Join this 8 day exploratory tour of Cuba. This
Cuba vacation for
Your Senses people to people program is packed with unique experiences!
Throughout the tour, special presentations give a unique real
perspective of today's Cuba as well as its past. Travel from Havana to
Pinar del Rio and the fertile grounds of Vinales valley before ending in
beautiful Varadero. A combination of modest hotels in Havana and
Varadero paired with guest house lodging in the countryside make for an
authentic and sustainable experience.
DAY 1 - U.S.A. / HAVANA, CUBAArrive to Terminal 2
at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana. After customs our local
representative CUBATUR SUNNY LAND TOURS welcome you to Cuba. We begin
with a panoramic drive in Havana to 5th Avenue and The Old City along
the Malecon where the U.S. Embassy is located for a stop before we
continue for your first taste of Cuba's traditional cuisine and culture
at the Algibe Restaurant. After lunch we will explore the classic cars
of Cuba where members of A LO CUBANO CAR CLUB present their restored
beauties. Sit back and relax while you enjoy a cool ride! Later, we
transfer to our selected hotel for check in.
After settling in, meet
in the lobby for a Welcome cocktail and People-to-People presentation
which provides an overview of your itinerary, and your participation
commitments a
with Msc. Eliodoro Hernandez , a graduate from the
University of Havana. Enjoy a discussion based presentation on the
economic situation in Cuba and the central bank's exchange rate. Dinner
at the hotel. Overnight Havana Roc Presidente Hotel Meals LD
DAY 2 - OLD HAVANA UNESCO World Heritage Site After
breakfast, we are off to explore this sprawling metropolis of 2
million inhabitants. Founded in 1519 Old Havana, by the 18th century,
was the most important port of the region. Old Havana, whose walls
define it's boundaries, retains an interesting mix of Baroque and
Neoclassical monuments and an ensemble of private houses adorned with
balconies, wrought-iron gates and internal courtyards. We will visit
the Univesrity of Havana and stop at La Copelia Ice Cream Parlor before
we begin our walk through Old Havana making our way to El Template. It
is here where the City of Havana was founded in 1514. Nearby we'll
encounter the Office of the City Historian and many historical Spanish
plazas including the Plaza de Armas, Plaza Vieja and Plaza San
Francisco. Lunch serve at Restaurant Templete. Continue to Havana's
"Museo de Bellas Artes" and walk the famous Central Park where local
Cubans discuss their favorite pastime, Baseball! You'll see the Bacardi
Building, famous for its Art Deco architecture, Cathedral Square and La
Bodeguita del Medio Bar-Restaurant, Hemingway's favorite stop for a
Mojito Cocktail. (Mojito Cocktail included). Tonight at 9 PM, enjoy the
ceremonial firing of the canon at El Canonazo. The world's longest
cigar is on display in the fort's gift shop. Return to our hotel in
Havana, Roc Presidente Meals BL
DAY 3 - HAVANA & THE ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S TRAIL
After
breakfast, it's all about Hemingway! We visit Finca La Vigia former
home of Ernest Hemingway where he wrote many of his novels. A visit to
Alamar Community to meet the local leaders and discuss the historic
Micro Brigades, organized in 1965 by local residents to build their own
housing. Continue to Cojimar where Hemingway kept his boat Pilar, for
daily fishing trips in the Caribbean where he found inspiration for his
novel, The Old Man and the Sea. Lunch at Las Terrazas, Hemingway's
preferred restaurant where he frequently sat for lunch after fishing on
the Pilar. Continue to the monument honoring Hemingway built by local
fisherman with their boat anchors. On our return to Havana, visit El
Castillo del Morro, and Fort La Cabana. The tour continues with a walk
up Obispo Street and a stop at the Ambos Mundos Hotel and the room, now a
museum, where Ernest Hemingway wrote his famous novel, For Whom the
Bell Tolls. The walk continues through Havana's former banking district
and on to famous El Floridita, Hemingway's favorite bar for his
trademark drink, the Rum Daiquiri (Daiquiri included). Overnight Havana
Roc Presidente Hotel Meals BL
DAY 4 - EL PARAISO FARM and VINALES VALLEY
After
breakfast, depart Havana towards the Province of Pinar del Rio. The
main highway goes along the Sierra and the beautiful landscape is quite
stunning. On the way, we will visit the largest Maritime Port of Cuba,
Marielos Port, to learn about the impact in Import and Export of goods.
Continue to EL PARAISO AGROECOLOGICAL FARM to celebrate the local
gastronomy with a traditional Cuban lunch. This organic family run farm
initiative offers a combination of innovation and family tradition. The
farm is terraced producing organic vegetables. Located along the
hillside over looking Vinales Valley, this is a privately owned family
farm, organized with others like it in a credit and service cooperative.
