La Isla Bonita

Cuban holiday

This three week Cuban holiday will give you a mix of adventure with some time to relax on a beautiful Caribbean beach. With the aide of your trusty rental car you'll cruise across the island combining visits to Cuba's most famous attractions with quiet moments in idyllic locations. You'll be a guest at a hacienda in the coffee region Las Terrazas, you'll saddle up a Cuban work horse in Cuba's wild west province of Camaguey and you'll travel through the unspoiled rustic Cuban countryside. You'll also spend two nights in the Unesco World Heritage city of Trinidad in the comfort and warmth of a Cuban family's casa particular (b&b).

Then it's time to cruise on to the easternmost tip of Cuba. Experience Baracoa - the first Cuban settlement founded by Christopher Columbus. You'll spend the night in a former fortress overlooking the deep blue bay of Baracoa then, before flying back home, you'll spend the last bit of your holiday with a mojito in hand on the beach on.... la isla bonita!

Although you will see many of Cuba's highlights on this Cuban holiday, you may want to have a look at our shorter Cuba trips, which you can add onto your itinerary to build your perfect travel plan. Just contact our friendly Cuba travel specialists if you have any questions.

Duration	19 days - 18 nights	Accommodation	18 nights in double occupancy room Accommodation category 3 and 4
Price	Please see our Contact Us page for more details	Includes	Transport, 15 nights' accommodation with breakfast, 3 nights all inclusive, 13 days medium category rental car with air conditioning, excursions as described in the daily itinerary below, visa and roadmap
Transport	Transfer on arrival and at departure, rental car	Excludes	International flight and airport taxes, car insurance (from 17 CUC per day) and if applicable car hire extras, other meals, optional excursions and entrance fees

Day 1: Arrival in Varadero

Most flights from the UK arrive in Varadero sometime late in the afternoon. We do not recommend travelling straight to Havana after your flight. It's a holiday, so why not begin your Cuba fly drive itinerary in off in a relaxing way?

When you arrive at the airport in Varadero, one of our representatives will be waiting for you at the arrivals hall and he/ she will take you to your hotel. The transfer will take about 30 minutes and your Cuban holiday can really begin. You'll spend the night in a modest hotel in the centre of Varadero, about a 10-minute stroll to the beach. The hotel rooms are small, yet well maintained and they each have a ceiling fan, shower and toilet. There's a safe in the reception area and you can also exchange currency here. The hotel also has a breakfast area and a bar. In the evening you can sip on your first Cuba libre or mojito on the patio.

Day 2: Varadero - Havana

The bus station is located in the centre of the city; it's about a 20-minute walk when carrying luggage. A quick and easy alternative would be to take a Coco taxi to the bus station for about 5 CUC. Viazul buses, like the one you'll board at the bus station, are comfortable, on time and have air conditioning (you may want to bring along pullover for the ride, it can get chilly at times). Seats are not reserved prior to departure. When you reach the bus, you'll hand over your luggage and you'll receive a receipt that you'll have to present in Havana to get your luggage back.

When you arrive in Havana you can catch a taxi cab to your accommodation for the next stop on your Cuban holiday. Your hotel is located in the most beautiful, lively part in Havana, Habana Vieja or Old Havana. You'll spend the night in a historic, colonial hotel with a lovely ambiance that was built before the 50's.

Day 3: Havana - Free day

Spend Day Three of your Cuban holiday sightseeing in the Old Town and visit parks, cathedrals, museums, shop-lined streets, markets, monuments, fortresses and the bar made famous by writer Ernest Hemingway, Bodeguita del Medio. At the end of the day you'll probably have a few blisters on your feet after all the walking you can do in Havana. In the evening, head over to the Plaza de la Cathedral and have dinner at El Patio. As you sit down at a romantic table for two on the first floor of this colonial building, you'll see the lights start to go on across the square in front of you.

Optional: city tour
If after your arrival in Havana you'd like to get a taste of what the city has to offer beyond the Old Town, just let us know and we'll arrange a city tour in a classic American vintage car. A guide and driver will take you on a 3-hour tour through Havana in a classic American Cadillac or another similar vintage vintage car.

Day 4: Havana - Viñales

On day 4 of your Cuban holiday you'll pick up your rental car up at the cruise terminal on Havana's famous seafront boulevard, the Malecon, at round 9:00. Once you have your car, you'll be all set to leave town for 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 landscape. After a while the blunt mountains typical for this region will start to pop up. These 'mojotes' or karst mountains are the result of centuries of erosion and, between them, lie plantations where tobacco for the famed Cuban cigars is cultivated. You'll spend the night at a hotel with a tropical garden and a swimming pool hidden away in a valley on the outskirts of the small town of Viñales. Driving time for day 4 of this Cuba fly drive itinerary is 2.5 hours, not including stops along the way.

Day 5: Viñales

This morning you'll either go hiking or horseback riding through the local tobacco fields. You'll notice 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 small, easy to ride Cuban working horses. A guide will lead you across winding paths through fields of tobacco. If you book this Cuban holiday in the months October through March you'll see the tobacco plants growing out in the fields and how the 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 day is free to spend as you wish. We recommend driving to Hotel Jazmines for the sweeping panoramic view of the Viñales Valley. Another option would be to take a boat ride through the Cueva de Los Indios caves.

