JOURNEY
-TO- CUBA
Organized by Cuba Cultural Travel
A Cross-Cultural Educational Exchange
March 23-27 or March 23-30, 2017
ITINERARY
(Subject to Change)
Day 1 Thursday, March 23
Morning
Participants will fly as a group to Havana and will be
accompanied by a CCT escort. CCT will provide travelers
with flight and cost information as soon as it becomes
available.
Arrive in Havana. Clear immigration and customs and
baggage, a process that takes about an hour. You will be
greeted by your Cuban guide, who will assist you to our
bus.
Afternoon
We visit the whimsical home and studio of artist José
Fuster who has made a major contribution to rebuilding
and decorating the fishing town of Jaimanítas, in the
outskirts of Havana, where he lives.
Lunch at El Litoral.
4:00 pm
Check into the Hotel Nacional de Cuba. The Hotel
Nacional is considered a symbol of Cuban history, culture
and identity.
Hotel Nacional de Cuba
Calle 21 y O, Vedado, Havana, Cuba
Tel. 53 7 836 3564
After check-in, you may explore the surrounding
neighborhood of Vedado or consider a walk along the
Malecon or La Rampa.
6:30 pm
Meet in hotel lobby and board bus to Centro Asturianos
adjacent to Havana’s Central Park for a private musical
performance and welcome dinner. Cocktails at Bar
Asturias with a private performance of Cuban music and
dance. The band leader is Professor Alberto Faya has
been working as a musician, professor and researcher
within the Cuban musical world since 1973. He will be
joined by several young musicians who will treat us to a
lively journey through the history of Cuban music.
7:45 pm
Welcome dinner at the famous La Guarida restaurant.
One of the best restaurants in Havana and famous not
only for its delectable dining, but also as the location for
the film “Strawberry and Chocolate.”
itineraries subject to change © 2016 cuba cultural travel
Day 2
Friday, March 24
9:00 am CUBA IN TRANSITION: The Rule of Law as part of Cuban Reforms. MCLE credit pending approval.
Lecture by Rafael M. Hernandez. Rafael is a lawyer, historian, author, and editor of Temas, a Cuban
quarterly in the field of social sciences and humanities. Temas is considered the leading intellectual
publication in Cuba and an important source of independent thought. Rafael has taught as a visiting
professor at Harvard, Columbia, the University of Texas, the University of Puerto Rico; CIDE and ITAM
in Mexico, and served as visiting scholar at the Wilson Center (Washington, DC) and other US and Latin
American academic institutions.
11:00 am
Depart for a walking tour of Havana Vieja. Please make sure to wear comfortable shoes!
We visit the Plaza de San Francisco, a cobbled plaza surrounded by buildings dating from the 18th century,
dominated by the baroque Iglesia and Convento de San Francisco dating from 1719.
1:00 pm
Visit the Plaza Vieja. This plaza is the oldest plaza in Havana, dating from the 16th century.
Group lunch at Paladar Los Mercaderes. This impeccably restored mansion is a welcome retreat from the
bustling streets of the old city. We enjoy delightful tapas and a selection of seasonal specialties.
We stroll through Plaza De Armas, a scenic tree-lined plaza formerly at the center of influence in Cuba.
Remainder of afternoon free to explore Havana Vieja or return to hotel/Vedado.
6:00 pm
Enjoy an unforgettable private performance by the Orchestra Sinfonica Juvenil (Havana Youth Orchestra).
The 16 member orchestra, led by Director Jose Antonio Mendez, will perform a medley of international
classical favorites as well as several Cuban compositions.
7:30 pm
Dinner at the stylish Paladar Rio Mar in Miramar.
Optional visit to Fabrica de Arte Cubano (FAC).
Day 3 9:00 am Saturday, March 25
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURTS AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION IN CUBA. MCLE credit pending approval.
Presentation by attorney, professor and judge, Narciso Cobo Roura.
Dr. Cobo is acting vice president of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce and member of the Cuban Court of
International Commercial Arbitration.
OR Dialogue with Panel of ‘trial’ attorneys in Cuba.
11:30 am Depart for our lecture and lunch at Nazdarovie - a new Cuban-Soviet inspired restaurant on the Malécon.
itineraries subject to change © 2016 cuba cultural travel
We will be greeted by Gregory Biniowsky, an attorney from Canada who moved to Cuba over 20 years ago.
Gregory opened Nazdarovie as a personal ‘oeuvre de coeur’ & as a way to pay homage to the Soviet women
who settled and established families in Cuba.
Lecture by Havana-based Canadian attorney Gregory Biniowsky. MCLE credit pending approval.
