LEGAL USA HAVANA AND TRINIDAD PRIVATE CUBA TOUR

Highlights

• Old Havana comprehensive walking tour visiting 4 main colonial Squares guided by experts in conservation of heritage in Old Havana..
• Panoramic tour of Havana city 2 hours drive in old American vintage car visiting all must-see Havana attraction with guide and professional driver.
• Visit and touring Havana´s Capitol, one of most recognized palace in the world.
• Walking tour of lovely Plaza Mayor in Trinidad and most significant heritage Trinidad City´s squares and sites..
• Know the Manaca Iznaga's estate and Sugar Mills Valley, epicenter of Cuban sugar production in XVIII Century.
• Learn salsa dancing at Casa de la Trova's club in Trinidad..
• Panoramic Tour City of Cienfuegos, also Unesco´s world heritage city.

Places you will visit:

Travel Itinerary

Day 1, HAVANA

Arrival at Havana International Airport Jose Martí.

Meet and Greeting at the Airport

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Private transfer to accommodation

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Check In at the private guesthouse centrally located Havana.

After relaxing get prepared to initiate a 2 hours panoramic tour of Havana in on American Old classic car with your tour guide visiting main avenues and sites in Old and Central Havana, as well as the in Vedado neighborhood.

You will see some of the main Squares in Old Havana which you can appreciate from car , will go through prestige and refine classic Avenida del Prado having some of most emblematic buildings in Havana like Grand Theater of Havana, the Capitol of Havana, the Fine Arts Museum and many other significant buildings, statues, museums and hotels.

Continuation to Revolution Square, center of Cuban government and Cuban political activities where thousands of political rallies with millions of participants has been organized and most Fidel Castro´s speech been pronounced over latest 60 years.

You will have chance to drop off the car to take pictures for your collection on Cuba´s trip.

Travel to modern Havana, particularly Vedado neighborhood seeing from outside the Columbus Cemetery, the Paseo and President Avenues, the promenade, the 23 Street and La Rampa, first Hilton Hotel inaugurated outside USA in 1957, Malecón Habanero (Havana Promenade, Seaboard) 8 km long which goes from the mouth of Havana harbor to entrance of Almendares River.

You will finish this panoramic tour visiting Hotel Nacional de Cuba where you will go to Hall of Fame photos of many famous people who has been guest of hotel in its 90 years of existence including Hollywood celebrities and notorious American famous mafia bosses.

You can relax appreciating the ambiance, and architecture and the gardens while zipping a courtesy Mojito´s cocktail.

You can stay longer or returning to your accommodation for a leisure night.

Hardly recommended is to visit the Cannon Fire´s ceremony at Cabañas Fortress, a Havana tradition that has been followed for many years resembling the event taking place every night in the Old City when at 9 PM a cannon shut was fired to advise the inhabitants of the city the doors of the walled city will be closed and no one was allowed to get in or out from the City in prevention of pirates and corsairs attack.

You could decide also enjoy night life in Havana like going to spectacular Tropicana Show or to Parisien Cabaret or going to El Guajirito or Havana Café where best Cuban musician who played with the Buena Vista Social Club perform, or listening very good Jazz performances.

Day 2, HAVANA

08:00 Breakfast.

09:00 Full walking tour of Old Havana, starting from the Templete where according to the available written information and research, San Cristobal de la Habana villa was founded by the Spaniards on Nov 19, 1519, which last year celebrated its 500´s Anniversary of foundation.

From there you will be visiting Plaza de Armas, oldest Square of Old Havana, entrance to Capitanes Generales Palace which is considered most representative building of the Cuba´s Barroco architecture. It was built in 1792 after 16 years of construction. At that palace were rooted the Spanish colonial government of Cuba and was home of 67 governors from Spain since its existence. After Spanish rule the Capitanes Generales Palace was transformed into Presidential Palace of Cuba after independence until 1920.

Today is one of the most important and famous Museum in Havana to appreciate the history, culture and architecture of the colonial times.

Also on one of the corner you will appreciate Palace of Segundo Cabo, headquarter of the Spanish guard and army during colonial time in charge of the security of the capital.

After you will walk to the following Square , San Francisco de Asís Square, the second oldest square where you will see important buildings like San Francisco de Asís Convent, the Lonja del Comercio, center of trading in Cuba during the XX Century , and significant Palaces which nowadays has been converted in boutique hotels.

