Cuba
View All Dates & BookThe largest of the Caribbean islands, Cuba is in a league of its own. Famed for cigars and salsa dancing, sugarcane rum and Spanish colonial towns, its history and landscapes are littered with legends of the Revolution, and liberally splashed with the colourful blend of conquistador and Afro-Cuban culture.
It begins in the capital, Havana, where Hemingway’s old haunts are now a heady mix of 1950s cars and faded grandeur, seafront strolls on the Malecon, people-watching pavement tables, live music cafés, and inexhaustible energy. Stay in UNESCO listed Trinidad, with a soft-tempo ambience and the air of a living museum, where time seems to have stood still in the mid-1800s; before crossing the causeway to castaway Cayo Santa Maria, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with flawless beaches and fantastic snorkelling grounds.
Fly to Havana (via Madrid). Transfer to the 5-star Iberostar Parque Central for three nights.
(D)
Travel to the Viñales Valley and visit Indian Cave, part of the spectacular Santo Tomas cave system. Visit a cigar factory.
(B, L, D)
A city tour gives you your bearings, shows you Havana’s landmarks, historic and contemporary, and includes a visit to a rum factory, and to the National Museum of Fine Arts, with fabulous exhibits of 500 years of Cuban art. This evening enjoy a cocktail lesson.
(B, L, D)
Travel (4 hrs) to Cienfuegos. Founded in the early 1800s, the town backs a beautiful bay, its neo-classical architecture UNESCO protected. Visit the 1913 Palacio de Valle, now a hotel, with ornate turrets and tiles more typical of a Moroccan style than Cuba; and continue along the coast to Trinidad. Overnight at the 5-star Iberostar Heritage Grand.
(B, L)
Trinidad is a beguiling step back in time, where, in the elegant enclave of its Plaza Mayor, all is as if Independence (and the 20th century) had never happened. Visit the Municipal Museum, covering the history of the city from its 16th-century origins; and enjoy an authentic Cuban vibe in the legendary La Canchanchara Bar; and later, visit the Manaca Iznaga former sugar plantation, its scenic setting belying a haunting slave-trade history, epitomised in the infamous Slave Tower, from which the workers were watched by the guards. Continue, crossing the causeway, to Cayo Santa Maria, for two nights at the 5-star Iberostar Selection Ensenachos.
(B, L, D)
Among the clustered cays and islands of Cuba’s Jardines del Rey archipelago, Cayo Santa Maria offers forests on its southern coast, eight miles of white sand shores to the north, and a veritable marine aquarium around its barrier reef. Explore and enjoy the island on a day at leisure here.
(B, L, D)
En route back to Havana, visit Santa Clara, steeped in Revolutionary legend, to view the city’s most imposing landmark, Ernesto Che Guevara Square, encompassing his magnificent mausoleum, and a huge statue of the man; and the Tren Blindado (Armoured Train), a Cuban Revolution memorial and national monument, on the site of the capture of an armoured train during the 1958 Battle of Santa Clara. Continue to Havana for an overnight stay at the Iberostar Parque Central; and visit ‘Hemingway’s Haunt’.
(B, L, D)
Morning at leisure in Havana. Afternoon transfer to the airport for the overnight return flight (via Madrid).(B)
Arrival in London.
On occasion, the rum factory (Day 3) and cigar factory (Day 2) may be replaced with an alternative visit due to closure at short notice.
Travelling in Cuba is a unique experience, however, tourism is still under state control and on occasion hotels of a similar standard to those listed in the itinerary may be used. Advance notification of this is not always possible.
Meals included are in a mix of local restaurants on the tour and some hotels where food can be quite basic, consisting of rice, beans, pork, chicken and fish, although international cuisine is available in the hotels on the tour.
All vehicles are air-conditioned and the highways are reasonable, whereas minor roads can be in poor repair.
Visit the bar frequented by Ernest Hemingway in Havana, El Floridita, and enjoy a cocktail. The bar opened in 1817 and is famous for generations of visits from intellectuals and artists, daiquiris and Hemingway memorabilia including a life-size bronze statue of the novelist.
Here is a list of the accommodation you can stay in for this tour. Occasionally we use alternative hotels, or have a choice of hotels to choose from which will be detailed when booking.
Add extra nights to your tour at the starting or ending hotel.
You can find out more about the county on the travel guide.
Hemingway's Cuba
18 Jan 25
Western Cuba’s colourful cities, colonial heritage and natural beauty, reveal the many facets of the island, from cigars to sugarcane, cafés to cabaret and revolution memorials to countryside
From £4185 pp
incl Flight
Mysteries of the Maya & Aztecs
27 Jan 25,3 Nov 25 and 7 more
An introduction to Aztec, Zapotec and Mayan cultures, visiting magnificent Mexico and Guatemala, travel through the centuries by road and river, via lakes, valleys and colonial towns
From £4755 pp
incl Flight
Grand Tour of Costa Rica
14 Jan 25,28 Jan 25 and 15 more
A comprehensive journey from Caribbean coastal wetlands to cloud forest mountains, volcanic landscapes, rainforest valleys, Pacific shores and exotic wildlife
From £5445 pp
incl FlightThe below departures are available - please click into the booking process for a quote and to book.
Air travel and taxes, transfers, 7 nights' accommodation, breakfast daily, 6 lunches and 6 dinners, itinerary as described, services of guides and local representatives. If our specially negotiated airfares are unavailable at the time of booking, a supplement may apply.
Travel insurance, visa procurement fee, optional excursions, tipping, any government taxes or compulsory charges introduced after publication.
The following extensions are available to book with this tour. Please click through to the booking process to check your preferred departure date and to make a reservation.
Extra nights are priced per person, per night.
Please contact us to check availability and book alongside your tour.
Extra nights are on request, please call to discuss your requirements
Iberostar Selection, Varadero - All Inclusive
(per night) £235 (Nov £175)
Single supplement £120 (Nov £90)
Arrival or departure transfer £90