Cuba half and half
(15 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. Then we will take a salsa lesson with Cuban partners near St. Francis Square and sit in one of the bars in the Old Square with beautiful colonial architecture. From here we will go for a dinner combined with a concert of Buena Vista Social Club. Return to your accommodation on your own.

After breakfast we will visit a cigar factory, from where coco-taxi will take us through the center of Havana and the Chinatown to the Central Park, where we will see the Grand Theater, the National Museum of Fine Arts and the oldest hotels on the island and visit the interior of the Capitol – a monumental building created as the seat of the Cuban parliament. We will stop for a daiquirí at one of Hemingway’s favorite bars – El Floridita and go for a lunch at local restaurant. In the afternoon, free time on the Obispo street, which has numerous souvenir shops and a walk along the Paseo del Prado to the former Presidential Palace, which now houses the Museum of the Revolution (from the outside). We will sit down for a coffee in one of the many cafes in the area of ​​​​Angel’s Hill and return to the casa particular. 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 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). For those willing (for an additional fee), a short horse ride around the Viñales area. At the end, we will drink a piña colada under the Mural of Prehistory – one of the largest mural paintings in the world – and we will check-in at a casa particular in Viñales. In the evening, a short walk around the town, and for those willing, dinner (extra fee).

After breakfast, check-out and transfer to Soroa – a town with a beautifully situated botanical garden specializing in orchids, where we will also learn about other numerous species of Cuban flora. Then we will visit a former coffee plantation and drink a great coffee in Las Terrazas, from where we will drive towards Zapata Peninsula National Park. Upon arrival, lunch with a crocodile meat, followed by a visit to a crocodile farm. At the end, we will look for hummingbirds and check-in in Playa Larga. In the evening, going out for a dinner (extra charge).

After breakfast, check-out and transfer for a swim in the Caribbean Sea and 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, time to sunbathe on the Caribbean Sea on the Ancón Peninsula. Lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, free time in Trinidad or (optionally and for an additional fee) a horseback riding excursion through the surrounding villages to the foothills of the Sierra Escambray Mountains and time to swim in the natural pools. Coffee tasting along the way. Return to Trinidad, dinner (additional fee) and overnight stay.

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). From here it is not far to the provincial capital – Sancti Spíritus. A walk from the main square to the oldest stone bridge in Cuba, built over the Yayabo River, lunch and a short visit to Remedios, famous for its „Parrandas” (local carnivals) and the oldest church on the island. Transfer to the island of Cayo Santa María. Accommodation in a 4* all inclusive hotel and parting ways with the guide.

Vacation at an all-inclusive hotel on one of the most beautiful Cuban beaches: swimming in the ocean and pools, use of bars, restaurants, water equipment and hotel animation and sports programs. For an additional fee, it is possible to book a higher standard hotel and take advantage of optional excursions sold at the hotel (e.g. catamaran cruise and interaction with dolphins; diving).

After breakfast, check-out and drive towards Havana. On the way, a short stop at the Memorial del Che (the burial place of Che Guevara) in Santa Clara – a town whose capture was decisive for the triumph of the Cuban revolution. Accommodation in a casa particular and time at your own disposal. Lunch and dinner on your own.

After breakfast, free time at your own disposal, check-out (by 12.00) and transfer to the Havana airport 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. sightseeing in Havana = approx. 20 km
Day 4. route: Havana – Viñales Valley = approx. 200 km
Day 5. route: Viñales Valley – Soroa – Las Terrazas – Zapata Peninsula – Playa Larga = approx. 380 km
Day 6. route: Playa Larga – Bay of Pigs – Cienfuegos = approx. 120 km
Day 7. route: Cienfuegos – El Nicho – Trinidad = approx. 150 km
Day 8. trip from Trinidad to the Ancón Peninsula = approx. 30 km
Day 9. route: Trinidad – Sugar Mills Valley – Sancti Spíritus – Remedios – Cayo Santa María = approx. 220 km
Day 10. day off
Day 11. day off
Day 12. day off
Day 13. day off
Day 14. route: Cayo Santa María – Santa Clara – Havana = approx. 400 km
Day 15. transfer from Havana city center to the airport = approx. 25 km

The entire route = approx. 1610 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, suitable trousers or leggings for horse riding, repellents, swimwear, beach towels and snorkeling equipment. Read this before your travel

the local guide servie (in English / Spanish / Polish / French / German) from day 2-9, transport during the entire itinerary, including airport transfers, accommodation in double rooms with breakfast in casas particulares (9 nights: Havana x 4, Viñales x 1, Playa Larga x 1, Cienfuegos x 1, Trinidad x 2) and in a 4* all inclusive hotel (Cayo Santa María x 5 nights), meals: 9 breakfasts, 8 lunches, dinner with a Buena Vista concert, 5 x all inclusive in Cayo Santa María, 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), horse riding in the Viñales Valley – 15 EUR / pers., snorkelling equipment rental in the Bay of Pigs – approx. 5 EUR / pers., horseback riding tour in Trinidad – 20 EUR/person, canopy tour in the Sugar Mill Valley – 10 EUR / pers., optional excursions in Cayo Santa María (the offer will be presented by the guide on site), tips (in restaurants, attractions, for drivers and guides), own expenses and purchase of souvenirs. Single room supplement – 350 EUR / pers.