Today we travel into the mountains above Trinidad to Topes de Collantes where we enjoy an easy hike along a beautiful jungle trail and swim among waterfalls and natural pools. Our specialist guide will point out the many endemic species of birds.  After lunch visit a coffee house to learn how coffee was traditionally grown and processed in the mountains and how it is today. Now, practically the entire coffee production of these mountains is exported to Japan.  Visit a local farm for lunch, hosted by the family before returning to Trinidad.  Late this afternoon we take a walking tour through the colonial heart of Trinidad.  Dinner is on our own.  Those who wish to check out the thrumming music scene will have lots of options!

 

 

Meals included: B,L 

This morning we stop in Cienfuegos for a brief tour of this beautiful town which was originally founded by French settlers and whose French architecture is prevalent in many of the majestic buildings.  We visit the main square before heading southwest to the Caribbean Coast and small museum at Playa Giron that presents the Cuban perspective of the Bay of Pigs invasion.   Next is a quick lunch in a bayside restaurant followed by a dive/snorkel exploration in crystal-clear waters right off the beach.  Afterwards we continue along the shores of the Bay of Pigs and check into our private accommodations near Playa Larga.  Dinner tonight is at a private restaurant that specializes in seafood.  This evening we have a guest from the Zapata National Park headquarters who gives us an overview of the Zapata, the largest wetlands and protected area in the Caribbean, and the conservation work being done here.

Meals included:  B, L, D

Before breakfast, those who wish may join a naturalist from the Zapata National Park for early morning birding.  After checking out we travel west to the outskirts of Havana to San Francisco de Paula where we visit Ernest Hemingway’s estate Finca Vigía.  It was here that he wrote much of For Whom the Bell Tolls, a novel of the Spanish Civil War which Hemingway had covered as a journalist with Martha Gellhorn in the late 1930s.  Hemingway would later buy Finca Vigía out of some of the first royalties from the book, published in 1940.  Our lunch today is nearby at Il Divino, one of the best in Havana and whose gardens help supply the restaurant.

After lunch we continue our journey west to Soroa where we visit one of the finest gardens in the Caribbean, famous for its orchids.   Dinner tonight is at the unique Castle in the Clouds where we can swim and play billiards while enjoying the amazing views from the mountain top.

Meals included:  B, L, D

This mornig we enjoy an optional short hike to swim in the Soroa waterfalls. After breakfast we depart for  the Vinales Valley which is one of the most scenic areas in all of Cuba.  It is also the area where the best tobacco is grown for the best cigars.  We visit one of the tobacco farms and meet the family that cares for the land.  Lunch is at an organic farm.  We may have a little time for other activities in Vinales before traveling further west, almost to the end of Cuba to Maria la Gorda, arriving in the late afternoon.  We check into our hotel which serves as our base for activities with the Guanahacabibes Marine Protected Area and National Park.  Our hotel has a great bar right on the beach — you feel like you are a million miles from anywhere!  Dinner tonight is buffet style at the hotel.

Meals included: B,L,D

Today is devoted to marine research and conservation activities under the direction of our Cuban research partners, including scuba diving/snorkeling at the International PADI Dive Center.  Note:  There will be alternate tours for those who don’t wish to partake in the water activities such as exploring an amazing cave in the area and wildlife scouting.

Dinner tonight is at the hotel.

Meals included: B,L,D

Today is devoted to marine research and conservation activities under the direction of our Cuban research partners.  Diving is again available.  We’ll travel to the remote Cabo de San Antonio and Las Tumbas stopping along the way.  We’ll visit the Roncali lighthouse, built in 1850 standing watch over the Yucatán Strait.  A lunch of fresh fish is provided at the open-air home with the staff of Guanahacabibes.

Dinner tonight is at the hotel.

Meals included: B,L,D

After breakfast, we depart for Havana with a visit to a famous but small cigar factory in Pinar del Rio.  From here the highway is good and we can travel at a faster speed to Havana where we check into our private accommodations with some time to relax and refresh before dinner with our colleagues from the Antonio Nunez Jimenez Foundation at the private restaurant La Habanera in Miramar.   Another special guest tonight is Sr. Ariel Ricardo who is a retired diplomat from the Cuban foreign ministry.  Sr. Ricardo is an accomplished diver with a special interest in marine conservation.  He spent three months with Jacques Cousteau aboard the Calypso and assisted with three of the Cousteau films.

