The essence of Cuba
(8 days)

Arrival in Havana, airport check-in and transfer to a casa particular in the city center. Accommodation, dinner on your own, overnight stay. In case of arrival in the morning hours, you can add to your itinerary a cooking lesson – „Flavors of Havana” or a tour of the city’s panoramic terraces – „Havana rooftops” (additional fee).

After breakfast, a meeting with a guide and a tour of the capital of Cuba – Havana. The program includes photos in Callejón de Hammel – a colorful street with numerous murals inspired by Afro-Cuban culture and religion, the wide boulevards of the Vedado district and an entrance to the legendary Hotel Nacional, visited by celebrities, where we will have a drink. From here, an American convertible will take us on a ride around the city: Malecón – a seaside boulevard that is the showcase of Havana and a meeting place for its residents; the exclusive Miramar district with its Fifth Avenue full of embassies, El Bosque (Havana Forest) and Revolution Square and the area around the El Morro fortress with a wonderful panorama of the city. After lunch at a local restaurant, we will take a walk around Habana Vieja (old town) with its historic squares and places associated with Ernest Hemingway: La Bodeguita del Medio bar, Cathedral Square, Arms Square – the founding point of Havana, with the oldest fortress in the city and the Governor’s Palace, Ambos Mundos Hotel, Old Square with beautiful colonial architecture, St. Francis Square. Then we will walk through Obispo street to the famous El Floridita bar, where Hemingway used to drink daiquirís, and to the Central Park with the Capitol, the Grand Theatre and the National Museum of Fine Arts buildings. At the end, a coco-taxi will take us through Chinatown to the casa particular. A short break and then we go out for dinner combined with a concert of Buena Vista Social Club. Return to your accommodation on your own.

After breakfast, we will head towards the Pinar del Río province to one of the most beautiful corners of Cuba. The Viñales Valley, famous for its tobacco plantations, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999. We will start the excursion with photos at the Los Jazmines viewpoint, from where you can admire the majestic limestone mogots. Then we will explore one of these rocks from the inside during a visit to the Indian Cave and a short boat trip on an underground river. After the lunch at a local restaurant, we will visit a nearby tobacco plantation, where we will learn the secrets of rolling Cuban cigars (with the possibility of tasting and shopping). At the end, we will drink a piña colada under the Mural of Prehistory – one of the largest mural paintings in the world – and set off on the way back to Havana. Dinner on your own or, for those willing, going to dinner with the Tropicana cabaret, which before the revolution delighted the eyes of many an American mafioso (extra fee).

After breakfast, check-out and transfer towards the Zapata Peninsula National Park. A short visit to the crocodile farm, where we will see both several-month-old crocodiles and adults. Then we will sail on a motorboat (or catamaran) cruise along the Zapata canals, where we will observe the mangrove forests and look out for different species of birds. We will taste crocodile meat, look for hummingbirds and have a time to swim in the Bay of Pigs or in a nearby cenote (possibility of renting snorkeling equipment for a fee). All-inclusive lunch with a drinks included. In the afternoon, time for photos at Playa Girón – site of the 1961 American invasion of Cuba – and transfer to Cienfuegos – a city called the „Cuban Pearl of the South”. We will visit the center of the town: the main square with the buildings of the town hall, cathedral and the Tomas Terry Theater, the boulevard and the monument of Benny More. Then we will drive through Paseo del Prado (the longest promenade in Cuba) and Malecón for a drink at the beautiful Palacio del Valle. Accommodation in a casa particular and overnight stay. For those willing, dinner at a local restaurant (extra fee).

