Cuba Highlights Day 1 - Havana -Trinidad You will be met at the airport by our English speaking driver/guide. Drive via Cienfuegos to Trinidad. Stay in a Casa Particular -local bed & breakfast Trinidad is the best-preserved colonial city in Cuba, in the shadow of the Escambray Mountains, and was not even linked by road to the rest of the country until the 1950s. Declared a national monument by the Cuban government this city is very much as it was four centuries ago, the beauty of its baroque architecture and cobblestone squares harking back to a bygone era when Trinidad was a key player in the Caribbean slave trade. Day 2 Trinidad (B) Take a city tour to get orientated. This delightful 'museum' town is on the coast, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO – 50,000 inhabitants. Enjoy the lively and famous Cuban music. Afternoon free to explore the many museums – giving you a picture of life before communism and Fidel Castro. Day 3 Trinidad - Havana (B) Drive through the heart of Cuba to Santa Clara. Visit the Cue Guevara Mausoleum (pay entrance fee direct) and then drive on to Havana Accommodation: Colonial Casa de Luca B&B Located in the suburb of Vedado Your host will give you details on a couple of restaurants in walking distance Havana was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. It contains a wealth of colonial architecture, and the old city and streets around the Malecon (ocean-side walkway) are best discovered on a walking tour (tomorrow). Allow the traditional and modern sides of the enigmatic city to unfold before you. In Havana there are many churches, museums and memorials all worth taking a further look at. Street after street is graced with grand facades, boasting massive wooden doors, barred windows and narrow sidewalks. This is Havana, a place you may have never known, but a place that you will never forget once you have been to it. Day 4 Havana (B) Walking Tour Old Havana Explore this colonial city and feel the beat. Wonderful churches, palaces and museums, colourful handicraft markets. Formidable Spanish castles of El Morro and La Cabana. Intriguing revolutionary monuments, including the Pavilion Granma, the Museo de la Revolucion and the Memorial Jose Marti. Gran Teatro de La Habana, the oldest functioning theatre in the Americas. – lots to see and do. We have a half day guided walking tour so we can get the lowdown on the colourful history of this city. Havana preserves more of its historic colonial legacy than any other city in the Americas. In 1982, UNESCO declared Old Havana a World Heritage Site, a veritable living museum, in which no fewer than 144 buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries are preserved. After the tour suggest visit El Floridta Restuarant "My daiquiri at El Floridita and my mojito at La Bodeguita" Hemingway used to say. This has been Cuba's most famous restaurant since that time. Hemingway, John Ringling and various Cuban presidents have been regulars here because of the excellent food. Our special recommendation is that you do not leave the Island without trying one of the daiquiris concocted in the Floridita Bar Day 5 Havana (B) free day Day 6 Vinales Day Tour (B) Vinales and especially the surrounding valley are among the absolute top attractions of Cuba. About 40 km north of Pinar del Rio in the Pinar del Rio province, the valley is stunning. The flat land, full of tobacco and palm trees is scattered with 20-30m mogotes. These are the remnants of the former plateau which is almost entirely washed away by water during the last couple of million years. The process is comparable with that in Cappadocia, (Turkey) but here the mogotes are completely covered with green vegetation. Like everywhere in Cuba, the people in Vinales are very friendly. Today visit a tobacco farm and factory and see how it's done. Day 7 Havana (B) You will be transferred to the airport |
||
Dates & Prices Departures: Daily Prices Per Person NZ$ Double/twin Sep -Dec 2024 $1795 Jan-Dec 2025 $1895 single room supplement on request 2025 prices subject to change |
||
