Cuban Discovery

Overview

Cuban Discovery

An island lost in time, Cuba is a decadent blend of romantic grandeur and off-beat Caribbean charm. Iconic 1950s automobiles parade through the seafront streets and rumba bars rub shoulders with centuries-old churches. Forested inland landscapes are home to tobacco plantations and rugged mountaintops, while swathes of white sand skirt the northern coast. On our tours of Cuba, we'll start in Havana before winding our way through the country, uncovering its treasures as we go - from Spanish colonial heritage to underground rivers.

What's Included:

Return flights
10 nights in hotels and 1 in flight (accomodation as specified or similar)
Mixed meal plan
All-inclusive food and drinks during your stay in Cayo Ensenachos
Titan’s VIP door-to-door travel service
Titan tour manager and local guide
Travel in destination by coach
Porterage
Tours of Havana, Viñales Valley and Cienfuegos
Visits to cigar factory or museum; rum factory or museum; Finca Vigia; Las Terrazas Eco Mountain Resort; Santa Clara; and Trinidad
9pm cannon ceremony
Cuban cocktail lesson

Full Itinerary

Day 1: UK - Havana

Titan’s VIP door-to-door travel service collects you from home for your flight to Havana. On arrival our coach transfers you to the Iberostar Parque Central (4T) where we stay for three nights.

Day 2: Havana

Culture lovers will be charmed by Havana, Cuba’s bustling, atmospheric capital with the ambience of a bygone era. Our walking tour begins through the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the faded Spanish colonial architecture is slowly being restored to its former glory. Discover the beautiful streets with elegant plazas, and stop by the legendary Floridita Bar, where Ernest Hemingway famously drank daiquiris.

We visit a rum factory or museum and the rest of the day is at leisure. Tonight, we witness the cannon firing at La Cabaña Fortress, a daily tradition to announce the historical closure of the city gates at 9pm.

Tour of Havana including a rum factory or museum (morning) 9pm cannon ceremony (evening)

Day 3: Hemingway Museum

We head to Finca Vigia, Ernest Hemingway’s home - the setting in which he scribed many of his best-known works. Now preserved as a museum, it provides a wonderful insight into the author’s life.

We also visit Cojimar, where Hemingway gained the inspiration for ‘The Old Man and the Sea’. Enjoy a Cuban cocktail lesson and spend a relaxed afternoon at your leisure.

Visit Finca Vigia (morning) Cuban cocktail lesson (afternoon)

Day 4: Las Terrazas - Viñales Valley

We travel by coach to Las Terrazas Eco Mountain Resort, an ‘eco-village’ created in the 1960s, and take a tour of a 19th-century coffee plantation. We then continue to the lush Viñales Valley.

Visit Las Terrazas Eco Mountain Resort (afternoon)

Day 5: Viñales Valley

The inspiringly beautiful Viñales Valley is interspersed with dramatic rounded limestone formations known as mogotes. We visit a farmer’s tobacco plantation, before continuing to the Cuevo del Indio (Indian Cave), where we board a boat to sail on an underground river. We see the Murial Prehistorica and end our day with a visit to a cigar factory or museum.

Tour in Viñales Valley (all day)

Day 6: Santa Clara - Cayo Ensenachos

Continuing our adventure, we arrive in Santa Clara, the site of the last battle of the guerrilla war in 1958. This town is the final resting place of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, with a museum and mausoleum dedicated to the revolutionary leader. Here you can see Tren Blindado, the famous military train that was carrying soldiers and weapons when it was derailed by Che and a group of rebels, paving the way for the Revolution. We drive on to Cayo Ensenachos, where we’ll enjoy some of Cuba’s best white-sand beaches.

Visit Santa Clara (afternoon)

Days 7-8: Cayo Ensenachos

Two full free days at leisure, with all food and drink included, to relax and enjoy the facilities at our beachfront hotel.

Day 9: Trinidad - Cienfuegos

Our journey continues to Trinidad, a World Heritage Site which has been hailed as one of the best-preserved colonial cities in the world. We’ll visit either the Trinidad History Museum, where history buffs will be in their element, or the Museo Romantico, a sumptuous mansion displaying the decorative arts of the Trinidad aristocracy. We then continue to Cienfuegos.

Visit Trinidad (afternoon)

Day 10 Cienfuegos

Soak up the history of Cienfuegos, known affectionately as the ‘Pearl of the South’. Characterised by palaces overlooking a beautiful Caribbean bay, star attractions include Parque Jose Marti with its imposing cathedral.

Tour of Cienfuegos (all day)

Day 11: Bay of Pigs - Havana - In flight

We return to Havana stopping en route at the Museo de Playa Girón, dedicated to the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. We'll also visit a reconstructed Taino village, showing the way of life for Cuba's indigenous people. We then head to the airport for your return flight to the UK.