2016
Cultural Cuba: Havana to Cayo Santa María
Soak up the singular culture of this colorful Caribbean island.
9
D AY S
Make your way from Havana, Cuba’s vibrant capital, through the Spanish colonial city of Sancti Spíritus to
the beautiful coastline of Cayo Santa María. Local artists, musicians, historians, naturalists and students
will show you their country from an insider’s perspective as you go, opening up this lively island nation cut
off from much of the western world for decades.
Start planning today 1.800.206.9871 | goaheadtours.com/cub
© 2015 EF Education First International Ltd.
2016
C U LT U R A L C U B A : H AVA N A TO
C AYO S A N TA M A R Í A
Overview
Miami
Your tour includes
| 1 night
Day 1: Arrival in Miami
• 8 nights in handpicked hotels
Included meals: welcome dinner
• Breakfast daily, 8 lunches, 6 three-course dinners with beer
Welcome to Florida! Arrive in Miami and make your way to your hotel. Later, set out
on a short tour of Little Havana, the Cuban cultural neighborhood of Miami, before
sitting down to a welcome dinner and drinks with your fellow travelers. After dinner,
review important tour information with your Tour Director.
• Multilingual Tour Director and Local Cuban National Guide
• Chartered flights from Miami to Havana and Santa Clara to Miami
• Private deluxe motor coach, guided sightseeing and select entrance fees
Havana
• Cuban Visa and health insurance
| 3 nights
Day 2: Arrival in Havana
Your tour highlights
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
This morning, board your chartered flight from Miami to Havana, Cuba. Upon
arrival, head out with your group and discover the city with a local guide. Please note:
Charter flight times are subject to change.
• The crumbling buildings and vintage cars of Old Havana
• A music and dance performance at Buena Vista Social Club
• Engage with local a architect as you visit Havana’s historic neighborhoods,
• Ernest Hemingway’s home, museum and fishing village
including the Cerro, El Vedado and Miramar
• The charm and architecture of Cienfuegos, including the Palacio de Valle
• See Metropolitan Park, a beautiful green space along the Almendares River, before
making your way down the Malecón, the city’s five-mile-long esplanade located on
• Trinidad’s Spanish colonial zone
• Meeting local Cubans, from artists and musicians to students and historians Remedios
Calibarien
Bay of Pigs
Where you’ll go
the waterfront
• Enjoy open discussions about important restoration projects as you view the
historic Capitol Building and Revolution Square
• Meet with students at the University of Havana
After lunch, meet a local artist for an interactive discussion about what life is like in
Cuba today. This evening, meet a local historian to discuss the Cuban Missile Crisis
while you walk through the tunnels at Nacional de Cuba. Then, enjoy dinner at one of
the authentic local restaurants known as paladares.
FLORIDA
Miami
Day 3: Old Havana
Included meals: breakfast, lunch
Havana
Cayo Santa María
Caibarién and Remedios
Santa Clara
Bay of Pigs
Cienfuegos
Sancti Spíritus
Trinidad
CUBA
Get to know the UNESCO-recognized neighborhood of Old Havana, the heart of the
city, with a local architect leading the way.
• Engage in open discussions about recent restoration projects in Havana as you walk
along the colorful main streets
• Pass through Plaza de Armas, St. Francis of Assisi Square, Plaza Vieja, Plaza de la
Catedrale and Cortina de Valdés, home to the city’s ancient arsenal
O V E R N I G H T S TAY S
After lunch, interact with locals at Arte Corte, a community project centered around
a hair salon and barber school, before exploring the National Museum of Fine Arts
on a guided tour led by a local art historian. Here, you’ll discuss a vast collection of
Cuban art ranging from colonial to contemporary.
3 nights • Havana
Tonight, engage with musicians and locals at a Buena Vista Social Club performance
to get a taste of the lively Cuban music culture.
2 nights • Sancti Spíritus
Day 4: Finca Vigía & Cojimar
2 nights • Cayo Santa María
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
1 night • Miami
Today, get a look at some of Cuba’s world-famous cultural touchstones, including the
cigar, Hemingway’s writing retreat and antique cars.
• Interact with staff at a local factory to see how Cuba’s most famous exports is made
from start to finish
26
MA XIMUM GROUP SIZE FOR THIS TOUR
With our Right Size Advantage, your group will never get in the way
of your experience. Learn more at goaheadtours.com/rightsize
A B O U T YO U R H O T E L S
Our 3- and 4-diamond accommodations are handpicked to
ensure quality and comfort. See sample hotels for this tour at
goaheadtours.com/cub
• Meet with a local historian at Finca Vigía, where Ernest Hemingway wrote some of
his most famous works, and discuss the importance of Hemingway’s novels both in
Cuba and in the United States
• Visit with local fisherman at the nearby village of Cojimar, where Hemingway kept
his boat, Pilar
This afternoon, head to the Guanabacoa Museum where you’ll learn about AfroCuban religion and interact with artists at a traditional dance performance. Then,
meet with mechanics responsible for restoring vintage automobiles before viewing a
selection of these iconic cars.
