CATHOLIC CUBA TOUR 7 DAYS

* ACTIVITIES INCLUDED

Your price per person with Bed & Breakfast

Price per person in Double Occupancy …………………….   $1,150 USD (Taxes Included)

Price per person in Single Occupancy……………………….   $1,300 USD (Taxes Included)

 

*Price includes

-all listed activities,

-Cuban entry visa(s),

-Accommodation according to the program description.

-full time English-speaking professional guide,

-all transfers & transportation*,

-6 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 1 dinner.

*Price only valid for groups of 2 to 16 guests and does NOT include roundtrip airfare.

*Car & driver at your disposition on days 1 and 4.

*PLEASE CONTACT US FOR PRICING IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRAVEL ON THIS TOUR BUT WOULD PREFER TO STAY AT A LEGAL HOTEL.

BUT WOULD PREFER TO STAY AT A LEGAL HOTEL

 

CATHOLIC TOUR OF CUBA 7 days/6 nights

DAY 1

“WELCOME TO CUBA & HAVANA’S CATHOLIC CHURCHES”

• Depart from any airport in the U.S. with commercial airline service to Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba.
• Meet & greet with guide at Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport.
• Guide will accompany you for the duration of your stay.
• Driving City Tour of Havana, including a drive along the famous Havana malecon seawall, Vedado neighborhood, 5th Avenue in the suburb of Miramar, and stops at the Plaza of the Revolution, and Havana’s most historically significant Catholic Churches. (3-4 hours)
• Welcome to Cuba lunch at private restaurant.
• Transfer to B&B in Old Havana.
• Dinner at restaurant of guest’s choice. (Not included in tour price, unless your flight schedule prevented you from having a “welcome to Cuba lunch,” in which case dinner is on us!)

 

DAY 2

“OLD HAVANA & CUBAN ART”

• Breakfast at B&B.
• 9:00am Old Havana Encounter, our walking tour through Old Havana, La Habana Vieja, and its five main plazas, Plaza Vieja, Plaza de Armas, Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza de San Francisco, and Plaza del Cristo, with stops at the residence of the colonial era Captain General of the island, the Havana Cathedral, Obispo Street, and the Cuba’s capitol building. You will stop at the L’Antigua Habana book store, right across the street from Sloppy Joe’s, where you just may find a first edition of “The Old Man and the Sea,” or just a simple postcard. Old Havana gives you a taste of the island and will make you feel as if you had travelled back in time. Old Havana has some of the oldest buildings and streets in the Americas, with buildings and structures dating to the 16th century. These ancient buildings still house a significant number of Havana’s inhabitants. Old Havana features the first church built on the island, a street paved with wooden bricks, palatial residences, the hotel where Ernest Hemingway wrote “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” the beautiful Bacardi building, and the Cuba’s former presidential palace. Some of the notable buildings you will see during this tour include the house built by Ponce de Leon’s grandson, a section of Havana’s original colonial era sewer system, and the beautiful Palacio Viena Hotel, which like many structures in Old Havana has been undergoing a never-ending renovation. Our tour of Old Havana includes stops at Ernest Hemingway’s favorite bars, El Floridita and La Bodeguita del Medio. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982, Old Havana is the largest, oldest, and most authentic colonial area in the western hemisphere. (4 hours)
• Lunch at restaurant of guest’s choice. (Not included in tour price)
• 2:30pm Museum experience, visit to the Havana Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, this includes a visit the national Cuban Museum of Art. The national and international branches of the Cuban Museo de Bellas Artes are just steps from each other, yet one houses art from around the globe, and the other purely Cuban art. El Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes features the most recognized art produced in Cuba, both before and after the revolution. The international branch is housed in the ornate former Centro Asturiano, which was originally building that house the society of Spaniards from the province of Asturias and is located steps away from the capitol building. The national branch is housed in a strikingly looking modern building, especially considering that it was built before the revolution in the 1950s.
• Dinner at private restaurant.
• 9:00pm Live Jazz at La Zorra y el Cuervo.

 

DAY 3

“THE CHURCH & THE REVOLUTION”

• Breakfast at B&B.
• 9:00am The Catholic Church in Cuba Tour and Workshop includes a history of the Catholic Church in Cuba, from colonial times through the 1970s, and includes visits to Havana’s Cathedral and the Church of the Guardian Angel, both in Old Havana. The Church of the Guardian Angel is the where famed Cuban independence leaders Father Felix Varela and Jose Marti were baptized. (3 hours)
• Lunch at restaurant of guest's choice. (Not included in tour price)
• 2:00pm Museum of the Cuban Revolution Tour, the Museum of the Revolution is housed in the former Presidential Palace of Cuba. It is in Old Havana across from the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, which exhibits works by Cuban artists. Civilian and military artifacts are on display in the Museum, as are brief written descriptions of the events that led to the overthrow of the Batista regime in 1959. Artifacts from the armed struggle are amongst items on display, and they range from bloody shirts and pistols, to the motor yacht Granma, which ferried Fidel Castro and the members of the 26 of July Movement to Cuba from Mexico in 1956. Military vehicles that were used during the fighting in the late 1950’s are on display outside of the Museum, and they range from tank and jeeps, to airplanes and tractors that were turned into armored fighting vehicles. (3 hours)
• Dinner at restaurant of guest’s choice. (Not included in tour price)

 

 

DAY 4

“SANTERIA & HEMINGWAY”

