Day 1: Havana
Havana
Reception at the airport by an English-speaking guide and transfer to your hotel in Havana.
Included services: Transfer.
Day 2: Havana
Havana on wheels (20 kilometers) (Breakfast, Lunch)
Commuting in Havana is a challenge for Cubans due to the poor public transportation. Have fun exploring Havana on all kinds of wheeled vehicles. Kick off your day hoping on a bicitaxi to contemplate the city waking up. This tricycle is used by many Cubans to make groceries and move around the neighborhoods. Once in Old Havana, discover the colonial past of the city on a walking tour of its four main squares. Give the midday heat a miss with lunch and a refreshing Mojito at a local restaurant. Take a horse-drawn carriage for a tour around the bay up to the heart of mid-century Havana: The Central Park. Admire the Cuban architecture in all her splendor with renowned buildings like the Havana Capitol, the Great Theater Alicia Alonso and the Inglaterra Hotel. To make the picture perfect, tens of classic cars of the 50s taxiing around set up the scene. Get comfortable on the back seat of one of those, called by locales almendrones, for a panoramic tour of the entire city. Visit the Revolution Square, the Metropolitan Park, the neighborhood of Miramar with its 5th Avenue and the Malecón, ending at your homestay.
Included services: Bicitaxi ride, carriage ride, Tour in a vintage car.
Day 3: Havana
Art and rhythm (25 kilometers) (Breakfast, Dinner)
The people you are going to meet today have something in common: their passion for arts. The morning starts with a visit to Jose Fuster project, the "Gaudi of the Caribbean". A well-known naïve Cuban artist, specialized in ceramics and painting. During the last 18 years he has made an important contribution to the community by building, restoring and decorating the houses of Jaimanita’s village, the place where he lives in the outskirts of the city. Continue to visit a rehearsal of the company Havana Queens, a project born of the association of the Cuban choreographer Rosario Blanco and the Swiss producer Patrick Hofer. You will learn about the various Cuban rhythms and will have the opportunity to meet and greet the dancers. Head for a tour of the neighborhood of San Isidro, in Old Havana. Full of controversies and home to renowned dissident artists, the place is filled with contestatory paintings crafted by graffiti artists on the walls of crumbling buildings. You will notice a flourishing movement of young artists and entrepreneurs galvanizing the dynamics of the community with art galleries and local business. Arrive at San José Warehouse, the largest craft market in Cuba, where you will be able to purchase a souvenir. Rest of the afternoon at leisure. In the evening, dinner at Casa Miglis restaurant with an entertainment show courtesy of Havana Queens to see in action the dancers you met earlier today.
Included services: Visit to the Romerillo Museum, a community initiative, dance ensembles "Havana Queens".
Day 4: Viñales
Havana - Soroa - Viñales (250 kilometers) (Breakfast, Lunch)
Trade the noise and agitation of Havana for a stunning natural scenery. In the morning, head for Pinar del Río province. Stop in Soroa to admire the orchid garden with a collection of more than 350 species. Leave for a visit to Patio de Pelegrín, a community project created by the artist Mario Pelegrín. This initiative channels the energy of the youth into arts and introduces them to a variety of art forms. Alongside Pelegrín and his team, prepare a traditional dessert. Your trip continues. Arrive in Viñales and appreciate from the lookout point of Los Jazmines the breathtaking valley dotted with its iconic Mogotes. Visit the house of a veguero, where you will be briefed on the world of tobacco. Check in at a Cuban family home in the town of Viñales.
Included services: Visit to the orchid garden, visit to a social program, visit to Casa de Veguero.
Day 5: Playa Larga
Viñales - Playa Larga (400 kilometers) (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Nature does not cease to amaze. You will not need an alarm clock today, as one of the neighbor’s roosters will happily help with that. Head for the Zapata Swamps, the largest marshlands in the insular Caribbean. Lunch en route and stop at the Zunzún’s House, the private patio of Mr. Bernabé. In this birds’ paradise you will be able to appreciate freely flying hummingbirds, the tinniest bird in the world, as well as other species that use the area as a migration corridor. Not far from there, you will discover the Cueva de los Peces, known as the deepest and most beautiful cenote in Cuba. There is a lagoon that connects with an extensive system of underwater caverns going more than 30 kilometers, from Playa Larga to El Toro Cove. You will have the option to spend the rest of your day at the beach near your homestay. At night, enjoy a homemade dinner at your casa particular.
Included services: Visit to Cueva de los Peces, Visit to Casa del Zunzún.
Day 6: Trinidad
Playa Larga - Cienfuegos - Trinidad (220 kilometer) (Breakfast, Lunch)
Early in the morning, hit the road bordering Bay of Pigs in direction to Playa Girón, battleground of the 1961 invasion of Cuban mercenaries supported by the US Navy and Air Force, which resulted in the first great defeat of the US military in America. At the Museum of Playa Girón you will learn details of the clash, including the weaponry utilized. Arrive in Cienfuegos, a city of distinctive wide avenues and neoclassic architecture, which was founded and designed to the smallest detail by French settlers. Visit the Terry Theater, built in 1890; the Martí Park and the boulevard. After lunch at a paladar (privately owned restaurant), continue alongside the south coast down to Trinidad, a UNESCO World Heritage site for its well-preserved colonial architecture dating back to the golden years of the sugar industry in the 19th Century. Tour its cobblestone streets and plazas.
Included services: Stand tour in Cienfuegos, visit to the Terry Theater, stand tour in Trinidad.
Day 7: Trinidad
The Cuban nature (30 kilometers) (Breakfast, Lunch)
Cubans love nature and therefore many places on the island are protected by environmental laws. One of these places is today’s destination: the "Sierra del Escambray" National Park. This beautiful environment gives a home to almost half of the endemic bird species in Cuba and furthermore nearby areas are famous for the high quality of the Arabica coffee that is grown here and known in the whole country for its excellent quality. The trip starts from Trinidad in the morning through a winding road to a Cuban farm. Today guests will encounter the countryside and its beauties. Beehives can be visited, and some sweet honey enjoyed. A path leads to a waterfall of crystal-clear waters which literally invites to take a dip and cool off in the middle of a beautiful landscape. Then a traditional lunch in the gardens of the hacienda will be served. While lying on one of the most comfortable hammocks and feeling the soft country breeze, relaxation is granted an exquisite coffee can be enjoyed. In the afternoon return to Trinidad.
Included services: Natural Landscape of Topes de Collantes.
Day 8:
Trinidad - Santa Clara - Varadero / Havana (330 kilometers / 400 kilometers) (Breakfast)
Leave behind Trinidad on a 16 kilometers drive leading to the villa’s most iconic site: the Manaca Iznaga Tower. Outlasting the slavery times, this tower overlooks the Valle de los Ingenios, a sugar cane industry powerhouse in the colonial period. Continue to Santa Clara, the city that witnessed the most important victory of the iconic guerrilla fighter Ernesto “Che” Guevara, one that effectively determined the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. Visit the “Che” Guevera Memorial, the final resting place of the epoch-making revolutionary. Stop and enjoy a refreshing drink in a restaurant with beautiful decorative plants. Conclude your journey in Havana, or alternatively, in Varadero, where you may opt for a beach extension.
Climb the Torre Iznaga at your own risk.
Included services: Visit to the Sugar Mill Valley and the Iznaga estate, Visit to the Che monument, transfer.
