Group Tour Itinerary

History and Nature of Cuba




(Includes 10 breakfasts and 18 meals in total,
and standard deluxe accommodations in Casas Particulares or Boutique Hotels, with double or twin bedrooms, a.c, private bathroom, and free wi-fi)

Day 1
Welcome to Havana

Arrival in Havana or Varadero Airport.

Your tour guide and driver will be waiting there to pick you up and assist you for the rest of the tour.

Depending on your arrival time, lunch at Buenaventura restaurant with traditional Cuban food and live music.

Transfer to your accommodation in Old Havana.

Free time for the check-in, freshen up, and get comfortable. 

Short walk around the area.

Your tour guide will show you some points of interest and suggest good paladars (private-run restaurants to experience the true local food and drinks). 

Dinner at Mojito Mojito.

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 Kilometro Zero.

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 3
Pinar del Rio

Breakfast in the Boutique Hotel and check-out.

Trip to Las Terrazas and Soroa, in Pinar del Rio - the last western province of Cuba.
(around 1h 30m from Havana)

Visit Las Terrazas, a tourist complex with nature activities like river boat rides, horseback riding, zipline, hiking paths, and picnic areas. Then, continue to Soroa Natural Park in the Guanahacabibes Mountains, a World Biosphere Reserve. This is one of the most beautiful ecosystems in Cuba, famous for the variety and good conservation of its flora and fauna. You will visit the Orchids Garden, do a hike to Soroa’s viewpoint, and swim in a beautiful waterfall known as The Cuban Rainbow.

We recommend to bring swimsuits, towels, and sunscreen.

Lunch in a local paladar.

Trip to Viñales (around 1h 30m drive) and check-in in a Boutique Hotel.

Viñales walking tour.
(1 hour)

Declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, Viñales is a beautiful villa in a valley surrounded by mountains and with a lifestyle mainly rural. Take a short walk around the town center to get familiar with the area, the good places to eat and drink, see the main plaza with the church, and the Historic Museum of Viñales.

Dinner at El Bily.

Day 4
Exploring Viñales

Breakfast in the Boutique Hotel.

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.

Dinner at Casa de Don Tomás.

Day 5
Cayo Jutias Beach

Breakfast in the Casa Particular and check-out.

Trip to Santo Thomas Cave.

Being the largest cave system in Cuba and the second largest in America, with three underground floors, a professional guide will take you inside the cave for an exciting walk. 

The guide will provide you with the necessary equipment, like lanterns and helmets. We also recommend to bring water and wear boots or mountain shoes.

Cayo Jutias Beach.

A haven of peace and tranquility and one of the most beautiful beaches in Cuba, with white sand, turquoise water, mangroves, and starfish. This time is mostly for relaxing, but you can also rent kayaks and snorkeling gear if you wish. 

Lunch in a beach paladar

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 El del Frente.

Day 6
Cienfuegos and
Santa Clara

Breakfast in the Boutique Hotel and check-out.

Trip to Cienfuegos city.
(3 hours from Havana)

Cienfuegos is known as The Pearl of Cuba and was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2005. Take a panoramic tour driving through the most important streets and avenues, like Paseo del Prado, Punta Gorda, and Malecon. Stop at the Main Square to take some photos, walk around the town center, shop for souvenirs, and visit the local markets. You will be taken to a Moroccan Palace called Palacio de Valle, with amazing architecture, ornaments, and furniture.

We recommend to bring water and sunscreen.

Lunch at Palacio de Valle and cocktails in the rooftop bar.

Trip to Santa Clara city.
(1h 30m from Cienfuegos)

Visit the Mausoleum where the remains of Che Guevara and 29 other soldiers are buried, and the outdoor museum of the Derailed Train, with the sculpture of an obelisk dedicated to Che Guevara and the bulldozer he used to win the battle. Before departing, you can climb the Capiro Hill for a panoramic view of Santa Clara City. 

