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12 days

Highlights of Cuba

Go on a fantastic tour of Cuba, offering fascinating history, beautiful scenery, colourful colonial towns and an encounter with happy Cubans, rum, salsa and cigars.

Highlights of Cuba
Highlights of Cuba
12 days
HomeLatin AmericaCubaHighlights of Cuba

Highlights of Cuba

Go on a fantastic tour of Cuba, offering fascinating history, beautiful scenery, colourful colonial towns and an encounter with happy Cubans, rum, salsa and cigars.

HomeLatin AmericaCubaHighlights of Cuba
What is included in the price?
This package includes the following
  • Return flight from the UK to Havana (enquire regarding direct flights)
  • Transfers to and from the airport in Havana
  • Transfers to and from the bus stations
  • Bus: Havana – Viñales – Cienfuegos – Trinidad – Havana
  • 10 nights at Casa Particulares incl. breakfast
  • 1 x lunch (day 4)
  • Individual tour; however, all excursions are done in small, international groups with local, English-speaking guides.
  • 24-hour manned emergency telephone throughout the tour
  • ATOL certificate included
  • Departure guarantee – the tour goes ahead regardless of the number of participant
  • Possibility of daily departure

Comprehensive package of excursions:

  • Welcome meeting and sightseeing in Havana’s old quarter
  • Excursion to the Viñales Valley, including a visit to a tobacco plantation and a limestone cave
  • Sightseeing in Trinidad’s old quarter
  • Entry to all mentioned attractions

THE TOUR IN SHORT

Cuba exudes history, revolution, music and dance, and this tour lets you experience the absolute highlights of the country. The tour starts in Havana, where beautiful colonial buildings, charming American cars, smiles and salsa rhythms wish you welcome.
From the colourful capital, the tour proceeds to the countryside and the lush, idyllic Viñales Valley, where, among other things, they grow tobacco plants that grow to become some of the world’s very finest cigars.
The tour heads from here to Trinidad via charming Cienfuegos, with its breathtakingly impressive architecture.
You can’t help but love Trinidad! Its cobbled streets, vibrantly colourful houses and sweet live music that soothes both body and soul.
From Trinidad, you head back to Havana, where you spend one last night before your journey home starts.

You have the option of extending your tour with a beach holiday at one of Cuba’s stunning beaches.

Why choose this tour

  • Feel the unique mood in the old district of Havana, where painterly plazas, gorgeous churches and old American cars bring you back to a forgotten age
  • Experience the lush Viñales Valley with its characteristic “mogote” limestone cliffs sharply rising from the lush tobacco fields
  • Go for a stroll through Cienfuegos’ UNESCO-listed Old Town with its beautiful architecture from the early 19th century.
  • Let yourself be seduced by the salsa rhythms streaming out from the many small cafés and bars in the pleasant colonial city of Trinidad

Our tours always include

  • All international and domestic flights
  • All accommodations
  • All specified excursions and activities
  • 24/7 telephone – We’re with you all the way
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Departure from the UK and arrival in Havana

Departure from the UK and arrival at the Havana airport with connecting flights on the way. Here you meet with our partner in Cuba, who is standing ready with a sign with your name on it. A driver takes you to your accommodations in Havana. The trip takes approx. 30 min. The rest of the day is at your leisure.

Accommodation:
Day 2: Welcome meeting & sightseeing in Havana

After breakfast, our partner in Cuba will meet you at your accommodation and hold a short welcome meeting of approx. 30 minutes. This is an opportunity for you to run through your tour together and get answers to any questions you may have about the tour or other practical questions about travelling around Cuba.

You will then set off on your exciting guided walk around Havana’s beautiful old town, which is on UNESCO’s list of sites worthy of preservation. Look forward to experiencing the cosy cobbled streets, where impressive squares, cathedrals and colonial-era buildings take you back to ancient times.  You’ll experience the contrast between the newly-renovated and well-maintained streets and buildings, and the more dilapidated areas that make Havana so unique. Highlights of the tour include Plaza Vieja, Plaza de San Francisco, Plaza de la Catedral and Plaza de las Armas, which is the city’s oldest square where the city museum and the Governor’s Palace are located.

