Unveiling Nature’s Splendor: Cuba’s Eco Expedition
Your Tour:
10 nights
11 days
18 meals
Up to 5 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. In the morning a local expert will join us for a presentation on the History of Cuba. After this, we will depart from the hotel by private bus towards Old Havana to meet a local expert who will lead our walking tour around the area discovering the main colonial squares. We will continue visiting the Museum of The Revolution where we will learn the history of Cuba from the early 1960s to the present time.
Day 3
Overnight: Havana
Breakfast at the hotel. We will enjoy the morning learning about the differences between the state-government owned markets and the non-state-government agricultural markets, where Cubans buy their vegetables and other food. We will choose the main ingredients for the cooking class we will have after the tour. We will learn how to make a delicious menu with true Cuban flavors.
After lunch, we will take a private bus to Regla, on the other side of the Havana bay, where we will be visiting a Social Project that revitalizes the area by cleaning up and reusing the space for the use and benefit of children and other members of the community.
Day 4
Overnight: Viñales
Breakfast at the hotel. Afterwards, we will depart by private bus and visit the ecological community, The Terrazas, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with a dynamic artistic community. There, we will visit the Cafetal Buenavista, Cuba’s oldest coffee plantation, built in 1801 by French refugees from Haití. We will take a walk through the community and visit its small Ecological Museum where we will find more about the community’s short history.
Afterwards, we will continue to Viñales, a 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 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: Viñales
Breakfast at Casa Particular. We will visit a local farm that uses permaculture techniques and discover many other productions such as mango, guava, avocado, mandarin, banana, cotton, honey, etc. Also, the complete process of the drying and roasting on wood fire of the coffee harvest.
Optional: Horseback riding to enjoy the magic landscapes of the valley and discover more about the traditional tobacco culture and artisanal cigar production.
At lunch time, we will enjoy a delicious set menu at an ecological open-air restaurant, enjoying the magical landscape.
After this, we will tour around the Natural Park visiting the Indigenous caves (their old native homes) and the famous prehistorical mural.
Day 6
Overnight: Playa Larga
Breakfast at Casa Particular. We will depart to Playa Larga, where the Bay of Pigs Invasion took place. Nowadays it is the paradise for divers and naturist travelers. Upon arrival, we will check in at Casas Particulares and continue with a hike around Zapata swamp (a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO). It’s considered one of the world largest wetlands, being the habitat for the endangered Cuban crocodile, different types of amphibians, birds and different plants.
At dinner time, we will enjoy delicious home-made food at Casas Particulares.
Day 7
Overnight: Playa Larga
After breakfast at Casa Particular, we will depart to Caleta Buena. The first stop will be at a fish cave, 43 miles deep and a natural sinkhole, filled with attractive tropical fish.
Afterwards, we will continue to Caleta Buena, a beautiful inlet with a mix of salty and freshwater with a result of different colored fish. Here we will have time to relax, swim or enjoy the open bar buffet.
Day 8
Overnight: Trinidad
Breakfast at Casa Particular. After check-out we will depart to Trinidad, Cuba’s finest colonial town founded in 1514, UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town was built thanks to the success of the sugar industry from the beginning of the XIX century produced near the Ingenio Valley. We will visit downtown discovering its architectural value and also the Architecture Museum exhibiting the high-class architecture from the XVIII to XIX century.
After dinner, we will assist a live music and dance show at the Escalinata music house.
Day 9
Overnight: Trinidad
Breakfast at the hotel. We will be departing from Trinidad towards The Escambray mountains riding a soviet truck. Upon arrival, a nature-expert will guide us through mountains, valleys and caves whereas a result of the microclimate, we can find many endemic species. The hike (around 3 miles) finishes at Caburní waterfall, where we will have time to swim or relax.
We will enjoy a delicious set menu at a restaurant.
Day 10
Overnight: Havana
Breakfast at Casa Particular. We will return to Havana. Upon arrival, free afternoon to pack, explore or just relax.
At night we will have a farewell dinner at a restaurant.
Day 11
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
- Entrance fees to The Revolution Museum in Havana. The Terrazas. Indigenous cave and Prehistorical Mural in Viñales. Fish cave and Caleta Buena in Playa Larga. Architecture Museum in Trinidad
- Enriching Experiences: Hiking around eco farm in Viñales. Hike around Zapata swamp in Playa Larga. Trip day to Topes de Collantes and Live show in Trinidad
- 1 Lecture
- 10 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners
- Accommodation in 4* hotel at city center in Havana and Casa Particular in Playa Larga and Trinidad
- 24/7 Emergency support
- Tips are included throughout the visits programmed
- Taxes
Additional Experiences
Customize your trip according to your interests by adding any of these once-in-a-lifetime experiences.