Best of Cuba - Dinner at a casa particular

A taste of Cuba

Get a taste of the best of Cuba during this short one week holiday without missing out on the Cuban countryside. During this Cuban holiday you'll travel through western Cuba and begin and end your journey in Cuba's nostalgic capital, Havana.

After visiting Havana you'll spend the first few days of your trip in the countryside of Cuba's tobacco province. While in the Piñar del Rio province you'll have time for hikes or horseback rides through leafy green tobacco fields with your own personal 'cowboy' guide. From here you'll drive to Santa Clara where Cuba's national icon, Che Guevara, is so revered that the city built a colossal statue in honour of him. Then it's time to drive south to the colourful coastal town of Trinidad where you'll spend the night at a local family's Cuban bed & breakfast known as a casa particular. Once the day-trippers leave town late in the afternoon, locals come out of their homes for a chat or a dance. Then, as this Cuba tour comes to an end, you'll drive back to Havana.

If you would like to see where you could travel to from Havana, check out our short Cuba trips for inspiration.

Duration	8 days - 7 nights, departs daily (please note: Che Guevara museum is closed on Mondays)	Accommodation	7 nights in double occupancy room with shower and toilet Accommodation category 3
Price	Please see our Contact Us page for more details	Includes	7 nights accommodation with breakfast, 6 days economy car hire with air conditioning, city tour of Havana and horseback ride in the tobacco fields, visa and roadmap
Transport	Transfer on arrival, Rental car	Excludes	International flight, airport tax, car insurance (from 15 CUC per day), car hire extras, other meals, excursions and entrance fees

Day 1: Arrival in Havana

Once you've landed in Havana a transfer will be waiting to take you to Latin America's largest colonial city centre. Classic American vintage cars, music floating in the air and bustling plazas will make it feel as if you've stepped back into the 50's.

Your accommodation is located in the city's most beautiful and vivacious district, Habana Vieja. Most of the hotels here were built before the 50's and have tremendous ambience and flair. During your first night in the city we recommend dining at El Patio on the Plaza de la Cathedral. As you look out from the balcony of this colonial building you'll see the lights being turned on across the plaza. Enjoy the first mojito or Cuba libre, and look forward to experiencing the best of Cuba.

Best of Cuba - Classic American vintage car

Day 2: Havana

Havana is a large city so, on the second day of your Cuban holiday, we'll arrange a half-day city tour for you in an American vintage car. You'll be picked up at around 9:00 for a 3-hour drive through the city when
our driver and English-speaking guide will take you around Havana. Aside from the historic city centre, you'll also see other neighbourhoods such as the ambassador neighbourhood Miramar, with its fabulous colonial villas and Plaza de la Revolucion where former President Fidel Castro held his famed speeches. Your English-speaking guide will tell you more about Havana and you can also ask him any questions that you have. This way you'll get a pretty good impression of the entire city in just a few hours.

The afternoon is free time for you. The many plazas, cathedrals and museums will keep you busy for hours. If you have some time to spare, visit Cuba's 'White House', the Capitolio and have a mojito at the famous Bodeguita del Medio bar where Hemingway once had his mojitos.

Day 3: Havana - Viñales, 190km

This morning at 8:30 you'll pick your rental car up at the Havana's famous seafront boulevard, the Malecon, and you'll be all set to leave town. From here you'll go on a relaxing drive through one of Cuba's most beautiful provinces. There's very little traffic in this area, which will make the drive even more pleasant as you pass by lakes and tropical forests.

When you reach the province's capital, Piñar del Rio, you'll leave the highway and for the last 45 minutes you'll drive through lovely green undulating landscape. After a while the blunt mountains typical for this region start to pop up. The 'mojotes' or karst mountains are the result of centuries of erosion. Scattered between the mojotes lie plantations; this is where tobacco for the famed Cuban cigars is cultivated. You'll spend the night in a bungalow hidden away in a tropical garden with a swimming pool on the outskirts of the small town of Viñales. Total driving time on the third day of your best of Cuba holiday is 2.5 hours (not including stops along the way).

Best of Cuba - Sweeping view of Vinales Valley

Best of Cuba- Horseback ride through tobacco fields

Day 4: Viñales

This morning you'll either go hiking or horseback riding through the local tobacco fields. You'll see that horses are just as much a part of Cuba's heritage as tobacco is; you really can't do without them in this region. If you decide to saddle up, you'll ride one of the small and easy to ride Cuban working horses. A guide will lead you across winding paths through fields of tobacco. Tobacco plants are grown from October until March. From time to time you'll see a small farm surrounded by chickens pecking at the dirt and pigs foraging around in the mud. You'll also see how tobacco leaves are laid out to dry under slanted roofs throughout the landscape. The local farmers who grow the tobacco also try to sell cigars to tourists who walk or ride by, just to make a little extra money.