You have the afternoon and evening to yourself.

Day 3: Havana on your own

There is no set itinerary, so it’s entirely up to you what the day will bring.

You might like to go for a stroll in Havana’s cosy streets, chill at a pavement café or take in the city from the back seat of a brightly-coloured American car? We highly recommend purchasing one of our exciting excursions that will take you a step closer to the heart of Cuban culture.

Here is a selection of tours in Havana available for purchase:

Day 4: Havana – Viñales – excursion to Viñales Valley

Today, you’ll be leaving Havana and heading for the Viñales Valley, where stunning nature experiences await you.

On the first part of the tour, you’ll be driving along the main road, but the last stretch into the small village, takes you along cosy, narrow, winding country roads. The drive takes about 4 hours.

In the afternoon, you’ll be visiting the highlights of Viñales Valley. The tour starts with a lovely lunch at a traditional Cuban restaurant. Your hunger sated, you’ll be accompanied by your guide to a small tobacco plantation, where you gain a fascinating insight into the work of the tobacco farmers who produce Cuba’s world-famous cigars. The Viñales area is known to have some of the best tobacco plants in the country. This is where the tobacco for the famous Cohiba and Montecristo brands of cigars comes from.

You’ll visit, Cueva del Indio, a limestone cave once inhabited by indigenous people. After a short walk in the cave, you’ll board a small boat and sail gently down the river, back to the daylight outside.

Just outside Viñales, you’ll find a pride and joy of the town; Mural de la prehistoria, a gigantic mural which symbolises the evolution of mankind. It was painted by local artist, Leovigildo González.

The last stop of the tour is at a vantage point affording an incredible panoramic view of Viñales Valley, with its characteristic limestone mountains, also called “mogotes”, rising dramatically from the lush fields. You’ll then be driven back to your accommodation.

Day 5: Viñales Valley on your own

The day is yours to do whatever you please. You can explore the scenic Viñales area on your own or pick one of the excursions below. We highly recommend a hike in the area.

Day 6: Viñales – Cienfuegos

After breakfast, you’ll be picked up from your accommodation, and a scenic drive to Cienfuegos then awaits you. The drive takes around 6 hours, so you can just sit back and enjoy the Cuban scenery zipping past. On the main roads of Cuba, you don’t just encounter other cars and buses. Pedestrians, cyclists, ox carts and horse carriages co-exist here in surprising harmony with one another. And yes, you can certainly lose your mind a little over the gorgeous old American cars, which are such an iconic part of the Cuban street scene.

On your arrival in Cienfuegos, you will be driven to your accommodation. The rest of the day is yours to do as you please.

Day 7: Cienfuegos – Trinidad

Cienfuegos was founded in 1819 by a group of French immigrants from the USA. The city entered the global map in 1957, when a group of young people with Fidel Castro’s guerrilla took over its military base. This was a short-lived victory, and the uprising was quickly defeated by Batista.

Today Cienfuegos is a pleasant town with very well-preserved buildings, and is for this reason included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Take a walk down to Parque Marti, the city’s central square. Here you can find locations including the well-preserved “Tomas Terry” theatre from 1890, and the spectacular mayor’s office.

You can also walk along the boardwalk to Punta Gorda, where you can find some of the most beautiful buildings in the city.Enjoy a drink at Palacio de Valle, a stunningly beautiful building that looks like something straight from an Arabian fairytale.

You have the morning to explore the city on your own. You can also choose to purchase a guided tour of the city.

At midday, you will head back to Trinidad, a bus ride of around 3 hours. On your arrival, you will be picked up and driven to your accommodation. The rest of the afternoon is yours to do as you please.

