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Complete CubaThis three-week Cuba adventure holiday is perfect for those travellers who have a little more time and want to see everything Cuba has to offer.You'll begin in Havana, where all good Cuba adventure holiday should! Visiting Havana is like stepping back in time...everywhere you look you'll see old colonial buildings and old '50's Cadillac's. After a few nights in Cuba's capital it's onto the UNESCO biosphere reserve of Las Terraces, and then a few days on the perfect white beaches of Cayo Levisa. Next is Vinales where you can ride by horseback through the endless fields of tobacco. After this you'll spend a night in Cienfuegos and then Trinidad, where Cubans and tourists dance the night away to the sounds of live salsa bands. After a few lively nights you'll move onto the beautiful colonial town of Santa Clara, and see the monument dedicated to Cuba's famed national icon, Che Guevara. Via the labyrinth like streets of Camaguey you'll continue onto Santiago, the premier city of sun and salsa music. This Cuba adventure holiday ends on the perfect beaches of Playa Pesquero where you can kick back and reminisce about your exciting adventures. |
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Duration |
21 days - 20 nights Departs daily |
Accommodation |
17 nights accommodation (category 3) 3 nights all-inclusive accommodation (category 4) |
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Price |
By transfers £1430 per person |
Includes |
20 nights accommodation with breakfast (3 nights all-inclusive), excursions as described below, a Cuban visa (tourist card). Private and group transfers as described below or xx days mid size rental car with air-con and roadmap. |
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Transport |
Excludes |
International flights, Travel insurance, other meals, tips, optional excursions and entrance fees. Car insurance (from 15 CUC per day) paid locally, optional car hire extras. |
Day 1: Arrival in HavanaOnce you've landed in Havana, a representative will be waiting to take you by classic American vintage car to Latin America's largest colonial city centre, where your Cuba holiday will begin. The classic cars, an abundance of music in the air and bustling plazas will make it feel as if you've stepped back into the 1950's.Your accommodation on the first night of this Cuba holiday is located near 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 your table on the balcony of this historic colonial building you'll see the lights being turned on across the plaza. Enjoy your first Mojito or Cuba libre and let the city's nostalgic atmosphere sink in and celebrate the start of your Cuba adventure holiday. |
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Day 2: HavanaThere are no planned activities today for your Cuba adventure holiday. This way you can explore the different parts of Havana at your own pace. The parks, cathedrals, museums, shop-lined streets, markets, monuments, fortresses and the bar made famous by writer Ernest Hemingway, 'Bodeguita del Medio', will keep you pleasantly occupied during the day. Don't forget to check out the Capitolio and the Gran Theater and go for a walk through the mafia neighbourhood, Vedado, and visit the Plaza de la Revolucion where former president Fidel Castro once held his famous speeches.Option excursion: We can arrange a Havana city tour this morning for you. This tour of the city in another classic American '50s car will give you a good overview of the entire city and all its neighbourhoods. Our guide will pick you up from your hotel around 9:00 for a 3-hour tour of the city. The price of this tour is around £40 per person; just let us know if you'd like to add it to your Travel Plan. |
Day 3: HavanaIf you'd like to get a taste of the fantastic nature that surrounds this area, you could head out to Rancho El Belen this morning. This farm is located in the Sierra del Chorrillo, a protected nature reserve made up of mostly flat terrain and a few small hills. Compared to the rest of Cuba, the Camaguey province is much warmer and drier. The road to El Belen features the Cuban countryside at its best. Ox-carts, children in uniforms walking to school, goats grazing by the roadside and local farmers riding horse drawn carriages. Once you've passed by the picturesque town of Najasa, you'll exit left where you see the ranch entrance gates, from here it's just another 15 minute drive across an unpaved trail. The ranch is full of stables with everything from bulls, deer to large brown thoroughbred horses. Unfortunately the ranch isn't always open, so just ask your hotel to check for you before you make the journey. |
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Day 4: Havana - Las TerracesPrivate Transfer Time -
