Please note that this itinerary is for planning purposes and is subject to minor changes before the trip. All meals and activities are included in the cost unless indicated by “cost not included.”
DAY 1: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10th | WELCOME
Meet at Havana International Airport. When you arrive in Havana, you will pass through customs, get your bags, and exit the airport. Don’t be alarmed if it takes a long time to get your luggage. Cuba has a very slow x-ray system to scan all bags. When you exit the airport, you will be greeted by our Cuban tour guide, chauffeur, and U.S.-based tour leader who will be holding a PRCNO sign. We will gather outside the airport in groups according to arrival times and transfer to our Havana hotels.
Arrive at our accommodations and check in to your rooms. We will be staying in Havana's best privately owned boutique hotels located close to one another in the historic core of Habana Vieja. These are historic mansions in classic Spanish Colonial architecture remodeled with a modern twist. After you check in, relax and settle in before our orientation and dinner.
5:45 pm ~ Welcome Mojitos and Introductions. Meet & greet each other as we begin our tour. We will have a welcome and orientation over mojitos (or non-alcoholic refreshments).
6:30 pm ~ Capitolio Neighborhood Walking Tour. We’ll introduce ourselves to Havana by getting to know its most grand neighborhood. El Prado is one of the most exquisitely designed major avenues in all of the Americas and home to the quintessential structures that define Havana, ranging from Colonial to Baroque to Neoclassical to Art Deco. Designed in 1772 by French landscape architect Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier, El Prado runs for many blocks from the dramatic fountain, La Fuente de la India, to the iconic Malecon, marking the boundary between Habana Vieja and Centro Habana. El Paseo, a marble promenade lined with a natural canopy of trees, marble benches and bronze lions was chosen by the House of Chanel for one of the most dramatic runway shows in the history of fashion. It is home to El Capitolio (1929): El Gran Teatro de La Habana (1918), home to the National Ballet of Cuba; The Bacardi Building (1930), a testament to Art Deco and dozens of other structures immortalized in photography and film for decades. El Prado encompasses all the cultural wealth that Havana has offered from the 17th to the 20th Century.
7:00 pm ~ Welcome dinner at La Guarida Paladar. Anyone who has been to La Guarida will find it difficult to disagree that Enrique and Odeisys have managed to create their own magical home restaurant. The building, originally known as La Mansión Camagüey, shows its former grandeur from the magnificent wooden entrance door through the marble staircase up the two flights of stairs to the restaurant itself. The location for a classic scene from Cuba’s most iconic film “Fresa y Chocolate,” La Guarida has gone on to become one of the most popular restaurants in Cuba. Make sure to take your time on your way up the stairs for an opportunity to take some iconic Havana photographs.
9:00 pm ~ Concert at La Guarida Sessions. Above the dinner restaurant, the hottest new music scene in Havana is happening on a rooftop patio on Saturday nights. Tonight, we’ll get to hear one of Cuba’s greatest jazz artists perform under the stars.
DAY 2: MONDAY, APRIL 8th | COLONIAL HAVANA
7:00 – 9:30 am ~ Breakfast at our accommodations. We will eat a traditional home-cooked Cuban breakfast every morning. A typical Cuban breakfast includes eggs, bread, cheese, fresh tropical fruit, café con leche (espresso with milk), and juice.
10:00 am ~ Old Havana four plazas walking tour. Tour Old Havana on foot, walking between the four main plazas that comprise Cuba’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Start at Plaza de Armas, the site of the oldest Spanish fortress in the Americas, the 1519 locale of the first mass in Cuba, and the massive Baroque seat of government, known as Palacio de los Capitanes Generales. Continue to Plaza de San Francisco de Assis and Plaza Vieja, where we will visit artists' galleries and historic buildings and get a sense of the structure of the colonial city. We will finish at Plaza de la Catedral and see the Baroque cathedral.
12:00 pm ~ Lunch at Doña Eutimia. Doña Eutimia is one of Cuba’s oldest favorites. This little paladar, nestled in the alley next to the Taller de Gráfica, is just off the Cathedral Square. The house specialty is "ropa vieja," (old clothes) a Cuban classic made of stewed shredded lamb.
2:30 pm ~ Private Concert of Septeto Nacional. Fans of the Buena Vista Social Club will be in for a treat to see the legendary and historic Septeto Nacional de Cuba perform a concert for in an unexpected venue. These old timers are masters and great innovators of Latin music over the past 80 years.
4:30 pm ~ Time at leisure. Continue exploring Old Havana or return to the hotel to connect to WiFi at the hotel, recharge your batteries, or take a siesta.