Start planning today 1.800.206.9871 | goaheadtours.com/cub
© 2015 EF Education First International Ltd.
2016
C U LT U R A L C U B A : H AVA N A TO
C AYO S A N TA M A R Í A
Itinerary
After dinner, take a salsa dancing lesson taught by the masters and engage with the
performers at a demonstration.
Sancti Spíritus | 2 nights
Day 5: Sancti Spíritus via Bay of Pigs & Cienfuegos
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Say adiós to Havana this morning as you make your way to the historic Bay of
Pigs. Enter Museo Girón and discuss the failed invasion of 1961 from the Cuban
perspective. Then, discover Cienfuegos with a local as your guide.
• Interact with locals as you discuss the culture and traditions of this UNESCOrecognized city
oldest traditional carnivals with roots stretching back to the 18th century
• Hop on board a bicycle taxi for a tour of Remedios, heading into the main square
where you’ll meet the drivers and share coffee
Back in Cayo Santa María, join your group at tonight’s farewell dinner.
Day 9: Departure
Included meals: breakfast, lunch
After a late check-out from your hotel, transfer to Santa Clara airport for your
chartered flight to Miami where you will connect to your flight home.
Please note: Depending on your home destination, you may spend the night in Miami
before flying home on the morning of Day 10.
• Make your way through José Martí Square and view the cathedral, then pass by
Tomás Terry Theater and the neo-Gothic Palacio de Valle
Day 6: Tope de Collantes & Trinidad
Included meals: breakfast, lunch
This morning set out for Tope de Collantes, home to Parque el Cubano, a nature
reserve nestled in the picturesque Escambray Mountains.
• Exchange ideas about preservation with a local naturalist on a short nature walk
through the park’s scenic trails
Go Ahead Tours is pleased to offer educational and cultural exchanges to Cuba. Go
Ahead Tours qualifies for the people-to-people general license established by the
Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”).
Under this license, Go Ahead Tours will offer educational and cultural exchanges and
conversations with the people of Cuba. The itinerary is subject to change based on
day of week and availability, but a complete people-to people itinerary will always be
maintained.
• Take in views of the surrounding scenery and waterfalls, while keeping your eye out
for native bird species
Continue on to learn about the history of the frozen-in-time town of Trinidad.
• Explore and discuss the UNESCO-recognized Spanish colonial zone, passing
by Plaza Mayor, the Church of the Holy Trinity, Brunet Palace, Sánchez Iznaga
Mansion and the bell tower of the old San Francisco Convent
• Interact with locals at the Romantic Museum (located inside Brunet Palace) and
view the ornate furniture, artwork and sculptures that members of the Cuban
aristocracy once used to decorate their homes
• Meet and interact with local artists in Trinidad to learn about their lives and works
Cayo Santa María | 2 nights
Day 7: Sancti Spíritus city walk & Cayo Santa María via Santa Clara
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Before leaving Sancti Spíritus, set out to explore the city on a guided walk.
• Visit the Sancti Spíritus School of Art, a high school for talented youth, and engage
with the students to learn about their studies and interests
• Stroll through the city’s charming historic center and enjoy an open discussion
about restoration projects in Sancti Spiritus
Then, stop in Santa Clara to discover this vibrant city from a local perspective.
• Visit Parque Vidal, named a national monument in 1988 for its eclectic and historic
surrounding architecture and statues
• Marvel at the impressive Che Guevara Mausoleum
• Listen to traditional Trova music and interact with the local musicians who play it
Later, make your way to the beautiful island of Cayo Santa María, home to pristine
coastal scenery and azure waters.
Day 8: Caibarién & Remedios
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, farewell dinner
Head out to the agricultural and cultural centers of Caibarién and Remedios today.
• In Caibarién, engage with a local artists and children at a community center
dedicated to the arts
• Discuss the tools and machinery used in sugar production at the sugar factoryturned-exhibit, Marcelo Salado Sugar Mill Museum
• Board a steam train to Remedios and interact with the conductors en route
• Learn about the famous Parrandas festival, one of the Caribbean’s largest and
CUB16_1215
Start planning today 1.800.206.9871 | goaheadtours.com/cub
© 2015 EF Education First International Ltd.