West Cuba Tour

We will start the day with a walking tour through the UNESCO-honored Old Havana. To immerse in Havana’s old plazas and pause here and there to admire colonial architectural heritage and moments of life, there is just no better way than touring on foot. Plaza de Arms, the oldest of all, is where to see Grecian-style El Templete, Palacio del Segundo Cabo, and the magnificent long façade of the Cuban Baroque-style of Palacio de los Capitanes Generales (City Museum), which you get to tour inside; the square itself is also interesting, as it has a street market where you can buy second-hand books largely about Cuban Revolution as souvenirs. At Plaza de San Francisco de Asís, you will pass the asymmetrical San Francisco de Asis Convent, now home to the Religious Art Museum, as well as the stately office building of Lonja Del Comercio. Plaza Vieja (Old Square) will enchant you with a historical vibe oozed from beautiful colonial buildings; here is a strange bronze statue of Viaje Fantástico - a naked woman riding a rooster - which somehow became very popular, yet of which no one knows the meaning behind. Have some learning and tasting of Cuban rum at Museo del Ron Havana Club, before we go on to Plaza de la Catedral, where you can behold the imposing Havana Cathedral in which Christopher Columbus’s remains were held from 1796 to 1898.

After a few minutes through the Empedrado alley, we will arrive at Ernest Hemingway’s favorite restaurant La Bodeguita del Medio, where you will enjoy a glass of mojito, just as the great novelist used to do when he lived in Havana. Later, we will pass through the age-old lively Obispo Boulevard and Central Park, to reach Grand Theater of Havana and National Capitol of Cuba, whose resplendent exteriors will impress you for sure. If today doesn’t fall on weekends, a tour around Partagás Cigar Factory will be included.

For lunch, you are recommended to check out Restaurante 5 Sentidos, a small restaurant in Old Havana yet with big surprises in terms of both food and service. It’s so popular that you might need to reserve a seat in advance. Please remember that, whichever place you want to eat and drink at, perhaps you will want to make sure the water and ice they use are not directly from tap water - say no to diarrhea and stomachache!

This afternoon, enjoy an escorted city tour via classic American car. Time in Havana seems to be trapped in the 1950s, before Cuba started its socialist journey and implemented restrictive economic policies on private ownership. But decades of being unable to own new cars have never kept Cubans away from the wheel. Engine goes off? They replace it with marine engine. What about broken parts? They crafted them with their own hands. Nothing is impossible in this ingenious nation. There is just one thing you need to take heed – there are no safety belts for these cars, nor is there one for the driver. If the car rolls too fast, just feel free to ask your driver to slow it down. We will drive along the Malecón esplanade, pass by Morro Castle and make a photo stop at University of Havana; at Colón Cemetery, stop to take a peek into the solemn world from outside; the tour will round off with a visit to Revolution Square, the one where you can find the giant steel mural of Che Guevara on the façade of a governmental edifice.

After the visit, the guide and the driver will send you back to the hotel.

● Recommended Night Activities to Help You Immerse in Cuba
Is there anything more pleasant than enjoying the night cityscape over chatting and sipping cocktail at a rooftop bar? Good news - your hotel has one, and one by a pool!

If you prefer a boisterous atmosphere, head to Fort San Carlos to join a canon ceremony, which is performed every 9 pm; the fortress, stretching 700 meters (0.4 mile) long, was built by Spanish colonists to defend themselves against the British in the 18th century. The ceremony will impress you with its pomp - there will be staff dressed in fancy old-style military uniforms firing a cannon. Or, how about a Cabaret show at the world-famous Tropicana Club, watching Cuban salsa among other Latin dances under the stars and amid a lush tropical garden? Your eyes will bulge in wonder for two straight hours of dazzling dancing to lively music. The Cabaret is performed everynight Wednesday through Sunday, and a standard show ticket would cost you 75 USD, which includes drink.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel NH Capri La Habana (4 stars)

We will spend a large part of today following the steps of Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway discovered Havana totally by accident when he’s on his way to Spain. After days lodging at a hotel on the Obispo Boulevard (yes, the one you’ve walked!), this city with its colorful energy swept him off his feet. Next time he’s found in Havana with his wife, he’d already got a plan to become a resident. Finca Vigía, our first destination, was none other than the villa he purchased, in which he lived for twenty years and wrote The Old Man and the Sea. The house has turned to a museum, and one of the most complete, that preserves Hemingway's possessions. We will also pay a visit to Cojímar fishermen town and the restaurant Las Terrazas de Cojímar, which Hemingway frequented to chat with fishermen, explaining his detailed knowledge about the sea and fishing depicted in the novel. On the walls of the restaurant, you will also find many pictures from that period.