Tonight and every night our guide can suggest convenient locations for drinks and evening entertainment if you wish to go out after dinner.  Some suggestions: Jazz is really popular among Cubans but the action starts late, around 11:00pm. We have many recommendations, including, for an earlier night, the Fabrica de Arte Cubano (F.A.C). This amalgamation of art exhibition, local meeting place and entertainment mecca is uniquely Cuban but has captured the attention of celebrities and VIPs from around the world.  F.A.C. has become an especially great location to mingle with local artistically minded young Cubans.

Meals included: B, L, D

This morning begins with a walking tour with our guide to explore the streets of Old Havana as they come to life. Walking down Obispo Street we pass La Floridita, Hemingway’s favorite bar and where the daiquiri was perfected.   In Plaza Vieja we will enjoy a fresh juice drink at a very popular spot, La Vitrola (The Jukebox). Next we take a very short walk through Plaza Vieja and along the meandering streets to Plaza de San Francisco, stopping to pay our respects to the bronze statue of El Caballero de Paris (the Gentleman of Paris) and learn about the interesting story of why he was immortalized. We then take the short walk to Plaza de Armas, Havana’s oldest square, and learn about the history and rich heritage of the buildings in this charming plaza. From the City Museum (the former Captain General’s residence) to the street vendors trading authentic books and memorabilia that commemorate the Revolution, Plaza de Armas is one of Havana’s greatest treasures. Continue on to Plaza de la Catedral, the fourth of Havana’s wonderful squares. Our lunch stop is at a paladar just off the Plaza.

After lunch we continue our exploration of Havana but now by classic vintage convertible cars. These marvelously preserved automobiles from the 1950’s will take you through Miramar (where the wealthy once lived during Havana’s heyday), down the Malecon (Havana’s sea-walled avenue), and through old and modern districts. You pass by the reopened U.S. Embassy and on to the Capitol building, the Grand Theater, Central Park, and Paseo del Prado (a wide avenue separating Old Havana from the central city where Chanel displayed their 2017 Cruise collection). We also check out the view of Havana from across the bay at the 17th century Morro Castle.  Our ride ends back at our accommodations or at a restaurant of your choosing.  Dinner tonight is on your own.   Your guide will help with reservations though.

Those who wish may take in a late-night performance at the famous Tropicana Nightclub at additional cost.  When you drive up to this throwback to the 1950s, you fully expect Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner to be one of the many guests!  The shows are still excellent and have kept up with the times.

Meals included: B 

The evening before could have been a late one so this morning we won’t leave until around 10:00am.   First, we visit the excellent museum of Fine Arts for a private guided tour.

After lunch we learn about how the mid-century American classic cars have survived with the help of the inventive Cubans who keep them running.   We’ll have a special visit to a mechanic’s shop to see, firsthand, how they restore these vintage automobiles and what it takes to keep them on the roads.

Later in the afternoon we make a stop in the neighborhood of Jaimanitas to visit Jose Fuster’s home and workshop. As you arrive you notice the art work all around. You have a chance to visit the studio or purchase a piece to bring home with you.

Return to your accommodations to rest and refresh and later tonight it’s time for you to enjoy cocktails, Cuba’s vibrancy, and the emerging exceptional cuisine at one of the city’s finest paladars.   A special celebratory evening lies ahead starting with drinks in the gardens overlooking the sea at the classic Hotel Nacional.   Its beautiful lobby has welcomed statesmen, royals and VIP’s for over 85 years and many times lovers accompanied the well-to-do adding scandal and intrigue to the hotel’s legacy. You stop to visit the famed Hall of History on the way to the gardens outside where you enjoy drinks and take in the stunning views from the terraces overlooking the sea and Havana’s seaside avenue (the Malecon).    Visiting Hotel Nacional lends tremendous perspective into what Havana was like during the days of Lucky Luciano and Frank Sinatra.  You continue to dinner at another of Havana’s best private restaurants with a rum & cigar pairing.  Your guide can assist with any late night arrangements you may wish to make.

Meals Included: B,L,D

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Today you will be transferred to the airport for your flight back to the U.S.  Make certain you have the half of the visa you retained during arrival ready for Cuban Customs.

Meals included: B