Exploring Cuba 2024
10 – day tour: $2195.
(Based on double occupancy. Single supplement available upon request)
The tour begins Sunday, February 11th and ends Tuesday, February 20th.
If you are interested in joining this cultural, educational experience in direct support of the Cuban people, you can reserve your spot below, and please contact us if you have any questions.
This will be a wonderful opportunity to get a taste of what Cuba has to offer in terms of culture & history, street photography, tropical beaches, and lush mountain waterfalls. We will be leading a group of 10 to 12 people and will have a local guide and a driver as well. Colin traveled to Cuba three years consecutively between 2018 and 2020, leading tours the last two years. He is very familiar with all of the places we will be visiting, including the cities and national parks, and has developed close connections with the locals, notably our Guide, Gelin, as well as the majority of our hosts and tour operators.
The tour will begin in Havana where we will spend two nights and one full day enjoying what the city has to offer. We will then travel to Trinidad de Cuba for two nights, Cienfuegos for one night and Playa Larga for one night before we head to the beautiful, mountainous farming community of Viñales where we will spend three nights before we return to Havana for our flights home.
Day 1
Sunday 2/11:
Havana
Everyone arrives in Havana. One of us will meet you at the airport with our guide, Gelin, as soon as you exit customs, and take you via taxi to the casa where we will be staying. Once everyone has arrived, we will walk to a few sites around the city and go out for dinner. Room in Havana.
Day 2
Monday 2/12:
Havana
Walking tour of Havana in the morning followed by lunch and a classic car tour of the city in the afternoon. From the cars and architecture to the culture and vibrancy, there will be no shortage of photo ops! Dinner and room in Havana.
Day 3
Tuesday 2/13:
Havana to Trinidad de Cuba
Travel to Trinidad de Cuba, check into our accomodation, then our guide Gelin will take us on a walking tour of the city.
Dinner and room in Trinidad
Day 4
Wednesday 2/14:
Trinidad de Cuba
Morning drive into the mountains near Trinidad and hike into Topes de Callantes Park to swim below a waterfall. In the afternoon we will go for a horseback riding tour of the countryside. We will visit a local farm where you can purchase honey and fresh roasted coffee beans. Dinner at a restaurant in the countryside.
Day 5
Thursday 2/15:
Trinidad de Cuba to Cienfuegos
Drive from Trinidad to Cienfuegos, where we will spend one night. On the way to Cienfuegos, we will visit El Nicho Park, hike to the waterfalls and explore a cave at the river source, then swim below the falls. We will have lunch in El Nicho and then continue to Cienfuegos. Brief walking tour of the city followed by dinner.
Day 6
Friday 2/16:
Cienfuegos to Playa Larga
Drive to Playa Larga, Bay of Pigs. We will tour the Bay of Pigs Military Museum in Girón and then continue the short distance to Playa Larga. We will visit the Casa Ana bird sanctuary, where you have a good chance of seeing the world’s smallest species of hummingbird, the bee hummingbird, which is endemic to Cuba. Dinner and room in Playa Larga.
Day 7
Saturday 2/17:
Playa Larga to Vinales
We will go for a morning snorkeling tour in Playa Larga. The water is very clear. We will see a variety of tropical fish and a shipwreck from the Bay of Pigs battle. From there we will drive to Viñales, where we will spend the next three nights. Dinner in Viñales.
Day 8
Sunday 2/18:
Viñales
Day trip to local caves in the limestone mountains of the Pinar del Río Province. Later we will watch the sunset from El Pairiso Restaurant.
Day 9
Monday 2/19:
Viñales
Guided hike into the mountains to photograph the sunrise over Viñales Valley. Afternoon guided walking tour to a local tobacco farm where we learn about the tobacco growing process and watch a cigar rolling demonstration. You can purchase coffee, honey, guava berry rum, and local cigars.
Day 10
Tuesday 2/20:
Viñales to Havana
Return to Havana for late afternoon departures. If no late afternoon flights
are available, we will arrange another night of lodging in Havana and
transport you to the airport the following day.
What the fee includes:
- All transportation
- Lodging We will be staying at privately owned casas, which operate like a bed & breakfast in the US. Each morning you will be served a full breakfast of fresh fruit, bread, cheese, local honey and jams, Cuban coffee (delicious and strong!), and two eggs prepared the way you like.
- Classic car tour of Havana (we will explore some of the city’s best sights in classic convertibles) in addition to walking tours of the city with our guide.
- Snorkeling Tour at Playa Larga (Bay of Pigs) and the entrance to the Bay of Pigs Military Museum.
- Entrance to both El Nicho and Topes de Collantes national parks.
- Horseback farm tour in Trinidad. We will visit farms by horseback, sample local coffee, honey, and sugarcane juice (with rum if you like), and have opportunities to purchase coffee beans, honey, and hand-rolled cigars.
- Mountain sunrise and sunset farm walking and Cave tours in Viñales, if you choose the 10-day tour.
- Guiding services of our buen amigo (good friend) and Havana resident , Gelin Eguinosa, and Colin & Mike, as well as photographic instruction for those who would like. Cuba is a photographer’s dream and we are confident that the abundance of culture and street scenes, as well as the tropical landscape, will leave you inspired and longing to come back for more!
What the fee does not include:
-
- Cuban Travel Visa ($50 to $100)
- Travel insurance – recommended
- Lunch and dinner
- Drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and bottled water
- Any extra (and optional) excursions that are not part of the original itinerary.
- Personal items
- Gratuities
- Airfare to and from Cuba
Caribbean Tour 2024 deposit $500
Please contact us if you are interested in reserving a spot! mail@natexpotours.com
February 11th – 20th, 2024
10 – day Tour $2195 per person
Based on double occupancy. Single supplement available upon request
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