Gregory is a Canadian lawyer and political scientist who has lived in Cuba for more than 20 years, and has
a diverse background involving a multitude of for-profit and nonprofit endeavors, including teaching at
the University of Havana, doing consulting work for foreign companies exploring or setting up ventures in
Cuba, and working as a consultant for the Canadian Embassy in Havana and the United Nations in Havana.
Gregory presently works for the Canadian based international law firm Gowlings Lafleur Henderson LLP,
focusing on offering strategic advice, business intelligence, and venture options to prospective investors
and companies, from around the world, who looking at the Cuban market.
1:30 pm
Bus tour of Modern Architecture in Western Havana. We will be led by Architect Universo Francisco
Garcia Lorenzo, 1988 graduate of Civil Engineering & Architecture Institute in Russia. Universo has done
extensive work for the Ministry of Construction La Habana (1988-2010) and is currently with the Projects &
Engineering Services for the Ministry of Culture. Since 2007 he has also served as a Professor of Architectural
Design at the Instituto Superior Politecnico in Havana.
4:30 pm
Return to the hotel. Remainder of afternoon free.
7:30 pm
Dinner on your own. Suitable recommendations will be provided.
Optional visit to the Tropicana Night Club.
Day 4 Sunday, March 26
9:30 am
INTRODUCTION TO THE CUBAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Lecture by Dr. Pedro Camilo Rodriguez.
Dr. Camilo is a medical doctor, professor and researcher with a focus on cancer vaccines at the Center for
Molecular Immunology in Havana. Dr. Camilo is currently head of the CIMAvax-EGF clinical development
program, a revolutionary therapy for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer which is unavailable in the
United States due to import ban associated with the U.S. Embargo of Cuba.
10:30 am
Lecture on U.S.-Cuba relations. The esteemed Professor Carlos Alzugaray will lecture on the history of
Cuban-American relations and explain the current political considerations playing a role in the ongoing
discussions between our two countries.
12:30 pm
2:30 pm
Lunch at Al Carbon by Chef Ivan Justo.
Visit the Museum of Cuban Art with art historian Aylet Ojeda. The museum is dedicated exclusively to
Cuban Art from the earliest days of colonialism to the latest generation of Cuban artists.
itineraries subject to change © 2016 cuba cultural travel
Remainder of afternoon free.
Optional visit to the Havana Arts & Craft Market.
Optional Salsa, Rumba, Casino & Son dance lessons at La
Casa del Son.
7:30 pm
Farewell dinner at Le Chansonnier in Vedado.
Day 5 Morning
Monday, March 27
Those returning to the United States today: hotel check-out
and board bus for airport. Optional visit to a Cigar Factory
Store in route to airport.
For those remaining in Cuba, we depart for the pioneering
eco-community of Las Terrazas in Sierra del Rosario where
we explore the rural town at Rancho Curujey.
We visit La Moka, an ecological hotel with trees growing up
through the balconies and ceiling. The income generated
from tourism has funded the community library, the new
Aire Libre café, a museum and the expansion of the Hotel.
11:30 pm
We visit the ruins of a French Coffee Plantation built in
1801, and enjoy lunch at Cafetal Buenavista. Delicious,
plentiful, family style meals in a beautiful outdoor setting.
1:30 pm
After lunch, we depart for the Viñales Valley. Considered
by many to be the most beautiful place in Cuba, the
Viñales Valley National Monument holds stunning
landscapes and jaw dropping vistas.
Upon arrival, we stop at the Los Jazmines viewpoint for
a panoramic look at the picturesque and awe-inspiring
Viñales Valley. We continue by exploring the Viñales Valley
on foot for an easy stroll with local guide Yaniel Luis.
In the late afternoon we visit the small town of Viñales
including the Viñales Art Market.
Evening Return to Havana.
Dinner on your own. Recommendations will be provided.
Day 6 7:30 am
Tuesday, March 28
Hotel check-out and depart for Cienfuegos via the Bay of
Pigs.
itineraries subject to change © 2016 cuba cultural travel
After an hour and a half the scenery changes as we enter the Zapata National Park – Cuba’s most important
wetland area. The crystal clear waters of the Caribbean Sea will escort us a good part of the way. This is also
where the famous “Bay of Pigs” invasion took place.
Visit the Playa Giron Museum. The Museum showcases machine guns, mortars, rocket launchers, as well as
a tank and airplane complimented by a display of information about the failed invasion of Cuba by Cuban
exiles and the CIA.
In lieu of Museum, optional visit to Playa Giron (beach).
From Giron, we continue to Cienfuegos - the city that was originally settled by French immigrants. This
UNESCO World Heritage Site has been dubbed La Perla del Sur (Pearl of the South). The downtown
contains 6 buildings from 1819–50, 327 buildings from 1851–1900, and 1188 buildings from the 20th
century.
