Sun, Tobacco and Rum in Cuba
Your Tour:
11 nights
12 days
18 meals
Up to 3 miles / day
Tour overview
Program activities, schedules and personnel may change due to local circumstances.
In such an event, we will alert you as quickly as possible.
Day by Day
Day 1
Overnight: Havana
The tour coordinator will greet everyone, and we will review the program schedule, emergency procedures and answer questions. After orientation we will set out with our tour coordinator to take a walk and explore the area around the hotel. At a restaurant, we will enjoy a welcome dinner with a delicious set menu.
Day 2
Overnight: Havana
Breakfast at the hotel. We will depart from the hotel by private bus towards old Havana where we will meet a local expert who will lead our walking architecture tour around the area. We will continue visiting The Museum of The Revolution where we will learn about the history of Cuba from the early 1960s to the present time. In the afternoon a local expert will join us for a presentation on The History of Cuba through one of the best ways to get to know Cuban idiosyncrasy: music and the different Cuban rhythms.
After dinner, we will go to San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress, a colonial fort used to protect the town from pirate invasions in the past. You will be able to witness the cannon blast ceremony that takes place each night at 9 pm repeating the old tradition of the cannon blast which was used to give the sign of the city’s curfew, moment in which the doors of old Havana’s wall would close.
Day 3
Overnight: Havana
Breakfast at the hotel. We will spend the morning learning about one of the main financial sectors: Cuban tobacco. A local expert will guide us through the factory where each day, Cubans workers make the artisanal cigars which are distributed around the world. After this, we will continue learning more about one of the main Santería neighborhoods in Havana, Cayo Hueso. An expert guide will show us the picturesque Hamel Alley and how the Cuban artist Salvador González Escalona describes his Afro-Cuban style as a mix of surrealism, cubism, and abstract art.
After lunch, we will go for a fun tour and ride on a classic American car around Havana arriving at the Revolution Square, the venue of the most important politics celebrations.
Day 4
Overnight: Havana
Breakfast at the hotel. We will depart to Viñales Valley, UNESCO World Heritage Site, where we will enter Mogotes (limestone mounds) located on top of tobacco plantations and one of the most spectacular natural landscapes in the world. We will make our first stop at the botanical garden, a sprawling garden which began in 1918.
Afterwards, we will check in at Casas Particulares, private guest houses with all amenities which contribute to the local economy. Afterwards we’ll set out with our tour coordinator to take a walk and explore the area around Viñales.
Day 5
Overnight: Havana
Breakfast at Casa Particular. Afterwards, we will tour around the Natural Park visiting the Indigenous caves (their old native homes) and the famous prehistorical mural.
Afterwards, we will visit a tobacco plantation, and learn all about this important and artisanal farming as well as about the interesting drying process and what the guajira way to do it means (expression referring to people living in the countryside). After this, we will enjoy a delicious set menu at an ecological open-air restaurant, enjoying the magical landscape.
Day 6
Overnight: Trinidad
After breakfast at Casa Particular we will depart to Trinidad. We will make our first stop at Cienfuegos, Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. There, we’ll enjoy an expert-led walking tour around downtown that will give us a perspective of the French spirit. We will continue visiting the Tomás Terry theatre, an impressive theatre with French and Italian influences. We will then reach Trinidad; Cuba’s finest colonial town founded in 1514 and built thanks to the success of the sugar industry from the beginning of the XIX century produced near the Ingenio Valley.
After dinner, we will assist a live music and dance show at the Escalinata music house.
Day 7
Overnight: Trinidad
Breakfast at Casa Particular. We will depart to The Ingenio valley, located 5 miles from Trinidad, the place where the Ingenios (sugar factory) settled, becoming the epicenter of the sugar industry in Cuba during the XIX century.
The first stop will be at The Ingenio Valley lookout where you can see a panoramic view of the valley which is now a World Heritage Site. You will learn about Cuba’s sugar industry through the many old sugar cane mills, plantation houses, and barracks. Afterwards, we’ll visit San Isidro de los Destiladeros, probably the last example of the many archaeological sites found in the valley. Finally, we’ll visit Manaca-Iznaga town with its famous Tower and local artisans.
Optional: Climb to the Manaca Iznaga Tower, old vigilance tower used to control slaves where you can also enjoy amazing views.
After lunch, we will visit a local pottery workshop where workers produce classical pieces that characterize the city of Trinidad.
Day 8
Overnight: Varadero
Breakfast at Casa Particular. We will depart to Varadero, considered one of the most important places for the economy of the island. We will stay at a 4* Hotel (all inclusive) and will have time now to relax at Varadero´s beaches (also considered to be the best in the world) and enjoy their warm and crystal waters.
Day 9
Overnight: Varadero
Relax time at Hotel (all inclusive).
Day 10
Overnight: Havana
Breakfast at the Hotel. We will return by private bus to Havana. On our way, we will make a stop in Matanzas, an important town not only for its important literary and musical legacy, but also for being the cradle of several Afro Cuban religions. We will visit the San Severino Castle, fortress where the Africans slaves disembarked in the XVIII century. Afterwards, we will have a walking tour around Matanzas, discovering main points such as the Vigía square, Sauto Theatre, Ediciones Vigía (unique publishing house founded in 1985) and the Triolett pharmacy, first founded in Latin America.
In the afternoon, arrival in Havana.
Day 11
Overnight: Havana
Breakfast at the Hotel. We will learn about the rum industry through a guided visit at The Havana Rum Museum. Located in front of the Havana port, this museum shows the complicated process of elaboration and distillation of this liquid. After this, we will visit the old warehouse at Havana port, the San José Artisanal market, a huge local market where you can see the work of thousands of artisans.
Free afternoon to pack, explore or just relax.
Farewell dinner at a restaurant.
Day 12
Breakfast at the Hotel. Transfer to the airport at a designated time.
Tour Inclusions
- Bilingual Staff
- Expert Tour Coordinator during the entire program
- Expert Local Guides for the visits included
- Local Experts for each lecture
- Private ground transportation
- Entrances fees to The Revolution Museum, walking tour around, Rum Museum, San José market, San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress, Tobacco factory and Revolution Square in Havana. Orchid garden, Indigenous Caves, Prehistorical mural in Viñales. Terry Theater in Cienfuegos. Ingenio Valley with San Isidro Ruins and the pottery house in Trinidad. San Severino Castle, Ediciones Vigía, Triolett Pharmacy in Matanzas
- Enriching Experiences: Classic Car tour in Havana. Tobacco farm in Viñales. Live Music at Casa de la Música in Trinidad
- 1 Lecture
- 11 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 4 dinners (2 days of the trip at 4* hotel all-inclusive)
- Accommodation in 4* hotel at city center in Havana and Varadero and Casa Particular in Viñales and Trinidad
- 24/7 Emergency support
- Tips are included throughout the visits programmed
- Taxes
Tour Pricing
- $2725 USD
Price per person based on double occupancy. Single supplement $395.
For a minimum of 15 pax.
Additional Experiences
Customize your trip according to your interests by adding any of these once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
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