8:00 pm ~ Dinner at Tierra. Tierra is just as much about the Havana arts scene as it is about food. Built into the VIP section of the Cuban Art Factory built out of recycled shipping containers. This paladar pushes the limits of private industry and government cooperation in a 100-year-old previously abandoned cooking oil factory along the Almendares River between the Vedado and Miramar neighborhoods. We’ll enter through the front door of the FAC and get to skip the long lines that typically go around the block.
9:30 pm ~ La Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC). Experience Havana’s hippest new urban magnet: an old peanut oil factory transformed into a multi-level and almost infinite art and music space exhibiting contemporary photography, installations, sculptures, three music stages, tapas, and seven bars. This new cultural hangout is an entrepreneurial project of Cuban rock star X Alfonso. This “Cuban Art Factory” is a shining reflection of what the future might hold for Havana as it reemerges as the cosmopolitan trend-setting capital stronghold of Latin America that it once was.
DAY 3: TUESDAY, APRIL 9th | WEST HAVANA
7:00 - 9:30 am ~ Breakfast at our accommodations.
10:00 am ~ Visit to Instituto Superior de Arte with Felipe Dulzaides. Fidel Castro and Che Guevara dreamed of turning a former country club into the premiere school for the arts in Latin America. Although unfinished in its construction, ISA is revered worldwide as “organic Cuban architecture,” and it is now Cuba's most advanced art school. ISA has schools for dance, music, visual art, theater, and media arts. We’ll be visiting the abandoned dance school that now lies in ruins with expert Felipe Dulzaides.
11:30 am ~ Fusterlandia. See the ceramicist who has transformed his entire neighborhood into a Gaudi or Brancusiesque wonderland of sculptures, mosaics, and murals. Fuster’s home and neighborhood gallery has become internationally renowned for community projects where neighbors volunteer their houses to become part of a sprawling masterpiece known as “Fusterlandia.”
12:30 pm ~ Lunch at Otra Manera. An artist and sommelier couple relocated from Costa Brava to launch this fine dining restaurant, nodding to their roots with the Spanish-Cuban fusion menu that uses organic goodies from a local farmer. One of the stylish new players in Havana’s private restaurant scene, Otramanera offers seating in its minimalist tropical garden.
2:30 pm ~ Private performance dance company “Mi Compania”. Watch this extraordinary contemporary dance company under the direction of Susana Pous. We will visit a beautiful house transformed into a private dance studio.
4:00 pm ~ Return to our accommodations for dinner and evening to explore on your own. Relax, connect to WiFi, or explore the city on your own. We’ll recommend options and make reservations at the best restaurants in town such as Café La Esquina, Ecléctico, Doña Eutimia, Vista al Mar, El Del Frente (optional – cost not included).
8:00 pm ~ Suggested activity: El Cañonazo. After dinner, you could return to the Morro/Cabaña colonial fortification overlooking the bay and participate in a nightly ritual that has been maintained for centuries with the firing of the cannons and muskets as the public announcement of the closing of the Bay for the night. Along with the pomp and circumstance of the nightly recreation, you will enjoy a fabulous view of the City of Havana at night. Havana was guarded by a wall as part of the defensive system put in place by the Spanish Crown from the late 1700s to 1863. It was customary to shoot a cannon every morning and evening to mark the opening and closing of the gates of the city as well as the iron chain that blocked the harbor entrance at night. The tradition has been kept until the present day when at 9:00 p.m., Spanish soldiers clad in military fatigue carry out the renowned Cannon Shooting Ceremony. This ceremony has
DAY 4: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10th | HAVANA 1900 - 1950
Breakfast at our accommodations.
10:00 am ~ LECTURE: Overview of Havana’s Architectural History with Wilfredo Benitez. We’ll begin our day with a multi-media presentation about Havana by Wilfredo Benitez, General Manager of the Ludwig Foundation and expert on the historical development of Havana. He will give a glimpse into the history of Cuban architecture, from the Colonial era to the 1950's modernism and until today. This will deepen our understanding of the city while we explore its many neighborhoods throughout the week. His presentation will take place in the living room of one of our houses.
11:30 am - Visit the Convento de San Francisco de Asis with architect and preservationist Isabel Rigol, National Prize for Preservation. The Convent of San Francisco de Asís is a religious building of baroque architecture located in the square of the same name in Old Havana. Its construction began in the year 1548 and lasted until 1591. It was completely finished almost 200 years later, with a series of structural reforms that took place from 1731 to 1738. Currently, inside the monastery, the Museum of Sacred Art of the city of Havana is housed along with a chamber orchestra performance space. Isabel Rigol is credited for saving and preserving this structure and in the process, founding Centro Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museología (CENCREM). She will take us on a personalized tour of this historic jewel of Havana while discussing her perspective on Cuban conservation.
12:30 pm ~ Lunch at Paladar Ivan Chef Justo. This is the restaurant of Fidel Castro’s former primary personal chef. The style of the place is thoroughly Cuban-Mediterranean, located on the second and third floors of a building that is over 200 years old. The food is nothing short of spectacular.
