COLONIAL CUBA

Your journey begins in Miami where you and your fellow travelers join us for a cocktail reception and pre-tour overview.

Guests are transported to Miami International Airport following breakfast and escorted to their charter flight check-in to Havana.  Once guests have cleared Cuban immigration and customs, they are greeted by our Havana-based staff.  Next guests proceed to the Museum of Decorative Arts for guided tour by its chief curator, followed by lunch while serenaded by Spanish guitar.  We continue our introduction into Colonial Cuba with a tour of some of Havana’s celebrated colonial palacios and public buildings.  The day culminates with a cocktail reception and dinner at the hotel where guests experience the entrancing sounds of classical strings and sublime pas-de-duex performance by some of Cuba’s foremost ballerinas.

Our day begins with an architectural walking tour of Old Havana with stops at workshops for conversations with artisans, architects and city planners involved with the significant restoration projects underway within the UNESCO World Heritage site.  Next we celebrate the vibrant spectrum of Afro-Cuban traditions through its music, dance and cuisine and explore how the religion of Santeria co-existed with Catholicism and evolved throughout the colonial period.  A live performance by Santeria musicians and dancers is followed by an exquisite traditional lunch comprised of African-inspired favorites.  Our evening consists of an opulent dinner inside one of Havana’s private mansions, including an after-glow of cigar and rum pairings.

A morning trip takes you behind the curtains and onto the stage of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba for an exclusive performance and discussion with the Island’s foremost classical dancers.  The conversation is followed by a tour of Havana’s modernist architectural masterpieces, including buildings featuring original artwork by renowned Cuban artists, Wifredo Lam, Amelia Peláez, Mario Carreño, and René Portocarrero.  Some of this architectural marvels have received international awards from some of the world’s most relevant organizations.  Lunch is held at Cafe Laurent with incredible vistas of the city skyline.  In the evening we meet with a member of the City Historian’s staff to learn about the renovation efforts taking place on the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Havana.

We fly from Havana to Cienfuegos, where sustainable practice meet the city’s colonial sophistication with a relaxing walk through the lush Cienfuegos Botanical Gardens.  Our tour continues with visits to some of the city’s most emblematic colonial buildings, including Jagua Castle, the city’s beautiful Cathedra, and Palacio del Valle where we enjoy a gastronomic degustation of French inspired dishes.  Guests can opt for a guided walking tour or bike ride around the UNESCO World Heritage site of the French-influenced colonial town of Cienfuegos.  An evening culinary encounter with a celebrated regional chef—who will educate our guests in the principles of traditional Cuban cuisine— includes a Cuban mixology cocktail hour and interactive cooking class where guests enjoy their own delicacies from the sea.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Trinidad, founded in 1514, was built on the back of the 19th-century sugar and slave trade.  At its zenith, in 1827, one of the 56 sugar mills in the region harvested the biggest cane haul in the world.  This enormous, conspicuous wealth shaped the town and no expense was spared in fashioning the finest Spanish colonial mansions, plazas and churches, which still stand testament to the glory of this colonial era.  A cultural walking tour of Trinidad is followed by an steam train trip tour that transports us back in time through the Alabama Valley and to the doorsteps of the Hacienda Iznaga, where we enjoy a traditional roast pig feast.

Our final day in Cienfuegos will find us visiting Rancho Luna Beach, where we will be treated to lunch before departing for Miami.