Day 8: City tour of Trinidad

Today, you are going on a guided city tour of Trinidad’s beautiful old quarter. Get your good walking shoes on, as Trinidad’s charming topped cobblestone streets are very uneven.

You visit locations including the picturesque square, Plaza Mayor and the city’s cathedral, “Iglesia Parroquial de la Santisima Trinidad”, one of the biggest churches in Cuba. Your guide tells you about the city’s exciting history and architecture on the way. The tour naturally also includes a drink at one of the lovely local bars.

The rest of the afternoon and evening is at your leisure. We recommend that you go to town in the evening and enjoy the atmosphere. At Plaza Mayor, you can find the popular dancing spot “Casa de la Musica”, and just 100 metres away is another dancing spot, “Casa de la Trova”, which always features live music too. If you can’t dance yourself, you have every opportunity to learn it here. Of course, you can also simply enjoy the sight of the happy, dancing crowds around you.

Day 9: Trinidad on your own

You have the day at your leisure in Trinidad. Approx. 15 km from Trinidad is the lovely Ancón Beach, where you can head out for a refreshing swim and unwind on the sand. You can also purchase an additional excursion from home.

Day 10: Trinidad - Havana

The time has come to say goodbye to Trinidad, and you head back to Havana by bus, arriving in the afternoon. You have the option to purchase an excursion, so instead of driving straight to Havana, you drive via Santa Clara and visit Che Guevara’s exciting museum, where you learn about his life and see his mausoleum.

After arriving in Havana, you can enjoy your last night in Cuba at one of Havana’s many wonderful restaurants serving great food and music.

Day 11: Departure day

Today the tour takes you back to the UK. You are picked up at your accommodations and driven to the airport.

Day 12: Arrival back home

You arrive in the UK after an exciting tour of Cuba.

Combine with
Choose from the options below
Beach holiday extension to Jibacoa
3 nights

Situated on the scenic stretch of coast between Havana and Varadero is Jibacoa, a little gem surrounded by beautiful nature. Round off your holiday here in tranquil surroundings by the beautiful sandy beach, Arroyo Bermejo.

Enjoy the hotel’s many facilities and fabulous restaurants, and have a refreshing dip in the large pool or in the crystal clear sea. Just metres from the coast is a small reef where you can snorkel and experience the colourful life under the sea.

If you feel the need to be active, you can play tennis, volleyball and go on short walks in the lush hills behind the hotel.

The sunset can be enjoyed with a cool mojito in your hand from one of the hotel’s all-inclusive bars.

Please note that the hotel is for guests aged 16+.

Accommodation:
Beach holiday extension to Varadero
3 nights

Varadero is located on the north coast of Cuba, around a 2½-hour drive from Havana. It is Cuba’s largest and most popular beach area – and for good reason. The 20-km long isthmus welcomes you with white sand, azure water and swaying palms.

In Varadero, you’ll find plenty of resorts, restaurants, souvenir shops and tour operators, who organise trips both above and below the water. You can also play golf out here.

Relax in the picturesque setting by the water and indulge yourself at the all-inclusive hotel, which offers delicious food and a wide range of entertainment and activities.

When would you like to travel?
Departure dates
All prices shown are per person
Special offers for groups of 4 or more. Request a quote today for more info.
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Emily Roper

Emily loves to travel and is extremely passionate about helping others achieve their travel dreams.

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WHY TRAVEL WITH TOURCOMPASS?
Why choose us

We know your time is precious. That's why we strive to provide personalised, attentive service to ensure your comfort and safety throughout your tour. From the moment you book to the moment you return home, we’re here to handle every detail with the utmost care.

We offer a diverse array of destinations, each promising its own unique story, shaped by its local cultures, fascinating wildlife, and natural beauty. 

We design every tour based on the extensive research and first-hand experiences of our travel specialists and experts. Each tour is crafted to showcase the best each country has to offer.

With us, you can rest assured; your journey is in safe hands. We are ATOL certified and a proud member of ABTA, maintaining rigorous standards of quality and service to ensure your complete peace of mind.

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