2:30 pm ~ Museo de Artes Decorativos. One of Havana's best museums dazzles like a European stately home. It's replete with all manner of architectural features, including rococo furniture, Chinese screens, and an art deco bathroom. Equally interesting is the building itself, which is of French design and was commissioned in 1924 by the wealthy Gómez family. Walking around you'll encounter a weighty collection of porcelain, ceramics and glassware amassed by the former lady of the house María Gómez Mena, who was known for throwing lavish parties before the 1959 revolution put an end to wanton extravagance. The garden is a more Italian affair, guarded by statues and busts denoting the four seasons.
4:00 pm ~ House tour of Curator Pamela Ruiz. Pamela Ruiz has invited us to her beautifully restored luxurious Havana mansion for a tour with cocktails.
5:30 pm ~ Return to our accommodations for dinner and evening to explore on your own Relax, connect to WiFi, or explore the city on your own. We’ll recommend options and make reservations at the best restaurants in town such as Café La Esquina, Mar Adentro, Ecléctico, Mercaderes, Vista Mar (optional – cost not included).
10:00 pm ~ Suggested activity: TROPICANA NIGHTCLUB. The Tropicana was the most famous nightclub in the world from 1939 to 1959. Built in the gardens of an early 20th-century residence, it contains one of Cuba’s most significant modern buildings, the Arcos de Cristal (1952), a thin-shell concrete structure by architect Max Borges Recio. The club continues to operate and is the only of Havana’s famous clubs to survive the Revolution. You will see the gardens and the show, which is based on the 1950's cabaret-era spectacles (optional - cost not included).
DAY 5: THURSDAY, APRIL 11th | CIENFUEGOS
9:00 am ~ Breakfast at our accommodations.
9:00 am ~ Check out and depart for Cienfuegos. After breakfast, we leave Havana and head towards Trinidad with a stop in Cienfuegos. On this drive, we will transition from the Atlantic to the Southern Caribbean. The route will cross many sugar cane fields and agricultural farms. We’ll have a rest stop along the way, stretch and use the bathroom.
12:00 pm ~ Lunch at Villa Lagartos. We will walk to have dinner on the water at the tip of the peninsula of Punta Gorda at this charming paladar.
1:30 pm ~ Visit to Palacio del Valle. Visit this former 1910’s palace of a wealthy sugar baron. The ghosts of Cuba’s past, when rich sugar barons built elaborate mansions and planted out vast estates, still seem to linger in the sultry Caribbean air, especially around the central Cuban city of Cienfuegos. Lavishly decorated with Neo-Moorish, Venetian and Gothic motifs and often compared to the Alhambra Palace in Spain, the Mudejar architectural style of this home resembles an elaborate wedding cake. Make sure to enjoy your included cocktail on the rooftop.
2:30 pm ~ City Tour of Cienfuegos historic core. A relatively young town in Cuban terms, Cienfuegos was founded in 1819 by French settlers from America and Haiti. As a result, there’s a decidedly French provincial town feel about it and because of Cuba’s isolation for so long, the entire town is almost as it was in its 19th-century glory days. The entire old city of Cienfuegos is a UNESCO world heritage site and the square, flanked by stunning neo-classical facades, wide streets, and a collection of palaces and public buildings, is an example of why it is considered a colonial treasure. Visits will include Central Park, the 19th Century Italian-style Tomas Terry Theater, and the Prado Promenade. We will have some free time to explore, shop in the markets, and talk to the locals.
3:30 pm ~ Private concert with Nelson Valdez. We'll meet one of Cienfuegos' most vibrant and popular singer/songwriter who is highly respected at home and across the island. His style of music is proudly Cuban. He will perform solo for us at an artists' clubhouse called the UNEAC.
4:30 pm ~ Continue on to Trinidad. Drive on a small road that cuts through the Escambray Mountains and then cruises along the coast to Trinidad, a charming UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the seven cities founded by the Spaniards between 1510 and 1515. Arrival for sunset.
6:30 pm ~ Arrive at your bed & breakfast in Trinidad. We will be spending two nights at bed & breakfasts in the countryside. Trinidad has houses in their colonial streets that date back to the 1500s. Being able to stay in these homes with families who rent rooms is a more fun and personal way of getting to know the country and its people. You will have a special home-cooked meal by your host family.
9:00 pm ~ Open Air Music Concert. Every night there is music under the stars at the Casa de la Música just a short walk from our houses. Like Rome’s Spanish steps crossed with a Grotto, locals and foreigners gather to sit on the stone steps or at bistro tables and listen or dance to Cuban rhythms.
