1 night)

Meals Included

Dinner

Special Information

A complimentary arrival transfer is included with your trip. Please ensure you provide your flight details to your booking agent at least 14 days prior to travel so the transfer can be organized. Please see Joining Point Instructions in the Essential Trip Information section for more information about exiting the arrivals hall and connecting with your arrival transfer driver, who will take you to the address of your assigned guesthouse.

It’s very important that you attend the welcome meeting, as we will be collecting insurance details and next of kin information at this time. No services. 

Day 2 / Feb 16, 2025 / Havana

This morning, find out more about the local customs, folklore, and beliefs of Cuba’s Afro-Cuban religion from an insider on a colorful and unconventional tour with Urban Adventures. Be welcomed into private homes and take the opportunity to learn from the devoted residents as you explore one of Havana’s sub-cultures at a grassroots level, something not often experienced by tourists. Next, you’ll get to see outer Havana in a convoy of classic American vintage cars. Cruise via points of interest, such as the Malecon, Revolution Square, and Avenida de los Presidentes, ending in Old Havana. Next, your leader will take you on a walking tour around the charming neighborhood of Old Havana (approximately 2.5 hours). The best place to start any Havana experience is in the Old City, which is one of the best-preserved towns and, in 1982, was designated a World Heritage Site. The streets are lined with colonial architecture, 16th-century fortresses, and countless churches. Visit La Catedral San Cristobal de la Habana, the Palacio de los Marqueses de Aguas Claras, and the Plaza de Armas. After a full day of exploration, enjoy an evening at leisure.

Accommodation
Premium Guesthouse (1 night)

Included Activities
Havana: Afro-Cuban Religion Tour (guide and transport included) Havana: American Vintage Car Tour (guide and transport included) Havana: A Leader-Led City Tour of Old Havana

Day 4: Feb. 18, 2025 Vinales

Today at 9 am, spend the morning (approximately 3 hours) nding out more about Cuban agriculture with a visit to a local tobacco farm to learn about the tradition of Cuban cigars. Get an insight as to how the communist system works, how much tobacco they keep, how much produce they give back to the government and how they make ends meet. Learn about the process of tobacco planting to rolling the nal cigar. Share in the secret recipe of how they cure their leaves, which originated from one family and has been passed down through three generations – then drink some freshly roasted coffee from the farm while watching an expert roll a cigar. In the afternoon, get involved in a 1-hour salsa dance lesson, followed by a cooking demonstration from a local chef. Vinales is one of the more agriculturally productive areas of Cuba, so an abundance of homegrown seasonal fruit and vegetables are always on offer such as avocados, mangoes, pineapples, papaya, guava, and several varieties of sweet potatoes. Sit back, relax and enjoy the well-prepared meal while overlooking the lush scenery of Vinales.

Included for the day:

Vinales: A half-day valley tour on foot, including the Tobacco Farmhouse Vinales: Salsa dance lesson (1 hour)
Vinales: Cooking Demonstration by a Local Chef

Optional Activities
Vinales: Live music venues (entrance fee) from CUC2

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch Dinner



Accommodation
Premium Guesthouse (1 night)

Day 5: Feb 19, 2025 Bay of Pigs/Cienfuegos

Depart Vinales at 8 a.m. and head to Cienfuegos. Drive for approximately 4.5 hours before stopping for lunch. This afternoon, you’ll visit the Korimakao Cultural Project in Ciénega de Zapata, an area famous for its wetlands.Korimakao, foundedd in 1992o is a project to bringtheatere, music, and dancing to remote areas of Cuba. You’ll have the opportunity to meetthea director of the project, who will talk to you about the importance of this venture and the number of students that havebenefitedd from it. Continue along to the picturesque town of Cienfuegos, a slice of Paris in the Caribbean. Founded in 1819 by pioneering French immigrant,– the elegant architecturalinfluencee that these settlers brought with the, earned the city a UNESCO World Heritage Site listing in 2005.

