Private Tour of Cuba

DAY 1 – WELCOME HAVANA (DINNER)

• Arrival at José Martí International Airport in Havana. Group welcomed by your guide and bus driver.
• Transfer to hotel NH Capri. This 4-star hotel is located in the heart of Cuba, across from the famous National Hotel. It is walking distance from the Malecon (oceanfront) & the best ice cream shop in Cuba. Private group check-in.
• Dinner, mojito and cooking demonstration at Artechef – The Habana Culinary School. Meet with a representative of the Cuban Culinary Association for presentation on the origin, development and current status of Cuban cuisine. Founded on January 26, 1981, the Association sought to elevate the Cuban Chef from lowly servant in years past to recognition of one who not only satisfies a primary human need, but who fulfills spiritual needs through the role played in bringing people together in the home and in society. The Association aims to revive and revitalize the island’s cuisine – unique in the Americas.

DAY 2 – HAVANA’S ARCHITECTURE (BREAKFAST AND LUNCH)

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Panoramic walking tour of four main squares in Habana Vieja (Old Havana) declared an UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site.
• Visit Cathedral Square, surrounded by colonial mansions of the 1700s and featuring the church built by the Jesuits known later as the Cathedral of Havana. La Catedral is most the most beautiful exponent of Cuban baroque architecture.
• Visit to the Square of Arms, an ancient military parade ground for Spanish soldiers, surrounded by impressive buildings such as: Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, former seat of the colonial government. Today the building houses the Museum of the City. Palacio del Segundo Cabo, former seat of the second authority of the island. Today it is home to important publishing concerns.
• Continue our walking tour onto San Francisco Square, one of the oldest in the historical quarter. Named after magnificent Basilica of Saint Francis, also a striking example of the Cuban baroque architecture from the late 1700s.
• Visit Plaza Vieja, the only civic square of colonial times. Absent are churches or government buildings. Here we will visit an important institution for visual arts.
• Lunch at Cafe del Oriente, a former Spanish colonial government building turned into a fine-dining restaurant.
• Peak into Camera Oscura. On a corner of Plaza Vieja in Old Havana stands a tribute to photography and to the visionaries who first launched themselves into this curious process capturing images through the intelligent use of light and sensitivity. Located on the top floor of the eclectic early 20th-century Gómez Vila Building, the Camera Obscura is a gift from the Council of Cadiz, Spain, through the office of Eusebio Leal, the City Historian. It is the only one of its kind in Latin America and the Caribbean, and is one of 74 worldwide today.
• Remainder of the afternoon is free to explore Old Havana’s Obispo Street’s numerous cafeterias and private diners. This is a great opportunity to meet street venders who prepare and sell specialty food like Cuban pizza, jugos (fruit juices), frituras (various deep-fried tubers), bocaditos (sandwiches), batidos (banana and other fruit shakes), coquitos (coconut cookies), barras de guayaba (guava bars), etc.
• Dinner on your own.
• Evening venue at Casa de La Música where we’ll hear a traditional Cuban bands playing live. Unique opportunity to dance with Cubans (optional participation, not included).

DAY 3 – TRINIDAD (BREAKFAST, LUNCH)

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Early departure to Trinidad, a one-of-a-kind, a perfectly preserved Spanish colonial settlement where the clocks stopped ticking in 1850 and – apart from the tourists – have yet to restart.
• Lunch at Bay of Pigs
• Check in at Casas Particulares (historic Cuban homes converted to bed and breakfasts)
• Salsa dancing class
• Dinner on your own. After dinner, head to Casa de la Trova, one of the best settings to listen to great traditional music. Dance with Cubans and foreign visitors. (Transportation and cover not included in tour costs).

DAY 4 – TRINIDAD (BREAKFAST AND DINNER)

• Breakfast at casa.
• Walking tour of Trinidad. Declared a national monument by the Cuban government and World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, this city is very much as it was four centuries ago, the beauty of its baroque architecture and cobblestones squares harking back to a bygone era when Trinidad was a key player in the Caribbean slave trade. It´s also brags spectacular Valle de los Ingenios, a unique Sugar Mill Valley. It contains beautiful churches (such as the Great Parish Church, a neoclassical edifice built in 1892) and public squares, the most important of which is Main Square-surrounded by buildings of great beauty and historic and architectural interest and considered the second most important square in the country, after Havana’s Cathedral Square.
• Meet with the Santander family, well-known potters who have made unique pottery for over 100 years.  Break into small groups so that you can talk with different family members as they complete their pottery and/or ceramic items.  You may ask questions about the different techniques and offer comments about the resulting products.
• Visit the Valle de los Ingenios where once Sugar Mills stood.

• Free afternoon to stroll around beautiful Plaza Mayor, visit Museo Arquitectura Colonial. Enjoy time at a local artisan street market with splendid woodcarvings, fabric art, crochet pieces, and straw work. Lunch on your own.
• Dinner at a local paladar.

DAY 5 – CIENFUEGOS (BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER)

• Breakfast at Casa.
• Head to the city of Cienfuegos, Cuba’s loveliest city of French colonial architecture on Cuba’s most scenic ocean bay. Guided walking tour of Cienfuegos historical center: Paseo del Prado, Plaza José  Martí, Tomás Terry Theater, Casa de la Cultura, The Cathedral .
• Drive to Havana, with stop for lunch along the way.
• Check in to hotel in Havana.
• Special dinner at rooftop of a local paladar (private restaurant).

DAY 6 – HAVANA /  (BREAKFAST AND LUNCH)

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Visit the UBPC Vivero Organopónico Alamar, 15 km (9.3 miles) east of Havana. It’s one of the most successful urban organic farms in Cuba raising ornamental plants, medicinal herbs, and millions of seedlings for neighboring residential and collective farms. Established in the early 1990s, the Alamar cooperative has over 20 members and provides a range of healthy, organic vegetables to the community. Produce is raised employing the practice of permaculture: no chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Instead, natural biological methods are used to nourish the soil, frustrate pests and conserve water. The result is an increased rate of yield and reduced costs.
• Volunteer work and Organopónico (Farm work includes picking, planting, cleaning, etc. Bring your rubber boots & donations for farmers)
• Lunch at private restaurant El Ajiaco.
• Visit Cojimar, small fishing village and Hemingway’s favorite town.
• Visit Finca La Vigía (House and farm of Ernest Hemingway Museum).
• Continue to Revolution Plaza and tour the Modern City, including a stop at Visit Callejón de Hamel (Hamel Alley) to see the artwork of famed Afro-Cuban Artist Salvador González.
• Dinner on your own. Evening suggestion: Flamenco performance at Meson de La Flota (optional participation, cover and transportation not included).

DAY 7 – HAVANA/  (BREAKFAST AND LUNCH)

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Visit the studios of José Fuster, one of Cuba’s most important ceramists and painters at his whimsical studio in Jaimanitas, just outside of Havana.
• Volunteer work at Fuster’s and the Community of Jaimanitas includes creating a wall mural in the neighborhood. Feast on a delicious lunch hosted by José Fuster.
• Visit PRODANZA: Prodanza is a center for the promotion of dance under the Ministry of Culture of Cuba. It is run by Laura Alonso, daughter of Alicia Alonso and Fernando Alonso, who served as Principal Soloist of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. Watch a performance by GRUPO PRODANZA.
• Farwell dinner at local paladar Cafe Laurent, located at a penthouse of a private building overlooking Havana.

DAY 8 – ADIOS HAVANA (BREAKFAST)

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Check-out and transfer to José Martí International Airport for flights home.

Itinerary subject to change.