Cuba: A Cultural Odyssey

Meet face-to-face with local residents from different professions, share thoughts, gain knowledge, and connect with Cuba's cultural heritage. Interact directly with the people of Cuba on themes including culture and the arts, history, agriculture, architecture, entrepreneurism, community spirit, baseball and more



Meet face-to-face with local residents from different professions, share thoughts, gain knowledge, and connect with Cuba's cultural heritage as you discover the traditions of Cuban culture through music, sports and more!

Through cultural exchange activities built around key themes including Cuban culture and the arts, history, architecture, agriculture, cigars, vintage cars, baseball and more, you'll interact directly with the people of Cuba on Tauck's Havana-based People-to-People trip. Meet Cuban students, educators, entrepreneurs, architects, artists and artisans, dancers, musicians, technicians, baseball players and coaches and more. Explore Ernest Hemingway's life in Cuba at his preserved home. Discuss art and private enterprise with artists in their studios. Visit with agricultural workers to talk about agrarian reform, tobacco production and organic farming. Interact with members of Havana organizations about their work, from dance to historic preservation to baseball. Learn about Cuban cultural traditions… have meals at paladares (small, privately operated Cuban restaurants)… and connect with the people of Cuba, their passions and their culture in many ways through unique Tauck Experiences.



Meet face-to-face with local residents from different professions, share thoughts, gain knowledge, and connect with Cuba's cultural heritage as you discover the traditions of Cuban culture through music, sports and more!

Through cultural exchange activities built around key themes including Cuban culture and the arts, history, architecture, agriculture, cigars, vintage cars, baseball and more, you'll interact directly with the people of Cuba on Tauck's Havana-based People-to-People trip. Meet Cuban students, educators, entrepreneurs, architects, artists and artisans, dancers, musicians, technicians, baseball players and coaches and more. Explore Ernest Hemingway's life in Cuba at his preserved home. Discuss art and private enterprise with artists in their studios. Visit with agricultural workers to talk about agrarian reform, tobacco production and organic farming. Interact with members of Havana organizations about their work, from dance to historic preservation to baseball. Learn about Cuban cultural traditions… have meals at paladares (small, privately operated Cuban restaurants)… and connect with the people of Cuba, their passions and their culture in many ways through unique Tauck Experiences.



Traveling Well Includes:
  • Five days of educational exchanges in and around Havana
  • All hotel accommodations - 1 night in Miami at The Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove, Miami and 5 nights in Havana at the MeliĀ  Habana
  • Tauck's Leave Your Worries at Home service, with all day-to-day travel details taken care of for you
  • Escorted travel from the moment your trip begins in Miami, accompanied by a professional Tauck Director and experienced local Cuban guides, all fluent in both English & Spanish

  • Call (207) 623-4591 for more information or to book today! Mention code 18851915

    Tour Operator
    Tauck Tours
    Offer
    Offer valid through 12/31/2024
    Duration
    7 Days
    DayDestinationDescription
    Day 1MiamiArrive Miami

    Tour starts: 5:00 PM, Hyatt Regency Coral Gables. Travel from Miami International Airport to The Hyatt Regency Coral Gables in a taxi that we will reimburse you for. Join us for a welcome reception to meet your fellow travelers and hear the details from your Tauck Director about the next 6 days in Cuba.

     



    Lodging:Hyatt Regency Coral Gables

    Meals: D
    Day 2HavanaBienvenidos a La Habana

    After an early breakfast, your group boards an included flight from Miami to Havana's José Martí International Airport, where your local Cuban guide greets you as you head to a local paladar (restaurant) and learn about authentic Cuban cuisine. Visit Cuban artist Kadir Lopez's artwork in an exclusive showing open to Tauck guests only. His work continues to illuminate the city streets highlighting the livelihood of its patrons from the Republican years, which you will learn at his studio. Meet the teachers and students at La Casa del Nino y Nina, an after school program that helps young boys and girls develop language skills and cultural awareness. After dinner, enjoy time in your hotel as you please.