Then, continue to visit Fusterlandia, a neighborhood where buildings shine with Mosaic tiles in the fishing village of Jaimanitas; it’s the iridescent dream of the artist José Fuster turned to reality. After the visit, drive 2.5 hours to Viñales Valley. Check into a local hotel and enjoy the rest of the day as you like. As we continue into the mountainous region, there will be lesser wifi spots so it’s time to mainly rely on data provided by your SIM card (we recommend you use the local CubacelTur SIM card) to access Internet.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel E Central Vinales (3 stars)

The guide will take you for a walk in Viñales Valley to breathe some fresh air and experience morning life in Cuban countryside, before enjoying breakfast at the hotel. After a short break, we will go to a tobacco farm, check out its drying house, and see how the most famous cigars are rolled. Seize the chance to try one!

Into noon, head for the organic farm Finca Agro-ecological El Paraiso to learn how locals plant organic products and enjoy a traditional Cuban lunch. Intriguingly, Cuban food alone can serve as a window for you to glimpse the country’s history development. Take the national dish Ropa Vieja that mainly includes shredded beef, among tomato, sofrito sauce, rice and fried plantains - from it you will spot many foreign influences. Rewind the clock to centuries ago, and you will find it’s Spaniards that took in cattle and pigs; it's African slaves that brought plantain bananas and the practice of eating rice as staple.

Later, we will explore Indian Cave on foot and then by boat along an underground river to pass by stalactites, stalagmites, and petroglyphs. Mural de la Prehistoria awaits us to contemplate, which stretches 120 meters (394 feet) on a cliffside and themes around the evolution theory. After the visit, go back to the hotel.

For dinner, it’s recommended you try some fresh seafood at Restaurante Bar Razones. Here, lobsters are sold at half the price in Havana!

● Optional Activity:
Care for learning some salsa dancing? If music is the soul of Cuba, Cuban salsa is the medium for you to feel it. If you are interested, we can arrange for you an informal lesson in Viñales Valley.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel E Central Vinales (3 stars)

This morning, we will drive to the UNESCO-listed eco-communities of Soroa and Las Terrazas. About Soroa, since there are often rainbows over the mountains, it is also called “the Rainbow of Cuba”. Upon arrival, we will visit Soroa Orchid Botanical Garden, a world of orchids with species from all over the world. Then drive to Castillo de las Nubes Hotel on a mountain top to overlook the scenic surrounds. Continue on to Las Terrazas and follow the guide to check out what beauty it hosts. You will first stop by an Interpretation Center to listen to the introduction of the entire project, and then tour around the nature-embraced La Moka Hotel; you will travel back in time at the abandoned French coffee plantation Cafetal Buenavista, visit San Juan Lake, and enjoy a cup of Cuban coffee at the celebrated Café de Maria. “Café Cubano”, Cuban coffee in Spanish made with dark roast espresso brewed with Caribbean sugar, will give you a unique strong sweet taste. Intriguingly, coffee has seeped its way into Cuban social life. It’s not only a desert or an energy booster, but also something to be shared - don’t be embarrassed if a stranger local treats you to a cup of coffee, they mean nothing but welcoming intentions!

After the tour, return to Havana by car.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel NH Capri La Habana (4 stars)

Your vacation will end today. Your guide and driver will send you to the airport according to your flight's schedule and see you off. It’s recommended you ask your guide to drop you at Havana’s airport three hours prior to departure, to allow for uncertain factors, such as breakdown of ticket machines and delays for answering trivial questions of tip-asking working staff during check-in, which may hold you back from boarding the flight. A pleasant trip home!

● Recommended Activities for Self-Guided Exploration of Havana
Havana is full of gems, apparent or hidden. If you schedule to take a late flight home and are a culture vulture yourself, why not go to Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes to appreciate Cuban and Argentine art? And don’t think that Havana lacks seaside beauty - Playas del Este, “beaches of the East”, will make you eat your words, and unlike other tourist beaches, they are actually where to experience local life. Put some final touches to your Cuba vacation by lunching at a paladar, a family-run local restaurant, for an authentic culinary delight – you are supporting private economy by the way.

Please note that if you still want to explore Old Havana, watch thelining the backstreets. There are skeletal remains as well as precarious wall ruins, and for your safety we kindly suggest you should refrain from sticking around.

Meals: Breakfast