Cuban Odyssey - 21 days from Havana

We highly recommend this tour to travel the entire length of the island to experience Cuba's fascinating diversity. It takes you to many of Cuba's natural and historic highlights, however the emphasis of the tour is on contact with the Cuban people and their culture.

We also give you plenty of time to do your own adventuring. Nevertheless, your local tour guide is available everyday to recommend places to explore, and how to get there, and to help you arrange excursions and day trips if you want.

• Departs: Every Friday
• Duration: 20 days starting/finishing in Havana
• Tour focus: Cuban life, local contact and culture, Cuban music and stunning natural highlights
• Accommodation: 19 nights home stay and the odd hotel, twin share
• Transport: flight, bus and minivan
• Group Size: Max 12 +  local tour leader
• Local payment of CUC450 (see below) for more detials 

What’s Included in the Tour Price:

• Arrival transfer to your homestay in Havana on Day 1
• All breakfasts
• Cuban tour leader throughout
• Walking tour of Havana
• Che Guevara museum
• Ballet school visit in Camaguey
• Music & Dance night in Santiago
• Visit to community art projects of Callejon de Hammel and Fusterlandia
  
• Visit to Tobacco Farmer's house.
• All land transport during the itinerary and airport transfer on arrival
• All hotel accommodations* (twin share)
• * Additional accommodations can be arranged at the clients’ request

• International Flights
• Visa and passport fees
• Insurance (Travel insurance is required to participate on the tour)
• All meals (except for 14 breakfasts)
• Drinks
• Tips
• Optional Activites/day-tours/excursions
• Airport departure transfer

There will be times during your tour in Cuba where there'll be opportunitiew to tip local service providers - such as drivers and local guides. This is a completely optional practice to show your appreciation for excellent service and you should never feel obliged to do so, especially if you feel you did not receive good service. You may tip individually, or your tour guide will offer to collect the money and tip as a group. Also at the end of the tour, if you felt your tour guide did an outstanding job, tipping is appreciated 

For local guides on day trips and other optional activities, as a suggestion we recommended a tip of 2 to 5 CUC per person.

The Local Payment must be handed to the tour guide at the first group meeting in Cuba(usually on the morning of Day 2 of the tour). This will be accepted exclusively local currency (Cuban Pesos Convertibles) cash.

Why do I have to pay a local payment? 

We have part of the cost of the tour paid by you locally in Cuba for these reasons: 

• Sometimes we have problems sending the large amount of money to Cuba to operate the tour. Having the tour guide collect a certain amount in cash, directly from the travellers at the start of the tour, acts as a safeguard against possible delays or complications in the transferral of money to Cuba to run the tour. This way the guide will at least have some cash to be able to start the tour and not compromise any of the services we provide, until the rest of the money arrives.
• The local payment allows us to lower the upfront payment amount for the tour, which means that less or your money is collected as commission by travel agents, and advertising agencies. This means that the overall cost of the tour is lower.
• What part of the tour does the local payment pay for?  The local payment does not cover any one particular aspect of the trip - such as the local flight or included excursions. Instead it goes towards paying for our total cost of running the tour (including accommodation, transport, guide, guide expenses etc), the majority of which we need to pay for in cash in Cuba.

Today is set aside as the arrival day of the tour, so you are free to arrive in Havana at any time. 

Please note that this tour includes the "Walking tour of Old Havana" on Day 14, so there is no need to book this separately.

Your tour guide will leave a note for you at your guesthouse with details about the evening gathering for those tour group members that have arrived early.

After the morning group meeting with the tour guide and some quick formailities, we hit the road. Today we use private transport. For small groups this will either be a taxi or some sort of microbus, and for larger groups a minibus.

Today's road trip takes about 5 hours. We head East from Havana towards the French founded city of Cienfuegos. On the way we drive through a densely vegetated area called the Peninsula de Zapata. Its a swampy area full of alligators, snakes, and other wildlife, just before we the Caribbean coast at Playa Larga. We then drive along the Bay of Pigs, which is where that famous US-backed failed invasion of counter-revolutionary exile militia occured in 1961. Your guide will explain in more detail the dramatic events.

If the conditions are favourable, we can stop for a swim at a beautiful spot on the bay that is ideal for snorkelling. Snorkelling masks are available at a small cost. 

Once arriving in Cienfuegos you might notice a slightly European flavour with the architecture of its main buildings and wide pedestrian boulevards. Most visitors are charmed by the setting on a wide and traquil bay and by its friendly and peaceful residents.

Today we travel to Trinidad via the historic city of Santa Clara. There is lots to see so we only spend a short time in Cienfuegos before setting off. The local residents are up early, so if you are a keen photographer, this is a great time to take photos.

