CUBANS WARMLY invite you to join this people-to-people island encounter. They are eager to meet you. During your stay in the stunning capital of the largest island in the Caribbean you'll savor the rich fabric of Cuban life. The city of Havana pulsates with music day and night – hot salsa, son, rumba, mambo and jazz. Its magnificent architecture is the oldest and best preserved in the Americas. Its food is delicious, a tasty cuisine found nowhere else. Cuban art reflects the bright optimism that emanates from its people and their history.
We make Cuba travel easy.® When you register for this program, we send you a travel preparation and planning package. In the meantime, you're encouraged to call us with any questions prior to signing up. We urge you to shop and compare. You'll be glad you did.
Can Americans visit Cuba legally? Yes. They should do so now while the island is pristine and before it is overrun. There is no charge for travel licenses.
Can I stay in Cuba after the tour? Absolutely! We encourage this and gladly assist for free.
How much money should I take? We suggest $75 to 125 per day.
Stay in a quality four-star hotel in Havana. Click here to learn more about Cuban hotels.
An up close examination of Cuba's renowned architecture, arts, music and culture.
Be part of the authentic daily life of Cubans mornings, afternoons and evenings.
Learn all about island history and social achievements first hand.
Glean insights into a neighbor nation forbidden to Americans since 1959.
Establish enduring friendships with Cubans and your tourmates.
Relish ample free time for individual pursuits and independent exploration.
Every tour participant is provided with a guide featuring amazing activities not included in this program, and a guide to Havana's best restaurants.
You're in good hands while on the island with Cuba Education Tours
SAFE, FUN, people-to-people cultural travel. Your tour is fully escorted by Cuban experts. From the minute you land in Havana until you go home, you will be in the conscientious care of our fulltime multilingual guide together with a professional bus chauffeur. They're there for you and eager to assist in everyway.
MANDATORY Cuban medical insurance is included in tour cost. This excellent coverage applies to all health issues that may arise while in Cuba if you get hurt or take ill. You face no out-of-pocket expenses.
WE ENSURE Americans travel to Cuba legally. Find out how you can go to Cuba now. We've sent thousand of Americans to Cuba since 1997; not one has experienced complications. We assist free of charge with all licensing issues so you can go to Cuba legally without fear or concern.
TRAVEL FOR CHANGE Cuba Education and Explorer Tours is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Its staff is from Cuba, America and Canada. We are dedicated to green, ethical social travel that benefits Cubans and our guests.
BEST RESTAURANTS Every traveler gets an exclusive Havana's Best Restaurants guide highlighting cuisines for every taste and budget. It's updated monthly based on reviews from our travelers and includes the places they found to be most delicious and service friendly. It features everything from street eats to elegant culinary encounters.
CUBA TRAVELER ACTIVITIES GUIDE Every tour participant receives a Most Amazing and Fun Things to Do and See in Havana brochure. It begins with free activities and works it way up to overnight excursions outside Havana – all peer suggested and updated weekly based on returning traveler reports.
Apple indicates Cuba tour meals included at your hotel and at fine restaurants
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Get to know Cuba in comfort and safety
YOU DO CUBA in a modern air-conditioned tour coach with a fulltime professional chauffeur from arrival to departure. Havana is one of the oldest and most architecturally stunning cities in the New World. During your many excursions around the capital, and beyond, your guide provides ongoing historical commentary for all points of interest. We want you to learn everything about our beautiful island.
Several site highlights are Modern Havana, the Capitol building, the Grand Theatre, Central Park, Prado promenade, Plaza de la Revolución, Coppelia Ice Cream Park, Plaza José Martí (in front of U.S. Interests Section), Malecón seawall, Monument to the Battleship Maine, Hotel Nacional, University of Havana, Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, and the Miramar, Central Havana and Vedado neighborhoods.
Your Cuba tour map
Day 1 in Cuba
Saturday 19 January :: Hello Cuba
Cuban girls perform folk dance.
Sunset on the Malecón seawall near your hotel – a place for relaxation and new friendships.
One-in-ten cars in Cuba are pre-1959. Click photo to enlarge.
Why is this image of John Lennon here? Click it to find out.
The city of Havana as seen from the El Morro castle and San Carlos de la Cabaña fortress, across the harbor from your hotel.
Mojito!
Arrival at Havana's José Martí International Airport.
