Style : Group tour
Classic Cuba: Havana & Cayo Santa María tour

Classic Cuba: Havana & Cayo Santa María

Go Ahead Tours
4.9 . Excellent
98%
Travel Style: Array Mixed
Physical Level: Walking or physical activity half to most of day - no carrying equipment. Easy
Lodging Level: 3 to 4 star western hotel equivalents. While not all lodging will be 'luxury' they will be quite comfortable by western standards. Comfort (4*)
7 days
From: Check price
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Overview

Highlights (Bullets)

  • The crumbling buildings and vintage cars of Old Havana
  • A music and dance performance at Buena Vista Social Club
  • Entering the workshop where students learn how to preserve Havana’s buildings
  • Ernest Hemingway’s home, museum and fishing village
  • Community visits in the vibrant university city of Santa Clara
  • Meeting local Cubans, from artists and musicians to students and historians

Short Description

Meeting students who are learning how to restore and preserve Havana’s historic buildings. Taking in a Buena Vista Social Club performance at a 1950s-inspired cafe. Learning how to salsa dance from the masters. Through these and countless other interactions with welcoming locals, get to know Cuba at its most authentic as you catch glimpses into the country’s energetic culture.

Style Group tour
See all the highlights and popular spots on a classic tour.
Itinerary Focus Classic Highlights
3 to 4 star western hotel equivalents. While not all lodging will be 'luxury' they will be quite comfortable by western standards.
Lodging Level Comfort (4*)
Flight & Transport Inclusions All internal ground transport
Start City Miami
End City Caibarién

Destinations

Cuba

Attractions & Cities Visited

Caribbean Havana Miami

Activities & Interests

Culture Festivals & Special Events History

N/A
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Itinerary

MIAMI, FLORIDA 1 night

Day 1: Arrival in Miami
Included meals: Dinner
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.

HAVANA 3 nights Hotel info

Day 2: Arrival in Havana
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.

  • Engage with a local architect as you visit Havana’s historic neighborhoods, including the Cerro, El Vedado and Miramar
  • 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 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, discuss the Cuban Missile Crisis while you walk through the tunnels at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, then taste the hotel’s world-famous mojitos. Later, enjoy dinner at one of the local restaurants known as paladares.

Day 3: Old Havana
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch
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

Then, head to the Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, a trade school that teaches restoration techniques in order to preserve Havana’s historic buildings and homes. Here, you’ll enter the workshop and have the opportunity to interact with the students as they show you their craft.
After lunch, visit the Museum of the Revolution, a collection of exhibits devoted to the revolutionary war of the 1950s housed in the former Presidential Palace.
Tonight, engage with musicians and locals at a Buena Vista Social Club performance to get a taste of the lively Cuban music culture.

Day 4: Finca Vigía & Cojimar
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today, get a look at some of Cuba’s world-famous cultural touchstones, including the cigar, Hemingway’s writing retreat and salsa dancing.

  • Interact with staff at a local factory to see how Cuba’s most famous exports is made from start to finish
  • 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 Afro-Cuban religion and interact with artists at a traditional dance performance.
After dinner, take a salsa dancing lesson taught by the masters and engage with the performers at a demonstration.

CAYO SANTA MARÍA 2 nights Hotel info

Day 5: Cayo Santa María 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 UNESCO-recognized city 
  • Make your way through José Martí Square and view the cathedral, then pass by Teatro Tomás Terry and the neo-Gothic Palacio de Valle

Later, travel to the beautiful island of Cayo Santa María, home to pristine coastal scenery and azure waters.

Day 6: Santa Clara & Remedios
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Set out for Santa Clara, the fifth-largest city in Cuba, where you’ll learn about the city from a local perspective and discuss the significance of Cuba’s Revolution at the Che Guevara Masoleum. Before continuing on to Remedios, take in two cultural performances and interact with local artists.

  • Make your way to Casa de la Cultura, where you’ll engage with members of the of the Melodías Antillanas musical group and see them play classic Cuban tunes using traditional instruments
  • Interact with members of Los Abuelos de Fiesta, a vibrant retirement community, as they perform danzón, the African-influenced official musical genre and dance of Cuba 
  • Later, drive through the countryside to Remedios, the eighth oldest city in Cuba.
  • Meet with the Parish Priest at Remedios Cathedral to discuss the church’s various community projects 
  • Learn about the famous Parrandas festival, one of the Caribbean’s largest and oldest traditional carnivals, from the locals who perform in the show

Back in Cayo Santa María, join your group at tonight’s farewell dinner.

Day 7: Caibarién & Departure
Included meals: Breakfast
After an early check-out from your hotel, transfer to Caibarién where you’ll meet a welcoming array of community members.

  • Visit Color Miel, an artist project that is centered around honey-making, and learn about the impact it has on the community firsthand

Later, drive 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 8.

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.

