Cuba Trip
A unique 9 day discovery of Cuba, a legal trip under a People to People license granted to Language Link, Monday, Oct 19– Tuesday, Oct 27, 2015
$2,975 USD per person, includes RT airfare Miami-Havana
A special Cuba trip through Language Link
This course is a travel experience to learn about the Cuban culture and people. The tours will be in English, but enhanced by translations and conversational guidance in Spanish along the way. Traveling to Cuba is a very unique experience. Since its revolution, it has existed in many challenging stages of development. All the while, its energy and rhythm burst forth from the people and create a fascinating atmosphere with a rich history. It is predicted that in the future there may be a flurry of U.S. visitors, and the island will rapidly and radically change. This trip is your chance to see Cuba before that happens, as it stands now in its interesting and complicated situation.
Participants will fall under the approved categories of a specific license by the Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, which authorizes legal Cuba travel. You will receive a copy of the license with a letter documenting your participation. U.S. law requires all travelers joining this program to adhere to the full time schedule of meaningful contact with the Cuban people and imposes on Language Link the responsibility to ensure such observance. For this reason the itinerary is tightly packed with almost everything included. It is your responsibility to keep a daily journal of your activities and expenses in Cuba, and this needs to be kept for a five year period as it may be requested by the U.S. government as proof of your legal participation. It is also your responsibility as a participant in this trip to ask questions, converse and discuss….whether in English or Spanish!
Explore Cuba
You will explore, experience and learn with outstanding English speaking guides:
Old Havana (UNESCO World Heritage Site) and all major plazas, Studio of Cuban artist José Fuster, Cañonazo ceremony, Viñales Valley, Pinar del Río, Las Terrazas ecological project, Cienfuegos (UNESCO), Playa Ancón, Trinidad, Sugar Mill Valley (UNESCO), Partagás Cigar Factory, Playa Girón Bay of Pigs Museum, Literacy Museum, Colón Cemetery, Hemingway Farm, Cojímar Fishing Village, and much more!
INCLUDED:
- RT Airfare Miami – Havana is included, on a charter flight for legal travel
- Airport transfers in Havana
- Cuba Travel Visa provided and included
- Cuban Health Insurance provided and included (required by Cuba to cover emergency medical care)
- 8 nights first class hotel lodging in shared room, private rooms at supplement fee
- 20 meals (8 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 5 dinners)
- 1 liter per person of bottled water daily
- All sightseeing and admissions per itinerary, Professional Cuban Bilingual Host/Guide
- Accompanied by Kay Godfrey of Language Link
- All transportation in 24 passenger air conditioned minibus
- Optional daily ongoing conversation in Spanish if desired or at Spanish only tables for lunches
Day 1 (Oct 19, Monday) HAVANA – D (Please understand that the itinerary may have to be adjusted as circumstances arise.)
Meet at the airport in Miami before our charter flight. In the afternoon we will fly directly into the international airport of Havana, picked up at the airport and transported directly to our hotel, the Hotel Mercure Sevilla. A privileged location and lively scene make this history-rich establishment one of the best options in Old Havana. Graham Greene, Josephine Baker and Al Capone stayed here. We will have an evening meeting in a rooftop salon, and we will have the opportunity for a panoramic view of Havana. We will meet each other and receive background information for the week. Dinner will follow at the hotel.
Day 2 (Oct 20, Tuesday) HAVANA – B, L, D
Breakfast Buffet in the hotel at 8:30am. In the next hour we will start our tour of Havana Vieja, walking all the squares and visiting main monuments, statues and buildings. This visit will be guided by a specialist of the Office of the Historian of Havana. Following we will have a short drive to Jaimanitas to visit the studio and home of the well known Cuban artist, José Fuster. His house and the houses of his surrounding neighbors are like a fantasy land in the style of Gaudí. Lunch will be served in his studio-home. Dinner will be at the Restaurant El Aljibe, a top rated landmark restaurant, followed by our observation of the Cañonazo. This is a cannon firing ceremony which signaled the closing of the old city gates to protect from pirates and other attackers, and which has been repeated every night for several hundred years.
Day 3 (Oct 21, Wednesday) HAVANA-VIÑALES VALLEY-HAVANA B, L
After an early breakfast we depart for the Viñales Valley with a stop at Los Jazmines Lookout Point. This region is known for its stunning scenery, tobacco plantations, caves and rivers. We depart for Las Terrazas en Pinar del Río. This is a cooperative village with fascinating development and ecological projects. Visiting Rancho Curujey we will hear talks and participate in discussions about reforestation and environmental projects, and we will visit a local school. At 1:30 p.m. we have luncheon at the Restaurant Finca San Vicente. After lunch we enter the Indian Caves with a boat ride inside the cave in a mountain called a mogote. We then visit the home of a tobacco farmer for an explanation about the Habana cigar crop and cultivation process. Returning to Havana your evening is free for dinner, and we highly recommend a dinner at one of Cuba’s outstanding paladares. These are privately owned family restaurants, and they offer the most interesting food in Havana. We will help you make your reservation at the paladar of your choice or suggest nearby restaurants.