Collect your bags and go through customs. You're welcomed at the airport lobby by your Cuba Education Tours guide and professional bus chauffeur.
Private group transfer to your hotel located in the heart of Havana's cultural district. (Airport transfers are available to travelers on Cubana de Aviación flights arriving from Cancún, Mexico.)
Upon arrival, enjoy a welcome drink with tourmates, hotel staff and your guide.
Free time to settle in to your hotel room and freshen up.
Dinner at your hotel is included in tour cost
Group welcome dinner with your guide and tourmates. Participants arriving on non-Cubana de Aviación flights who might miss this dinner are given a voucher for a hotel dinner to be used at any time over the course of the tour.
Evening activities are optional and not included in tour cost
Your guide will keep you posted on entertainment options around the city.
Day 2 in Cuba
Sunday 20 January :: Discover Old Havana, history, Cuban welcome party
Decorative mail drop box in Old Havana.
Inside view of the dome of El Capitolio.
Plaza Vieja in Old Havana.
Exterior and interior of the Cathedral of Havana initiated by Jesuits in 1748 and completed in 1777. Click photos for larger view.
Havana youth sells organic onions from urban gardens on Havana street.
Left Contemporary Cuban soldier in 18th century British military attire guards the Carlos de la Cabaña fortress (click his photo to enlarge). Right Cabaña turret.
British map from 1763 shows plan of the original walled city of La Habana (founded in 1519). The city was occupied by British and Canadian colonial troops from 1762 to 1763. Spain ended the dispute by trading Florida for Havana. Click here for another British occupation map. Try to identify it on this interactive Google Map of Cuba.
Carved marble bathtubs above and Horse drawn carriage below at the Museum of the City of Havana. For many centuries Havana held the highest concentration of wealth of all Latin American cities.
Breakfast at your hotel is included in tour cost
Ernest Hemingway described Havana as the "Paris of the Americas."
Visit the Maqueta de La Habana Vieja. It's a 1:500 scale model of Old Havana complete with an authentic soundtrack meant to replicate a day in the life of the city. It's incredibly detailed and provides an excellent way of geographically acquainting yourself with the city's historical core. The model is used for social development and planning.
Next we'll take a walking tour of Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We'll visit four of the five historic plazas that make Havana unique in the western hemisphere. These plazas contain the largest collection of Spanish colonial-era architecture in the Americas. This is a private tour led by your Cuba Education Tours guide. You'll witness:
Cathedral Square, the most beautiful and private 18th century colonial plaza on the island. Named after the masterpiece of Cuban baroque architecture: the Catedral de San Cristóbal de la Habana built by the Jesuit order.
Square of Arms, an ancient military parade ground for Spanish soldiers, surrounded by such impressive buildings as:
Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, former seat of colonial government. Today the building houses the Museum of the City.
Palacio del Segundo Cabo [Palace of the Second Lieutenant] dates from 1770. Today it houses the Instituto Cubano del Libro [Cuban Book Institute] and the Galería Raúl Martínez (famed poster artist).
Museo de Artesanía at Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the oldest remaining fortress built by the Spaniards in the West Indies.
We will continue onto San Francisco Square, one of the oldest plazas in the historical quarter. The square is named after the magnificent Iglesia y Monasterio de San Francisco de Asís dating from the 16th century. The basilica is a striking example of Cuba baroque architecture.
And, finally we'll visit Plaza Vieja, the only civic square of colonial times. In contrast to the churches and government buildings of the previous squares, Plaza Vieja is surrounded by opulent aristocratic 17th century residences. Here we'll tour an important center for the visual arts.
Lunch this afternoon is included in tour cost
Group welcome lunch at Restaurante El Templete. This bayside fish joint is the latest addition to the city's list of upscale eateries. Basque chef Arkaitx Etxarte does delightful things with seafood. It sits near its namesake temple that marks the spot where the city of La Habana was founded in 1519. Overlooking the harbor, it features two dining spaces: an outdoor alfresco area accommodated under a large awning, and a pleasant indoor dining room with starched tablecloths, fine wine glasses and cutlery. The quality of the food lives up to its upscale decor. Seafood specialties are spearheaded by shrimps and lobster. Many tour participants return to this eatery during their free time.
Entrance to the Museum of the City of Havana.