Your hosts will share their experiences about the farm, entrepreneurial
opportunities and challenges in starting a local business in this rural
community. Mr. Norges Perez Santos, Government Representative in
Pinar del Rio for Tourism Development, will explain with firsthand
visits to new local private enterprises. This is a great opportunity to
share with the locals their experiences. Drive to the Vinalles Valley
National Park UNESCO World Landscape Heritage Site and an important
tourist attraction with spectacular limestone Mogotes rising 900 feet
above surrounding farmland. There are numerous caves scattered on the
slopes inhabited for many centuries before the arrival of the Spanish
conquerors. We being our exploration of the cave formations of Cueva
del Indio by boat. Next, we stop at the Prehistory Mural Project before
we arrive to our guesthouse lodging in Vinales. Check in to Casa de
Hospedae where you will learn about this new literally "home grown" form
of tourism business in Cuba offering a great opportunity for the
locals. Casa de Hospedaje for overnight. Meals BLD
DAY 5 - PINAR DEL RIO TOBACCO'S MASTERS HERITAGE Today
we drive to San Juan Martinez in Pinar del Rio. If you've ever
wondered where the world's finest cigars start out, it's here in the
lovingly cultivated tobacco plantations of Cuba's Pinar del Río
province. The plantations and landscape are part of the area's magical
sense. We will follow Tobacco Road and have the unique experience to
meet with the Tobacco Masters to learn how the world's best tobacco is
cultivated into the finest cigars. Learn about the main markets for
exporting these unique cigars. Visit the tobacco plantation to meet and
discuss with Hector Luis Prieto, the youngest to hold the prestigious
Governmental award, Hombre Habano de Cuba, in 2007 and noted as Cuba's
Cigar Man for the quality of tobacco he grows in Finca Quemado de Rubi,
San Juan and Martinez in Pinar del Rio. Learn about important changes in
the tobacco industry in Cuba and the role this industry has in economy
of the local community. Continue to Pinar del Rio's City Central
Quarter to learn about the history of this quaint town and to visit
Guabina Cuban Pinto Horse Ranch and Farm for a Cuban Creol inspired
lunch. After lunch enjoy a presentation by the General Manager about the
ranch and farms activities. Next, we will visit a local public clinic
for health services in the City of Pinar del Rio and learn about health
care in this region.
Overnight at Casa de Hospedaje. Meals BLD
DAY 6 - PINAR DEL RIO- MATANZAS - VARADEROAfter
breakfast drive to Varadero with a stop for presentation of MARDIDAJE
of Tobacco & Cuban Rum. Our lunch at 1830 Restaurant by the ocean
side in the exclusive Vedado Neighborhood . To enjoy the taste of fresh
fish or shrimp and also see how the Tobacco comes to the City in the
shape of a Cigar and matches with an aromatic glass of Cuban Rum (
Maridaje, a ceremony conducted by an specialist , that will explain
everything regarding the way cigars should be lit and smoked, combined
with Rum at the end of any Gourmet meal in Cuba) a tradition in Cuba.
After lunch continue driving to the picturesque city of Matanzas
situated along Matanzas Bay. The old city buildings are mostly from
XVIII and XIX centuries, while in other areas buildings are modern. The
first stop will be the visit to the Pharmaceutical Museum National
Monument , a French drug store from XIX century, it is the only one that
remains in the world, and it preserves the original tools, instruments,
furniture and building along the Matanzas Bay continue to the Varadero
Peninsula for check in at Roc Arenas Doradas Hotel. Hotel Overnight
Varadero. Meals BLD
DAY 7 - CARDENAS SUGAR & LOCOMOTIVE MUSEUM -VARADEROAfter
breakfast a short drive will take us to the City of Cardenas a very
important Sugar Cane center in Cuba. We'll learn about the second
railway station built in Cuba and the museum of the sugar industry
& steam locomotives used in the transportation of sugar cane. Take a
short ride with the local engineer on one of those ancient engines and
learn how they are still in use and maintained. Return for lunch at the
hotel. Afternoon visit the City of Varadero, Cuba's foremost tourist
resort town, boasting more than 20 km of white sandy beaches. The first
tourists visited Varadero as early as the 1870s, and for years it was
considered an elite resort. In 1910 the annual rowing regatta was
started and five years later the first hotel, named Varadero and later
Club Nautico, was built. Tourism grew in the early 1930s as Irénée du
Pont Nemours, an American millionaire, built his estate on the
peninsula. Continue to Museo Municipal for a presentation by the Museum
curator. Visit "Taller de Cerámica Artística" to meet with local Cuban
potters and learn about their great artworks. All art works are of high
quality and perfect to bring back home. We end our days visit in the
private business district in Varadero said to be home to the largest
growing number of entrepeneurs in the country. Overnight Roc Arenas
Doradas in Varadero. Meals BLD
DAY 8 - VARADERO- HAVANA-U.S.Today we drive to the International Airport Jose Marti in Havana in time for your departure flight to the U.S. Meals B
For more visit:
Cuba vacation package
* Sequence of visits may be subject to change
