MEDIO - 11 Days - Experience Cuba Tours · o Viñales Valley orientation tour. o Bay of Pigs. o...

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1 Tailored Journeys Pty Ltd, WA, 6153. Trading as Experience Cuba Tours 2018. Your Experts in Tailor Made Cuba Tours experiencecubatours.com.au [email protected] 1300 79 55 31 Travel as part of a small group of up to 7 PAX maximum. Come and experience Cuba; a place where time appears to have stood still. Get to know the most exciting island in the Caribbean. Enjoy not just the old American cars in the streets or the colonial architecture in Old Havana, feel the sense that the world of modern tourism has somehow largely bypassed the Caribbean’s largest island. Cuba is one of the few remaining communist countries in the world. Its isolation from the modern world has perhaps helped to conserve the Cuban society’s personality where you can feel like “the pulsating heart of what it means to be Latino”, with music, dance, and the fiesta being core. Come and Experience Cuba: an undeniably fascinating and unique destination. Starting Days: Saturdays End Days: Saturdays Inclusions: o Personalised welcome and greeting at Havana airport by ECT representative. Transfers from Havana airport on arrival. o Comfort accommodation in "casas particulares" (guesthouses or home-stays) with private bathrooms/ensuites and air-conditioning. * o Daily breakfasts. o Transfers as specified below. ** o Same private local Cuban guide throughout. o Activities/excursions as specified below. o Travelers Information Package with lots of practical advice (PDF). o Cuba Tourist Map, advised by MINTUR, Minister of Tourism in Cuba. *** o All ECT personnel tips. MEDIO - 11 Days Small Group Cuba Tour - Escorted Program Cuba is not a holiday, it’s an Experience!

Transcript of MEDIO - 11 Days - Experience Cuba Tours · o Viñales Valley orientation tour. o Bay of Pigs. o...

1 Tailored Journeys Pty Ltd, WA, 6153. Trading as Experience Cuba Tours 2018.

Your Experts in Tailor Made Cuba Tours

experiencecubatours.com.au [email protected] 1300 79 55 31

Travel as part of a small group of up to 7 PAX maximum.

Come and experience Cuba; a place where time appears to have stood still. Get to know the most exciting island in the

Caribbean. Enjoy not just the old American cars in the streets or the colonial architecture in Old Havana, feel the sense

that the world of modern tourism has somehow largely bypassed the Caribbean’s largest island. Cuba is one of the few

remaining communist countries in the world. Its isolation from the modern world has perhaps helped to conserve the

Cuban society’s personality where you can feel like “the pulsating heart of what it means to be Latino”, with music, dance,

and the fiesta being core. Come and Experience Cuba: an undeniably fascinating and unique destination.

Starting Days: Saturdays End Days: Saturdays

Inclusions:

o Personalised welcome and greeting at Havana airport by ECT

representative. Transfers from Havana airport on arrival.

o Comfort accommodation in "casas particulares" (guesthouses or

home-stays) with private bathrooms/ensuites and air-conditioning. *

o Daily breakfasts.

o Transfers as specified below. **

o Same private local Cuban guide throughout.

o Activities/excursions as specified below.

o Travelers Information Package with lots of practical advice (PDF).

o Cuba Tourist Map, advised by MINTUR, Minister of Tourism in Cuba. ***

o All ECT personnel tips.

MEDIO - 11 Days Small Group Cuba Tour - Escorted Program

Cuba is not a holiday, it’s an Experience!

2 Tailored Journeys Pty Ltd, WA, 6153. Trading as Experience Cuba Tours 2018.

Included Activities:

o Old Havana walking tour.

o Classic Convertible Car tour of Modern Havana.

o Rum and Tobacco tour, Havana. Visit to a cigar factory, visit to the Rum

Museum and visit to El Cristo de La Havana outlook point (entry fees

included).

o Viñales Valley orientation tour.

o Bay of Pigs.

o Panoramic and cultural tour of Cienfuegos and Trinidad.

Not included:

o Transfers to the airport on departure.

o International flights.

o Travel insurances (required to participate in our tours).

o Visas and passport fees. ****

o Meals (except daily breakfasts).

o Drinks.

o Additional optional activities not specified in the tour below.

o Tips (except ECT personnel).

Itinerary Highlights: (All times are approximate and subject to change)

Day 1: Havana. Arrival. Greeted and welcome at airport by our Experience Cuba Tours representatives. Look for our

logo and your group leader name, which is usually the person that made the booking. Transfers to your accommodation.