We'll visit the Museum of the City of Havana, formerly the Palace of the Captains General [Capitanes Generales] in Old Havana's Plaza de Armas. The construction of the building began in 1776 by the Governor Felipe Fondesviela and General Captain Marques de La Torre. It was the government house and the residence of the various Spanish captain generals from 1791 to 1898, and also served as the headquarters of the US government inspector from 1899 to 1902, in addition to the Presidential Palace from May 20 of that last year up until 1920. Museum collections illustrate a historical background of the city since it was founded up to the present times, including model of what Havana looked like in earlier times. The most important rooms feature the Cuban wars for the national independence, and material relating to the era of U.S. occupation and influence in Cuba.
Return to your hotel and freshen up.
Dinner tonight is not included in tour cost
This evening you are free to explore stellar eateries. Tour participants receive a guide featuring Havana's best restaurants for every taste and budget. It includes both paladares [small private diners] and fabulous state owned locales run by acclaimed Cuban chefs.
ESPECIAL: Evening activity included in cost
Tour highlightNoche de fiesta cubana – a special welcome party organized by Cubans for tour participants! Tonight we feature performance by the Afrocuban Grupo Dulce María. It's a great opportunity to meet new people, make new friends and dance to Salsa, Son, Rumba, Mambo and other popular island rhythms.
Day 3 in Cuba
Monday 21 January :: Hemingway house, organic agriculture, fine arts
Merchant at a farmers market offers organic pineapple and papaya.
El Torreón de Cojímar, a fortress built in 1645, protected the bay from pirates.
Youth at play in Cojímar.
Monument to Hemingway in Cojímar. Village fishers cast this metal bust center above from old anchors, props and tools. They had no money for new materials. Inscription reads, "In loving memory of the people of Cojímar to the immortal author of Old Man and the Sea." A plaque below the bust reads: Sculpted with the contributions of the Fishermen Cooperative of Cojímar.
Youth at a Cuban baseball game, the island's national sport and pastime. Click photo to enlarge.
We'll visit Centro Cultural Antiguos Almacenes de Depósito San José arts and crafts market.
Cubans enjoy lifelong free healthcare and education combined with inexpensive housing, utilities and childcare.
Breakfast at your hotel is included in tour cost
War reporter, activist, man of letters, journalist and literary titan Ernest Hemingway.
This morning we're off to visit Finca Vigía [Lookout Farm] where North America's literary giant Ernest Hemingway spent twenty-one of his most important and productive years penning the building blocks of English literature. Claimed by both the United States and Cuba as their son, it was Hemingway himself who declared the island his true home. The house has been preserved just as it was when Hemingway lived there. You'll see his personal objects, thousands of books and photographs, as well as some "trophies" bagged on his frequent safaris.
In preparation for this afternoon's activity, watch this riveting British Broadcasting Corporation feature from Around the World in 80 Gardens on urban organic farms in Havana including a walk-through of Vivero Organopónico Alamar by fab host Monty Don.
We'll visit the UBPC Vivero Organopónico Alamar, 15 km (9.3 miles) east of Havana. It's one of the most successful urban organic farms in Cuba raising ornamental plants, medicinal herbs, and millions of seedlings for neighboring residential and collective farms. Established in the early 1990s by a dozen people, the Alamar cooperative now has over 400 members and provides a range of healthy, organic vegetables to nearby communities.
Eggshells are affixed to tips of medicinal aloe vera plants to thwart bird attack.
Produce is raised employing the practice of permaculture. No chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used. Instead, natural biological methods are used to nourish the soil, frustrate pests and conserve water. The result is an increased rate of yield and reduced costs.
Lunch this afternoon is included in tour cost
We'll have lunch at Hemingway's favorite bar and diner La Terraza. Our suggestion is a glass of ice cold "Cristal" cerveza, or lemonade, and camarones al ajillo [garlic shrimp] fried in olive oil, and seasoned with garlic and parsley – delicious! The young boy in the novel "Old Man and the Sea," Manolin, was based on the young son of the original owner of La Terraza, Manolito.
Next we'll visit Cojímar, a small costal fishing village northeast of Havana where Ernest Hemingway kept his boat during the decades he lived in Cuba. Cojímar was the inspiration for Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea.
