Itinerary

1. Day 1: Arrival and welcome to Havana

   • Meet the representative at the airport who will transfer you to your lodging in Havana City.
   • You will stay in the penthouse apartment on the 14th floor of a building on the Havana Malecon from where you can enjoy stunning views. The apartment is exclusive for your party and has 3 rooms and a central living area. 

2. Day 2: Discover Havana: Full day excursion of the city.

   • At 9:00 am, meet your guide at your lodging and travel in American vintage cars (Chevrolet of the 50ies-style with open roof) for a 2-hour tour through Modern Havana. 
   • Drive from Havana Malecon, to the Plaza de la Revolución and pass by City Quarters like Miramar, Centro Havana and Vedado. 
   • The tour ends in Old Havana from where you will continue on foot. The guide explains the history of the city as you pass by colonial streets and plazas, marvelling at the colonial architecture.
   • You will end up at a local dance school where professional dancers will be your partners and introduce you all to the dance rhythms of the Cuban salsa. You receive a well-deserved mojito at the end. 
   • In the evening, the guide takes you to the emblematic restaurant of Havana, the Bodeguita del Medio. Here the mojito was invented and dinner begins with one.
   • You have a menu of typical Cuban plates and of course some live music of the typical Cuban traditional music. 

3. Day 3: Day at leisure in Havana

   • Today you are at leisure to explore Havana on your own. The guide will give you many ideas and Havana is just waiting for you. 
   • You can go on the trail of Hemingway's presence in Havana with the many bars he visited, his house Finca Vigía on the outskirts of town and the fishing village Cojimar featuring in his famous book "The Old Man and the Sea".
   • You can learn more about the Cuban Revolution by visiting the Museum of the Revolution or the Memorial José Martí. 
   • Visit the Museum of Fine Arts with all Cuban art of the last 200 years and the many present-day arts workshops in the Old Town. 
   • You can also enjoy bars, cocktails and live music of Old Havana. 

4. Day 4: Las Terrazas on the way to Viñales

   • Leave in the morning with your driver and guide in a private vehicle to the area of Viñales. On the way, you make a stop at the Nature Park las Terrazas. This park is the result of a reforestation project in the 60ies. Visit the community and have a swim in the natural water rapids of the San Juan River.
   • In the afternoon, you continue to Viñales. On arrival, you see the valley from Jazmine's viewpoint.
   • The area of Viñales and surrounding Vuelta Abajo is the best place on earth to grow tobacco. In the months of December till April, the leaves slowly grow and guarantee the famous Cuban cigars like Monte Cristo and Romeo & Juliette. But it is also an area for eco-tourism. The valley of Viñales with the mogotes is incredibly beautiful. 
   • Everywhere you will meet the humble and hospitable Cuban farmers who show their daily lives in the fields. The village of Viñales is an attraction on its own with lively bars with live music and local restaurants offering the typical Cuban food of rice and beans.
   • Spend the overnight in a villa with views over the valley a little bit on the outskirts of the town: Balcón del Ermitaño. You have the villa exclusive for you with the 3 bedrooms and central area and gardens.  
   • Enjoy the dinner prepared by the owner for you in the garden.

5. Day 5: Horseback riding in the Valley of Viñales

   • This morning you go with a specialized guide of the area on a trip on horseback through the fields. Everywhere you see the mogotes, the little karstic mountains of the area. On the way you see the fields and the farmers ploughing in them. From January till April, you will see tobacco in the fields. From May till July, the leaves are hanging in the drying sheds. 
   • Visit the Finca Coco Solo, a genuine farm in the Valley of Viñales. You will find tobacco being cultivated and also other regular crops all in an organic way. The breeding of domestic animals is another activity here. Of course, it has a great natural beauty given by its location inside the valley and surrounded by the characteristic mogotes in Viñales.
   • There is also has a house of the farmer, a house for curing tobacco, a small lake, a small house where the peasant keeps their work instruments, as well as a ranch where the visitor can have a meal. The menu is 3 courses with specialities from the local Cuban farmer's kitchen with products straight from the land.
   • Spend the afternoon at leisure in the centre of the town.

6. Day 6: Drive to the Bay of Pigs area

   • Today you drive to the area of the Bay of Pigs. On arrival, you will visit a crocodile farm under the control of a research center. 
   • See animals in different basins in their age group. With a bit of luck, you catch them at feeding time: a real feast. you end that day at the fishermen village of Playa Larga where you overnight.
   • You have a house with 3 rooms with straight access to the beach of Playa Caleton. You will have dinner prepared on the beach on the house.  

7. Day 7: Hiking and snorkelling in the Bay of Pigs

   • Today you will follow a trail in the bushlands around the Bay of Pigs. The hike with a specialized guide takes you through a thick bush to a cenote or open-air pond that is connected underground to the sea. 
   • You can swim here in the freshwater. In the afternoon, you stop at a snorkelling spot along the bay. Here, you just jump in the water from the shore and you have tropical fish and reefs everywhere.
   • Enjoy a free evening in Caleton.

8. Day 8: Colonial Cities of Cienfuegos and Trinidad

   • Today you continue to the historic town of Trinidad. On the way, you stop in Cienfuegos, another provincial city.
   • Visit the centre with the Parque Martí, Prado Boulevard and the Punta Gorda neighbourhood near the Bay. 
   • In the afternoon, you arrive in Trinidad. The little town of Trinidad was the center of the Cuban sugar industry around 1800. The sugar barons built palaces in the center in the typical style of the colonial era. The streets were cobblestoned for their horse carriages. They painted the houses in light pastel colours. This historic center has prevailed through the years and is now Patrimony of Mankind. The center is crowded with little bars with live music and restaurants with creative cuisine. 
   • Many colonial houses rent rooms so you can enjoy some authentic Cuban hospitality while you are within walking distance of the museums and colonial plazas. But there are lots of things to do in the area like visiting the sugar valley of the Ingenios, doing hiking trails to waterfalls in the mountains or simply go to the Caribbean beaches nearby.
   • Stay at a colonial house in the historic center. The house dates back to the 19th century and furniture and decoration is all colonial style. 
   • You will stay in Casa Inchauspie or Casa D'Lirio in the casco historico of Trinidad. You have 3 rooms and the central area of the house is exclusive for you. 

9. Day 9: Hiking to waterfalls in the mountains

   • Today you go into the mountains of the Escambray to the central point of Topes de Collantes at an altitude of 600 m in a natural environment completely different from Trinidad at sea level. Here together with the guide, you chose a trail that is suitable for you. All of them end at a waterfall surrounded by lush tropical jungle where you can swim. A great experience and encounter with tropical nature. 
   • In the evening, the guide takes you to a local paladar for a typical Cuban cuisine experience. Afterwards, you will enjoy the nightlife of Trinidad with live music in the streets.

10. Day 10: Day on the Caribbean Sea

    • Today you have a short transfer to the Marina Ancon at the beach of Trinidad. Here you take a private boat to go on the sea today. Onboard drinks are included. 
    • You set off and stop around one of the islands in front of the coast where you go snorkelling. Material is available onboard. 
    • You make a stop at Cayo Iguana Island or Cayo Blanco Island for a visit. This non-inhabited island has a big population of iguanas which you can observe in their natural habitat. 
    • Have a seafood lunch and relax at the beach. In the afternoon, you sail back to the Ancon Marina and transfer to your lodging.

11. Day 11: Havana airport

    • Today you drive back to Havana airport for your return flight. On the way, you can make a few stops if time permits like in the Valley of the Ingenios and at the Mausoleum of Che Guevara in Santa Clara.