Cuba / Itineraries
7 Night Cuba Tour
This 7 Night Cuba Tour is a small group, week-long escorted tour, starting and finishing in Havana and taking in the key destinations of Vinales, Las Terrazas, Santa Clara, Trinidad & Cienfuegos. Scroll down for departure dates.
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Day 1 — Havana
Having arrived in Havana, clients will be transferred the short distance from Havana airport to their accommodation in Old Havana.
With flights generally arriving in the late afternoon or early evening, most clients will probably look to go for a short stroll, have a light dinner and then get at earlyish night in preparation for the busy week ahead.
Suggested Accommodation: Havana Casa Particulars Meals Included: None
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Day 2 — Havana
After breakfast, your tour guide will meet you at your accommodation as you begin the day with a visit to a cigar factory. Here, you will learn all about the process of creating the world’s best cigars and one of the island’s most iconic exports.
You will then proceed to the former Governor’s residence, now the fascinating Palacio de los Capitanes Generales museum, which depicts the history of life in Havana.
After lunch, you will be led around the streets of Old Havana including its four most famous plazas, Plaza San Francisco, Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza Vieja and Plaza de Armas.
After a short break to freshen up, the late afternoon into early evening involves one of the most popular aspects of any visit to Cuba, cruising around ‘New’ Havana in the comfort of one of the city’s classic American cars, most of which date back to the 1950s and 60s.
Included in the itinerary will be a circuit of Revolution Square, a drive down the sweeping Malecon and exploring the city’s Miramar neighbourhood with its beautiful old homes before ending up at Bosque de la Havana, known as the city’s lungs.
The day ends at a lively tapas bar, visited by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall back in 2019. Here, you will be given a class in Cuban cocktail making before enjoying a light supper of delicious tapas.
For those that wish to continue on, the guide can recommend a number of bars and clubs in the city. Alternatively, tickets can also be booked in advance for the famous Tropicana Cabaret.
Suggested Accommodation: Havana Casa Particulars Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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Day 3 — Havana to Las Terrazas via Vinales
After an early breakfast, you will leave Havana and head west along one of Cuba’s near empty highways, eventually arriving in Vinales, home to the tobacco used to make the country’s cigars as well as some of the most beautiful countryside on the island.
Located within the lush, Sierra de los Organos, the Vinales Valley is technically described as a karst landscape, the main feature of which is the limestone mogotes that rise sheer from the valley floor and which reach heights of close to 300 metres.
On arrival, you will start your exploration of the area with a short, level walk along the valley floor, including a visit to a traditional farmer’s house and a wander around the charming town of Vinales. As a result of the limestone, the Vinales Valley is home to a vast network of caves and a visit to the most famous of them, Cueva del Indio, is enjoyed in the comfort of a boat.
Having already seen the workings of a cigar factory in Havana, there will also be a chance to visit a tobacco farm and learn how the crop is harvested, before then being dried in special barns.
Lunch follows at an organic farm that boasts spectacular, panoramic views across the Vinales Valley. After lunch, there will be an opportunity to learn all about the farm’s organic mission, following in the footsteps of a previous interested visitor, Barrack Obama.
Towards the end of the afternoon it will be time to depart the Vinales Valley and head back along the highway towards Havana, ending the day at the eco community of Las Terrazas in the UNESCO protected Sierra del Rosario biosphere.
Having checked in at tonight’s hotel, a brief tour of the picturesque surroundings will follow, including an introduction to the eco activities and farming methods that the community practices.
The remainder of the evening is free for clients to relax and make their own arrangements for drinks and dinner, either in the village or at the hotel.
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Day 4 — Las Terrazas to Trinidad via Santa Clara
After a good night’s sleep in the countryside, and an early breakfast, you will return to the road and continue heading east, skirting around the south of Havana and along the country’s main, still empty highway to the city of Santa Clara.
Santa Clara’s main claim to fame is its links to the Cuban Revolution. After visiting Che Guevara’s Mausoleum and museum on the periphery of the city, you will continue into the centre to visit the famous Tren Blindado, part of the government, armoured train that was attacked and seized by revolutionary forces under the command of Che Guevara.
A light lunch will be taken at a local restaurant after which there will be a picturesque drive through the Escambray Mountains and on to the Valley of the Sugar Mills.
During the Spanish colonial era, the Valley of the Sugar Mills (aka Valle de los Ingenios) was at the heart of the island’s sugar industry, a trade that resulted in great wealth for a select few landowners and traders but abject misery for the slaves who worked in the fields.
Today, the Valley of the Sugar Mills is peppered with old sugar plantations, the majority of them abandoned and derelict. One of the most famous of these estates, now partly restored as a visitor attraction, is Manaca Iznaga. The beauty of its location belies its cruel history, no more so than in the form of its central tower, today used by visitors to enjoy sweeping views, in times gone by to watch over its slave workforce.
At the end of a long day, it is just a short drive to the beautiful town of Trinidad, perhaps the jewel in Cuba’s colonial crown and your home for the following two nights.
The remnants of the day are free for clients to relax at their accommodation and then choose from one of the many restaurants in town for dinner.