Availability

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Price Per Day: NA
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Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

150 Go Ahead Tours Travel Reviews & Ratings

98%
4.9 out of 5 (100+ reviews)
Excellent 144
Great 2
Average 0
Disappointing 0
Terrible 4
Value
4.9
Guide
4.9
Activities
4.9
Lodging
4.9
Transportation
4.9
Meals
4.9

Classic Cuba: Havana & Cayo Santa María

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Company Reviews

Will Refuse to Refund

1.0
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Value1.0
Guide1.0
Activities1.0
Lodging1.0
Transportation1.0
Meals1.0
I made a reservation last Thursday (11/16/2023) for a trip to Iceland from 12/02/2023-12/07/2023 and then I was told that I can’t have my refund back.

When I called on last Thursday (11/16/2023) to place my reservation, the agent (Kathy) I talked to stressed about she "cannot" guarantee that I will be able to go on the trip. Before I provided the payment information, I specifically asked if I will be able to get the refund because the trip is coming up so soon. The agent ensured that I will be able to get a full refund back within 60 days if I decided to cancel the trip. I was also told that I am basically on a wait list and someone will contact me once I can go on the trip. No one contacted me about whether the agency was able to process my information at all, so I've been left in the dark about this trip since the beginning.

I called the help line this morning (11/20/2023) around 9:00 Eastern Standard Time to cancel my reservation. I was informed by the agent that I will not be able to get my full refund back since it's too close to the trip date. Basically I was told that Kathy gave me the wrong information, so I will have to pay the cancellation fee. The only reason I provided my payment information is because Kathy specifically stated that I will be able to cancel the trip and receive a full refund.

I've never been so frustrated with a traveling agency. I made sure to ask this agent regarding the refund policy twice before giving her my payment information, and she still couldn't provide me with the correct information. It's unbelievable that such a big traveling agency cannot uniformly train their employees with the correct set of information.
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Stay Away - Class Action lawsuit for ripping off children

1.0
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Guide1.0
Activities1.0
Lodging1.0
Transportation1.0
Meals1.0
This greedy and unethical company is being sued for keeping money from school children and their parents after the company canceled trips due to Coronavirus. They have a pattern of canceling trips and keeping your money and you get nothing! They only care about money and not earning it.
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Wouldn't Refund Full Payment of Tour They Cancelled

1.0
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Value1.0
Guide1.0
Activities1.0
Lodging1.0
Transportation1.0
Meals1.0
Our trip was to be in May 2020 and was cancelled by Go Ahead due to the Coronavirus after we had paid the full cost of the trip for two. When contacted about a refund, the only way we would NOT lose our deposit of $600 was if we allowed them to keep the entire amount paid until the trip was rescheduled or changed to another tour. We asked them to refund everything EXCEPT the deposit and carry the deposit until another trip could be scheduled. They refused to consider carrying our deposit. The only was to get our $6000 payment back was to lose our $600 deposit. After several wonderful tours, Go Ahead proved themselves to be unconcerned about our financial loss or hardships caused by their inflexibility.
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I took every additional tour and the tour guides were excellent!

5.0
Details
Value5.0
Guide5.0
Activities5.0
Lodging5.0
Transportation5.0
Meals5.0
Go Ahead Tours was selected for their attention to detail, and this tour did not disappoint! I must give credit to our wonderful tour director, Alessandra, who has over 25 years of experience, and we were the beneficiaries of her compassionate regard for our tour's wellbeing. She was attentive and even gave us souvenir momentos from each city we visited. I took every additional tour and the tour guides were excellent! I especially liked our guides for the Colosseum, in Rome, a mature woman who was Greek, and thus, she was very personable. Also, Katia, our tour guide for the Vatican and the Catacombs was very knowledgeable and entertaining. The last night was fun in our send off dinner consisted of a dinner theater billed as four tenors and featured an opera troup serenading us during our three-course meal. Great fun and the perfect meal to conclude our action packed 7-day tour of three Italian Cities boasting magnificent art and history!
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Amazing trip of a lifetime!

5.0
Details
Value5.0
Guide5.0
Activities5.0
Lodging5.0
Transportation5.0
Meals5.0
My husband and I went on this tour for our five year anniversary. It was both of our first trips to Europe and it was WONDERFUL! Our tour guide, Alessandra, was fantastic & our group got along so well. We made friends and always had a blast. It's a wonderful mix of guided tours & free time. It was so nice to not have to stress about travel arrangements between cities because Go Ahead has done it all. We would definitely book again!
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By far the BEST Trip EVER

5.0
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Value5.0
Guide5.0
Activities5.0
Lodging5.0
Transportation5.0
Meals5.0
WOW. That’s the best word to summarize this tour. 1st class everything, from the private chauffeur upon arrival to the 5 star hotels to the fancy restaurants, but the icing on the cake is the guided tour director. Nicola was BY FAR THE BEST trip mom EVER. I went to Europe by myself and she made sure I was always fitting right in, she was very patient, kind and understanding. Very knowledgeable, oh man she was the absolute best seriously. I want her on every tour
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Details

Flight & Transport Inclusions

All internal ground transport

Group Size

Standard Group - 25 + people

Maximum Number of People in Group: 26

Trip ID#:

goaheadclacubhavcaysan

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