CUBAN MUSICAL ODYSSEY

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 tour staff and transported to an exclusive behind the scenes encounter with Havana’s vibrant and internationally renowned music scene. Celebrated musicians welcome guest to a private session in one of Havana’s music enclaves used by salsa and pop music innovators. Guests enjoy butler passed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while becoming immersed in the inner workings of the music industry. Our salsa encounter continues with an exclusive Q&A with some of Cuba’s foremost choreographers, followed by a steamy combination of salsa lessons and mojitos.

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 tour staff and transported to an exclusive behind the scenes encounter with Havana’s vibrant and internationally renowned music scene. Celebrated musicians welcome guest to a private session in one of Havana’s music enclaves used by salsa and pop music innovators. Guests enjoy butler passed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while becoming immersed in the inner workings of the music industry. Our salsa encounter continues with an exclusive Q&A with some of Cuba’s foremost choreographers, followed by a steamy combination of salsa lessons and mojitos.

Throughout the transfer to Matanzas, guests enjoy a selection of refreshments including fresh exotic fruit juices and indigenous snacks. Once in Matanzas, guests experience an intersection of African and Cuban traditions as we explore the deep roots and diverse manifestations of AfroCuban music, dance and ceremonial rituals. An incredible interactive encounter awaits our guests in our black-box theater. Our multi-dimensional immersion involves representatives from the visual, performing and culinary arts who share their mystical association with Santeria, and explores how these vital traditions are being embraced by younger generations. The Havana Jazz Festival opening ceremony awaits upon our return to the city.

TOCA Trips eco-tourism specialists lead guests along some of the most spectacular and scenic coastlines around Havana. We’ll enjoy an open air music session featuring Cuba’s traditional campesina trio while we are served a delicious selection of seafood and cocktails. Relax in the afternoon with our body activation session, a wellness protocol designed by world-renowned choreographer Michele Kadison. And following dinner at the hip culinary destination La Guarida, another evening at the Havana Jazz Festival awaits with a spectacular line-up of international artists.

Fashion as a form of freedom and expression. Havana is quickly becoming one of the most sought after locations by the fashion industry for photo shoots and editorial work. Join us as we observe a fashion shoot in progress, and meet some of Cuba’s foremost emerging designers and taste-makers. Our guides lead you through an eclectic mix of boutiques, street markets and private artist studios where we will observe first hand the development of the burgeoning entrepreneurial spirit of Havana. An afternoon dissertation includes rum and cigar pairings, set to the backdrop of our experimental performance art space where salsa meets hip hop. Our farewell dinner is hosted in Cafe de los Artistas, the famous Havana private restaurant that has become a meeting point for Cuban artists and film makers.

A morning trip to the Museum of Fine Arts includes a private tour hosted by curator and art historian Julie Portela, former director of the Art History department at Havana’s Instituto Superior de Arte followed by an open-air picnic in Havana’s National Botanical Gardens accompanied by an unplugged acoustic farewell. From the gardens, guests are transported to the airport for their return trip to Miami.