Afterwards we'll visit the Centro Cultural Antiguos Almacenes de Depósito San José. This marvelous new restoration of an old dock warehouse has resulted in a gigantic market exhibiting the wares of hundreds of Cuban artists and craftspersons. You'll find thousands of souvenirs, beautiful paintings, photographic prints, guayaberas (traditional Cuban shirt), woodwork, leather items, jewelry, painted ceramics and handcrafted cigar boxes, to name a few of the many authentic items for sale. The market also hosts food and beverage venues, money exchange facilities, public toilets and telephones.
Return to your hotel and freshen up.
Dinner tonight is not included in tour cost
This evening you are free to explore stellar eateries. Tour participants receive a guide featuring Havana's best restaurants for every taste and budget. It includes both paladares [small private diners] and fabulous state owned locales run by acclaimed Cuban chefs.
Evening activities are optional and not included in tour cost
You are free to explore the sights and sounds of the city. Your guide will keep you posted on happening venues and entertainment options. Here's our suggestion: Shake your booty to the best Afrojazz, Cubajazz and Sonjazz at Club La Zorra y El Cuervo [The Fox and the Raven] featuring astonishing performances by island bands. It's a popular haunt for Cubans and foreign guests.
Day 4 in Cuba
Tuesday 22 January :: Discovering Cuba's African roots, tobacco and rum
Entrance sign to the Casa de África.
The House of Africa supports traditional and contemporary music and dance.
Left Highly skilled cigar roller at work. Right and top Partagás Real Fábrica de Tabacos building from 1845. Westerners first savored tobacco in Cuba in 1492. Cuban aboriginals had long cultivated the crop for use in ceremonies and celebrations.
El Santo Ángel Restaurant.
At the Havana Club Museum of Rum you'll learn the secrets of world class rum (or ron in español) from sugar cane processing to bottling.
Cuban youth snake dance in the island's annual Festival – a Latin America tradition, also with strong Afrocuban influences.
1930s photo of a Cuban sugar cane cutters dance. Island music and movement has its origins in labor combined with the admixture of African and Spanish cultures known as syncretism. Modern machete dance below based on sugar heritage.
Boy toasts his grandmother [abuela]. Cuban youth hold elders in high regard. The island is known as the Jewel of the Caribbean for its natural beauty and the unmatched warmth and kindness of its people.
The warm blue Caribbean crashes up against the Malecón seawall in Havana.
Breakfast at your hotel is included in tour cost
Morning visit to the Casa de África. Established in 1986, this museum and cultural center is located in an old tobacco warehouse in Habana Vieja. It focuses on the continent of Africa and Cuba's African heritage, reflecting in a simple, but deep way, history, religion, art, wisdom, and emancipation battles. The Casa de África is devoted to research and the promotion of African culture and how it has shaped and defined Cuban culture. The Casa conducts workshops for youth, hosts theoretical events, special exhibits, and music and dance performances. Cuba claims both Africa and Europe as its mother continents. The museum reflects the traditions, customs and celebrations comprising the ancestral wealth of Africa for the enjoyment and knowledge of new generations.
Fernando Ortíz, master Cuban ethnographer.
Gallery collections include initiation and fecundity masks, large carved wooden sculptures, wardrobes, musical instruments, and paintings. It also holds a vast library for use by academicians, researchers and university students interested in acquiring knowledge of the African culture. Among the most significant objects is the library of Fernando Ortíz, master Cuban ethnographer.
Partagás Serie D,
No. 1, Edición Limitada 2004.
Followed by a tour of the Partagás Real Fábrica de Tabacos [Partagás Cigar Factory] established in 1845. It has supplied fine cigars to connoisseurs, as well as European and Asian nobility, for over 163 years. Here some of Cuba's most famed cigars are produced including Romeo y Julietas and Cohibas among other big names. You'll witness the steps of the craft from selection of the cured leaves to expert rolling by skilled workers. It was on the island of Cuba that Europeans first savored tobacco in 1492. Cuban aboriginals had long cultivated the crop and enjoyed it in ceremonial practices. The words tobacco and cigar both derive from the Taíno Indian language. Natives gave two crew of Christopher Columbus, Rodrigo de Xerez and Luis de Torres, tobacco. They introduced the product and custom to Europe several months later. Today, aficionados consider Cuba's product the best in the world.