Day 6: Viñales - Las Terrazas

After a short drive you'll reach the next stop on this Cuban holiday: the green-clad coffee region, Las Terrazas. You'll spend the night at an eco-hotel on the shores of a lake studded with water lilies. The hotel's swimming pool, bar and restaurant are all hidden away amidst lush green tropical vegetation. In town you'll find several paladares, Cuban restaurants that offer sumptuous local cuisine.

Las Terrazas lies surrounded by lush green forested hills representing every shade of green, all of which is protected under Unesco's biosphere status. It's quite a remarkable change from what the area looked like in the 70's. The government started a reforestation programme and had an ecological hotel built on top of a hill near town. Farmers from neighbouring areas came to work here and in doing so their living conditions improved significantly. They no longer needed to cultivate the land and stopped cutting down trees. Many of these men know the area like no one else does and they were therefore trained to be guides.

Day 7: Las Terrazas - Sierra del Rosario hike

On Day Seven of your Cuban holiday you'll head out on a guided hike through the Sierra del Rosario nature reserve. Due to the mild climate, high humidity and frequent precipitation this area is known as the Cuban rainbow. The entire area is lush green and during your hike you'll see many different ferns, orchids, begonias and other flowering plants.

You'll return around lunchtime and after lunch you'll have time to visit a few of the former coffee plantations this area is known for. On the road to Artemisa lies the former coffee plantation Angarona which dates back to 1825. It was abandoned by its Haitian owner Ursula and her French-German partner Cornelio during the days of the Cuban revolution. Angarona was the Roman God of silence; unfortunately her famous statue can no longer be found at the plantation.

Day 8: Las Terrazas - Santa Clara

It'll take you about and hour to drive 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). Driving into Havana for lunch isn't convenient, so you may want to bring along some bread or crackers to eat in the car.

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 during day 8 of your Cuban holiday, not including stops, is 4.5 hours.

Day 9: Santa Clara - Trinidad

Stroll through the tree-filled parks of Santa Clara this morning and enjoy the relaxing ambiance before cruising on 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 area waterfalls. We recommend planning your arrival in Trinidad for around 16:00 in the afternoon; this is when your Cuban host family will be expecting you.

Cuban families have started opening their own type of bed & breakfast known as casa particulars. The casas offer a very welcome addition to their income and they offer a second to none, unique first-hand look into the local way of life on your Cuban holiday. You'll have your own key to the house and naturally you'll have your own room with a shower, toilet, warm water and electricity. The casas are generally very modest. Cubans are very warm and welcoming people, but they aren't very affluent... so don't expect to see telephones or televisions in these casas during your Cuba trip. When you arrive, they'll ask if you want to join them for dinner. We really recommend that you do since dinner in the casas is generally much better than meals at restaurants or hotels. You'll definitely taste the time and effort put into these meals and while you enjoy a lovely meal, you're also providing these families with a little extra income. Total driving time is 4 hours, not including stops.

Day 10: 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, horse drawn carts, art shops and friendly bodegas. There are plenty of interesting sights to see near the palm tree-lined promenades of Plaza Mayor. 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.

Starting around 16:00 Cubans and tourists alike head towards the stairs at Plaza Mayor. Bands start to play and people start dancing along to the music. Music and dancing are in the blood of Cuban people and this is your chance to be a part of a spontaneous celebration during your Cuban holiday.

Day 11: Trinidad - Camaguey

Right on the outskirts of Trinidad lies the Valle de los Ingenios. This sugarcane valley was once filled slaves harvesting sugarcane to make rum. Be sure to stop off at hacienda Mancada Iznaga for a firsthand impression of how the sugar barons once lived. From this point on the road will become more picturesque and you'll pass by quiet villages and sugarcane fields. 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, grazing cattle and goats. As you arrive in Camaguey, you can pay a bicycle taxi to ride ahead of you to lead you to your hotel. This will save you the headache of having to navigate through the hodgepodge of one-way streets and finding your hotel on your own. You'll spend the night in a colonial hotel in the city centre. If you would like to go sightseeing in Camaguey, have the same bicycle taxi that lead you to your hotel take you on a tour of the city. For 4 CUC you'll receive an hour-long tour of the city. Total driving time on day 11 of your Cuban holiday including stops is 5 hours.

Day 12: Camaguey - Santiago de Cuba

After breakfast you'll travel further eastwards and you'll cross through no less than four provinces. First you'll travel through Camaguey's cattle country and then on into the smallest Cuban province, Las Tunas. Then you'll drive through endless corn fields in the Granma province. The province's capital, Bayamo, is a great place to stop off for lunch. After lunch you'll drive on towards Santiago de Cuba with the Sierra Maestra mountains looming in the distance.

