Parakeet: Cuba Beyond the beach

UK clients depart on a flight, arriving Havana, Cuba, the same day.

Day 1

Overnight in the capital.

You will be met at the airport by your local tour leader or a representative who will escort you to the group hotel.

Day 2

Walking and driving tour of old Havana.

A guided tour of Old Havana will show you more of this fascinating city. The streets of La Habana Vieja were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, and the subsequent restoration of this part of town has transformed it into arguably Latin America’s finest colonial quarter, in marked contrast to the rambling, potholed streets and crumbling façades around it.

After a local cocktail jump in a vintage American car to be driven past some of the highlights of Havana including Revolution Square, the National Hotel, Capitol building and the former Presidential Palace. Between these grand buildings, pass pastel-hued mansions, observe the bustling street life and hear the music seeping out of every doorway. You’ll have trouble keeping your hands off your camera as iconic images flash before you around each and every corner.

Day 3

Travel west to Viñales.

In the morning continue west by road for 3 hours to Viñales, a small, rural town tucked away in the Sierra de los Órganos. The tree-shaded high street is lined with wooden colonnades and one-storey, red-roofed houses. Horse and carts clatter along the main road and local children play baseball with sticks and stones outside the dilapidated whitewashed church in the main square. There is a splendid old chemist’s shop and a few other bare-shelved stores, as well as a couple of salsa bars which attract a lively crowd in the evening.

Day 4

Excursions and walks in and around Viñales.

Viñales is set in a valley with a distinctive landscape, featuring domed limestone mountains, known as mogotes, which jut into the sky from a fertile plain. Using oxen and carts, local farmers cultivate the red soil of the valley floor for fruit, vegetables and tobacco, and the countryside is peppered with thatched curing barns for drying the tobacco leaves.

You have a guided walk through this beautiful valley. The trail passes alongside fields tilled by straw-hatted farmers and their oxen. You have the opportunity to visit a campesino family in their home and talk to them about life on the land, as well as visiting a tobacco farm to learn about the growing processes of one of Cuba’s most important crops.

Day 5

Journey via the Zapata Peninsula to Cienfuegos.

A journey of 4 to 5 hours brings you to the south of the island and the Zapata Peninsula. This region is full of unspoilt nature and luxuriant tropical vegetation, fringed by beautiful beaches. You will also visit the Girón Museum, a collection dedicated to the failed CIA-inspired invasion of Cuba in 1961 which became known as the Bay of Pigs. In the afternoon drive onto the elegant city of Cienfuegos.

Day 6

Explore Cienfuegos.

The port city of Cienfuegos was founded by French settlers from Louisiana in 1819 giving it an air and architectural style that is distinct from that of the rest of the island.

You will have a walking tour of the city led by your tour leader to experience the easy-going ambiance of the city, which has well earned its sobriquet ‘Pearl of the South’.

Day 7

Arrive in the UNESCO world heritage Trinidad.

Just outside the city is the Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos. This Garden covers 97 hectares and is one of the most important and oldest botanical gardens in Cuba. You will stop here before travelling east to Trinidad, a picturesque town which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

Its popularity has not affected its colonial charm and unhurried atmosphere. Low-rise, brightly painted houses with vast shutters open out onto cobbled streets, palm trees dot the main plaza and life in the evenings goes on into the early hours with dancing and music outside the Casa de la Música.

Days 8-9

Explore and relax in Trinidad and on nearby Caribbean beaches.

A walking tour allows you to wander through Trinidad’s cobbled streets and elegantly crumbling town houses which lead to vibrant plazas frequently filled with music and salsa dancing. As you visit the Plaza Mayor and Museo Romántico, you’ll be introduced to the history of the town, which seems barely touched by the modern world.

There are also several optional excursions available. You might relax beneath the shade of a palm tree at Playa Ancón (11km from the town), a wide stretch of white sand on the Caribbean or Board a catamaran and cruise in style to Cayo Blanco or Cayo Macho.

The more active might travel to Topes de Collantes, a protected area of beautiful sylvan landscapes set in the Escambray Mountains where you can spot endemic flora and fauna and hike through the verdant, fertile landscapes to reach the Caburní waterfall or make your way to the simple, yet characterful Casa Artex dance hall to pick up some fancy new footwork during an hour-long salsa lesson.

Day 10

Drive to Santa Clara; visit Che Guevara’s memorial.

Leave the coast and head inland to Santa Clara (2.5 hrs). Over 55 years ago Che Guevara, assisted by just 18 guerrillas, captured the railway here, in a move that was instrumental in the triumph of the Revolution. Today, this vibrant university town is home to an excellent museum dedicated to the events of the late 1950s and to Che Guevara. There is time to visit the museum, Che’s mausoleum and a monument and plaza dedicated to the man and the Revolution.

Day 11

Finish your tour back in Havana.

A journey of 3 or 4 hours brings you back to Havana. The afternoon is free to further explore the atmospheric streets, visit some museums, do some last-minute shopping or simply relax with a mojito.

If you wish to explore more of Cuba by travelling east to Camaguey or spend some time at the cayes or beaches on the north coast you would leave the tour and continue with your private extension.

Day 12

Depart on international flight.

UK clients arrive home the following day.