After breakfast you'll set off on your Cuba adventure holiday to Las Terrazas. Because of the mild climate, high humidity and frequent rainfall, this area is known as 'Cuba's rainbow'. It's a very tropical environment and a natural greenhouse of ferns, orchids, begonias and other flowers. Back in the 70s these hills were filled with dusty yellow and brown scrub due to extreme deforestation. Luckily the government started a reforestation programme and built an ecological hotel on a hill top near town to attract eco tourists. |
Day 5: Las TerracesThis morning on your Cuba adventure holiday a guide will take you for a hike through the UNESCO biosphere of Sierra del Rosario. Farmers from neighbouring areas came to work here years ago, and knowing the area better than anyone else, have now become trained tourist guides of the area.Thanks to the mild climate and high humidity, this area is known as Cuba's rainbow. The entire area is bathed in every imaginable shade of green and during your hike you'll see ferns, orchids, begonias and other flowering plants. There are no planned activities this afternoon on your Cuba adventure holiday, however you could visit the scenic viewpoint at Mirador and then cool off at the San Juan River waterfall (don't forget your mosquito repellent). |
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Day 6 7: Las Terraces - Cayo LevisaPrivate Transfer Time - 1.5 hours
After breakfast you'll continue your Cuba adventure holiday to the cozy island of Cayo Levisa. The island is only a few hours and a short ferry ride away from Las Terraces and only has one hotel, a 3km stretch of white sandy beach and the most crystal-clear turquoise water you can imagine. The beach bungalows (cabanas) on Cayo Levisa are scattered around the beach and tropical gardens. Each cabana has air conditioning, television, a bathroom and it's own terrace. Like in most of Cuba, the electricity can go down from time to time and the warm water can be sporadic, but hopefully this won't detract from the amazing setting. Find find yourself a good spot beneath a palm tree, enjoy the late morning sun and read that book you haven't had time to start yet. *Cayo Levisa is very popular and as space is so limited you'll need to book this itinerary as early as possible to secure a room. If availability on Cayo Levisa is an issue, a good alternative is Maria la Gorda or Veradero beaches.
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Day 8: Cayo Levisa - ViñalesPrivate Transfer Time - 30 minutes
As your Cuba adventure holiday continues, it's time to leave your island paradise and head onto the town of Viñales located in Piñar del Rio, Cuba's spectacular tobacco growing region. |
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Day 9: ViñalesOn day four of your Cuba holiday you can choose to either go hiking or horseback riding through the local tobacco fields. You'll see how 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 smaller Cuban working horses. A guide will lead you across winding paths through fields of tobacco. The tobacco plants grow from October until March. You'll pass through small farms with chickens pecking at the dirt and pigs foraging around in the mud. Your guide will show you how tobacco leaves are laid out to dry under slanted roofs throughout the landscape. The local farmers who grow the tobacco will try and sell you cigars to make a little extra money.The rest of the day is free to spend as you wish. We recommend heading to Hotel Jazmines for the sweeping panoramic view of the Viñales Valley. |
Day 10: Viñales - CienfuegosGroup Transfer Time - 7 hours
Whether you are travelling by transfer or hire car, there is a long journey ahead of you today. If you're travelling by transfer then it's an early start today as you head to Cienfuegos, the next stop on this Cuba adventure holiday. Cienfuegos is known for its French architecture located around the central square. It's a lovely city and small enough to explore on foot. Stop off for a drink at one of the bars on Parque Marti as the sounds of Cuban music fill the air. Whilst you're there visit the former casino Palacio de Valle. |
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Day 11: Cienfuegos - TrinidadGroup Transfer Time - 1.5 hours
Trinidad was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988 and like many of our clients, it's likely to be a real highlight of your Cuba adventure holiday. As soon as you see 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, horse drawn carriages, art shops and friendly bodegas (small grocery stores). Plan your day so that you arrive into Trinidad around mid afternoon, as your Cuban host family will be expecting you at around 4pm. Cuban families have started opening their own bed and breakfast known as casa particulars. The casas offer a very welcome addition to their income and it offers you a first-hand look into the Cuban way of life. You'll have your own key to the house and your own room with a shower, toilet, warm water and electricity. The casas are generally very modest, as although the Cubans are very warm and welcoming people, they aren't very affluent. During our visit, we stayed 'in' during the evenings and enjoyed lovely home cooked Cuban meals with the family.