Included for the day:

Accommodation
Premium Guesthouse (1 night)



Included Activities
Cienaga de Zapata: Korimakao Cultural Project (entrance fee, guide, and transport included) Cienfuegos: Leader-led orientation walk

Day 6: Feb 20, 2025 Trinidad

This morning at approximately 8.30 am, your leader will show you around the charming streets of Cienfuegos before getting back on the road around 10 am to head to the beautiful city of Trinidad (approximately 1.5–2 hours). Located near the lovely Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of Sugar Mills) and Playa Ancón, Trinidad enjoys long stretches of unspoiled, white sand beaches and is home to numerous churches and well-preserved colonial buildings. After lunch, begin with a guided cultural tour of the city (approximately 3hours)—thiss includes an opportunity to visit two museums suchas thes Museo Nacional de la Lucha ContraBandidos, the, MuseoRomantico,o or the HistoryMuseum. Later, visit the privatel -owned pottery workshop of the Santander family. This familyise well known in the Cuban cultural landscape for having produced pottery for generations as well as assisting in the restoration of sculptures that once existed in this UNESCO world heritage site. Support the Cuban economy by taking the chance to purchase your own pottery as a reminder of your time in Cuba.



In the evening, perhaps seek out the dance scene in Cuba. You may wish to see the local Afro-Cuban folkloric dance group that performs shows at the club Palenque, which has cultural and social importance in this region. The nightlife in Trinidad is probably the most accessible and intense in all of Cuba, with numerous live music venues and many dance performances every day of the week.

Included for the day:

Accommodation
Premium Guesthouse (1 night)

Included Activities
Trinidad: Leader-led city tour including museums (entrance fees, guide, and transport included) Trinidad Pottery Center

Optional Activities
Trinidad: Afro-Cuban Folklore Show (Entrance Fee) from CUC3 Trinidad: Cave Disco (entrance fee): CUC5



Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch Dinner

Day 7:  Feb 21, 2025 Trinidad

This morning is yours to explore Trinidad by selecting one of the many optional activities on offer. Perhaps you’d like to hire a bike and cycle along the city’s colorful streets, past once-grand mansions, pastel buildings, and wrought iron features, or instead you might choose to explore one of the excellent walking trails in the nearby Sierra del Escambray mountains. Your leader can suggest a lunch place at a local paladar. In the afternoon, head to Playa Ancon for some beach fun and maybe a little snorkeling, followed by a sunset picnic prepared for you by one of the privately owned guesthouses.

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Included for the day:

Accommodation
Premium Guesthouse (1 night)

Included Activities
Trinidad: Sunset Picnic at Playa Ancon (weather dependent)

Optional Activities
Trinidad: Musical Instrument Lesson (guitar, double bass, tres, percussion) per hour (CUC10) Trinidad: Trek to El Nicho Waterfall (entrance fee, guide, and transport included): CUC65



Meals Included: Breakfast Dinner

Day 8: Feb 22, 2025  Havana

Leave Trinidad around 9 a.m., heading towards the national park of Topes de Collantes. Here there is a stop for a swim in a waterfall and to have lunch at a small, privately owned family farm. Head to Santa Clara (approximately 2 hours), a key city in the Cuban Revolution, to see the iconic statue of Ernesto Ché Guevara, built to commemorate his death and that of the revolutionaries. There will be time to explore themuseum,m whichhonorss Che's life. Drive back to Havana (approximately 3hours),) where there will be some time to freshen up before a funfilledd night of music,dinner,r and dancing at Rosalia de Castr,– where you’ll enjoy an ensemble of Cuban classics performed live by Buena Vista Social Club!

Included for the day:

Accommodation
Premium Guesthouse (1 night)

Included Activities
Santa Clara: Che Guevara Mausoleum and Museum (entrance fee) Havana-Buena Vista Social Club Performance (entrance fee)



Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner 

Day 9: Feb 23, 2025 Havana

Your adventure ends today after breakfast. There are no activities planned for the final day, so remember to say good-bye to your leader before you head back to the U.S.

Included for the day:

Meals Included Breakfast

Special Information

Due to licensing restrictions, only one night’s pre-tour accommodation may be requested. Post-tour accommodation cannot be offered. Also, a complimentary arrival transfer is included with your trip. Please ensure you provide your flight details to your booking agent at least 14 days prior to travel so the transfer can be organized.