8 DAYS NOSTALGIC CUBA

Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your city centre hotel.

The “city of columns” is Latin America’s biggest colonial town. Your Cuban holiday starts with a Daiquiri in the famous restaurant El Floridita, Ernest Hemingway’s favourite bar. Enjoy dinner in the private restaurant in the old town decorated in retro style.

Indulge in the glamorous past as we stroll Calle Obispo to the old town. Pass by the old drugstore, pharmacy and hotel Ambos Mundos where Hemingway stayed. Sip a signature mojito at a famous bar and visit plazas, cathedrals, palacios and old squares. After lunch, ride bici taxis for a glimpse into the daily lives of Cubans as you visit their private businesses and compare them with the state shops. Stop by the oldest boxing gym for a boxing training, Cuba’s second most favourite sport behind baseball.

Optional: Private Tobacco & Rum Degustation with a Specialist

Rum came into Europe around 1,700 years ago, but its real cradle is in the Caribbean. Nowhere is rum production more famous than in Cuba. Thanks to the unsurpassed quality of the native tobacco leaves, Cuba also produces one of the world’s best cigars.

Hop on the original coco taxi to visit the Revolution Museum or the Museum of Colonial Arts. Visit a cigar factory where they have been hand-rolling cigars in the same way for the last 50 years (closed Sat & Sun). Stop at the training session of Havana Queens for the young dancers talented performance. At noon, ride a classic vintage car around the wealthier Vedado and Miramar areas. Enjoy a cocktail in the unique Hotel Nacional bar. End the day at the colourful artist district of Callejon de Hamel.

Free at leisure in the evening with several options:

Option A: Dinner at Paladar la Guarida
Dubbed as “the hardest table to get in Havana” and made famous by the movie Strawberry and Chocolate.

Option B: Tropicana Cabaret Show – Glitz & Glamour Under Stars
Inaugurated in 1939, this Vegas-styled cabaret showcases the full range of popular Cuban dances (22.00-23.45 daily, min. age 18, Oferta 3, includes 1 glass of Cava, 1 bottle of Rum, 1 national Cola, 1 mini-snack).

Option C: Show of Havana Queens at Casa Miglis One of Havana’s Top Ten Paladars, enjoy a repertoire of ballet, flamenco, dodern dance, rumba and salsa.

Start early as we head westwards to Jose Fuster’s house and atelier (the Caribbean Gaudi) in Jaimanitas. Follow the route of tobacco to Vinales Valley dotted with dramatic limestones, tobacco, coffee, orange and banana plantations. Meet a tobacco farmer in a traditional tobacco house and sip a Pina Colada next to the wall paintings.

Enjoy a specially arranged traditional Cuban lunch cooked with love at Alberto Vitamina’s place. Next, gain insights into local floras at Finca Agroecologica farm, continue to the biosphere reserve Las Terrazas, stroll around the Community of Artists and conclude the day by visiting an ancient French coffee plantation.

Today is a long trip to Central Cuba. Visit Santa Clara’s revolution square with Che Guavara Monument (closed Mon) and the site of Che’s famous battle on the armored train. After a coffee stop at Café Museo Revolution with its big revolution era collection, learn how family business supports sustainable agriculture at a private peanut project Mani Bormey. Thereafter, drive through the most important coffee zones to the lovely Trinidad. En route, taste the aromatic hot coffee while we learn about its history.

Start with a walking tour of this UNESCO city. Visit the ceramic studio “Casa del Alfarero”, the City Museum at the Palacio Brunet and the Iglesia de la Santisima Trinidad church. After lunch, the afternoon is free at leisure or enjoy optional activities:

Option A: Salsa Lesson
Soak up the sounds and rhythms of the Caribbean with your instructor for a chance to learn Cuban Salsa in its birthplace.

Option B: Excursion to the Sugar Mill Valley
Visit the ancient mansion of sugar baron Iznaga with its legendary tower for overseeing the slave workers.

Head to Cienfuegos with its French colonial architectures such as the Terry Theater and Palacio del Valle. Visit the legendary Bay of Pigs, a lovely stretch of Caribbean Coast acting as a battle site during the revolution, before arriving in Havana mid-afternoon. 

Optional Farewell: Sunset Boat & Dinner at Fisherman’s House. At Santa Fe bay near Marina Hemingway, enjoy boat trip with champagne to a typical fisherman’s house for an exclusive seafood dinner overlooking the sea.

This morning, we make an excursion to Finca Vigia (now a museum, closed Sun) where Hemingway used to live. Later stop in the fisherman´s village Cojimar where he wrote the novel “The Old Man and the Sea”. Have spectacular views of the city from El Morro Fortress before transferring to the airport.