Join the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, Pacific Harbor Travel, and Vaya Sojourns for
CUBA: a People- to-People Experience

This once-in-a-lifetime experience features visits to Santiago de Cuba, Camaguey, Trinidad – Cienfuegos, and Havana, Cuba. You, your friends, and your family can now travel to Cuba to visit this country and experience it through the eyes of locals.

You can view the itinerary below and call Linda at Pacific Harbor Travel at (831) 427-5000 for more information.

Confirmed itinerary:

Monday, April 30 - Tuesday, May 1, 2012: Miami – Holguin, Cuba – Santiago de Cuba  (2nights)
We will be leaving from Santa Cruz to the San Francisco airport via charter bus and then flying on American Airlines from San Francisco to Miami. We then fly to Holguin, Cuba by charter air from Miami today. After clearing Cuban immigrations and customs your Cuban guide will greet you outside the terminal.  It’s about a 2 hour drive from Holguin to Santiago de Cuba.  Enroute we will take a short detour to Biran and visit the birth place and hometown of Fidel and Raul Castro.  This village has been restored into its “pre-50s” atmosphere. After we arrive our hotel our guide will lead us on a stroll through the environs of the local area. Buffet dinner at our hotel, Melia Hotel Santiago (D)

Wednesday, May 2:  Santiago de Cuba
Today we do an extensive city tour which includes such landmark visits as the historic centre of Santiago with the House of Velasques (oldest private house in the Americas), the main square and Cathedral, relics of the former Bacardi family’s home and museum, their former mansion and rum factory, the changing of the guard at José Martí´s tomb, Morro Castle, and the memorial of San Juan Hill (primary battle victory of Teddy Roosevelt in the Spanish - American War). Lunch is served on Granma Island which we reach by boat crossing. After dinner at our hotel this evening we visit the very lively and active local music scene at Casa de las Tradiciones or the Casa de la Musica. Melia Hotel Santiago (B, L, D)

Thursday, May 3:  Santiago de Cuba- Camaguey (1 night)
This morning we’re off to the town of Camaguey.  After around 2 hours we stop for lunch in a local restaurant on the square of La Bodega in the town of Bayamo where we also visit the museum of Cuba’s national hero Carlos Manuel de Cespuedes. After lunch we continue on for another hour before we reach the town of Las Tunas where we visit the Square of San Juan de Dio, the Plaza de la Revolucion and the local market.  We will get around Las Tunas by bici-taxi which is the primary mode of transportation in this town by local Cubans.  Many of the streets of Las Tunas are too small for modern day vehicles. We arrive Camaguey late this afternoon and check into our moderate, 3 star hotel for one night.  Dinner this evening is served at the rooftop restaurant of our hotel. Gran Hotel Camaguey (B, L, D)

Friday, May 4:  Camaguey -  Cienfuegos (2 nights)
We’re off after breakfast to Cienfuegos with stops enroute at the charming town of Sancti Spiritus where we have lunch at a local restaurant on the square.  We proceed to Santa Clara where we visit the Mausoleum and Museum of Che Guevara, the Jewish Cemetery, and the Holocaust Memorial before continuing on to Cienfuegos. After we arrive Cienfuegos our guide will lead us on a stroll through parts of this vibrant French Colonial town.  We will see Cathedral Square, Teatro Terry and, time permitting, a walk down the Grand Boulevard. Dinner this evening is at the magnificent Palacio del Valle overlooking the Bay of Cienfuegos. Hotel Jacqua (B, L, D)

Saturday, May 5:  Cienfuegos - Trinidad – Valle de los Ingenios
Spanish colonial Trinidad’s former great wealth was garnered not in the town itself, but in the surrounding verdant valley known as Valle do los Ingenios.  After breakfast this morning we board the local steam train (subject to the daily operation of the train) and chug to the valley’s focal point, hacienda Manaca Iznaga.  This colonial mansion was built by Pedro Iznaga, a former slave trader, in 1795.  We have lunch in the Hacienda before returning to Trinidad’s Plaza Mayor with its historic centre of cobble stone streets and squares.  We will visit the Romantic Museum and the Casa Cantero with plenty of free time to stroll the local Artisans Market. This evening our guide will arrange dinner in one of Trinidad’s private homes known as “Paladars”. After dinner we return to our hotel in Cienfuegos. Hotel Jacqua (B, L, D)

Sunday, May 6:  Cienfuegos - Havana
After breakfast this morning we depart Cienfuegos and drive along Cuba’s Autopista Highway to Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We’ll have lunch today at a local restaurant in the heart of Old Havana, after which our guide leads us on a stroll through the cobblestone streets of this vibrant area of Havana (Habana Vieja).  After our stroll we check into our hotel. Around 5:30PM this evening we engage in an open discussion session with an English-speaking Cuban expert on the history of U.S. - Cuban relations in the 20th and 21st centuries. This is not a “political” format; hence, we have the opportunity to ask questions in an open discussion session. Dinner this evening is at leisure and not included. Hotel Parque Central / Nacional (B, L)