    Lodging:Grand Aston La Habana

    Meals: B, L, D
    Day 3HavanaHistoric Havana, baseball and cars

    After breakfast, chat with a local scholar on Cuban Revolution history and what it looks like modern-day. Step into the pedestrian-only UNESCO Heritage Site of Old Havana with a local expert on a walking tour to see the city's architecture and restoration efforts before heading to lunch with a former baseball legend. The sport of baseball was introduced to the country by Cuban students returning home from U.S. colleges back in the 1860s. Drive to a vintage American car club well-known from the popular tv series Cuba Chrome, meet the Club members and ask questions regarding the challenges they face as part of the new emerging entrepreneur sector in Cuba nowadays. Learn about Cuban dance during a visit to meet the instructors of a private dance company, then enjoy dinner and live music at a local restaurant with the Havana Queens.



    Lodging:Grand Aston La Habana

    Meals: B, L, D
    Day 4HavanaAgriculture in the ViĀ¤ales Valley

    Today is about exploring the Vinales Valley countryside, and learning how this landscape is optimal for growing tobacco, and sustaining crops and livestock. Head for lunch on an organic farm in a private restaurant to exchange in conversations with the farmers and hear about their entrepreneurial endeavors as a private business in Cuba. Visit Benito Camejo Tabacco Farm where Mr. Benito himself will share stories about this craft and processes of how tobacco farming works. Visit the despalillo to learn about stripping and grading the tobacco. Enjoy the evening as you wish in your hotel.



    Lodging:Grand Aston La Habana

    Meals: B, L
    Day 5HavanaAfro-Cuban cultural heritage

    Connect with Afro-Cuban culture heritage and island identity with a visit to Project Beyond Roots – an organization whose mission is to inspire, empower, and create a positive change in the lives of Cuban people. After you'll have the chance to explore local goods and connect with artisans in the 19th-century storage houses that are now the Almacenes San José Artisans' Market. Visit Vi Humos, a private project focused on the manufacturing of purses out of recycled cigar wood boxes, along with guayabera shirts designed by Vivian Acosta, the project owner. Experience a cigar rolling tutorial and tasting, while listening to great music and Vivian's personal story in the world of high-end habanos.



    Lodging:Grand Aston La Habana

    Meals: B, L, D
    Day 6HavanaHemingway's Cuba & Centro Habana

    He was an American novelist well known for his short stories, a prolific fisherman who actively monitored the Cuban coastline when he wasn't at his desk writing For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea, and the locals often called him Ernesto. Ernest Hemingway spent much of his life in Cuba, from 1939 to 1960, and today you'll have the chance to visit his home of 21 years. See the author's 9,000-volume library, and his beloved typewriter, and talk with a docent about his life here and the strong connections to Cuba and its people. Visit an outreach musical program where you'll learn their special approach teaching youth how to develop vocal and instrumental skills with traditional music. Your last evening will be spent at a local paladar.



    Lodging:Grand Aston La Habana

    Meals: B, L, D
    Day 7MiamiJourney Home

    Tour ends: Miami, Florida. Fly home anytime. A transfer is included from your hotel to José Martí International Airport. Allow a minimum of three hours for flight check-in at the airport.



    Lodging:

    Meals: B
    Dates/Pricing

    Click Quote or call us to get additional information on your chosen travel date. Special offers or competitive pricing may be available!

    DatePrice / DescriptionQuote
    10/06/2024$6,390.00* (USD) / LIMITEDQuote
    10/20/2024$6,390.00* (USD) / AVAILABLEQuote
    Disclaimer
    * All prices are per person in U.S. dollars, based on double occupancy.

    Itinerary Changes - Although not expected, Tauck reserves the right to alter the sequence of ports or omit or substitute scheduled ports or attractions at any time without prior notice.

    Tours


    • Cuba: A Cultural Odyssey

      From $6,390.00 (USD)

      Meet face-to-face with local residents from different professions, share thoughts, gain knowledge, and connect with Cuba's cultural heritage.

     
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