​Confirmed Itinerary

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February 18, Thursday

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• 1:40 PM - Arrive to Jose Marti Airport on AA 743.  Your guide will be waiting for you with a sign with your last name on it.

  • Your guide during your stay in Cuba is Amalia (+53 5 5219719). You can contact her via Whatsapp. She will be your guide and hostess.  She is an entrepreneur herself, working in tourism independently to be able to show her clients the real Cuba, bring opportunities to her community, and support those who are also trying to be independent and build their own business. 

• 3:30 PM - Check-in to your accommodations. 

• After checking in, your guide will show you your neighborhood and explore the main streets of old Havana, including Obispo and O’Reilly.  If you are hungry, simply ask your guide and she will choose a private restaurant  for you.  Enjoy the rest of the afternoon exploring places like the oldest Plaza in Havana, Plaza de Armas. This would be a guided walk of Old Havana. Get to know the surrounding landmarks, places around your accommodation.  Meet with independent vendors and support local entrepreneurs.  Then head back to the hotel to rest and finish settling in. 

• 08:00 PM Dinner Time. Reservation at Los Mercaderes.  A great place run by a local chef with traditional flavors and music.  A great example of a successful private business in La Habana​

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February 19, Friday

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• 8:00 AM - Enjoy homemade breakfast at your boutique Hotel.

• 9:30 AM to 5PM - Today is dedicated to meeting and supporting all kinds of art from Cuba.  Dancing, music, and plastic arts. First, we are taking you to a dancing school. There, you will be able to see them practice and see their spaces and learn a bit more about their dancers and directors.  Your visit will help this company pay for materials and training.   Then, we will take you to meet two independent artists who have turned their homes in studios and galleries, Osmaivy Ortega and Lisandra Ramirez.  They will share with you about their lives as independent artists making their own way in the Cuban art scene. Do they get support? Do they get to travel? Can they have their own galleries? etc.. They have great and unique pieces, you are welcome to purchase some of their art, but it is not necessary.  

• Lunch -  You will take a break in the middle to have lunch.  We are taking you to Decameron, a lovely place owned and run by a gay couple.  They are entrepreneurs who returned to Cuba to make their life's dream a reality, to own their own restaurant. 

• 8:00 PM - Dinner tonight will be at the Claxon Boutique Hotel. Another one of our favorite places in the city.  After dinner be ready to experience some of the local music scene.  They have some of the best up and coming musicians. Tonight will be Trombone night, Latin Jazz.  Your visit will be supporting these young talents directly.  

 

February 20, Saturday

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• 8:00 AM - Enjoy homemade breakfast at your boutique Hotel.

• 09:30 AM - This morning is dedicated to continuing the exploration of the UNESCO World Heritage architecture of Old Havana, including some of the most important landmarks of the Havana the Capitol building, The Great Theatre Alicia Alonso, The Fine Arts Museum, Central Park and the Cathedral Square.  and much more.  

• 12:30 PM to 6:00 PM - Today you will have lunch at lovely Grados and will be accompanied by Dr. Oscar Fernández, professor of Economics at the Habana University and entrepreneur. Oscar will lead an introduction to the recently legalized “MiPyME” Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. This will help you to understand how these changes are shaping the Cuban Economy and its political impact. Oscar will also talk about the role of the University on these news dynamics.  After lunch, he will take you to a small factory of preserved food in Havana. These are small privately owned corporations trying to bring financial independence to locals. A fascinating and eye opening opportunity to see a different side of the city not all visitors get to see.  Your visit will help all these efforts directly. 

• 8:00 PM Dinner time.  Tonight we have a reservation at La Guarida, one of Cuba’s most well-known "paladares" in the city.  The famous Cuban movie "Fresa y Chocolate", was filmed there in the 90’s and was even nominated for an Oscar. This movie was groundbreaking for covering LGBT issues in Cuba. 

• Afterwards, why not go for some drinks at one of the new places in the city where the small and often marginalized LGBT+ community hangout, or drag show.  You will coordinate this with your guide.   

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February 21, Sunday

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• 8:00 AM - Enjoy homemade breakfast at your boutique Hotel

• 10:30 AM - We are taking you today to the East Side of the city known as Playas del Este.  These communities might live close to the city but live a very different reality.  You will see a more relaxed way of living. Communities of fishermen and others who depend of the sea to make their end means.  You will get the chance to meet some of them, perhaps even try the catch of the day.  This is where the locals come to relax away from the noises of the city. A very different economy run by and dependent on locals. A great opportunity to also support the LGBT community in the area, at the beach point called Mi Cayito.

• 8:00 PM Dinner time.  Tonight you are free to explore the Old Habana for dinner. Our guide will provide suggestions and recommendations as well.  

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February 22, Monday

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• 8:00 AM Enjoy homemade breakfast at your boutique Hotel, or near by at one of the new and independent cafes around your accommodation. 