Day 2: Havana. Old and Modern Havana Tour: Enjoy a walking tour of the colonial district Havana Vieja (Old Havana)

accompanied by your private local guide. Learn about the city’s nearly 500-year-old

heart, now a pedestrian-only UNESCO World Heritage Site and discuss the city’s

architecture and historic restoration efforts. a genuine living museum. This colonial

and historic centre is a museum at open air of architecture, art and culture. Bask in

a beautiful Classic Convertible Car, while you take in the highlights of modern

Havana. Visit Central Havana, Cerro and Vedado neighbourhoods, making stops at

diverse points of interest. Today’s tour is a real treat for history and culture

enthusiasts.

Tips: Due to its preservation degree and architectural richness of its monuments

and buildings, Old Havana was acknowledged in 1982 by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Dress appropriately for

the weather, wear sunscreen, and good walking shoes.

Start 09:00. Duration: Walking tour 3 hours. Classic Convertible ride 1 hour.

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Day 3: Havana. Rum and Habano: Visit a cigar factory to learn about the globally renowned and iconic Cuban cigar

production. Havana is the birthplace of premium cigars, and the city is dotted with cigar factories of all shapes and sizes.

Walk through the doorway with the tropical heat following you inside, and step onto a cracked floor, wondering just how

many shoes have walked this weathered path before you. The clamor of workers going about their business reaches your

ears and grows in volume with every step: A shout in rapid-fire Cuban Spanish, a call to an amigo, a friendly laugh, the

hearty baritone of a golden-throated lector reading the daily news. Shopping opportunity at the specialized cigar stores.

Visit to the Rum Museum to learn about the origin and development of the rum production in the island and enjoy a

Cuban cocktail. Shaped by Cuban climate, geography, history, and people, rum is an essential part of the nation’s culture.

As its finest expression, the rum range represents this rich heritage. It contains the true spirit of Cuba.

Start 9:00 am. Duration. Visit to the factory of tabaco Partagas: 30 to 45 min, visit to the Villanueva store: 30 to 45 min,

visit to the Ron Museum: 1 hour.

Day 4: Pinar del Rio. Viñales Valley Tour. Today you

travel with your local guide to the Western province of

Pinar del Rio. An area of great importance, though it may

not have the large cities and infrastructure that you would

normally associate with importance, to Cuba as it is an

area that produces some of the world’s finest tobacco.

Still stereotyped as a simple area with pure country folk it

has withstood the temptation to adopt the big tourist

developments and remains an area of simple houses and

homes in basic small villages and towns. Viñales in the

Viñales valley where you will be based has an almost

prehistoric feel to it thanks to the Mogotes, or flat-topped

mountains. The Valle de Viñales is a fabulous national park abundant in fertile red soil, incrusted in green fields of

tobacco plantations. Viñales offers Cuba’s best hiking, mounting, caving and landscapes views, based around the serene

farming town on the edge of the park. This is Cuba at its most attractive. Refer to our Optional Services for activities

ideas. Overnight in Viñales.

Start: 9:00 am .hours 3:30 Transfer.

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Day 5: Pinar del Rio. Viñales Valley. Free day. Refer to our Optional Services for activities ideas.

Day 6: Pinar del Rio – Playa Larga (Bay of Pigs). Travel to Playa Larga in Bay of Pigs. This is a cute little, for tourists

growing, cosy village. It’s small but lovely beach has casas particulares right on the beach in some instances. There are

some restaurants too where you can have breakfast lunch or dinner with your toes in the sand. Very chill relaxed

destination for those who want to mingle with locals. Playa Larga was one of two beaches invaded by US-backed exiles

on April 17, 1961 (although Playa Girón, 35km further south, saw far bigger landings). Nowadays, it's the best base for

exploring the Zapata peninsula, Cuba's largest wilderness area, and is also known for its diving. Overnight in Playa Larga.

Start: 9:00 am hours 5:00 ransferT. .

Day 7: Playa Larga – Cienfuegos. Continue to Cienfuegos and enjoy a cultural tour of the city known as well as the

Pearl of the South. Founded in 1819 by French settlers from Bordeaux and Louisiana, the city is arranged around the

country's most spectacular natural bay. Cienfuegos is a nautical city founded in 1819 by French émigrés, whose

homogeneous grid of elegant classical architecture earned it a Unesco World Heritage Site listing in 2005. The city is split

into two distinct parts: the colonnaded central zone with its stately Paseo del Prado and graceful park; and Punta Gorda, a

thin knife of land slicing into the bay with a clutch of outrageously eclectic palaces built by the moneyed classes in the

1920s. Wander along the avenue to visit Beny Moré’s monument, one of Cuba’s most treasured musicians. Visit the

Cathedral as well as one of Cuba’s oldest and most beautiful theatres: Thomas Terry. Overnight in Cienfuegos.