After breakfast, check-out and departure to the El Nicho waterfall – one of the most beautiful in Cuba. Short trekking, time for photos and swimming in natural pools. From here we will take a picturesque route along the Caribbean Sea to Trinidad – the most typical and best preserved colonial city of Cuba (UNESCO World Heritage Site). We will go for a walk along the cobbled streets to one of the palaces of the sugar barons (visiting the interior), and then to the main square – Plaza Mayor, near which we will find other historic buildings, including the Church of the Holy Trinity and the former Franciscan monastery. Seafood lunch at a local restaurant followed by a visit to the Afro-Cuban temple of santería and the famous Canchanchara bar, where we will taste a drink based on honey, lime and aguardiente. Free time to buy souvenirs and transfer to a casa particular. Check-in and short rest. In the evening going out for dinner (additional fee) and a party in one of the music clubs (independent return on foot).

After breakfast, check-out and transfer to the Sugar Mills Valley. On the way, we will stop at a viewpoint, where those willing will be able to try their hand at a canopy tour – zipline above the Valley (additional fee). Then we will visit the Manaca Iznaga estate (a hacienda of sugar cane growers, a viewing tower and freshly squeezed cane juice – guarapo) and go to Santa Clara – a town whose capture by Che Guevara was decisive for the triumph of the Cuban revolution. During a short visit, we will see the monument of the armored train and the Memorial del Che (the burial place of the famous revolutionary). Lunch at a local restaurant and transfer to Varadero. Accommodation in a 5 * all inclusive hotel and parting ways with the guide.

All-inclusive hotel vacation: sunbathing, swimming in the ocean and pools, use of bars, restaurants, water sports equipment and hotel animation and sports programs. Example hotels: Grand Memories, Melia Peninsula, Iberostar Laguna Azul, Iberostar Bella Vista. For an additional fee, it is possible to extend your stay in Varadero by additional days or book a higher standard hotel and go on a catamaran excursion to the paradise island.

After breakfast, check-out from the hotel (by 12.00) and transfer to the airport in Havana depending on departure time.

Day 1. transfer from the Havana airport to the city center = approx. 25 km
Day 2. sightseeing in Havana = approx. 40 km
Day 3. excursion from Havana to Viñales Valley = approx. 400 km
Day 4. route: Havana – Zapata Peninsula – Cienfuegos = approx. 300 km
Day 5. route: Cienfuegos – El Nicho – Trinidad = approx. 150 km
Day 6. route: Trinidad – Sugar Mills Valley – Santa Clara – Varadero = approx. 320 km
Day 7. day off
Day 8. transfer from Varadero to the Havana airport = approx. 165 km

The entire route = approx. 1400 km

passports and other required documents, cash in euros or dollars and credit cards, medicines and medical supplies, American-type power adapters, comfortable footwear, sun protection (cap / hat, sunglasses, sunscreen), men long trousers for the show, repellents, swimwear, beach towels and snorkeling equipment. Read this before your travel

the local guide servie (in English / Spanish / Polish / French / German) from day 2-6, transport during the entire itinerary, including airport transfers, accommodation in double rooms with breakfast in casas particulares (5 nights: Havana x 3, Cienfuegos x 1, Trinidad x 1) and in a 5* all inclusive hotel (Varadero x 2 nights), meals: 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, dinner with a Buena Vista concert, 2 x all inclusive in Varadero, entrance tickets and attractions described in the itinerary, TU Europa Travel World Standard Plus travel insurance, contributions to the Tourist Guarantee Fund and the Aid Fund

airline tickets, Cuban visa (tourist card – order from us now for 25 EUR / pers.), dinners (apart from 1 included in the itinerary, approx. 20 EUR / meal), „Tastes of Havana” package – cooking class – from 65 EUR / pers. or „Rooftops of Havana” package – from 45 EUR / pers., dinner at the Tropicana cabaret – 105-125 EUR / pers. (transport paid additionally), snorkelling equipment rental in the Bay of Pigs – approx. 5 EUR / pers., canopy tour in the Sugar Mill Valley – 10 EUR / pers., catamaran trip to a paradise island – 115 EUR / pers., tips (in restaurants, attractions, for drivers and guides), own expenses, purchase of souvenirs and meals not mentioned in the itinerary. Single room supplement – 200 EUR / pers.