Day 4 (Oct 22, Thursday) HAVANA-CIENFUEGOS-TRINIDAD B, L, D
Breakfast is at 7:30 a.m. followed by our hotel checkout and departure for Trinidad. We stop in Cienfuegos for a boat ride across the bay to Jagua Castle, an important fortress with a fascinating history. We have lunch at the Palacio del Valle restaurant, a stunning architectural wonder, followed by a brief visit to Cienfuegos City, visiting the Alameda and Marti Park, passing by many mansions built by the XIX century founder of the city. We continue on to Trinidad, checking in with a welcome drink at our all inclusive hotel, the Hotel Brisas Trinidad del Mar. This is a four star hotel located just outside Trinidad City, immersed in the pleasant breeze from the Caribbean Sea and superbly positioned overlooking Ancón Beach, where you will have a short time to enjoy the tranquil water. The colonial style architecture of the hotel resembles that of Trinidad. We will enjoy a buffet dinner at the hotel, and later will enjoy a Trinidad style musical show offered at the hotel.
Day 5 (Oct 23, Friday) TRINIDAD, B, L, D
Trinidad is considered the crown jewel of the colonial Cuban cities, founded in 1514. It is a time capsule of historical landmarks and natural beauty. We begin our day with a ride through the Valley of the Sugar Mills on an authentic steam train from the turn of the century. In this area 50 sugar mills once stood. Our guide will discuss the sugar economy and its importance to Cuba. We visit an important sugar cane plantation with an impressive tower, the Manaca Iznaga, and learn of its history. The walk to the tower is lined with women selling the needlework known as the Trinidad Stitch. Returning to Trinidad we lunch at El Colonial near the Plaza Mayor. Following lunch we have a walking tour of Trinidad by a specialist from the Office of the Rehabilitation Project of Trinidad, to discuss historic preservation and if time permits, visit the Cantero Palace, the city museum. Later in the evening we return to the city for a typical Trinidad dinner and a dance show at a local paladar, La Parranda, with the delightful ambiance of a street festival.
Day 6 (Oct 24, Saturday) TRINIDAD-PLAYA GIRON-HAVANA, B, L
After breakfast we check out of our hotel and depart back to Havana, via Playa Girón. We will visit the museum of Playa Girón (Bay of Pigs) with an explanation and discussion of that historical event. We will lunch at Cueva de los Peces Restaurant and its impressive cenote. We will make a stop at a Cuban school and project for the arts, Korimakao. If we’re in luck, we may see a rehearsal performance by some amazing artists. We will check back into the Mercure Sevilla Hotel about 7:30 p.m. Your evening is free for dinner.
Day 7 (Oct 25, Sunday) HAVANA, B, L, D
We will visit the Colón Cemetery, led by a specialist in sacred art with opportunities for questions and discussion. Our next stop will be the Cuban Literacy Museum to learn of this exceptional project which is exported worldwide. Lunch will be included at a typical restaurant. Returning to the hotel after lunch, you can choose to do several things on your own, such as visit the Museum of the Revolution (just across from our hotel), go to the indoor art market or return to some of the areas of Havana Vieja. Our dinner will be at Café del Oriente, a top rated restaurant which is quite elegant.
Day 8 (Oct 26, Monday) HAVANA, B, L, optional dinner and show
After breakfast we will start with a visit to the Partagás Cigar Factory to observe actual production and see the long tradition of the readers. We then visit the farm of Ernest Hemingway, Finca La Vigia, where the Nobel Prize winner lived for 21 years. We will have an opportunity to discuss Hemingway’s life in Cuba and its influence on him with a guided tour. Following we will visit Cojímar fishing village, which played an important part in the development of The Old Man and the Sea. We will have lunch at La Terraza de Cojímar, surrounded by Hemingway memorabilia.
Our final evening will include an optional activity at added cost ($60), a Frozen Mojito and full traditional Cuban dinner at Doña Eutimia, a famed paladar in the Plaza de la Catedral, followed by a short walk to the Plaza Vieja to attend a music show in the style of the stars of the Buena Vista Social Club with drinks included.
Day 9 (Oct 27, Tuesday) DEPARTURE, B
Breakfast at the hotel and checkout in preparation for your return flight. You will be transferred to the airport at the appropriate time for our flight to Miami. We will say hasta luego to Cuba, with a head full of unforgettable memories and much more knowledge of Cuba and its people!
To reserve your space we request your reservation with a deposit of $400. The deposit is refundable (less a $100 processing fee) until July 1. PLEASE KNOW THAT THIS TRIP MAY FILL QUICKLY, SO PLEASE DO NOT DELAY IN SENDING YOUR TRIP RESERVATION. Your balance due is payable on August 1.
Your fee of $2,975 US Dollars (based on double occupancy, single supplement of $350 US Dollars).
DOES NOT INCLUDE:
Airfare from your home to Miami, Meals not listed in itinerary or stated as optional, Beverages: Soft drinks, bottled water (except 1 liter distributed daily), taxis, laundry, and alcoholic drinks except complimentary cocktails. Gratuities (and these are extremely important to Cubans), Travel Insurance which insures your flight and trip cost, Airport Taxes (departure tax in Cuba is payable only at the airport in Cuba and is approximately $30 U.S.)