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Cuban Discovery

£2,801.00

Photographing colourful vintage cars and drinking mojitos in the unique and vibrant city of Havana.

An island lost in time, Cuba is a decadent blend of romantic grandeur and off-beat Caribbean charm. Iconic 1950s automobiles parade through the seafront streets and rumba bars rub shoulders with centuries-old churches. Forested inland landscapes are home to tobacco plantations and rugged mountaintops, while swathes of white sand skirt the northern coast. On our tours of Cuba, we&ll start in Havana before winding our way through the country, uncovering its treasures as we go – from Spanish colonial heritage to underground rivers.

  • 13 excursions & visits
  • 29 meals
  • Active traveller pace
Category:

Your itinerary

Day 1 – Havana

Our door-to-door travel service collects you from home for your flight to Havana.

Iberostar Marqués de la Torre, Havana (4-star)

Day 2 – Havana

Culture lovers will be charmed by Havana, Cuba’s bustling, atmospheric capital with the ambience of a bygone era. Our walking tour begins through the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the faded Spanish colonial architecture is slowly being restored to its former glory. Discover the beautiful streets with elegant plazas, and stop by the legendary Floridita Bar, where Ernest Hemingway famously drank daiquiris. We visit a rum factory or museum and the rest of the day is at leisure. Tonight, we witness the cannon firing at La Cabaña Fortress, a daily tradition to announce the historical closure of the city gates at 9pm.

Iberostar Marqués de la Torre, Havana (4-star)

Today includes…

Excursions & visits: Tour of Havana including a rum factory or museum (morning)9pm cannon ceremony (evening)

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Colourfully painted buildings line a street in Havana, Cuba

Day 3 – Hemingway Museum

We head to Finca Vigia, Ernest Hemingway’s home – the setting in which he scribed many of his best-known works. Now preserved as a museum, it provides a wonderful insight into the author’s life. We also visit Cojimar, where Hemingway gained the inspiration for ‘The Old Man and the Sea’. Enjoy a Cuban cocktail lesson and spend a relaxed afternoon at your leisure.

Iberostar Marqués de la Torre, Havana (4-star)

Today includes…

Excursions & visits: Visit Finca Vigia (morning)Cuban cocktail lesson (afternoon)

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Cojimar Fort overlooking the sea in Cojimar fishing village, Cuba

Day 4 – Las Terrazas – Viñales Valley

We&ll visit a beautiful orchid garden in Soroa as we make our way to Las Terrazas Eco Mountain Resort, an ‘eco-village’ created in the 1960s, and take a tour of a 19th-century coffee plantation. We then continue to the lush Viñales Valley.

Hotel Los Jazmines, Viñales Valley (3-star) or Hotel La Ermita (3-star)

Today includes…

Excursions & visits: Visit an orchid garden (morning)Visit Las Terrazas Eco Mountain Resort (afternoon)

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

A cup of coffee and coffee beans

Day 5 – Viñales Valley

The inspiringly beautiful Viñales Valley is interspersed with dramatic rounded limestone formations known as mogotes. We visit a farmer’s tobacco plantation, before continuing to the Cuevo del Indio (Indian Cave), where we board a boat to sail on an underground river. We see the Murial Prehistorica and end our day with a visit to a cigar factory or museum.

Hotel Los Jazmines, Viñales Valley (3-star) or Hotel La Ermita (3-star)

Today includes…

Excursions & visits: Tour in Viñales Valley (all day)

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

A river runs through the Indian Cave in Cuba&s Viñales Valley

Day 6 – Santa Clara – Cayo Ensenachos

Continuing our adventure, we arrive in Santa Clara, the site of the last battle of the guerrilla war in 1958. This town is the final resting place of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, with a museum and mausoleum dedicated to the revolutionary leader. Here you can see Tren Blindado, the famous military train that was carrying soldiers and weapons when it was derailed by Che and a group of rebels, paving the way for the Revolution. We drive on to Cayo Ensenachos, where we’ll enjoy some of Cuba’s best white-sand beaches.

Iberostar Ensenachos Resort, Cayo Ensenachos (4-star)

Today includes…

Excursions & visits: Visit Santa Clara (afternoon)

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Che Guevara Monument, Plaza de la Revolution, Santa Clara, Cuba

Days 7-8 – Cayo Ensenachos

Two full free days at leisure, with all food and drink included, to relax and enjoy the facilities at our beachfront hotel.

Iberostar Ensenachos Resort, Cayo Ensenachos (4-star)

Today includes…

2 Breakfasts, 2 Lunches and 2 Dinners

Free time

Two loungers are set up in the clear, shallow waters off Cayo Ensenachos&amp

Day 9 – Trinidad – Cienfuegos

Our journey continues to Trinidad, a World Heritage Site which has been hailed as one of the best-preserved colonial cities in the world. We’ll visit either the Trinidad History Museum, where history buffs will be in their element, or the Museo Romantico, a sumptuous mansion displaying the decorative arts of the Trinidad aristocracy. We then continue to Cienfuegos.

Meliá San Carlos, Cienfuegos (4-star)

Today includes…

Excursions & visits: Visit Trinidad (afternoon)

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Colonial town of Trinidad, Cuba

Day 10 – Cienfuegos

Soak up the history of Cienfuegos, known affectionately as the ‘Pearl of the South’. Characterised by palaces overlooking a beautiful Caribbean bay, star attractions include Parque Jose Marti with its imposing cathedral.

Meliá San Carlos, Cienfuegos (4-star)

Today includes…

Excursions & visits: Tour of Cienfuegos (all day)

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Mini marina and fishing boat in Cienfuegos Bay, Cuba

Day 11 – Bay of Pigs – Havana – In flight

We return to Havana stopping en route at the Museo de Playa Girón, dedicated to the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. We then head to the airport for your return flight.

Bay of Pigs – Havana – In flight

Today includes…

Breakfast and Lunch

Air travel

Day 12 – Departure

Upon arrival, our vehicle will be waiting for the journey home.