Hemingway's Cuba
A comprehensive tour of Western Cuba, flying direct with Virgin Atlantic
In Brief
| Havana - 3 nights.
Viñales Valley - 1 night.
Soroa - 1 night. Trinidad - 3 nights. Santa Clara - 2 nights. Varadero - 2 nights. Havana - 2 nights. Flight - 1 night. |
Day 1 Fly from London Gatwick to Havana. Transfer to the 5-star Hotel Parque Central or Melia Cohiba for three nights.
Day 2 A city tour exploring both old and modern Havana.
Day 3 Visit the local botanical gardens before continuing to the small fishing town of Cojimar on the outskirts of Havana and the Hemingway Museum at San Francisco de Paula where Hemingway wrote ‘The Old Man and the Sea’.
Day 4 Travel to Viñales in Pinar del Rio, Cuba’s most westerly province, 178 km from Havana and crossed by two spectacular mountain ranges. En route, visit a tobacco and rum factory and Indian’s Cave, part of the spectacular Santo Tomas cave system. Overnight at the 3-star Los Jazmines.
Day 5 Depart for scenic Soroa, famous for its botanical gardens, home to over 700 different types of orchids and waterfalls. Overnight at 2-star Villa Soroa Hotel or similar.
Day 6 Depart for Cienfuegos, a beautiful town with buildings showing the French influence of those who migrated here from Louisiana. Drive by the Bay of Pigs (with an optional visit to the Bay of Pigs Museum) and continue to Trinidad for three nights at the 3-star Hotel Las Cuevas or Hotel Brisas Trinidad.
Day 7 An orientation tour of Trinidad. Recently nominated a UNESCO World Heritage site, admire its beautiful colonial architecture, many squares and cobbled streets. Later visit the city’s museum, La Canchanchara bar, named after a local rum drink made with water and honey, and the nearby sugar plantations and mansion.
Day 8 Day at leisure or take an optional steam-train ride to a local sugar plantation at Manaca Iznaga.
Day 9 Travel to Santa Clara visiting Sancti Spiritus en route. Two nights at the 2-star Hotel La Granjita or Los Caneyes.
Day 10 Visit the colonial city of San Juan de los Remedios. Visit the Plaza Marti, a beautiful square surrounded by colonial mansions and the town’s main church, Iglesia de San Juan Bautista, built in 1570 and one of Cuba’s oldest churches.
Day 11 Travel to Varadero, a 12-mile strip of sand backed with dense tropical foliage and overlooking the Caribbean Sea, for a two-night stay at the 4-star all-inclusive Melia Varadero (four-night stay in 2010).
Days 12 At leisure with a variety of optional excursions, bookable locally.
Day 13 Return to Havana for two nights at Hotel Parque Central or Melio Cohiba.
Day 14 At leisure.
Day 15 At leisure before transferring to the airport for the overnight flight to London.
Day 16 Arrive Gatwick in the early morning.
Extension - Havana
With two million inhabitants and 500 years history, Havana is a fascinating place to explore independently. Wander around Old Havana, admire the colonial architecture, visit some of the smaller museums dedicated to antique automobiles or Cuban music. Visit Lenin Park with its monumental statue to the Russian revolutionary leader, Christopher Columbus Cemetery where the beauty and magnificence of the headstones are famous throughout Latin America, the Botanical Gardens, China Town, the lively bars and street life and stroll along the Malecon, the sea wall that surrounds the city.Extend your stay for three or four nights in Havana, staying at the 5-star Hotel Parque Central with breakfast daily.
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