DAY 6: FRIDAY, APRIL 12th | TRINIDAD
9:00 am ~ Breakfast at our villa. Your house will cook a traditional Cuban breakfast which usually includes café con leche, freshly squeezed tropical juice, fresh fruit, bread, cheese, eggs, and ham.
10:00 am ~ Tour of Trinidad’s historic core with historian Nancy Benitez. This morning we will be guided through Trinidad’s Casco Histórico, the crown jewel of Cuban colonial architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This includes the Plaza Mayor, many cobblestone pedestrian streets, and museums of colonial sugar barons including the Palacio Cantero and the Sanchez Iznaga Mansion. Our specialist, Nancy Benitez, is the historian of Trinidad and is very active in the field of local restoration.
12:00 pm ~ Lunch at Sol Ananda Paladar. Located in a 1750's villa, this private restaurant is owned by an antique collector who has furnished it as it would have been a hundred years ago featuring delicious homemade traditional country cuisine.
2:00 pm ~ Visit to Carlos Matas painter’s studio. We will visit the home studio of local painter Carlos Matas who is well known for his nighttime landscape paintings of Trinidad. We see the work of him and his wife and daughter who are also accomplished painters and get a chance to discuss their lives and careers as painters in this small and quaint town.
2:30 pm ~ Depart for Havana.
7:00 pm ~ Return to Havana and Check into Hotel Grand Aston. Welcome to Havana’s newest hotel located downtown on the ocean in El Vedado neighborhood. This Indonesian luxury hotel reveals unique designer architecture, fresh rooms, eclectic dining, and beautiful wellness facilities, including the city’s only 24-hour fitness center and an amazing 56-meter-long swimming pool overlooking the sparkling waters of iconic Havana Bay.
Dinner and evening to explore on your own. Relax, connect to WiFi, go for a swim, or explore the city on your own. Have dinner at the hotel or we can make reservations at the best restaurants in town such as Café La Esquina, Ecléctico, Vista Mar, Casa Mía, El Del Frente, or one of the hotel restaurants (optional – cost not included).
DAY 7: SATURDAY, APRIL 13th | HEMINGWAY
9:00 am ~ Breakfast at the hotel.
10:00 am ~ Cementerio Colón. Visit the most historically and architecturally important cemeteries in Latin America. Similar to the cemeteries of Pere Lachaise in Paris and St. Louis in New Orleans, the tombs are above ground and typically covered in family memorials.
11:00 am ~ Private concert with Camerata Romeu string orchestra. Visit the beautifully restored Basílica San Francisco de Asis to experience a private performance of the first all-women string orchestra in Latin America. Under the direction of Zenaida Romeu, Camerata Romeu is one of Cuba’s most extraordinary classical music ensembles. This non-governmental independent music group frequently tours internationally and performs new works of numerous Cuban and other Latin American composers.
12:30 am ~ Lunch at paladar Los Mercaderes. We’ll stroll down the oldest street in Havana, Calle de los Mercaderes (Merchants Street), to have lunch in a beautiful new restaurant built inside the home of the owner.
2:30 pm ~ Ernest Hemingway’s Finca Vigía. Visit the hilltop house of American writer Ernest Hemingway where he lived from 1940 – 1960 with his wife, Martha Gellhorn, and their children. Cuba was Hemingway’s most frequented country where he wrote the Old Man and the Sea, To Have and Have Not, and For Whom the Bell Tolls. Hemingway donated his Nobel Prize to the Cuban people. His home in San Francisco de Paula has recently been the subject of a massive preservation effort by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. At this farm, you will see his sport fishing boat, the Pilar. The Finca Vigia estate and the fishing village of Cojimar are considered the most significant locales for those interested in Hemmingway’s history.
4:00 pm ~ Time at leisure. Return to our hotel to take a siesta, relax, swim in the pool, connect to WiFi, or explore the city on your own.
6:30 pm ~ Classic convertibles scenic car ride. Leaving from our hotel, we will travel to our final dinner “Havana-style” in a fleet of specially selected 1950s American convertibles that will take us on a scenic route through Havana’s most beautiful neighborhoods. Don't forget your cameras!
7:30 pm ~ Final dinner party at Kadir Lopez and Havana Light Neon Studio. We will visit Kadir's home and gallery which includes a neon shop and studio for neon sign restoration. Enjoy a home-cooked Cuban meal in a magical setting in the tree-filled Kohly neighborhood of Havana. We will celebrate our last night and conclude our discussion on neon, some of the restoration projects in the city, and the efforts to restore the post-war heritage of Havana. Live music with the popular duo Nu9ve.
DAY 8: SUNDAY, APRIL 14th | HASTA LUEGO CUBA
7:00 – 10:00 am ~ Breakfast at our hotel.
Transfer to José Martí International Airport. We will bring people to the airport in groups according to departure times. You will be assisted through check-in and customs.
Flights depart Havana for home cities.