These are military spaces, so generally, no photos are allowed. You will have to leave your bags, cameras, and phones in the car before entering.

Trip to Trinidad.
(1h 30m from Santa Clara)

The first thing you see when you reach Trinidad is 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). If the weather is OK, you can go to the beach for a while and enjoy refreshing drinks and a beautiful sunset.

Depending on the time of the year, the sunset can happen anytime between 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. We recommend to bring swimsuits, towels, and sunscreen.

Check-in in a Boutique Hotel.

Dinner at Paladar San José.

Day 7
Exploring Trinidad

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 and to El Cubano Park.

Visit 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. After this, go to El Cubano Nature Park, famous for its rivers and waterfalls.

Dinner at Adita’s Cafe.

Day 8
The Bay of Pigs

Breakfast in the Boutique Hotel and check-out.

Trip to the Bay of Pigs.
(2h 30m from Trinidad)

The first place to visit is the Museum of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, located in Playa Giron, the beach where the invasion started. In the museum, there's a documentary that explains the development of the battle, and the exhibition of the Russian artilleries and tanks used during the invasion, and also the American weapons that were confiscated after the victory.

Important: This museum is meant to be offensive to the Americans since it shows the point of view of Fidel Castro and the Revolutionary Army. We ask you for discretion.

Fish Cave snorkeling and Scuba Diving.

A wonderful rocky beach with clear blue waters perfect for snorkeling and scuba diving. It's called "fish cave" due to a subterranean passage that connects the beach with a natural cenote only a few meters away, and for the many species of fish that swim around. 

We recommend to bring swimsuits, towels, sunscreen, and snorkeling equipment (if you don’t have any, you can rent it at the beach). There’s no need to bring any scuba diving equipment.

Exotic seafood lunch at Paladar de Don Alexis.

Check-in in a Beach House in Playa Larga.

Beach time in Playa Larga Resort.

A beautiful sandy beach with shallow waters, bungalows, canopy tents, chaise lounge chairs, coconut palm trees, and a tiki bar with refreshing drinks.

Dinner included in your accommodation.

Day 9
The Zapata Swamp

Breakfast in the Beach House and check-out.

Zapata Swamp and Flamingoes Reserve tour. 

The Zapata Swamp is one of the most important natural protected areas in the Caribbean. A local biologist tour guide will join you to enter this reserve, visit the flamingoes area, and do some bird watching. Besides the flamingoes, in the Zapata Swamp you can find more than 200 different bird species. After this, visit the Hummingbird House, a local project to protect especially the bee hummingbird, smallest bird in the world and endemic to the island, and the Crocodile Breeding Farm, where they preserve the Cuban endemic crocodile species. 

For birdwatching, the guide will provide you with binoculars.

Lunch at Para Ti Bouffet Restaurant.

Return to Havana (2-hour drive) and check-in in the Boutique Hotel.

Dinner at Cha-Cha-Cha.

Day 10
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.”

Lunch at La Terraza de Cojimar.

Afternoon with optional activities.

You can choose the activity you want from the following options, or let us know about something else you would like to do:

  • Some hours at the Eastern Beaches of Havana, just relaxing.
  • Attend a cooking class with an experienced Cuban chef.
  • Attend a salsa class.
  • Do a rum and cigar tasting in a nice cigar lounge.
  • Visit a Cigar Factory.
  • Visit Fusterlandia Art Project.
  • Visit El Callejon de Hamel Afrocuban Project.

Farewell dinner at El Cañonazo.

Cannon Shot Ceremony at Morro-Cabaña Fort, from 8:45 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Day 11
Departure

After your breakfast, the driver and the guide will take you directly to the airport, unless you have a late afternoon flight that allows to add more optional activities.

Calendar Dates

January 2025


Sunday 5th - Wednesday 15th


May 2025


Sunday 4th - Wednesday 14th


September 2025


Sunday 7th - Wednesday 17th