Private Journeys

Self-drive Cuba: Best of the west

13 days from £1,330pp

(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)

Cuba

  • Jamie Swan ©

Overview & Highlights

Travel around Cuba by self-drive hire car. Your accommodation is pre-booked. From Havana, drive through limestone landscapes in the Viñales valley and forested Las Terrazas. Move on to historic Cienfuegos and colonial Trinidad.

If you are adventurous in spirit, the most rewarding way to travel around Cuba is to drive your own hire-car. This two-week tour of Cuba’s highlights is an explorer’s delight.Take your family - children, parents or other relatives - and you will relish the flexibility and the ability to choose how fast and how far you travel before stopping to enjoy a sight or chat to the locals.

Your hotels are all pre-booked for you. Walk round Havana’s historic centre; drive through limestone landscapes in the Viñales valley and forests around Las Terrazas. Move on to Cuba’s historic cities, Cienfuegos and colonial gem Trinidad.

Read More
  • Half day guided walking tour of Old Havana
  • Activities during your stay at La Moka
  • 10 days of self-drive around Western Cuba
  • Explore Viñales, Cienfuegos and Trinidad

THE UK’S NO. 1 SPECIALIST IN TRAVEL TO LATIN AMERICA

Sally Dodge

Sally Dodge

Travel Expert

Talk to our experts

Things to do

We proudly offer the widest range of activities, excursions and one-of-a-kind experiences across all our destinations, tried and tested personally by our travel experts.

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What our clients say

  • Riding a horse back up the track at Karajia when it started to rain and the frogs started to sing! Never heard anything like it. Travelling through spectacular country & seeing the local people. The mummies at the museum at Leymebamba.
    I'm very much a novice when it comes to traveling and I love history & culture. I chose this trip with that in mind. As someone who is not an experienced traveller, some of the journeys are long but they are always worth it. Seeing these wonderful sites with often very few people about is great. This is a beautiful country and this is a wonderful trip that I would highly recommend to anyone with a love of history and a desire to learn more.

    CE, Halesowen
    Oct 2014
  • There were many wonderful memories. Iguacu was amazing and Machu Picchu was intriguing. Landscapes were fascinating & the people were friendly. Lovely to see the colourful costumes & markets.

    JP, Nottingham
    Jan 2014
  • If anything, Tropicbird was undersold: it is a vibrant, colourful & exhilarating tour. It would appeal to those who visited and loved countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos, as well as South America, for their people's capacity for optimism, looking forward, valuing their heritage and welcoming curious travellers, regardless of the ravages of recent wars or current poverty. Just go!!

    FP, Edinburgh
    Jan 2017
  • Amazing trip, fab group, experienced guide and definitely value for money. Would highly recommend.

    AB, London
    Jul 2019
  • It was, in short, an unqualified success in all important ways. The local guides set a remarkably high standard in being knowledgeable, articulate and generally helpful, two or three of them outstandingly so. None of the hotels was less than comfortable and/or notable for its outlook and general amenities; those in Nicaragua and El Salvador were probably the best, while the Guatemalan and Belizean accommodation was betrayed only at times, mainly by the food it served. We took away an enormous variety of impressions, ranging from the sense of insecurity and awe created by all those volcanoes; through the surprise at the comparative sophistication and well-being superficially apparent in El Salvador and the interest in seeing potters, weavers, farmers and conservationists at work; to the ultimate satisfaction experienced through that artful blend of the natural with the man-made worlds characterising the Mayan sites of Guatemala and Honduras, most notably at Copán and Tikal which were the obvious highlights of the tour.

    TD, Oxford
    Jan 2014
  • Trogon is an excellent holiday taking you from the bustle of Rio to the relative quietness of Paraty. Then on to the magnificent Iguasu Falls, before the thrill of the wild animals of the Pantanal and fishing for piranha.

    JDC, Sheffield
    Oct 2018
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Our expert's view

Sally Dodge
Sally Dodge - Travel Expert

A former Journey Latin America tour leader, Sally spent 7 years working, travelling and living throughout Latin America before returning to the UK to help people arrange their own adventures to this wonderful destination.

Inspired by this trip

Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.

Papagaio

Your edit for Latin American inspiration

Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.

View Extraordinary Inspiration
Bartolome, Galápagos

Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Millie Davies Mono
    Millie Davies - Travel Expert

    Having caught the travel bug as a child, Millie has travelled all over Latin America before making her home in Buenos Aires for 3 years.

  • Hannah Donaldson
    Hannah Donaldson - Travel Expert

    Having spent part of her childhood in Colombia and worked in Brazil and Costa Rica, Hannah's ties to Latin America run deep. Hannah is a much valued Travel Expert in our Tailor-made Holidays and Group Tours sales team.

  • CarrieGallagher2
    Carrie Gallagher - Travel Expert

    A former JLA tour leader, Carrie brings a wealth of on-the-ground experience to our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours department.

  • Mary Anne Nelson
    Mary Anne Nelson - Travel Expert

    Born in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, Mary’s insider knowledge and dry sense of humour make her a highly valued member of the Tailor-made Holidays and Group Tour sales team.

  • Lina Fuller
    Lina Fuller - Travel Expert

    Lina's passion for the continent where she was born really took off when she moved to Córdoba (Argentina) to study, spending the holidays travelling between Argentina and her native Colombia.

  • Kathryn Rhodes
    Kathryn Rhodes - Travel Expert

    Kathryn backpacked across Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru before joining us. She has a degree in Philosophy and French and is a keen netball player.

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