CUBA JEWISH HERITAGE TOUR 6 DAYS
INTRODUCTION:
CUBA JEWISH HERITAGE TOUR
Religious tours of Cuba are authorized by U.S. Code 31 CFR 515.566, which allows travelers from the United States to visit Cuba for religious purposes. Besides the religious workshops and associated activities, this tour also includes historic tours of the city, music or dance workshops, and museum and sightseeing tours. This tour may be modified, contact us if you would like to travel on this tour but would like to make some changes to the itinerary. Here is the link to the U.S. Treasury Department website will with the text of religious travel to Cuba regulations, https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=9e3100ab8b22e3ef16973d2f48f5fc52&mc=true&node=se31.3.515_1566&rgn=div8
Please send us an email if you would like to travel with this tour but prefer to stay at a hotel.
* ACTIVITIES INCLUDED
Your price per person with Bed & Breakfast
Price per person in Double Occupancy …………… $990 USD (Taxes Included)
Price per person in Single Occupancy……………… $1,070 USD (Taxes Included)
*Price includes
-all listed activities,
- full time English-speaking professional guide,
- all transfers & transportation*,
-5 breakfasts, 1 lunch and 2 dinners.
*Price only valid for groups of 2 to 16 guests and does NOT include roundtrip airfare.
YOU MAY DEPART FROM ANY AIRPORT IN THE U.S. & WE WILL MEET YOU IN HAVANA.
*This itinerary contemplates a Wednesday arrival in Havana and would be modified as necessary for other departure days to leave Friday afternoon and Saturday open.
*Car & driver at your disposition on days 1 and 5
*PLEASE CONTACT US FOR PRICING IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRAVEL ON THIS TOUR, BUT WOULD PREFER TO STAY AT A LEGAL HOTEL
*Night time activity schedule subject to change depending on travel dates. A performance by Yoruba Andabo will be added to itinerary at no additional cost, if they are scheduled to perform in Havana during your stay.
*LATE NIGHT TRANSPORTATION TO RETURN TO B&B NOT INCLUDED. (TAXIS COST APPROXIMATELY $5CUC PER PERSON LATE NIGHT)
DAY 1 “HELLO HAVANA”
Depart the U.S. from any airport with 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.
Accommodation in B&B in Havana for 5 nights with breakfast included.
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, Fusterlandia in the suburbs of Havana, and La Lavanderia, the studio and workshop of Cuban painter and sculptor Rafael Perez Alonso. You will have the opportunity to explore this most unique workplace in the Havana suburb of Miramar and meet the artist. (3 hours)
Lunch at restaurant of guest’s choice. (Not included in the price)
Transfer to B&B in Old Havana.
Welcome dinner at private restaurant.
Live music at la Zorra y el Cuervo.
DAY 2 “OLD HAVANA & 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, where you just may find a first edition of “The Old Man and the Sea,” or a great 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 de Bellas Atres, this includes a visit the national Cuban Museum of Art, and the International Museum of Art, both located in old Havana, 4 hours. The national and international branches of the Cuban Museo de Bellas Artes feature the highest quality artwork on the island, in strikingly different settings. The international branch is housed in the ornate former Centro Asturiano, which house a society of Spaniards from the province of Asturias who resided on the island and is just steps away from the capitol building. The national branch is housed in a strikingly looking modern building, considering that it was built before the revolution in the 1950s.
Dinner at restaurant of guest’s choice. (Not included in the price)
9:30pm Live music and dancing at la Casa de la Musica.
DAY 3 “CIGARS, RUM, & HAVANA’S JCC”
9:00am Havana Cigar and Rum Experience, this is a walking tour that traverses Old Havana, with visits to the Rum Museum, and the Cigar Museum, and stops at a cigar factory and warehouse. The Rum Museum illustrates the history of the sugar industry in Cuba and includes a replica of a colonial era rum distillery, and a presentation of the culture and tradition of Cuban rum production. The Rum Museum displays contemporary Cuban painter’s works, so you just may see the early works of Cuba’s next Wilfredo Lam. The Habano Museum illustrates the history of tobacco cultivation, and cigar making on in Cuba. Guests will have an opportunity to sample both fine Cuban rums and cigars during this event. Depending on schedule you may see a demonstration by a master cigar roller. (3 hours)
Lunch at private restaurant. (Not included in the price)
2:30pm Welcome ceremony at Havana’s Jewish Community Center in Vedado, includes tour of facility, and brief discussion about the history of the Jewish community in Cuba, current programs and projects, a question and answer session, and visit to the Beth Shalom Synagogue. (2-3 hours)
Friday services, Kabalat Shabat, at Beth Shalom Synagogue.
Shabat dinner (Kidush).
DAY 4 “SHABBAT or SANTERIA Y REVOLUCION”
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 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, 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 that the multicolored wristbands and necklaces worn by many Cubans are associated with the religion. (3 hours)
Lunch at restaurant of guest’s choice. (Not included in the price)
2:30pm Museo de la Revolucion Tour, the Museum of the Cuban Revolution is in Cuba’s former presidential palace, and the visible holes in the wall testify to the violent events that shook Cuba throughout the 1950s. Located in Old Havana, facing the malecon, the Museum displays both civilian and military items that record the history of Cuba from the time the 26 of July Movement began its struggle against the Batista dictatorship, and until the Bay of Pigs invasion. Among the items on display are letters, photos, bloody shirts and pistols, and even the motor yacht Granma, which ferried Fidel Castro and the members of the 26 of July Movement to Cuba from Mexico in 1956. There are military vehicles on display that were used during the fighting in the late 1950’s, including tanks, jeeps, airplanes, and tractors that were converted into armored fighting vehicles. (2 hours)
Dinner at restaurant of guest’s choice. (Not included in the price)
9:00 Live music featuring the Buena Vista Social Club.
DAY 5 “RESOLVIENDO & HAVANA’S JEWISH HERITAGE”
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)
Farewell lunch at private restaurant.
2:00pm Visit to Havana’s Orthodox Synagogue and Hotel Raquel in Old Havana, the Guanabacoa Cemetery, and Havana’s Holocaust Memorial.
Dinner at restaurant of guest’s choice. (Not included in the price)
Live music at venue to be determined.
DAY 6 “Bye, Cuba”
Breakfast at B&B.
9:00am Transfer to Jose Marti International Airport for return flight.
Your price per person with Bed & Breakfast
Price per person in Double Occupancy …………… $990 USD (Taxes Included)
COMPARE PRICE TO INSIGHTCUBA.COM
Price per person in Single Occupancy……………… $1,070 USD (Taxes Included)
*Price includes
-all listed activities
- full time English-speaking professional guide,
- all transfers & transportation*,
-5 breakfasts, 1 lunch and 2 dinners.
*Price only valid for groups of 2 to 12 guests and does NOT include roundtrip airfare.
YOU MAY DEPART FROM ANY AIRPORT IN THE U.S. & WE WILL MEET YOU IN HAVANA.
*This itinerary contemplates a Wednesday arrival in Havana and would be modified as necessary for other departure days to leave Friday afternoon and Saturday open.
*Car & driver at your disposition on days 1 and 5
*PLEASE CONTACT US FOR PRICING IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRAVEL ON THIS TOUR, BUT WOULD PREFER TO STAY AT A LEGAL HOTEL
*Nighttime activity schedule subject to change depending on travel dates.
*LATE NIGHT TRANSPORTATION TO RETURN TO B&B NOT INCLUDED. (TAXIS COST APPROXIMATELY $5CUC PER PERSON LATE NIGHT)
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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.