Lunch this afternoon is included in tour cost
Set within a beautiful colonial mansion, El Santo Ángel Restaurant enjoys the magical atmosphere of Plaza Vieja. Its stately inner courtyard is lined with plants to which many birds flock. Its menu features nueva Cubana cuisine and superb international dishes. There is always fabulous live music to accompany your meal.
Pre-Revolution Bacardi poster invites Cubanos to switch from beer to rum. The label Havana Club is now owned by the Cuban people.
Follow by a visit to the Havana Club Museum of Rum. Situated in the historic district of Habana Vieja, the museum is housed in a renovated 18th-century colonial townhouse. A bell signals the start of the museum tour, and you follow the guide up a flight of stone steps. The first landing presents a view of the cooper shop, demonstrating the craftsmanship required to build and prepare the oak casks inside which the fine rums will age. An upstairs gallery features an authentic mule-driven cane mill used in the earliest "ingenios" (sugar refineries). A historically accurate model of a steam locomotive reminds us that Cuba was the first country in Latin America to use a railway for the transport of sugar cane. The next door leads to a much larger model, the achievement of a master Cuban craftsman. This masterpiece captures the essence of the great sugar refineries and rum distilleries, whose immense chimneys rise as landmarks over the Cuban countryside. The wealth of detail stuns the eye: wagons transporting the cane from the fields, smoke rising from chimneys, cane cutters chatting on the porch… Click here to learn more.
Return to your hotel and freshen up.
Dinner tonight is not included in tour cost
This evening you are free to explore stellar eateries. Tour participants receive a guide featuring Havana's best restaurants for every taste and budget. It includes both paladares [small private diners] and fabulous state owned locales run by acclaimed Cuban chefs.
Evening activities are optional and not included in tour cost
Cuban students watch the 9PM Cannon blast.
Evening entertainment suggestion Witness a most dramatic ceremony – El Cañonazo – the Firing of the 9PM Cannon at the Fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña. This enchanting colonial reenactment dates back to 1519 when the city of Havana was enclosed by a tall thick rock wall to ward off attacks from pirates and the English. The cannon firing signaled the closing of the city gates for the night. If you were outside at the time, you were in "vedado" or the forbidden zone. Today Vedado is an important cultural hub and beautiful section of modern Havana.
Day 5 in Cuba
Wednesday 23 January :: Afrocubanismo, the beach and cabaret
Ferryboat traversing Havana harbor to the municipality of Regla.
Yoruban "Virgen de Regla" Yemayá is paraded across the community on the Day of All Saints.
Carefree pre-Revolution days. 1958 Coca-Cola advertisement features Americans lounging on Cuba's famed beaches. Ad copy reads: "Colorful Cuba, too, enjoys… 'The favorite of the world.'" Click photo to enlarge.
Havana's former capitol building is today home to the Academy of Science, and an internet cafe.
Today you revel on the beach. Enjoy the sugar white sand and warm crystal clear waters of
the Caribbean. You deserve it!
Breakfast at your hotel is included in tour cost
This morning we'll cross Havana harbor to the Municipality of Regla. This Afrocuban community has a long, rich and still active tradition of African-inspired religions.
We'll visit Regla's church dedicated to the black "Virgen de Regla" Yemayá, the African goddess of the sea in the Yoruba religion and the patron saint of sailors.
We'll tour the Museo Municipal de Regla and learn of the origins of this unique community and its Afrocuban cultures.
Lunch this afternoon is not included in tour cost – time to sample tasty Cuban cuisines
Awe! Snorkeling in Cuba.
Baby sea turtle. Cuba protects its coastlines from exploitation of marine life.
Beach Trip! Now we spend the afternoon at the Playas del este [Eastern beaches] 20 kilometers outside the metropolis. Don't forget your swimwear and sunscreen; el sol shines stronger on the island. These beautiful white sand beaches rival the best sun destinations in the Caribbean. Don't like the beach? There's plenty of time to explore surrounding nature and shop.
Return to your hotel and freshen up.
SPECTACULAR! Dinner tonight is included in tour cost
Hotel Nacional de Cuba.
Special dinner and evening event You'll enjoy a five-course meal at the famed Hotel Nacional de Cuba set atop a bluff overlooking Havana city and the Caribbean Sea. Afterwards we'll attend a musical review at the Cabaret Parisién and relish this colorful dance extravaganza.
One-in-ten autos in Havana are pre-1959. Many are in top-notch condition. Some are for hire.