The rest of the fourth day of your best of Cuba trip is free to spend as you wish. We recommend driving to Hotel Jazmines for the panoramic view of the Viñales Valley.

Day 5: Viñales - Santa Clara, 465km

There's a long drive planned for today, so you'll have to leave early. The first three hours of driving will take you back to Havana and from there you'll take the A4 and A1 for another 3.5-hour drive along a straight road to Santa Clara (speed limit 80 km per hour). You'll spend the night in a bungalow on the outskirts of Santa Clara. It was here in this city that Che Guevara won the 1958 battle against General Batista, giving communism its' firm grip on the country. Che's mausoleum, a museum featuring his clothing, guns and a monument honouring this national hero (closed on Monday's) is a lasting reminder of this victory. As you get close to the museum you'll start to here marching band music flowing from crackling speakers as a part of history comes to life. Total driving time for the fifth day of your Cuban holiday, not including stops along the way, is 6.5 hours.

Best of Cuba - National icon, Che Guevara

Day 6: Santa Clara - Trinidad, 160km

Stroll through the tree-filled parks of Santa Clara this morning and enjoy the relaxation before heading to Trinidad in the afternoon. Take the picturesque route through the Escambray Mountains and drive through the protected Topes de Collantes natural reserve. This mountainous route is very popular among Cubans. Along the way you can stop off for a picnic in the lush, green surroundings before going for a swim at one of the waterfalls. We recommend planning your arrival in Trinidad for around 16:00 in the afternoon.

Cuban families have started opening their own bed and breakfast, known as casa particulars. The casas offer a very welcome addition to the families income and they give you a unique insight into Cuban way of life. You'll have your own key to the house and you'll have your own room with a shower, toilet, warm water and electricity. The casas are generally very modest. The Cubans are very warm and welcoming people, but they aren't very affluent. Don't expect to see telephones or televisions in your casa during your best of Cuba holiday. Total driving time is 4 hours, not including stops.

Day 7: Trinidad

Trinidad was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. As soon as you drive past the pastel-coloured houses in its' historic hub, you'll understand why. The city is an open-air museum of cobbled streets, small houses with red tiled roofs, vintage cars, donkeys pulling carts, art shops and friendly bodegas.

There are plenty of interesting sights to see near the palm tree-lined promenades of Plaza Mayor. For instance, you can visit the city's iconic yellow San Francisco Monastery and the bell tower. One of Trinidad's best museums is the beautifully renovated Museo Romántico overlooking the main square (closed on Mondays, entrance fee 1 CUC). The colonial mansion it's housed in was once owned by a wealthy family of Spanish sugar cane plantation owners. The museum is filled with historic furniture originating from various countries, exquisitely decorated fans made with mother of pearl and giant Murano glass chandeliers. The museum will give you a good idea of what it was like to live in the days of the sugar barons. Take your time to wander through the Plaza and soak up the ambiance on your Cuba trip.

Best of Cuba- Dance the salsa in Trinidad

By late afternoon, around 16:00, the day-trippers will start to return to their resorts on the coast and live bands will start to play on the streets of Trinidad. In the evening, you can climb the stairs leading up to the Plaza Mayor and stroll on over to Casa de la Musica. There's a very good chance that you'll never actually make it there and will end up enjoying a good conversation and some good music somewhere along the way. The stairs are always laden with people having a chat and drinking a canchanchara, a tasty local concoction of lime juice, honey and white rum. Before you know it, a band will have stopped by and everyone will be dancing. Music and dancing are in the blood of Cuban people and this is your chance to be a part of the spontaneous celebration before the end of your Cuban holiday.

Day 8: Trinidad - Havana - UK

It won't be easy, but after breakfast the time will come to say goodbye to this feel-good holiday destination and your best of Cuba holiday will come to an end. You'll drive back to Havana to drop off your car and catch a flight at the international airport. Total driving time is about 6 hours, including a lunch break in Cienfuegos.

If you would like to end your stay in Cuba with a few days at the beach, you could extend your Cuban holiday with our Varadero tour, which will take you to white sandy beaches and pure relaxation!