Visit the Old Square also with significant buildings and palace, of a great ambiance during days and nights in Havana´s today and finally the Cathedral Square where imponent Havana´s Cathedral stance.

Few steps from Havana Cathedral you will visit the Bodeguita del Medio´s famous bar and restaurant from the fifties, a bohemian restaurant and bar meeting point of intellectual generations of intellectual Cubans, artist, writer since is creation in the 40´s and 50´s and where the Mojito´s cocktail was created. Walking on the Obispo Boulevard where hotel Ambos Mundos is located you will reach worldwide famous restaurant El Floridita, preferable bar of Hemingway in Havana, where Daiquiri cocktail based on white rum , lemon, sugar and soda water was created.

After that you visit the famous Marti Park in Old Havana at the center of Avenida Paseo del Prado one of the most beautiful in the Old City, see the Grand Theater of Havana, and majesty Capitol of Havana building, very impressive construction recently refurbished which is considered by some experts as one of the six most relevant palaces in the world. You will tour Havana Capitol´s building with a local expert in the history and architecture novelties of building.

Return to your accommodation and get prepare to depart for having an exquisite welcoming dinner at one of best private family restaurant in Havana.

Accommodation in B & B at first class private guesthouse centrally located with old modern conditions to live.

B, D (breakfast and dinner included).

Day 3, Hemingway heritage, Havana’s towns.

After breakfast, leaving to visit the Hemingway museum at Finca Vigía, south of Havana city, bought by Hemingway in 1940 to establish his residence in Havana until 1960 when he left definitely Cuba for USA.

It is considered one of the best and most complete museums about life of legendary novelist Ernest Hemingway. You will see their lot of things who belongs to him and his wives, books, prizes from his world adventures. Apart from house itself you will see Pilar Yacht on which together with his Cuban friend and captain Gregorio Fuentes he navigate through the waters of the Gulf surrounding Cuba including keys and small island he discover or visit during those adventures.

After that you will visit Cojímar fishermen town, who he used to visit very often specially when writing his master novel piece Old Man and the Sea which tell story about the experience of fishermen at the high Sea, along trying to catch fish for leaving, fighting adversities. You will see the many pictures of those times on the wall of Las Terrazas de Cojímar, the restaurant-bar where he chats with Cojímar’s fisherman who came here after work to try selling the catch´s fish of the day.

After driving through Cojímar’s town you will visit on a day time the Morro Cabañas Fortress external area from where you will have a spectacular view on Havana City and the promenade (Malecón Habanero) from the other side of the harbor great for taking pictures of Havana.

Then you will move into Casablanca town and see the Christ of Havana and the Institute of Meteorology.

Going into Guanabacoa town, one of the oldest in Havana, which played an important role in defending Havana from the attack of the British army in the XVIII Century. You will visit the Museum of Orishas where you will learn about afrocuban religion and culture in Cuba. If time allows you will see an exhibition of dancing ritual of afrocuban religion.

From there you will visit Fusterlandia on Havana´s west town of Jaimanita, where famous painter Jose Fuster, also known as the Picasso of the Caribbean has implemented around his home a sort of life gallery of popular art painting façade of many houses providing a very nice artist atmosphere in the neighborhood.

Free time in Havana.

Accommodation in B & B at first class private guesthouse centrally located with old modern conditions to live.

B (breakfast included).

Day 4, Havana-Península de Zapata-Cienfuegos-Trinidad

07:30 Early Breakfast.

Departure to the east heading to Trinidad City as final destination today

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First visit will be lovely nature area of Peninsula de Zapata (Bay of Pigs) , biggest land swamp in the Caribbean where it will be reached in 2.30 hours drive including stops at your convenience.

Stop at Boca de Guamá where you see biggest Cuban crocodile´s farm where the Cuban crocodile endemic specie Crocodylus rhombifer is bred to avoid its extinction. Continuation to Cueva de los Peces where you will lunch and get a free snorkeling experience at the Caribbean sea of Cuba.

Will get an explanations of events took place in this region in 1960 when a brigade of Cuban exiles supported and trained by CIA disembarked to topple Fidel Castro´s regime. There is in the area a Museum which describe some of the battles took place at the time between loyal government forces and the invaders.

Continuation to European stylish city of Cienfuegos founded in 1819 by a group of French settlers who came to this region from New Orleans.