Suggested Accommodation: Trinidad Casa Particulars Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
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Day 5 — Trinidad
It may be one of the smallest towns in Cuba, but almost every street, square and corner of Trinidad’s historic centre is a colourful reminder of the island’s colonial past.
One of the country’s oldest settlements, dating back to 1514, Trinidad grew wealthy from the sugar trade and this wealth is still apparent in the town’s many beautiful private houses and civic buildings. Indeed, so unchanged and unspoiled is Trinidad’s colonial centre that it is frequently referred to as a Museum Town. Not surprisingly, Trinidad was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988.
After a more leisurely breakfast than the last few days, there will be a guided walking tour of this beautiful town including a visit to a local museum, such as the Museo Romantico or the History Museum or that focusses on the life of a traditional Cuban family in the 19th century.
After a morning of culture, the tour ends at La Canchanchara, the town’s most famous bar that makes its own signature cocktail made from, of course, local rum and sugar.
Clients are then free to choose where to have their own lunch followed by an afternoon or self-exploration or relaxtion back at their accommodation.
Dinner tonight will be at a local restaurant after which there are a number of great bars and live music venues where you can show off your best salsa moves.
Suggested Accommodation: Trinidad Casa Particulars Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
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Day 6 — Trinidad to Cienfuegos via El Nicho
Departing Trinidad in the morning, you will head west along the coast towards the nearby city of Cienfuegos.
However, before proceeding to Cienfuegos itself, there will be a near full day detour away from the coast, heading into the nearby Escambray Mountains and El Nicho Park.
Considered one of the most beautiful parks in Cuba, unspoiled trails wind through lush countryside and quiet villages, together with a series of natural pools and waterfalls such as the Black Creek falls that are some 30 metres high.
Having parked up, there will be an easy hike of around a mile, at the end of which there will be the chance to cool off in the natural pools. Lunch is included at a simple restaurant by the pools after which there will be time to relax and enjoy the surroundings.
Leaving El Nicho behind and returning to the coast road, there will be a brief stop at the Botanical Gardens before continuing to Cienfuegos.
There was a small, indigenous Taino settlement at Cienfuegos long before the colonial powers arrived in Cuba although, unlike the rest of the island, it was French immigrants, and not Spanish, who founded modern day Cienfuegos. This French influence is still evident in the city’s layout, architecture and many of its street names.
On arrival, there will be a brief tour of the city’s attractive, colonial centre and seafront Malecon before checking in to your overnight accommodation.
The remainder of the day is free for clients to make their own arrangements.
Suggested Accommodation: Cienfuegos Casas Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
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Day 7 — Cienfuegos to Havana via Bay of Pigs
Leaving Cienfuegos shortly after breakfast, you will continue to follow the south coast along near deserted, rural roads until you reach the Bay of Pigs, one of the most internationally recognized names in world history.
Famous as the site of the failed, CIA backed invasion of Cuba is 1961, there is little reminder today of those momentous days, save for a small museum from which you can garner an insight into an event that will forever be engrained in Cuban history.
After a break for lunch at a local restaurant (not included) and a stroll along the beach in the nearby village of Playa Larga, you will leave the coast and begin to head inland.
Approximately 30 minutes’ drive inland is Guama, a somewhat kitsch replica of a Taino village (the Taino were Cuba’s earliest inhabitants). More enjoyable than the village is the journey there, a fun speedboat trip that first makes its way through tropical mangrove before crossing a large lagoon.
Departing Guama, it’s time to try and catch some shut-eye on the drive back to Havana where, after checking in at your accommodation and freshening up, there will be a farewell dinner at a selected private restaurant in Old Havana.
The evening doesn’t end there however as, after dinner, there will be a visit to see the Legendarios del Guajirito, an all-star band made up of the surviving memories of the Buenavista Social Club and the Afro-Cuban All Stars.
Suggested Accommodation: Havana Casa Particulars Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
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Day 8 — Havana and home or beach
Your final day is free for you to do as you please – relax, explore on your own or perhaps a bit of retail therapy Cuban style.
Depending on your post tour plans and schedule, you will be collected from your accommodation for your transfer to one of Cuba’s beautiful beach resorts or, if returning home, back to the airport.
Please Note
7 Night Cuba Tour - Dates & Prices for 2024
Departures are select Wednesdays until the end of April. If you wish to travel after then, please call or email us.
Further departures may become available but, for now, tour dates are as follows.
10/04 & 17/04.
The price is £1400 per person.
This price is based on two adults sharing the same room throughout. Single supplement £300.
Quoted prices do not include international flights which we are happy to arrange as part of an ATOL protected package. The quoted prices include transfers on arrival / departure from Havana airport. Supplements apply for Varadero airport (TUI fly direct from Manchester to Varadero, currently the only direct flight between the UK & Cuba and ending in May 2024).
Beach extensions
Beach Extensions: For clients wishing to extend their 7 Night Cuba Tour with time at one of Cuba’s numerous beach resorts there are numerous options although, due to the size of the island, most clients opt to stay somewhere that doesn't involve too much travel, such as nearby Memories Jibacoa (picture below)
Suggested Accommodation
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