Best of Cuba

Day 2
Exploring Havana

Breakfast in the Boutique Hotel.

Old Havana walking tour.
(3 hours)

In this historic center, designated UNESCO Heritage Site in 1982, you can admire the Four Main Squares (Old Square, San Francisco de Asis Square, Army Square, and the Cathedral Square), the Rum Museum, the Classic Cars Museum, Obispo Boulevard -where all the local shops and souvenir markets are-, El Floridita Bar (Hemigway’s favorite bar in the 1920s and nowadays in the Top 10 List of Most Famous Bars in the World), the Capitol, Central Park, the Grand Theatre, the Bacardi Building, the Museum of the Revolution, and many other interesting sites.

This tour depends on the museums you decide to visit or not, the time you spend admiring every place, and how much you can walk. The maximum walking distance of this tour is around 6 kilometers. We recommend to bring water, sunscreen, and proper clothes for sun protection.

Lunch at Paladar Los Mercaderes.

Classic American convertible car ride. 
(3 hours)

You’re going to visit other historic landmarks, and also the modern parts of the city. You will be taken to the Old Forts (Morro-Cabaña Castle), the Jesus Christ Statue, Malecon Avenue, Vedado and Nuevo Vedado (the high-class and fancy neighborhoods), the National Hotel, the University of Havana, the Revolution Square, Columbus Cemetery, and the Metropolitan Forest.

We recommend to bring water, sunscreen, sunglasses, and proper clothes for sun protection.

Dinner at The Traditionals of the ‘50s, with cocktails included and a live concert of the Buenavista Social Club, the magnificent pioneers of Cuban traditional music.

Day 4
Exploring Viñales

Breakfast in the Casa Particular.

Viñales Valley and city tour.

The economy of Viñales is based on the tobacco plantations, and along with Pinar del Rio city is actually the place where the best tobacco and cigars in the world come from. So, the first thing to do is visit a tobacco farm, where the farmer will explain the whole process, from sowing the tobacco seeds to rolling fine cigars. As part of the experience and courtesy of the farm, you will be offered a free handmade cigar to smoke and taste. After this unique experience, take a horse ride or a horse carriage to another farm producing local rum, honey, and coffee. This is the perfect opportunity to learn about the other commercialized products in Viñales, all of them handmade and with no industrial processes.

We recommend to bring water, sunscreen, and proper clothes for sun protection.

Farm-to-table lunch.

Visit El Palenque del Cimarron cave, probably the only one you will find that has a bar inside. Enjoy a few drinks at the bar and walk through the cave to learn about the Indigenous and African traces in Cuba. You can even have the opportunity to attend an Afrocuban dancing performance. The next and last interest point will be the Wall of Prehistory, a nice spot for picnics, taking some photos, and drinking piña coladas.

The cave is very small and easy to walk in, designed for amateurs. No special equipment is required.

Return to Havana (3h 30m drive) and check-in in the Boutique Hotel.

It is essential to avoid the night on the highway, so the departure time needs to be early in order to let you make some stops for the restroom, stretching your legs, smoking, etc. 

Dinner at Yarini.

Day 6
Trinidad and the
Sugar Mills Valley

Breakfast in the Boutique Hotel.

Trinidad walking tour.
(3 hours)

Walk around the historic center of Trinidad, designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988. Visit the Three Main Squares (the Townhall Square, the Grand Square, and Santa Ana Square),  the Historical Museum of Trinidad, the Museum of Architecture, the Museum of Romantic Arts, the Church of the Holy Trinity, the Beer Brewery, and check the best places in Cuba for live music and dancing (the House of the Music, the House of Salsa, the House of Afrocuban Music, the House of Canchanchara, and the House of Trova).

This tour depends on the museums you decide to visit or not, the time you spend admiring every place, and how much you can walk. The maximum walking distance of this tour is around 5 kilometers. We recommend to bring water, sunscreen, and proper clothes for sun protection.

Lunch at La Botija.

Tour around Trinidad city.

Go to the Sugar Mills Valley and Manaca-Iznaga, an old Sugar Factory (known as “ingenio” in Spanish). Climb its imposing tower that once served to overlook the slaves, to admire what used to be the biggest sugarcane valley in Cuba. Even though this factory is not working anymore, it still has the original tools, pots, and machinery used centuries ago to press the sugar cane, process the juice, and obtain the sugar crystals. You can even press the sugarcane on your own and try a fresh sugarcane juice (guarapo). Then continue to the Trains Museum, and the Pottery House of the Santander family to see how unique and refined their works are. Azariel Santander, an 80-year-old man who’s been working in the family business since he was a child, will welcome you and show you how he does his art.

Dinner at Sapori Italiani.

Day 8
Hemingway Tour

Breakfast in the Boutique Hotel. 

Ernest Hemingway tour.

Visit Vigia Farm, the former property of Ernest Hemingway during more than 20 years before the Revolution, and turned into a museum after his death. The farmhouse remains just as it was when he lived in it, with his personal belongings, thousands of books, manuscripts, photographs, and animal-head trophies from his frequent safaris. After seeing the house, go to Cojimar, the fishermen's town where he used to spend most of his days on his boat, which inspired his best-seller book “The Old Man and the Sea.”

Special meal with an experienced Cuban chef.

Meet Elisa, a 70-year-old woman with African roots, who will give you a cooking class to teach you everything about the Cuban traditional cuisine: which are the main dishes, its origins, cultural mix, and historical meanings. She will also teach you how to make the two easiest Cuban-born cocktails: the Mojito and the Cuba Libre. Make yourself your own meal, and enjoy it at the end!

This experience is included in your package, but if you wish, you can choose a different activity for no extra cost (like going to the beach, visiting the Cigar Factory, a salsa class, etc.)

Rum and cigar tasting in the Boutique Hotel’s rooftop.