Visit the historical center of the City at Marti Park where you will see main buildings like Terry Theater, the Cienfuegos Cathedral, the government local building, and Arc de Triumph statue , one of the very few existing in Cuba which was dedicated to the Independence of Cuba, the Alameda and Promenade Central Park , Nautical Club and the jewel of the crown´s baroque building of Palacio del Valle Palace.

Continuation for 1.15 hours to Trinidad where you will check in at your well located very good private guesthouse will serve as lodging for next 2 nights you will be staying in Trinidad City.

Optional evening.

B, L (breakfast and lunch included)

Day 5, Trinidad

After nice Cuban breakfast with Trinidad´s touch style , you will start your locally guided city tour of this unencryptable colonial heritage city , one of the best preserved in the western hemisphere already having 506 years since Diego Velázquez , Spaniard Cuban colonizer founded the villa in 1514. Visiting Trinidad is like going into the past hundreds of years however a very live and active city which is available and functioning day and night.

You will visit the Santa Ana square and Plaza Major where most of the official buildings are located, starting from the lovely Trinidad´s Cathedral, the Romantic Museum, where you will see best collection of art and furniture from colonial time in Trinidad, the Lucha contra Bandidos Museum´s building with highest tower in Trinidad from where you will get an excellent view of the historical center of the City .

From there you will visit one of the famous bar in the City Canchanchara Bar where you will have special cocktail prepared in Trinidad, Canchanchara cocktail mix of sugar cane brandy (Aguardiente de caña) and lemon. You will keep walking through the tiny alleys and streets to reach private pottery workshop of Santander family, one of the most traditional family in Trinidad specialize in the production of pottery and handcraft for centuries.

Today you will enjoy a special dinner at one of best privately owned family restaurant (Paladar) in Trinidad.

After dinner, free time to enjoy night life in very romantic Trinidad City, another great example of what private entrepreneurs and tourism can do for local development and prosperity.

Accommodation in very nice comfortable premium guesthouse with breakfast included.

B, D ( breakfast and dinner included)

Day 6, Trinidad- Topes de Collantes- Sierra del Escambray.

Early this morning after breakfast you will depart to Topes de Collantes, in Sierra del Escambray hill range, biggest in the Central´s Cuba region to initiate a trekking adventure tour, where you will see waterfalls where you can swim, the endemic flora and fauna of the region, ending with a campesino guajiro lunch.

When back to the city, you will visit the of Casilda fishermen town and later will enjoy swimming at Caribbean pristine water Ancon´s beach.

At evening you will enjoy a 1 hour class of Cuban dancing rhythm at casa de la Música or similar venue including local dancers.

Free evening.

Accommodation in very nice comfortable premium guesthouse with breakfast included.

B, L ( breakfast and lunch included)

Day 7, Trinidad-Manaca Iznaga- Santa Clara City -Havana.

After breakfast, check out and departing from Trinidad in direction west to Santa Clara city and then continuing to Havana where tour will come to an end.

Visit first Manaca Iznaga Farm and tower in the Sugar Mills Valley which together with the historical city of Trinidad was declared world heritage site by UNESCO. Opulence and greatness of Trinidad City occurred as the result of the production of sugar cane in the Sugar Mills Valley due to the significant increase in world´s sugar demand in the XVIII Century. Hundreds of Sugar Mills were built to process the sugar cane and produce the sugar to export to world markets.

Before continue journey to Santa Clara City get a glass of sugar cane juice (guarapo) for refreshing and charging energies to continue adventure of today.

Santa Clara city is associated with last revolution in Cuba led by Fidel Castro and the legendary figure of argentine-born Ernesto Che Guevara who helped to the victory of the revolutionaries who were fighting the forces of Fulgencio Batista Government in 1958. The derail of a military convoy train moving military supplies to the east forces fighting Fidel revolutionaries’ forces was a decisive victory which precipitated the defeat of the regime on January 01, 1959.

See the Vidal Park at the historical center of the city, the Cathedral of Santa Clara de Asís, also visit the monument erected in recognition of the battle to derail military train and finally visit the Monumental square Ernesto Guevara and the Che Guevara memorial where his rest together with the ones from a group of guerrilla fighters are buried.

Luncheon on own, continuation to Havana where you will be arriving in late afternoon around 6 Pm.

Check In at your private guesthouse.

Enjoy your last evening in Havana.

B (breakfast included).

Day 8, End of Tour.

Breakfast.

Tour come to an end, your transfer out will be at disposal.

Check Out at 12:00.

B (breakfast included).