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Day 12: TrinidadThere 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. Also one of Trinidad's best museums is the beautifully renovated Museo Romántico which overlooks the main square (closed Mondays, entrance fee 1 CUC). The colonial mansion that it's housed within was once owned by a wealthy family of Spanish sugarcane plantation owners. The museum will give you a good idea of what it was like to live in the days of the sugar barons.Starting around 16:00 Cubans and tourists alike head towards the stairs at Plaza Mayor where live bands start to play on the terraces, plazas, bodegas and streets of Trinidad. The stairs are always laden with fun-loving 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 started playing and everyone will be dancing in the streets. Music and dancing are in the blood of Cuban people and this is your chance to be a part of a spontaneous celebration on your Cuba adventure holiday. |
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Day 13: Trinidad - Santa ClaraPrivate Transfer Time - 4 hours
Today your Cuba adventure holiday will take you to Santa Clara, the city famous for it's links to Che Guevara. If you're travelling by hire care you could take the picturesque route through the Escambray Mountains and drive through the protected Topes de Collantes nature reserve. |
Day 14: Santa Clara - CamagueyPrivate Transfer Time - 4 hours
Next up on your Cuba adventure holiday is the city of Camaguey, which was built inland to make it hard for pirates to raid this once wealthy town. As you near Camaguey, the scenery will become more and more like something out of a classic western movie as you pass by ranches, cowboys and grazing cattle. Camaguey is famous for it's labyrinth like streets and the best was to see these is to take a guided bicycle rickshaw ride. They're very cheap and an hour long tour of the narrow streets will cost you approx 4 CUC. Alternatively you can just go for a walk through the historic old town, it's the ideal place for a stroll amidst the colonial buildings with courtyards filled with bougainvilleas and other colourful flowering plants. You could also visit Plaza San Juan de Dios - a cobbled square lined with small houses and a church dating back to the 18th century, great if you are after a traditional Cuba experience. You'll spend the next few nights in a comfortable colonial hotel in the city centre.
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Day 15: Camaguey - Santiago de CubaGroup Transfer Time - 5 hours
After breakfast you'll travel further eastwards as you continue your Cuba adventure holiday. You'll travel to Santiago, Cuba's second largest city and birthplace of the Cuban rumba, son and salsa music. Beacuse of this mix it has always been a very vivacious city with live music performances taking place every night of the week. Of course you wouldn't want to miss out on all of the fun, so we've selected a hotel near a popular square in the historic city centre, all the rooms are air conditioned. If you want to get into the Cuban swing of things, there are plenty of bars nearby where you can enjoy live Cuban music. If you plan on spending a weekend here, don't miss a visit to Casa de la Trova, where the latest and greatest bands come to perform. Tourists who try to dance to the Cuban beat can usually expect a few appreciative glances and nods from the locals.
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Day 16: SantiagoThere are no planned activities during your stay in Santiago, but there is so much to see and do you won't need any assistance. After you've had a nice, relaxing morning you can easily walk into the city. There are several museums near your hotel as well as the Moncada barracks where Castro led his guerrilla fighters in an ill-fated attack against General Batista in 1953 and was captured.There are also a number of other interesting attractions just outside the city that you can visit on your Cuba holiday. The Ifigenia cemetery (entrance fee 5 CUC), where national hero José Marti, Cuba's first president and 'Mr Bacardi' are buried, is only a 15-minute taxi from the city centre. On the other side of the city you'll find the Santiago Bay, where you can take the ferry over to Isla Granma for a day trip, or visit Morro Castle (entrance fee 5 CUC). This impressive Spanish built defensive fortress is high up on the rocks and well worth a visit. |
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Day 17: Santiago - Playa Pesquero (via Holguin) |
Day 19: Playa Pesquero |
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Day 21: Havana - UKPrivate Transfer Time to Holguin airport - 1 hour
After three weeks of exploring everything Cuba has to offer you'll no doubt you'll have enjoyed your time relaxing by the beach. |
A sneak peek at your Cuba adventure holiday accommodation... (Click to enlarge)
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