CUBA, PILGRMAGE THROUGH THE SUNNY ISLAND

ITINERARY

Day 1

Arrival in Havana. Transfer to the hotel. Dinner and accommodation.

Day 2

Breakfast. Sightseeing tour as the perfect introduction to Havana which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Visit Cuba's most famous sea-side avenue the Malecon, the Revolution Square which is the political and administrative center of Cuba, the University Hill, the Central Park and Capitol, Av. Prado  a street on the dividing line between Centro Havana and old Havana, the Old Town, the Cathedral, St. Francis Square, the Bodeguita del Medio, the rum museum and the fortress  El Morro. Dinner and accommodation. Optional visit to one of the most famous cabarets Tropicana

Day 3

Breakfast. Ride to Pinar del Rio, a tobacco-growing province. Visit the Vinales Valley where people have been growing tobacco for over 200 years and where the best Cuban tobacco comes from. Short stop at the provincial capital also called Pinar del Rio. Visit the Indian cave and an underground boat ride viewing pre-historical cave drawings. Dinner and accommodation in Pinar del Rio or in Soroa.  

Day 4

Following breakfast, transfer to Cienfuegos. Visit the Indian Village and a crocodile farm in Guama. Evening visit to the Palacio del Valle, with the possibility of tasting a variety of Cuban drinks. Dinner and overnight in Cienfuegos. 

Day 5

Breakfast. Sightseeing tour of Cienfuegos, the historic center recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005, the Cathedral, Jose Marti Square. Ride to Trinidad, a gem of  Cuban colonial architecture. Tour of the city, visiting the Plaza Mayor, the Santisima Trinidad Church,  the Canchanchara  the capital of afro Cuban music, the monastery of Saint Francis and the museum of romanticism. Evening leisure time on the beach of the Caribbean sea near Trinidad. Hotel all-inclusive.   

Day 6

Free time until noon. After lunch, visit the Ingenios Valley famous for its sugar cane production and the Iznaga tower. Transfer to the colonial city of Camaguey. Evening walk through the colonial streets of this city. Dinner and overnight. 

Day 7

Breakfast. Short tour of the center of Camaguey: Plaza del Carmen, Merced Church, Cathedral, among others. Pass through the Sierra Maestra Mountains, the starting point of the Cuban Revolution, to El Cobre, to the sanctuary of the patron saint of Cuba. On the way, take a walk around the colonial center of Bayamo. Visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy in Cobre. Dinner and overnight in Santiago de Cuba. 

Day 8

Breakfast. Day-long tour of the colonial capital of eastern Cuba: Cespedes Park, Cathedral, Maceo Square, Heredia Street, Padre Pico Street, house of the first Governor of Cuba Diego Velazquez (the oldest house in Cuba), and El Morro castle. Evening spectacle at Casa de la Trova. Dinner and overnight. 

Day 9

Breakfast. Ride through Guantánamo to Baracoa, the first city founded in Cuba. Stroll around the city visiting the church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, where the symbol of Christianity of Cuba is found the first cross that was placed by conquistadors on Cuban soil (legend says it belonged to Columbus). Visit of the museum Fuerte Matachin. Dinner and overnight. 

Day 10

Breakfast. Return to Santiago de Cuba. On the way, visit Finca Duaba, to admire plantations of bananas, coconuts, coffee, cocoa, and mangoes. Supper. Evening or morning flight to Havana. 

Day 11

Breakfast. Transfer to Varadero, famous for its fabulous beaches. On the way,  short stop at the Bacunayagua valley and Cojimar, which was the background for one of the most famous works of Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea. Arrival in Varadero all-inclusive hotel. 

Day 12

Leisure time on the beach. Optional excursion. All-inclusive hotel.

Day 13

Leisure time on the beach. Optional excursion. All-inclusive hotel.

Day 14

Leisure time on the beach until midday. In the afternoon transfer to the airport for a flight to Havana and then back home.