Morning Arrival:

If arrive in AM:

Upon arrival, your private guide will meet you at the airport for a trouble-free beginning to your adventure.

While your luggage is being delivered to your luxury accommodations, your first stop will be the Plaza de la Revolución, a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site.  Here you will learn about the historical significance of this square as a key political stage for not only for Cuban leaders such as Fidel Castro, but foreign dignitaries as well, such as Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis.

Following your visit to the plaza, Casablanca welcomes you with a classic Cuban cocktail as you check in and get settled for your next adventure.

A short ride into town to takes you to Habana Vieja (Colonial Havana), where the city was born and will soon celebrate the 500th anniversary of its founding.   You’ll see the four main squares, San Francisco Square, Old Square, Main Square and Cathedral Square while you walk down quaint cobblestone streets lined with shops, eatieries, and other attractions.  

A delicious authentic Cuban welcome dinner awaits you at the hotel upon your return.  Afterwards, you will take a short walk to the fortress San Carlos de le Cabaña, or the Canoñazo, to watch the reenactment of the nightly firing of the cannon, signaling the closing of the gates to the city.  The loud bursts can be heard throughout the city.

Included in your itinerary:

• transfer from airport
• transportation
• entrance fees
• lunch and dinner

Afternoon Arrival:

• Plaza de la Revolución
• Check in
• Welcome Dinner only (no lunch)
• Canoñazo

Breakfast at Casablanca.

Today you will retrace Hemingway’s footsteps as you visit Hemingway House;  Finca la Vigia or the “Lookout House”, where he wrote some of his most important works including For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea.  The house remains exactly the way he left it on July 25, 1960.

Lunch at Ajiaco Cafe in Cojimar, the fishing community that was the inspiration for Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea.

After lunch, we return to Habana Vieja for more sightseeing and to some of Hemingway’s “hangouts” and head to El Palacio de Artesania. Here you can take part in El Maridaje, a Cuban ritual that pairs food and drink where you can also smoke a cigar, drink coffee or rum, do some shopping or listen to Cuban music.

Learn the history of rum, how its made and stored and even taste a 7 year old rum on this very informative and interactive tour at the Museo del Ron Havana Club.

Rest of day is open for your own use.  We will have some suggested restaurants and nighttime festivities to try such as the Fabrica de Arte where the locals go for art, dancing and to meet up with friends for a drink. Or to Rosalia de Castro, where energetic and talented Cuban members of the Buena Vista Social Club will certainly entertain you.

Included in your itinerary:

• continental breakfast 
• transportation
• entrance fees
• lunch

You will travel the countryside to Las Terrazas and enjoy a morning at the beach, try out zip lining, or take a hike along the gorgeous trails.

Lunch will be served at the resort before heading out to the town of Viñales a quaint country town that sits in the center of a valley surrounded by remarkable green flat topped formations known as mogotes; These steep-sided hills that can rise as high as 985 feet and were formed by eons of erosion.

Once checked in to the hotel, take an opportunity to try many of the outdoor activities such as horseback riding or biking tours along a picturesque landscape, or relaxing boat rides through an underground, crystalline cave called la Cueva del Indio.

Dinner in the quaint downtown where after 9pm you might find yourself in the middle of an impromptu dance party!

Included in your itinerary:

• continental breakfast 
• transportation
• lunch
• dinner

Breakfast at the hotel

Today you will meet a tobacco grower (Vequero) at his farm (vega) and see how the tobacco for the world renowned Cuban cigars is grown and rolled.

Then on to a coffee plantation tour where you will learn the rich history, production and distribution of the famous café cubano (cuban coffee) which is typically prepared as a highly concentrated espresso and sweetened with sugar.

Lunch

Before we say good bye to the countryside, we will make a stop at Pre-Historia. 120m by 180m lays a modern depiction of the evolution on the island from mollusk to man. This impressive site was commissioned by Fidel in the early 1960’s.

Right outside Havana, we will visit the town of Soroa, home of over 700 types of orchids and other plant life on a stunning 7.5 acre garden.  Soroa Orchid Botanical Garden is a registered UNESCO biosphere where the beautiful array of plant life is a must see!

A quick stop to the Castillo en las Nubes ( Castle in the clouds ) for a drink and a few minutes to take in the breathtaking  panoramic views.

Dinner at a local “hidden gem” where only the locals go, before heading back to Casablanca.

Included in your itinerary:

• breakfast
• entrance fees
• lunch
• dinner

Breakfast at Casablanca

A visit to the Museo de la Revolución features documents of Cuba’s history, photographs and objects relating to the Invasion of the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

A walk through some incredible hotels where a long list of famous and infamous guests, such as Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra, Walt Disney, Marlon Brando as well as Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano stayed.                

lunch

Then take a trip back in history riding in a classic 1950’s air-conditioned car around the 7km seawall, El Malecon, with the sun on your face and the wind blowing in your hair.  El Malecon, lined with statues, restaurants, and even the American Embassy is the perfect place to take a leisurely walk, jog along the sea, or sit, relax and meet up  with friends.

Next, a shopping spree at San Jose, a mile-long locals craft market in Havana. Explore the booths filled to the rim with pottery, jewelry, musical instruments and 1000’s of paintings.  You are encouraged to speak directly to the artists , ask questions while giving them a welcomed chance to practice their English.

Free rest of day     

 Included in your itinerary:

• breakfast
• entrance fees
• Car ride in a 1950s era classic 
• lunch
• dinner

Breakfast at Casablanca

Varadero/ Matanzas.

The luxury bus  takes you on a picturesque drive to the town of Matanzas. En route, we will stop for  one of Cuba’s most famous pina coladas and a spectacular view.

Matanzas or the “city of rivers and bridges” is the birthplace to many of Cuba’s most famous poets, musicians, writers and authors. Here you can visit with local artisans who make beautiful handmade paper and books, take a boat ride or visit caves full of myths and legends.

lunch

Next is Varadero, a beach town where you can sit back and relax next to the crystalline blue waters of some of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean. A visit to the Xanadu Mansion, a one-time beach house owned by the Dupont family has now been transformed into a luxury hotel resort. On the grounds are gardens filled with coconut, banana, avocado, and papaya trees and a sweeping 360 degree panoramic view of the magnificent island paradise.

dinner

(included: breakfast, transportation, lunch and dinner)

Breakfast at Casablanca

After breakfast, we will stroll through the whimsical, mosaic-filled neighborhood known as Fusterlandia. Jose Fuster, the accomplished artist known as the “Picasso of the Caribbean” has created a “tiny oasis of eye candy” as one tourist put it. The art installation, which encompasses the entire block, includes the artist’s home where you might bump into the Fuster himself and pick up a momento or two at his art gallery.

Explore Muraleando Community Project…where the streets are filled with murals and art installations made by local artists who specialize in  art, ceramics, dance and sculpture

lunch

At the Cuatro Caminos market-The “peoples produce market” you’ll be able to interact with the locals and 

Colon Cemetery, one of the largest in Latin America, and named for Christopher Columbus lies on a 140 acre site with graves topping over 800,000. Among the buried are famous Cuban baseball players, firefighters, and even British and Canadian servicemen and officers.

Ride through El Bosque, a serene wooded area where the hanging green curtains of the giant jaguey trees dazzle and where the banks are host to some peculiar Santeria rituals,  on the way to the farewell dinner at El Balcon

(included: breakfast, entrance fees, lunch Farewell dinner)

Breakfast at Casablanca before taking your private transfer to José Martí International Airport for your return home.