Day 6 in Cuba
Thursday 24 January :: The natural splendor of rural Cuba
Cuban Trogon [Tocororo locally], Priotelus temnurus, is Cuba's national bird – its red, blue and white colors match the island's flag.
CUBA IS recognized as the global leader in environmental sustainability. It has 300 ecologically protected areas encompassing 30 percent of its territory. Six of these areas are UNESCO World Biosphere Reserves. Over half the island's diverse flora and fauna is indigenous – existing nowhere else – and is guarded from exploitation. In 2006, the World Wildlife Federation named Cuba the only nation to achieve a sustainable planet friendly economy.
Restaurante El Palenque de los Cimarrones slave dance.
Many rural youth are engaged in agriculture and rigorous academics.
We'll learn about the cultivation and processing of tobacco from seed to leaf culminating in the world's most famous cigars.
Panorama of the majestic Viñales Valley in Pinar del Río province.
Day trip!
Excursion to Viñales village, a picturesque town in the heart of Cuba's prime tobacco-growing region. The town itself sits in the center of a flat valley surrounded by stunning karst hill formations known locally as mogotes. Mogotes are irregularly shaped steep-sided hills that can rise as high as 300m (985 ft) and have bases ranging from just a few hundred yards in diameter to as much as a couple of kilometers in length. The mogotes comprise part of the Sierra de los Organos mountain chain, and were formed by eons of erosion. Many consider this the most beautiful nature spot in Cuba.
A river runs through the Cueva del Indio.
We will take a magical walking and boat tour through the Cueva del Indio used by Guanahatabey Amerindians as a burial site, and later as a refuge from Spanish slavers. Within you'll witness earth's natural and social history from the Jurassic to the Paleolithic era and beyond.
Lunch this afternoon is included in tour cost
Lunch at Restaurante El Palenque de los Cimarrones. It is located in the mouth of a cave at the base of a mogote. A palenque was a place of refuge for escaped slaves. We access the eatery on a path that takes us through another narrow cave. At the end of the path we will be met by a re-creation of a nomadic home used by runaway slaves who hid and lived here. We'll enjoy a brief Afrocuban music and dance performance typical of the slave era. Now at the restaurant, we'll dine on slow-roasted entrées and side dishes reflecting the food of the cimarron [runaway slave]. In the evenings, the restaurant doubles as a popular disco.
Four kilometers from Viñales village, on one side of the Dos Hermanas [Two Sisters] mogote, stands the Mural de la Prehistoria [Mural of Prehistory]. This impressive 120-meter high fresco was painted in 1961 by Cuban artist Leovigildo González, a student of the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. Depicted are the animals and other creatures that lived in the valley in prehistoric times. The mural pays tribute to the Darwinian perspective of evolution.
Meet with local farmers on their small tobacco plantations. Learn first hand the complexities of growing and harvesting the best quality tobacco leaves in the world.
Free time in Viñales village to explore the open-air craft market, the Parque Martí, the Church, and other interesting sites of this charming colonial town.
Return to Havana.
Dinner tonight is not included in tour cost
This evening you are free to explore stellar eateries. Tour participants receive a guide featuring Havana's best restaurants for every taste and budget. It includes both paladares [small private diners] and fabulous state owned locales run by acclaimed Cuban chefs.
Evening activities not included in cost
Entertainment suggestion
Havana's Jazz Café near your hotel.
How about dinner and evening of music at the Jazz Café? It's a popular modern jazz supperclub with chrome-trimmed tables and fairly bright lighting located on the Malecón seawall in the Galerías de Paseo shopping center next to your hotel. At night the venue swings into action with live jazz, timba and, occasionally, straight-up salsa. It attracts plenty of big name acts – and costs and staff are attractive.
You'll meet families who work tobacco farms. They produce the world's most treasured leaves.
Day 7 in Cuba
Friday 25 January :: Making memories day, Cuban arts, farewell feast
Modernist sculpture by noted Cuban artist Rita Longa stands outside the entrance to Palacio de Bellas Artes.
Wifredo Lam. Zambezia, Zambezia, 1950. Oil on canvas. 49 3/8 x 43 5/" (125.4 x 110.8 cm). Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Wifredo Lam. Self portrait.
