Best Of Cuba

Day 1:  Arrive in Havana  [D]

Upon arrival in Havana, meet your Cuban guide who will provide local history and knowledge throughout the program. Drive by the Capitolio, the Malecón – Havana’s seafront promenade, U.S. Embassy, La Rampa, and Havana University. Explore La Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña, also known as “La Cabaña” or “El Morro”. This fortress protected the mouth of the Havana harbor in its day and offers unique views over Havana ­ideal for gaining a better understanding of the city’s layout. Check-in your hotel. Tonight meet your fellow travelers and tour guide for a briefing and a welcome dinner. Overnight in Havana.

Day 2: Habana Vieja, Cuban Business, Community Arts [B,L,D]

We discover a local Farmer's Market, to understand the cost of living and interact with local vendors. Then set out on exploration of Old Havana. Begin at the Plaza de Armas, the oldest part of the city. See the Greek Roman ‘El Templete’ site of the first Mass and town council meeting in 1519. Enjoy a performance by contemporary dance company Danza Combinatoria (another company may be substituted if they are on tour). Boxed lunch with the performance group, a unique opportunity to have one on one conversations.
In the afternoon, visit the offices of a local business, learn about the details of doing business in Cuba. Engage in a discussion on the changing economics of Cuba with an expert. Enjoy the panoramic views overlooking all of Havana from the office’s advantageous location.
Tonight enjoy homemade cooking prepared by the members of a neighborhood arts center and learn the story of the center’s unique construction. Later, interact with locals at the neighborhood community arts center and enjoy their music and dance party. Overnight in Havana.

Day 3: History of Cuban Music and Arts [B,D]

After breakfast at our hotel, a lecture by a musicologist takes you on a journey through the history of Cuban music. Explore the Fine Arts Museum of Havana with your Cuban Study Leader. Cuban art is renowned worldwide. Delve into the stories that each work of art relates and the statement on politics, culture and society that each artist conveys.
Lunch will be on your own. After lunch, continue your guided exploration of Old Havana including stops at Plaza San Francisco and Plaza Vieja. Overnight in Havana.

Day 4: The Viñales Valley [B,L]

Set out early and head west to the province of Pinar del Rio, to the famed Viñales Valley, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. The valley boasts Cuba’s most strikingly beautiful landscapes, with anomalous karst formations rising from the valley floor, unlike any other region of the island. Meet a farmer and learn why the best tobacco is found here.
Enjoy a home ­cooked meal prepared with the produce of their organic farm. In the afternoon we will stroll the main square of the small village of  Viñales before returning to Havana. Overnight in Havana.

Day 5: Havana, The Bay of Pigs, Cienfuegos  [B,L,D]

Depart Havana to the south of the island, stopping at Playa Giron, known to Americans as the Bay of Pigs ­a small coastal village and the site of the historical 1961 clash between CIA trained Cuban exiles and Cuban rebel forces. Explore the small Playa Giron Museum, which portrays the Cuban perspective of the infamous invasion and houses many historical artifacts including a Sea Fury fighter aircraft, photos and maps outlining each step of the failed mission.

After lunch at  a local paladar, explore the main square of Cienfuegos, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but a city founded by the French, who came to Cuba after the Haitian revolution. The city offers outstanding architecture and is home to a large artistic community. Walk through the main square to the offices of UNEAC, the Union of Authors and Writers.  Late afternoon, check in at the hotel.  Overnight in Cienfuegos.

Day 6: Cienfuegos Botanical Gardens & Community Service [B,L,D]

Stroll through the main shopping street of Cienfuegos with your Cuban guide, to learn the differences between Ration, Cuban Pesos and CUC stores. Explore the complexity of the two currency system with the opportunity to speak with Cubans shoppers and the shops employees. At the Farmers Market, try making purchases with Cuban Pesos to understand the cost of living for Cubans and learn how much basic necessities cost. Depart on a Field Trip to explore the Cienfuegos Botanical Gardens and the collection of indigenous and exotic plants and trees. Meet with staff and learn about the interesting history of the gardens and its relationship with Harvard University.

After lunch at a local paladar, step inside the beautiful Tomas Terry Theater to learn its history. People-to-People Connection: Enjoy a performance by one of Cienfuegos' professional choral groups and discuss their training and daily life. Overnight in Cienfuegos.

Day 7: The Sugar Mill Valley & Trinidad, Gem of Colonial Towns  [B,L,D]

Depart Cienfuegos into the rolling hills of the Valle de Los Ingenios ­(Valley of the Sugar Mills), home to some 70 historic estates where vast quantities of sugar were grown and harvested. Meet the farmers and take a turn grinding the sugar, then sample Guarapo, the high energy drink made from the ground sugarcane.

After lunch in a paladar, explore the historic center of Trinidad de Cuba, one of the original Spanish Settlements and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is a pristine example of Spanish Colonial Caribbean architecture and has just celebrated its 500 year anniversary. People-to-People Connection: Check in at your Casa Particular. Casa Particulares owners have been the first people in Cuba to practice free enterprise.

Enjoy a home cooked meal prepared by your hosts at your Casa Particular. After dinner, relax at your Casa Particular or take an evening stroll through the town.

Day 8: The City of Sancti Spiritus en Route to Camagüey [B,L,D]

After breakfast, depart to Camagüey. Stop in Sancti Spiritus, to see its historic bridge and walk through the charming colonial streets and squares. Enjoy lunch at a paladar in Sancti Spiritus. Be sure to try the Flan for dessert! Continue to Camaguey, arriving in the late afternoon. One of the first seven villages founded by the Spaniards in Cuba, Camagüey played a prominent role as the urban center of an inland territory dedicated to cattle breeding and the sugar industry. It is the third largest city in Cuba and the historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Check-in and overnight in Camagüey.