• 9:30 AM (TBD) - We continue showing places and people outside of Havana. Today Baracoa,  a small fishing town on the outskirts of Havana, where you will be hosted by a local family.  Delicious food, beautiful views ,and good conversations with the help of your guide as translator. A perfect chance to practice your Spanish skills too.  On the way there you will get the chance to explore the ruins of the former school of arts, and leisure drive by Siboney, one of the few residential neighborhoods that still keeps its beauty and exclusivity after the revolution. 

• After lunch,  we will take you back to Habana.  On the way you will get to visit Jose Fuster’s house, a Cuban artist that has turned his neighborhood into a mosaic wonderland, Gaudi style. This has brought a lot of opportunities around the area. Another great example of entrepreneurship and creating social change through art.

• 8:00 PM Dinner time.  Tonight you are free to explore the Old Habana for dinner. Our guide will provide suggestions and recommendations as well.  

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February 23, Tuesday

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• 7:00 AM Enjoy homemade breakfast at your boutique Hotel, or near by at one of the new and independent cafes around your accommodation.   

• 8:00 AM (TBD) - Time to talk you to Varadero and Matanzas. First, you will make a stop in Matanzas City to learn a bit about its history and culture. Matanzas is called the City of Bridges, for the seventeen bridges that cross the three rivers that traverse the city (Rio Yumuri, San Juan, and Canimar). For this reason, it was referred to as the Venice of Cuba; It was also called The Athens of Cuba for its poets.

• 11:00 AM Arrive to Varadero Beach, also known as Playa Azul (Blue Beach), the best known beach in Cuba. Its crystalline waters and fine sand extends for more than 20 kilometers in the Península de Hicacos (Hicacos Peninsula). Varadero is also the biggest tourism development resort of Cuba with more than 52 hotels.  Our guide will share with you history and interesting facts of the area, like how it compares to other destinations within Cuba like Viñales.  

• Lunch - Lunch will be in a local establishment to support small private "paladares."  

• 03:00 PM - Time to check into your accommodations in Varadero.  

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February 24, Wednesday

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• Varadero Stay.

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February 25, Thursday

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• 11:00 AM - Departure. Time to return to Havana (You can change this time if desired with your guide. She will not come to meet you in Varadero, but will coordinate with the driver)

• 02:00 PM - Check into new accommodation. Hotel La Reserva, in Vedado.  A lovely guest house located in a newer part of town.

• 05:30 PM - Be ready to ride into the sunset on a beautiful American classic car.  Your driver is an independent driver that uses his car as his business to maintain his family and have financial freedom.  He will show you parts of the city where locals live, outside the usual visitor areas.  You are in for a treat.  

• 08:00 PM (TBD) - Farewell dinner at El Cocinero, a stunning rooftop restaurant also located in the Vedado neighborhood.  Afterwards, head next door to the Fabrica de Arte Cubano, an old oil-factory turned art gallery, club, and music venue. One of Havana’s most vibrant and popular spaces, this eclectic venue will surely leave you amazed. 

  • No transportation included for tonight.  Guide will assist with Taxis.​

• Tonight you will say goodbye to your guide and hostess Amalia. 

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February 26, Friday

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• 08:00 AM  Enjoying breakfast at your boutique hotel, or near by at one of the new and independent cafes around your accommodation.   

• 11:30 AM Depart for the Jose Marti Airport for AA flight 744, leaving at 2:40 PM.

  • You can decide to leave at a different time. Please coordinate with your guide in advance.  Drive from the hotel to the airport is about 30-45min ​

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Additional Information

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• Visa: You will need to buy your Cuba visa at the airport. Please check with your airline.  

• Money Exchange: Your guide will assist with money exchange as needed, as well as guidance on how to connect to the network  in Cuba.

• Money: 

  • We recommend to budget about $150 USD per day.  This should be enough for meals, drinks. and tips.

  • Please bring cash as most debit or credit cards don't work in Cuba.

  • Vendors and providers are giving better exchange rates than banks and ATMs.  In some cases the difference is 1 Euro/USD = 120 pesos (Official rate) vs 180 pesos (Rate offered by vendors/service providers)

  • We are currently recommending not to exchange all your cash up front, as more and more restaurants are now accepting USD/Euros as payment.  It is good to have some exchange to use at stores and vendors.

  • Please work with your guide to exchange money as needed. Do not exchange at the airport or at ATMs. Work with your guide. 

• Network Connectivity:

  • You can't download apps once ini Cuba. Make sure you download all the apps you need (i.e. Whatsapp, La Nave, VPN)  in advance. 

    • La Nave is like the Uber of Cuba. Although Ada will help with this so you don't have to worry about it.   ​

  • You can purchase a SIM card for your phone to access the Cuban ​network.  Ada can help with this.  Note: Not all phones work (Specially iPhones)

  • You should have access to wifi at the hotel.

  • American banks don't let you access their apps while in Cuba.  Please check if your Irish bank will. 

• Tips, meals, and the meal of your guide (should you choose to invite her to join you) are not included in the cost.  

• Schedule: Please confirm with Guide times for reservations. Those marked TBD are meant to show/request flexibility.  

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Please let me know if you have any questions. 

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THANK YOU 

 

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