Life size metal sculptures of elephants in Havana's Plaza Vieja by island artist Fonseca. Cuba's capital is an effervescent creative art space – a visceral feast for art lovers worldwide.
La Bodeguita del Medio restaurant.
Striking 15 meter (49 foot) mosaic tile mural at the entrance of Museo Bellas Artes.
Breakfast at your hotel is included in tour cost
Island artist Víctor Manuel's Gitana Tropical, known as the Cuban Mona Lisa, was painted in Paris in 1929.
Morning private guided tour of the Palacio de Bellas Artes [Palace of Fine Arts] dedicated exclusively to housing Cuban art spanning three centuries. Sections are devoted to landscape, religious subjects and narrative scenes of Cuban life. A gallery devoted to the 1970s displays the latest generation of Cuban artists whose works reflect the strong symbolic imagery prevalent in recent decades. Together the exhibits account for the richness of the island's Spanish, French, Chinese, African and Aboriginal cultural roots. Notable works include those of René Portocarrero and Wilfredo Lam.
Lunch this afternoon is not included in tour cost – time to sample tasty Cuban cuisines
Lunch is not included today in the program. Every tour participant is provided with a printed guide featuring dozens of amazing activities and things to do and see in and around Havana. Costs range from free to several dollars and upwards.
The balance of the afternoon is free for you to explore the sights and sounds of the city.
Dinner tonight is included in tour cost
Farewell dinner highlight Old Havana's La Bodeguita del Medio restaurant is the birthplace of the mojito, and haunt for the likes of Pablo Neruda, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Salvador Allende, Agustín Lara, Nat King Cole, Marlene Dietrich, Nicolás Guillén and Ernest Hemingway. Its convivial ambiance, bohemian charm, and authentic Cuban music and food make it a must-do diner. The notorious eatery has been reproduced in over a dozen countries from Macedonia to Miami. La Bodeguita del Medio was and remains an effervescent hub for island and international avant-garde.
Evening activities are optional and not included in tour cost
You are free to explore the sights and sounds of the city. Your guide will keep you posted on happening venues and entertainment options.
Youths and fishers on the Malecón at sunset in front of your hotel.
Day 8 in Cuba
Saturday 26 January :: Goodbye Cuba
We'll miss you and hope you return soon! In Cuba we say: A true friend remembers the song in your heart when you have forgotten the lyrics.
Breakfast at your hotel is included in tour cost
Check-out of your hotel.
Transfer to Havana's José Martí International Airport for your return home.
Don't forget to save 25.00 CUC for your Cuban airport departure fee and some money for meals on the airplane and while in transit
Want to stay longer in Cuba following your tour? Contact us and we will help make it happen at a price you can afford.
Our services
MAY 25 
Group welcome lunch at Restaurante El Templete. This bayside fish joint is the latest addition to the city's list of upscale eateries. Basque chef Arkaitx Etxarte does delightful things with seafood. It sits near its namesake temple that marks the spot where the city of La Habana was founded in 1519. Overlooking the harbor, it features two dining spaces: an outdoor alfresco area accommodated under a large awning, and a pleasant indoor dining room with starched tablecloths, fine wine glasses and cutlery. The quality of the food lives up to its upscale decor. Seafood specialties are spearheaded by shrimps and lobster. Many tour participants return to this eatery during their free time.
In preparation for this afternoon's activity, watch this riveting British Broadcasting Corporation feature from Around the World in 80 Gardens on urban organic farms in Havana including a walk-through of Vivero Organopónico Alamar by fab host Monty Don.
Set within a beautiful colonial mansion, El Santo Ángel Restaurant enjoys the magical atmosphere of Plaza Vieja. Its stately inner courtyard is lined with plants to which many birds flock. Its menu features nueva Cubana cuisine and superb international dishes. There is always fabulous live music to accompany your meal.
Farewell dinner highlight Old Havana's La Bodeguita del Medio restaurant is the birthplace of the mojito, and haunt for the likes of Pablo Neruda, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Salvador Allende, Agustín Lara, Nat King Cole, Marlene Dietrich, Nicolás Guillén and Ernest Hemingway. Its convivial ambiance, bohemian charm, and authentic Cuban music and food make it a must-do diner. The notorious eatery has been reproduced in over a dozen countries from Macedonia to Miami. La Bodeguita del Medio was and remains an effervescent hub for island and international avant-garde.