Start: 9:00 am .hours 2:30 Transfer.

Day 8: Cienfuegos – Trinidad: Continue to the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Trinidad and enjoy a Cultural tour of

Trinidad city. The “Villa de la Santisima Trinidad” was the third village founded by the Spanish Crown in Cuba in early

1514. The conservation and restoration work undertaken by specialists has made Trinidad one of the best preserved

colonial cities not only in Cuba but also of South America. Trinidad possesses a strong colonial architecture, which dates

from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. The oldest part of the city (55 blocks in size, with 1211 buildings) is one of its

greatest attractions. It contains beautiful churches (such as the Great Parish Church, a neoclassical edifice built in 1892)

and public squares, the most important of which is Main Square-surrounded by buildings of great beauty and historic and

architectural interest and considered the second most important square in the country, after Havana's Cathedral Square.

Overnight in Trinidad.

Start: 9:00 am .hours 2:30 Transfer.

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Day 9: Trinidad: Free day. Refer to our Optional Services for activities ideas.

Day 10: Trinidad – Havana. Transfers. Refer to our Optional Services for activities ideas.

Start: 9:00 am. Transfers 4.30 hours.

Day 11: Havana. Departure.

Travel Times Summary (approximate):

Havana to Viñales: 3.30 hours.

Viñales to Bay of Pigs: 5 hours.

Bay of Pigs to Cienfuegos: 2.30 hours.

Cienfuegos to Trinidad: 1.30 hour.

Trinidad to Havana: 4.30 hours.

Prices (per person) in AUD

As shown on our website.

* Inquire for an upgrade of accommodation to Select casas, private apartments, luxury villas or hotels.

** Transport/transfers are provided in cars or minivans as specified. A mix of classic old cars, more modern cars and minivans may be

used.

*** Map is provided as a hard-copy and on arrival in Cuba.

**** Experience Cuba Tours can arrange yours visas for additional costs. You must be eligible for this service, please refer to our T&Cs

for details or ask your ECT travel consultant.

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Additional Itinerary Notes

It is an exciting time in Cuba with rapidly changing legislation and local conditions. Cuba has seen a massive increase in tourism, which

has put a strain on local tourist infrastructure. While we will strive to operate our tours as closely to published itineraries as possible,

conditions often change from one day to the next, and minor tour modifications may be necessary with no advance notice. Casas

Particulares (homestays, B&B’s or guesthouses) are family run businesses that are legal and formalised to provide accommodation to

foreigners in Cuba. Though much nicer than general Cuban homes they can seem quite rustic and bare compared to what most

international travellers are used to back home. Experience Cuba Tours utilises comfort accommodations as their entry level in these

tours. All of our comfort bedrooms have air conditioning and a private bathroom. Cuba as a developing country is subject to power

outages and it is common to have low water pressures in the showers and sinks. It is also common for the shower to be electric. If

understanding and expectations are kept in check staying at Casa Particulares is a very personal and pleasurable way to accommodate

yourself in Cuba.

The transport system in Cuba is in many ways different to anywhere else in the world. Experience Cuba Tours, as other tour operators

in the island, are restricted in a large way by the local transport laws. We use privately owned transport with approved licences to

provide taxi services to tourists and the state-owned transport services of TRANSTUR, the only inter-provincial taxi provider in Cuba.

The privately-owned transports vary between classic vintage cars (hardtop and convertible) and more modern models of cars, all in

good condition. It is not law in Cuba for cars to be fitted with seat belts and neither is it against the law to use a mobile phone while

driving. This is not condoned or encouraged by Experience Cuba Tours but when travelling to other countries it is customary to abide

by the local laws. Should you have any issues or concerns regarding your tour or services provided to you by Experience Cuba Tours,

Tailored Journeys Pty Ltd while on your tour, you should contact the company’s representative Laynet Luna immediately. We will

attempt in good faith to resolve the issue. Failure to notify the company at the time may limits Experience Cuba Tour’s ability to resolve

the matter at a later date.

While it is hard to know what every individual's expectations might be, we do remind travellers that Cuba is in most respects a third

world country and as such considerations should be made and understood.

Tailored Journeys Pty Ltd, trading as Experience Cuba Tours. ABN: 98 612 512 400 ACN: 612 512 400

1300 79 55 31, [email protected]. 9/20 Kearns Cres, Ardross, WA, 6153. Australia.

Please refer to our Terms and conditions: https://www.experiencecubatours.com.au/terms-and-conditions/

ATAS Travel Accredited No. A14203.