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Cuba: Music, Culture & Cuisine

Cuba is one of the most fascinating islands in the Caribbean and is known throughout the world for its music, dance, and culinary traditions. We partnered with a company that is fully licensed to host ALL nationalities legally and we designed a tour that’s tailor-made to our groups. Join us on what we hope to be the first of many trips to the “Pearl of the Antilles”!
Duration: 7 nights / 8 days
Dates: March 16-23, 2024
Trip starts/ends: Havana Airport, Day 1 and Day 8 (tailored to your flights)
Activity level: 1 – Easy: exploring cities on foot, mostly paved or cobblestone, minimal climbing, with one optional hike in the countryside (rated level 2) [more info]
Group size: Min. 4 people

Highlights

* explore Old Havana with a local guide
* tour Ernest Hemmingway’s former estate
* visit the colorful city of Cienfuegos
* spend three nights in delightful Trinidad
* enjoy private concerts with local musicians
* see how delicious local dishes are made
* ride in Havana’s famous Classic Cars
* take a salsa lesson
* tour a rum distillery (and try a wee taste!)
* relax on a beautiful beach (March is perfect for swimming!)
* visit a traditional cigar producer and try a rum & cigar pairing
* eat at the best private restaurants, known as paladares
* stretch your legs with an easy hike to a beautiful waterfall
* see traditional dance performances
* visit some of the island’s fascinating artist and artisan workshops

Trip price includes

7 nights in upscale B&Bs, 7 breakfasts, 3 dinners plus 5 lunches, all visits and transfers as per itinerary, at least 1 bilingual guide to accompany you throughout the week

Not included

4 dinners, 1 lunch, drinks other than water at meals; tips for local guides, drivers and hotel services; Cuban visa/tourist card; and anything not listed in the inclusions

ITINERARY

Days 1 – 3: Welcome to Havana!
Spend your first three days in vibrant Old Havana, whose elegant colonial buildings and sunny squares will welcome you with bright colors and music spilling out of every doorway. We’ll hit the highlights, like riding in a Classic Car down the famous Malecon waterfront drive, visiting cigar and rum producers, strolling through Ernest Hemingway’s former estate and gardens, and taking in some electric music and dance performances, but we’ll also get off-the-beaten-track and meet personally with artists and musicians, some of whom welcome us into their homes for private concerts. Our hotel in Havana is a lovely upscale B&B built into one of the city’s historical old city blocks. Enjoy a room with a sea view and then sip a minty mojito from the rooftop bar.

Days 4 – 6: The Colonial Cities of Cienfuegos and Trinidad
Get out of the city for 3 days in two of the most beautiful towns on the island. Both Cienfuegos and Trinidad are UNESCO World Heritage protected sites for their unique architecture and historical importance in the Caribbean. Cienfuegos has the largest number of Neoclassical buildings in the Caribbean and Trinidad was important for Cuba’s sugar trade. We stay three nights in a restored private home with colorful floor tiles and Old World charm. Dine at some of the best paladares in the region and enjoy live music and salsa dancing once the sun goes down. We can also hike out to a waterfall in the verdant hills nearby and then find time to relax on a gorgeous sandy beach.

Days 7 & 8: Final day in Havana and Departures
Drive back to Havana and enjoy a magical afternoon with a famous local dance troupe, who will show you how the island’s Afro-Caribbean rhythms captivated and inspired musicians and dancers around the world. We have one final dinner together before saying a fond “Adios” to Cuba on Day 8. We’ll provide you with suggestions on flights, travel insurance, and getting your visa so don’t hesitate to ask if you have questions!

Both Manu and Claire are planning on coming and have put a special price on this inaugural tour, so we hope to see you there!

from €3,380 (2024 price)
[info on prices]

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Activity Levels

Some tours have a range of activity levels through the week, where some walks may be more challenging than others, but this will give you a general idea of the type of walking/hiking involved on your tour.

1 – EASY: City walking, all or mostly paved, minimal climbing
2 – GENTLE: Moderate hills & easy terrain
3 – MODERATE: Some sustained hills with occasional steep grades on a mix of terrains
4 – HIKE: Classic hiking with rough/rocky terrain, sustained hills, and longer mileage
5 – CHALLENGING: Challenging hiking with steep climbs and descents over rocky terrain and some longer mileage

See below for more detail:

1 – EASY: City walking, all or mostly paved, with minimal climbing (though some cities may have steeper inclines). Archaeological sites may be unpaved but the grades and difficulty level is easy. TOURS: Sicily Coast-to-Coast and any “light active” version of a tour

2 – GENTLE: Moderate hills & easy terrain
The terrain is easy to navigate with packed earth or gravel roads. There are some climbs but nothing too challenging. TOURS: Tuscany, Puglia, Provence
[2+ The “plus” indicates more challenging terrain though the walks are gentle].

3 – MODERATE: Some sustained hills with occasional steep grades and rocky terrain
Here you find a mix of terrain with some steep stretches.
TOURS: Corsica, Sardinia, some of the Dolomites tours, and some hikes on the Greek Islands
[3+ The plus indicates rockier terrain or lots of stone steps (Amalfi, the Cinque Terre) or greater elevation gain/loss (the Dolomites)].

4 — HIKE: Classical hiking with rough terrain, sustained hills, and more mileage. These hikes are on a mix of rough terrain, sometimes involving steep stretches and difficult footing. TOURS: some of our hikes in Sardinia, some of the days in the Cinque Terre, some of the variants of our Dolomites tours.

5 – CHALLENGING: Longer days, challenging climbs, rocky terrain. We don’t do a lot of seriously challenging tours but we do have a Dolomites trip where we hike from hut to hut, so that’s probably the closest we get to a 5.

Info on prices

Some prices indicated on our website are for 2023 while others are already for 2024, and they all depend on the number of sign-ups and other factors (hotels, activities, and inclusions that may change with each departure) so please contact us for details.