Day 9: Discovering Camagüey, Its Squares & Its Artists  [B,L,D]

Camagüey is reputed to have some of the most talented dancers in Cuba, and is home to three of the country’s best dance companies. People-to-People Connection: Visit a dance company and observe dancers during their daily rehearsal, and learn from the company manager the challenges of operating a performance company, with limited resources for props and costumes. Meet a family of artisan ceramicists who create the distinctive urns traditionally used in Camagüey to store water. In addition to their craft, the workshop is beautifully decorated with the family collection of ornamental plants and cacti.
After lunch, walk back to the hotel via the pedestrian streets.  Enjoy an "aperitivo" with two of Cuba’s most creative and prodigious contemporary painters, Joel Jover and his wife Ileana Sánchez. Their magnificently decorated home is itself a work of art. Overnight in Camagüey.

Day 10: Village Life in Cuba [B,L,D]

Mainly agricultural, the Camagüey region produces the majority of Cuba’s beef and dairy. Journey out into the countryside for a taste of country life, Cuban style, on a working cattle ranch. Learn the story of the ranch from the manager and meet Cuban cowboys who demonstrate their skills, sharing many similarities to American traditions of rodeo. The ranch supports a village where the workers and their families live. Visit the humble homes and meet the village families. Try a few words of Spanish and perhaps share a few moments of true intercultural exchange.
Enjoy an authentic pig roast for lunch at the ranch. Return to Camaguey in the afternoon. Overnight in Camagüey.

Day 11: Departure from Camagüey [B]

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to the airport for your flight back home.

During this time of unprecedented uncertainty caused by COVID19, many hotels and service suppliers in many regions are closed. Hence, it is hard for everyone to get the exact pricing from suppliers, therefore; Flo Tours reserves the right to make price adjustments which might be be reflected to our guests as minor incremental or decremental prices than the following prices given in tables for 2022-2023-2024

2022 Departure Dates
Departure-Return Date	Price (Per person in Double room)	Single Supplement	Availability
Jan 5- Jan 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Feb 5 - Feb 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Mar 5 - Mar 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Apr 5 - Apr 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
May 5 - May 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Jun 5 - Jun 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Jul 5 - Jul 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Aug 5 - Aug 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Sep 5 - Sep 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Oct 5 - Oct 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Nov 5 - Nov 15	$4,995	$785	BOOK NOW
Dec 5 - Dec 15	$4,995	$785	BOOK NOW

2023 Departure Dates
Departure-Return Date	Price (Per person in Double room)	Single Supplement	Availability
Jan 5- Jan 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Feb 5 - Feb 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Mar 5 - Mar 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Apr 5 - Apr 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
May 5 - May 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Jun 5 - Jun 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Jul 5 - Jul 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Aug 5 - Aug 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Sep 5 - Sep 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Oct 5 - Oct 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Nov 5 - Nov 15	$4,995	$785	BOOK NOW
Dec 5 - Dec 15	$4,995	$785	BOOK NOW

2024 Departure Dates
Departure-Return Date	Price (Per person in Double room)	Single Supplement	Availability
Jan 5- Jan 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Feb 5 - Feb 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Mar 5 - Mar 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Apr 5 - Apr 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
May 5 - May 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Jun 5 - Jun 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Jul 5 - Jul 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Aug 5 - Aug 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Sep 5 - Sep 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Oct 5 - Oct 15	$4,690	$685	BOOK NOW
Nov 5 - Nov 15	$4,995	$785	BOOK NOW
Dec 5 - Dec 15	$4,995	$785	BOOK NOW

• Daily breakfast
• Guide
• Transportation
• 10 Lunches
• 10 Dinners
• Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana
• Briefing
• Contemporary dance company Danza Combinatoria
• Boxed lunch for the acting group.
• Discussion on the changing economics of Cuba with an expert
• Enjoy homemade cooking prepared by
• Lecture by a musicologist
• Fine Arts Museum of Havana
• Vinales Valley
• Enjoy a home ­cooked meal prepared with the produce of their organic farm
• Playa Giron Museum
• UNEAC, Cienfuegos
• Cienfuegos Botanical Gardens
• Tomas Terry Theater
• Enjoy a performance by one of Cienfuegos' professional choral
• The Sugar Mill Valley (canchánchara)
• Visit a dance company

• International Airfare
• Departure Transfers
• Tips at the hotels, tour guides and drivers
• Any extra expenses at the hotels
• Video and photo camera charges at the museums or sites
• Trip Insurance

• Accommodation at the Hotel Meliá Cohiba, 4 Nights
• Accommodation at the Hotel Meliá San Carlos, 2 Nights
• Accommodation in a private house, 1 Night
• Accommodation at the Hotel Gran Hotel By Meliá, 3 Nights

Visa Information for US Citizens.

The Cuban government requires all citizens traveling to Cuba to obtain a Cuban visa prior to their arrival into Cuba. A Cuban visa is also known as a "tourist card.” The Cuban visa is valid for a single entry and allows the holder to stay in Cuba for 30 days.

The Cuban visa is a two-part card. In the past, Cuban immigration officials would take one half upon arrival in Cuba, and guests would surrender the other half upon departure. However, as of publiction, immigration gives you back both halves of the tourist visa, but ask that you surrender the entire document upon leaving Cuba. Either way, please make sure to keep your Cuban visa in a safe place with you throughout your trip so you have it with you when you depart the country.