• Breakfast at B&B.
• 9:00am Santeria workshop, this workshop covers the basics of the Afro-Cuban religion Santeria and includes such topics as the syncretism of Catholicism and African religions, and the role and significance of drums in the religion. The religion is a syncretism of African tribal religions and Catholicism and is currently practiced by a large percentage of the island’s population. This workshop covers the main deities of the religion and the Catholic Saint that represents them, their origin myths, the colors and vestments associated with them, and their roles in human life. A visit to the Casa de Africa is included, and there you will see African musical instruments, artifacts, and a room dedicated to the orishas, the Yoruba deities. Guests are usually amazed after attending this workshop at the many multicolored wristbands and necklaces worn by many Cubans which are associated with the religion. (3 hours)
• Lunch at restaurant of guest’s choice. (Not included in tour price)
• 2:30pm Hemingway encounter, visit the places Ernest Hemingway regularly frequented, including La Finca Vigia, and La Terraza de Cojimar Restaurant. Includes the Gregorio Fuentes walking tour of the town of Cojimar, which was the inspiration for the novel “The Old Man and the Sea.” This encounter is a must for any Hemingway fan, and covers some of the most productive and interesting years of the famous writer’s life. (5 hours)
• Dinner at restaurant of guest’s choice. (Not included in tour price)

 

 

DAY 5

“RESOLVIENDO & CATHOLICISM IN CUBA TODAY”

• Breakfast at B&B.
• 9:00am RESOLVIENDO Workshop, through this workshop we attempt to give our guests a peek into the life of a regular Cuban citizen. You will see an actual tarjeta de abastecimiento, which roughly translates to provisions card. These are the small notebooks that every Cuban citizen is given at birth, and which entitles them to five chicken eggs, a quarter chicken, coffee, cooking oil, and other items every month. The provision card also entitles its’ bearer to purchase select items that are deemed to be necessities at discounted prices. You will visit what is known in Cuba as an agricultural market, agro, and is basically the produce section of a supermarket, where most people buy their fresh produce. You will visit a bread distribution point, where bread is distributed through the provision card at discounted prices. Depending on schedule and other factors you may also visit a grocery store, meat market, and other markets where meats are sold. This workshop will show visitors some of the daily rituals most Cubans deal with, it will be presented by your guide, and sometimes we have invited guests who are experts in certain areas of the food distribution chain in Cuba. The history of the provisions card will also be covered. (4 hours)
• Lunch at private restaurant. 
• 2:00pm Catholicism in Cuba Today, workshop presents visitors with the state of the Catholic Church in Cuba today, and the outlook for the Church on the island, where it has struggled for years under a self-proclaimed atheistic government and a surge of practitioners of the Afro-Cuban religion Santeria. (3-4 hours)
• Dinner at restaurant of guest’s choice. (Not included in tour price)

 

DAY 6

"DANCE, FREE TIME & TROPICANA"

• Breakfast at B&B.
• 10:00am Salsa & Rumba Dance Workshop, begins with our best dancers performing an impressive interpretation of Cuba’s two endemic dance styles. You will then learn some of the history of salsa music in Cuba, the basic steps involved in dancing, and its contributions and influences around the world. The history of rumba will cover its African Abakpa, Bantu and Yoruba roots, its roots in Spain’s coros de clave, and the three distinct styles of this characteristically Cuban musical genre, Columbia, Guaguanco, and Yambu. You will then receive individualized salsa dance instructions. Rumba dancing lessons are not included in this workshop, unless specifically requested before-hand, please leave the rumba to the Cubans! (3-4 hours)
• Farewell lunch at private restaurant.
• FREE TIME! AFTERNOON OFF TO EXPLORE HAVANA!
• Dinner at restaurant of guest’s choice, with our recommendation. (Not included in tour price)
• 9:30pm Tropicana Cabaret Show, enjoy the show at the world-renowned Tropicana!

 

 

DAY 7

“GOOD-BYE CUBA”

• Breakfast at B&B.
• Transfer to Jose Marti International Airport for return flight. (To be determined according to time of departure)

 

Itinerary will be adjusted to include Sunday Mass once your travel dates are confirmed.

Legal travel under Federal Regulation 31 CFR SEC. 515.566.

Price includes all listed activities, Cuban entry visa, full time English-speaking professional guide, all transportation*, and 6 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 1 dinner.

PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE AIRFARE. Roundtrip airfare supplement is an additional $440 for Charlotte, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, or Tampa International Airport departures and an additional $720 for New York JFK, Newark Liberty, or Houston departures. Our you may purchase your own airfare and leave the rest to us.

Car & driver at your disposition on days 1 and 4.

Price per person DOUBLE OCCUPANCY $1,150

Price per person SINGLE OCCUPANCY $1,300

Compare price to InsightCuba.com 

Night time activity schedule subject to change depending on travel date.

Price includes all listed activities, Cuban entry visa, full time English-speaking professional guide, all transportation, and 6 breakfasts, 1 lunche, and 1 dinner.

PLEASE CONTACT US FOR PRICING IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRAVEL ON THIS TOUR BUT WOULD PREFER TO STAY AT A LEGAL HOTEL.

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If you are purchasing a tour 30 days before your arrival date in Cuba, you may contact us via email, and we will send PayPal invoice for $100 deposit per guest with a balance due 30 days before departure.  Please be sure to include your arrival and departure flight information with guest names in a note at checkout.  We will email you a photo of your guide, who will meet you outside the customs inspection area upon your arrival in Cuba.  Please contact us with any questions, suggestions, or special dietary or other requests.

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