The Grand Tour of Cuba

A warm Caribbean welcome awaits as you meet our local team at the airport.

Then it’s time to experience Cuba’s very quiet “autopista” motorway on the drive to the picturesque Las Terrazas National Reserve where you’ll spend your first night in Cuba.

Las Terrazas, is where Fidel Castro established a huge reforestation programme, leading to 6 million trees being planted, now home to over 120 bird species.

A local guide will show you around the area, including the small community that live overlooking the lake. Ruins of over 70 coffee plantations lie in the sub-tropical forests which were also used extensively by Che Guevara and his revolutionaries for training.

After a traditional Cuban lunch in a farmhouse restaurant continue to the UNESCO world heritage Vinales Valley, where the scenery becomes even more picturesque.

Visit the tobacco plantations and meet the farmers who have worked the land for generations, with almost no technological advances. Peek inside the drying houses and discover more about the global interest in Cuban cigars.

Enjoy a walk through the valley and a boat ride through the limestone cave system, with lunch served in a local organic farm restaurant serving a platter of various local dishes.

It’s a slightly bumpy drive to Cayo Jutias, however on arrival the day is yours to enjoy this most beautiful island.

Stroll along the beach and visit gorgeous Cayo Megano, to see the many starfish who seem to congregate here, the reason why remains a mystery.

We can provide a packed lunch and a choice of drinks for your day or our friend at the beach can reserve you some fresh barbequed lobster!

There is just so much to enjoy in Vinales, including various walks, horse riding, cycling trails through the country lanes or how about learning to dance Salsa al fresco!

Enjoy Vinales at a more leisurely pace exploring the small markets in the town, or visit the Roots project where fallen trees and branches have been lovingly recreated into local sculptures, Cuban creativity at its best!

The choir of cockerels will bid you goodbye as you transfer to the bright lights of Havana.

First stop is to a working cigar factory where Cuba’s world-famous cigars are still hand rolled defying technological advances. See how the skilled workers (known as Torcedores) are kept up to date with news and popular novels by lectors who read to them as they roll cigars.

Heading into historic Old Havana, we have a great restaurant suggestion for lunch, followed by an afternoon walking tour through this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A gleaming Classic American vintage car, will be waiting for a chauffeur driven tour through the city.

Visit the impressive Revolution Square overlooked by the famous mural of ‘Che’ Guevara and experience the hustle and bustle of downtown Vedado before ending the tour with a thrilling drive along the Malecon oceanfront promenade.

Finish the afternoon with an afternoon cocktail or two and some tapas at one of our favourite Old Havana bars. Head out tonight for authentic, big band style music or for jazz lovers the famous La Zorra y El Cuervo opens late with the very best Jazz.

Havana is a city that the longer your stay the more you uncover! .

Explore local galleries and a growing choice of private boutiques and artisans or Hemingway aficionados can visit his former home and favourite bars.

Learn Salsa or percussion with fun beginners’ classes or meet up with historians to delve deeper into Cuba’s political history. The list is endless, and the city has just so much to offer!

It’s the last night in Havana so it has to be the Tropicana Cabaret! Your Chevvy will be waiting outside for an evening of glitz, song and thong, with a hint of cringe!

Head east into the mangrove swamplands of the Zapata National Park, Cuba’s largest biosphere reserve and the home to ………..crocodiles ( only a few ! )

The Bay of Pigs is the site of the failed CIA backed invasion of Cuba that was repelled by Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries. Explore the area with lunch served overlooking the ocean.

Continue to colonial Cienfuegos in the late afternoon, enjoying the highlights of this small, French influenced colonial city overlooking a large bay.

Kayak close to a ‘flamboyance’ of gorgeous pink flamingos in their natural habitat, a beautiful and peaceful lagoon. You might even stumble across the hulk of an old Soviet submarine, one of those “only in Cuba” experiences.

Continue into the mountains, to visit El Nicho Park, a beautiful area of waterfalls and natural pools. Bring your swimming costumes for a cooling dip

After a rustic lunch continue to Trinidad, a living museum of colonial history, absorbing street life and a UNESCO world heritage city.

A local guide can show you Trinidad today and discover its rich colonial history, an absorbing and fascinating place where you’ll find out more about Trinidad’s interesting historical journey up to the present day.

In the late afternoon head to the beach, you could stay for the sunset and also enjoy a beachside dinner. For the night owls the main square is the place to be for authentic live music and dance.