Santiago is the country's second city and the exotic birthplace of the Cuban rumba, son and salsa music. We doubt you want to miss experiencing this city in all its glory and so we'll make arrangements for you to spend the night in the city during your Cuban holiday. Total driving time including stops is 5 hours.

Day 13: Santiago de Cuba

Today you'll have plenty of time to explore the vivacious city of Santiago on foot. Not all of the city's attractions are located in the city centre. The Ifigenia cemetery where national hero José Marti, Cuba's first president and 'Mister Bacardi' lay buried and Morro Castle, beautifully situated on the shores of the deep-blue bay, are both a 15-minute drive from the city centre and well worth a visit on your Cuba trip. You could either drive there on your own or take a taxi cab to the sites for about £25. Let the taxi driver drop you off at San Juan Hill, where Fidel Castro once lost an important battle. You can have lunch here and visit an interesting Afro-Cuban residence. Afterwards you can head back to the city centre on your own time. Visit the city's traditional music houses, the trovas, in the evening to hear Cuban bands playing original son music. Who knows, you may even see one of the spontaneous performances given by the Buena Vista Social Club during your Cuban holiday.

Cuban holiday - Dancing in Santiago de Cuba

Day 14: Santiago - Baracoa

Getting to Baracoa on your Cuban holiday is a unique experience in itself. When arriving from Santiago de Cuba, you'll start out with a drive through the Sierra Maestra foothills to Guantanamo. You can stop off for lunch here, but won't be able to see the US Naval Base located in town.

Then this Cuban holiday continues on towards Cuba's arid southern coastline. During the drive you'll see large amounts of cacti, not a common sight in other parts of Cuba. It'll take you about 1.5 hour to complete the drive and as you go you'll notice how the scenery becomes increasingly more tropical. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere you'll see the sea again and Baracoa, town of 60.000 inhabitants and the first Cuban town founded by Christopher Columbus. You'll spend the night in a former fortress perched on top of a hill overlooking the village with a large swimming pool and sun beds.

Day 15: Baracoa

You'll spend two nights in Baracoa without any planned activities for the day after your arrival. If the weather is pleasant, you could go on a guided tour of the protected Humboldt National Park (arrange this at the hotel reception desk for about 15 CUC). Hike through coconut and banana plantations and cross rivers deep in the heart of the rainforest. Your guide will give you details on the flora and fauna you come across and, depending on the season, he'll let you taste different types of exotic fruit. At some point during your hike you'll come across a waterfall, so don't forget to bring along your swimwear.

You could also go on a boat ride or hike along the Toa River near the stunning Yumari Canyon or a bike ride near the Yunque table mountain. If you want to do it all during this Cuba fly drive itinerary, you'll need to spend an extra night in Baracoa. Keep in mind that it can get a bit muddy when it rains here, so you may want to check the weather forecast before heading out.

Day 16: Baracoa - Playa Pesquero

Near Guardalavaca

After breakfast you'll have the difficult task of saying goodbye to this feel good location. The last leg of your Cuban holiday will take you on a 75km drive from Baracoa to the industrious town of Moa. Towards the end of the drive you'll travel along Cuba's worst, albeit most beautiful road... so take your time and enjoy the view. After Moa the road will get much better, with the exception of the occasional large pot hole to navigate around. You'll reach the spotless beaches of Playa Pesquero in less than 3 hours. Along the Holguin province coastline there are four bays lined by beaches which together are known as Costa Verda. Guardelavaca is the most crowded; you'll stay at the more peaceful Playa Pesquero. Total driving time is approximately 5 hours, not including stops.

Day 17 - 18: Playa Pesquero

The 4-star beach hotel that you'll spend the last few days of your Cuban holiday at lies directly by the sea and is surrounded by tropical gardens. There's a large freeform swimming pool with a special area for kids. The hotel has 4 restaurants, a beach bar, a pool bar and a lobby bar. There are also a slew of sports facilities so that you can play volleyball or tennis, go surfing, hire a scooter, go biking (even on the water), sail a catamaran or go snorkelling. There's also a diving school, kids day care, a gym, a massage parlour and an animation team for during the day and in the evening. We'll make reservations for a standard room with tv, telephone, air conditioning, safe, and a mini bar with either a balcony or terrace with chairs. The bathroom has a bath, hairdryer and a bidet. All meals and local drinks are included during your stay. Enjoy the Caribbean sun, the clear blue sea and the whiter than white beach. Dolce Far Niente!

Cuban holiday - Pina coladas on the beach

Day 19: Playa Pesquero - Holguin - UK

Enjoy the hotel's facilities today until it's time to pack up and head towards Holguin airport. We'll arrange your 30-minute transfer back to the airport; you'll be picked up at your hotel about 2 hours prior to departure.

If there are no flights available to Varadero, we can make arrangements for you to fly into Havana and we will adjust your itinerary accordingly. We'll also arrange a domestic flight for you from the eastern side of Cuba back to Havana. This way you can still end your trip with a laidback beach getaway at a secluded east coast beach. Unfortunately domestic flights can be delayed from time to time. That's why we recommend booking an additional night in Havana just to make sure you do not end up stressed after this relaxing Cuban holiday.