Again today we take private transport, and after heading inland for an hour or so, we reach Santa Clara where we visit the Che Guevara museum. On top of the museum is a massive bronze statue of the famous revolutionary, and there is also a mausoleum where Che's remains are kept (since 1997). We take time to visit the musuem and learn about Ché's fascinating life. We then head back towards the Caribbean coast eventually reaching the beautiful colonial town of Trinidad.

Trinidad, for many visitors to Cuba, is their favourite place. It has a very well preserved colonial centre with numerous churches and many beautiful colonial buildings. It has the feel of a village rather than a city and because of the sometimes steep cobblestone streets, most residents get around on foot.

Nearby are several points of interest such as the lovely Valle de los Ingenios(Valley of the Sugarmills), Ancón beach, and the Escambray mountains - that contain coffee plantations, abundant birdlife, and some refreshing waterfalls. Including diving, snorkelling, and horseback riding, there are no shortage of activities for those who want to get out and about.

In town there are craft markets and many small bars, restaurants, and night spots where you can enjoy some fantastic Cuban music and dance in an intimate setting. If that is still not enough to win you over, there is even a disco in a nearby cave.

About 5 hours travel further East we reach Cuba's third largest city - Camaguey. 

The city is a regional centre of culture and education with a large population of students, many of whom are foreigners who have come here on scolarships offered by the Cuban government to students who wouldn't normally get the chance to go to university in their own countries. There are various private art galleries and cultural centres, and we include a guided visit to a ballet school. 

Santiago de Cuba is known as the origin of many important things in Cuba. 

As Cuba's second city, and for a time the nation's capital, the city also has some interesting buildings such as the former Bacardi family residence (now a museum), and the Casa Velazquez, which is known as Cuba's oldest building. There are also museums, colonial churches and buildings of more recent historical importance, such as the Moncada Barracks, which are well worth visiting.

Day 10,11,12 - Baracoa

To get to Baracoa we drive past Guantanamo city and near to the area of land around Guantanamo Bay that is leased by the US military. For groups of 5 or more we use private minibus and for smaller groups we use the public bus for tourists.

Either way, some spectacular scenery can be seen along the way. The rugged coastline beyond Guantanamo is replaced by the deep green hues of the densely vegetated mountains of eastern Cuba. The natural environment that surrounds the town of Baracoa is nothing short of spectacular. In fact Christopher Columbus noted in his log-book that this was the most beautiful land that human eyes could set upon. Apart from the forested mountains, you can find pristine beaches with sand of various colours, coffee and chocolate plantations, and some stunning freshwater rivers 

A domestic flight (included in the tour) takes us back to Havana. You will arrive in the late afternoon of Day 13, so you have 3 nights and 2 whole days to experience the Caribbean's largest and most famous city in this middle part of the tour. Your tour guide will provide an introduction with the included walking tour of the Old town scheduled for the morning of Day 14. You always have the option to skip this and explore on your own. 

Day 16 - Soroa - via Jaimanitas and Las Terrazas

Heading west of Havana in private transport, we stop in a couple of Havana neighbourhoods to see some community art projects. 

Next stop is a mountainous area called Las Terrazas. The town itself was built as part of an environmental project in the early days of the Revolution. 

Eventually we reach the tiny settlement of Soroa, which for many is the prettiest area of the region. We stay in local guesthouses.

On the way to Vinales we check out a Soroa which is beautiful area in the mountains with quite a few interesting things to see. There is an excellent orquid garden with about 200 different types of orquids, more than half of which are Cuban species.

In the afternoon we have time to take you to the home of a local tobacco farmer, who will show you his life and how he rolls his own cigars.

Day 18 - Viñales

Today you have a full day with no included activities. This is you opportunity to do as you please, and there are plenty of options available that your guide can arrange for you. Our travellers in the past have highly recommended the walk through parts of the valley with a guide that is local to the Vinales area. There are also caving, horseriding, and biking excursions available.

Another option is to do some voluntary work on a local organic farm (and staying for dinner!), or heading to one of the beautiful beaches nearby - Cayo Levisa or Cayo Jutias. 

There are a couple of hotels on the outskirts of the town with some swimming pools you can use for a small fee - a good option if you just want to relax and enjoy the views while drinking a cocktail or two.

The nightlife in Vinales is very friendly and active, and the locals are always enthusiastically involved. There is live music nightly and usually a dance performance or two. But the main emphasis is on participation and the locals are not shy in asking visitors to share a dance. In fact, many travellers will tell you that Vinales is one of the best places in Cuba to interact with the locals.

Day 19 - Havana

We return to Havana to celebrate the last night of the tour, 

Today is the departure day of the tour, and you are free to depart at anytime.