Today is yours to relax and enjoy a further day in Trinidad.

Spend a day at the beach, people watch over a long lunch in the centre or head with a guide into the mountains for a choice of easy and interesting trails of varying distances.

First stop is Sugar Mill valley, its tranquil setting hides a somewhat sobering and haunting past, as it was home to immense sugar plantations where over 30,000 slaves toiled in the heat.

Visit Santa Clara, a city of major revolutionary significance, where Che Guevara rests at a very symbolic mausoleum.

Its now siesta time as your driver heads east, along flat agricultural terrain, before arriving at Camaguey. This is Cuba’s third largest city with a delightful and unique colonial centre.

Start the day with a short tour of Camaguey, known for its abundance of churches and maze of alleyways, created to confuse marauding pirates.

Bayamo, the former capital is a small, charming place to make a stop before continuing into the Sierra Maestra mountains. Soon the scenery changes dramatically and we swap the car for a sturdy mountain lorry to take you to the delightful hamlet.

With small houses scattered across the banks of the river and views to Cuba’s highest mountain, Pico Turquino, it’s a blissfully quiet and peaceful location and a world away from Havana!

The cockerels will be your early morning alarm this morning as their cries certainly echo through the mountains!

Drive up Cuba’s highest road ready for a trail through the forests to La Plata, the secret hideout of Fidel Castro’s revolutionaries. Visit the various hidden buildings including Fidel’s personal cabin.

Continue to the tiny mountain community of La Platica to see how the dwindling number of villagers eke out an existence in the mountains. If the school is open, it’s a delight to pop in and say hello to the teacher and three pupils!

More serious hikers can attempt summiting Pico Gallon that towers over the hamlet, whilst other activities today can include a relaxing horse ride deeper into the mountains, easier walks, or just commandeering a hammock with a book.

After a late lunch return down the mountain road for Santiago De Cuba the second largest city in Cuba.

Santiago De Cuba is certainly less sophisticated than Havana, however it still packs a punch in terms of sights and culture.

Explore the city with our local guide including the bustling old town dominated by Parque Cespedes, where Fidel Castro announced the victory of the Revolution to the world. He rests now in Santa Ifigenia cemetery in a simple mausoleum, guarded by young soldiers 24 hours a day.

Morro Cabana is an imposing fortress that protected the city from pirates and offers spectacular views across the Caribbean. Close by is ‘Manuel’s a small family run restaurant, where you can have dinner whilst watching the sunset over the Sierra Maestra mountains in the distance.

This evening perhaps visit the famous Casa De La Trova where Paul McCartney once played here on a personal visit to the city.

Baracoa nestles in a remote location surrounded by virgin rainforests and the El Yunque tabletop mountain. It’s still Cuba; however Baracoa is closer to Haiti than Havana!

The journey to reach Baracoa takes you across the La Farola mountain road passing close to the USA Naval Base at Guantanamo. On arrival explore this delightful coastal town and mix with the locals in one of the small bars.

Baracoa is surrounded by virgin rainforests and “El Yunque”, a distinctive anvil shaped mountain, which can be climbed with a local guide if you feel energetic.

See the highlights of Baracoa and take an exhilarating boat ride on the Rio Toa, Cuba’s wildest river. The area is the home of Cuba’s cocoa plantations, and enjoy some sampling after a rustic lunch at the farm, do let us know if you like the chocolate !

Nearby is one of Cuba’s most remote beaches, well worth a visit and it’s rumoured that elusive manatees can sometimes be spotted in the crystal clear waters.

Returning from Baracoa, pause at the tiny village of Biran, the birthplace of Fidel and Raul Castro. Wander around the estate and impressive country house and ponder why their relatively wealthy childhoods led Fidel to a life of revolution.

Continuing via the provincial capital of Holguin with time for a short visit, before reaching Guardalavaca. Here lies a stunning beach which will provide a beautiful backdrop for the last two nights of your Grand Tour of Cuba.

It’s an all-inclusive hotel for tonight so dinner and all drinks are included in your stay

We’ve left today free as this fulfilling and memorable tour through Cuba should include a day to relax before your journey home tomorrow.

For those looking for that one last experience, then the sleepy coastal town of Gibara is close by! The town fights for the claim that Columbus first discovered Cuba there, although many argue that it was in fact Baracoa.

Depending on your flight times, there may be time for a lazy morning and last swim before heading to the airport for your flight home.