1:00 pm
Lunch at the homey Paladar Ache in Cienfuegos.
Following lunch, we explore downtown Cienfuegos, the main square, Paseo del Prado and the Terry
Thomas Theatre. These outstanding buildings, completed in 1895, were built with the wealth made by a
sugar baron from Venezuela who arrived in Cuba without money and made his fortune by buying sick slaves
for a low price, nursing them back to health and reselling them.
4:00 pm
Check-in to Hotel Jagua - Ave. 37 No. 1, Cienfuegos, Cuba (53) 4 355 1003
6:30 pm
Attend a performance by the Cienfuegos choir Cantores de Cienfuegos. Cantores de Cienfuegos has
been highly respected and loved since 1962 when it was founded. After the performance we will have the
opportunity to interact with the choir members and their director, Luisa Fernandez Jímenez.
8:00 pm
Dinner at Palacio Del Valle, the former home of trader Celestino Caceres. This architectural jewel
originated as a private residence and later passed into the Valle family who added to it in a Mughal style
with carved floral motifs, a stunning Carrara marble staircase, bulbous domes and delicate arabesques.
Day 7 8:00 am
Wednesday, March 29
Meet in the hotel lobby and depart for Trinidad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, celebrating in 2014 its
500th year anniversary. Visitors often say that Trinidad is a museum in itself. This 500-year-old city is home
to Spanish colonial architecture, underscoring a colonial ambiance that marks the tiny city as one of the
country’s greatest attractions. Only a few square blocks in size, historic Trinidad is famous for its lovely,
cobblestone streets, pastel colored houses with elaborate wrought-iron wills as well as beautiful palaces
and plazas.
Visit to Valle de los Ingenios (valley of the sugar mills), the most important sugar producing region during
colonial times and now declared a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site.
We continue to Manaca Iznaga sugar plantation, a quaint village hacienda famous for its splendid tower,
built in 1835-45 by Alejo Maria del Carmen e Iznaga, once one of the wealthiest sugar barons in Cuba. We visit the recently re-opened Museo Romantico.
We continue to the Palacio Cantero, a museum of decorative arts.
Lunch at Sol Ananda in a beautifully restored 18th Century mansion on the Plaza Mayor.
1:00 pm
Time permitting, we visit the Fonart Crafts Store, government craft store to support the artisan industry in
Cuba or the large outdoor craft market. T
Return to Cienfuegos.
7:30 pm
Dinner on the terrace of Finca del Mar, walking distance from the hotel. Day 8 8:00 am
Thursday, March 30
Hotel check-out and depart for Santa Clara
BE SURE TO COLLECT YOUR BELONGINGS FROM THE SAFE DEPOSIT BOX IN YOUR ROOM
 PASSPORT
 VISA
 PLANE TICKET
* Tips may be given to your Cuban guide and driver at this time. The recommended tip is minimum 7CUC per day, per passenger for your guide and minimum 5CUC per day, per passenger for your driver.
10:00 am
We visit the Che Guevara Mausoleum and Ernesto Guevara Sculptural Complex. The popular revolutionary
was buried here with full military honors in 1997 after his remains were discovered in Bolivia and returned
to Cuba.
12:00 pm
Check-in at Santa Clara Abel Santamaria International Aiport (SNU).
2:14 pm
JetBlue Flight # 388 departs SNU for Fort Lauderdale (FLL). Connecting flights home to LGA or EWR.
itineraries subject to change © 2016 cuba cultural travel
* Please note: This is a “working” itinerary. There may be some changes, additions and/or subtractions to the final itinerary. All
venues and artist’s studios are subject to final confirmations. Be assured that any changes made will be done to enhace the total
porgram, and to promote a smooth operaton of the tour.
TRIP COST
5 DAYS AND 4 NIGHTS
DOUBLE, PER PERSON: $3,235
SINGLE OCCUPANCY: $3,760
8 DAYS AND 7 NIGHTS
DOUBLE, PER PERSON: $4,475
SINGLE OCCUPANCY: $5,320
CUSTOM DESIGNED
PROGRAM INCLUDES
• Itinerary design and coordination
• Compliance with US Treasury Department
• Hotel Nacional de Cuba Havana (standard room)
• Extension: Hotel Jagua Cienfuegos (standard room)
• All ground transportation
• Full time private tour escort
• Daily breakfast in Cuba
• Meals as listed in itinerary (including tips)
• Entrance fees to museums etc.
• Bottled water on bus and in room
• Gratuities for restaurants, porters
eXCLUDES
• Airfare to/from Cuba
• Airline baggage fees
• Gratuities for guide and driver
• Individualized hotel expenses (mini bar, room service, laundry fees, etc)
• Trip cancellation insurance
itineraries subject to change © 2016 cuba cultural travel