Monday, May 7:  Havana
We depart our hotel after breakfast this morning as we set off for our tour of Havana.  We visit the Plaza de la Revolucion and the Museum of the Revolution, the Cemetery of Christopher Columbus, the Miramar area, Morro Castle which is known for its magnificent views of Havana, and the Museum of the City (Museum of Captain Generals). Lunch:  La Mina Restaurant located in the Plaza de Armas. This afternoon we proceed to the famous Malecon as we continue our walk through the streets of Old Havana.  We’ll have an opportunity to mix with Cubans as they stroll the Malecon.  Our sightseeing concludes this afternoon with Havana Club’s Rum Museum where we learn everything about Cuban rum, including a tasting of the aged brown liquid. We also visit a demonstration of how Cuban cigars are rolled and even smoked. Our guide explains the entire process. This evening dinner is at El Gijon, an “Association” restaurant. During the Civil War in Cuba (1868) many Spanish left to avoid the conflicts. After the war, the Spanish tried to lure their countrymen back with assurances they could start their own businesses and have their own private associations or clubs for social affairs. Gradually these private clubs became restaurants for members only.  Today a few have opened to non-members and El Gijon is one of the best! Hotel Parque Central   (B, L, D)

Tuesday, May 8: Havana
After breakfast this morning we visit the Modern Arts Museum in Havana before our pre-arranged reserved visits to the homes and workshops of at least two present day well known Cuban artists.  As we learn to appreciate their work there is the possibility of purchasing their art directly from the artist.  Depending on actual dates and availability of artists we will visit such famous names as Fuster and Choco. Lunch today is at the Tocororo Restaurant in Miramar before proceeding with our afternoon visits to the Artisans Market in Old Havana. Evening at leisure:  Optional Le Parisien Cabaret Review. Hotel Parque Central   (B, L)

Wednesday, May 9:  Havana
This morning we make our way to the Alamar District on the outskirts of Havana.  Alamar began, and to a large part still is, as a social housing project during the 70’s and 80’s.  Now hundreds of thousands of Cubans live in apartment blocks no higher than four stories in soviet style pre-fab concrete buildings.  We will stop in various areas of Alamar especially to see the “organoponico”, plots of land between buildings that are cultivated by local Cubans to grow vegatables, fruit, and herbs.  These cultivated products are sold inexpensively to the locals.  This is surbaban Havana at its best in terms of viewing up-front-and personal how many modern-day Cubans live on a daily basis.  Few visitors to Cuba have the opportunity to visit this area and mingle with it’s inhabitants. There is great historical and cultural significance between Cuban and the United States.

There is no better way to explore part of this wonderful history than by visiting the mansion and museum of Ernest Hemingway, Finca Vigia, followed by the village of Cojimar, where the novel The Old Man and the Sea was set. The mansion, where Hemingway lived from 1939 to 1960, preserves his 9,000-book library, personal effects such as guns and animal trophies, and his fishing boat, Pilar. We return to Old Havana for a stroll to the Ambos Mundos Hotel, where Hemingway lived in the 1930s and wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls. We then enjoy lunch at Hemingway’s famous hangout, the Bodeguita del Medio, where the cocktail known as the mojito was first discovered.
 
We ask each participant on this tour to bring educational supplies which we will personally deliver to a primary school located in Old Havana.  This school (ages 5 – 12) is located in a classified historical building which has been renovated by Havana’s official Office of the Historian. We visit the children in their classrooms and have a discussion session with administrators of the school.

At 5:00PM we join the Cubans at an open-air block party Rumba open-house at Huron Azul at UNEAC House.  Few visitors to Cuba experience this highly localized weekly open Rumba session. This evening dinner is at the rooftop restaurant of the Ambus Mundos Hotel   Enjoy live musical performances of traditional Cuban Buena Vista style music and salsa dancing during and after dinner. Hotel Parque Central  (B, L, D)

Thursday, May 10:  Havana – Las Terrazas
This morning we are off to Las Terrazas is in Pinar del Rio Province, a “must see” in Cuba and known world wide for its magnificent scenic beauty.  We visit the local community, the falls of the San Juan River, and the artist workshops of Las Terrazas.  We also visit a local farming community and meet the “Guajiros” (farmers and cowboys), learning first-hand about how they live.  We might get lucky and have the chance to see some Guajiros perform their traditional folk music which is commonly used to illustrate stories of Cuban life and culture. Lunch today is an authentic country meal prepared and served outdoors at a local farmhouse near Las Terrazas. This afternoon we return to Old Havana arriving around 4:00PM. We make a visit to the handicrafts market where you see the different products made out of local wood, ceramics, even tin cans, linen and many other creative works. You can buy them directly from the artisans and negotiate the prices. Return to the hotel. Our farewell dinner this evening is at El Patio Restaurant overlooking La Plaza de la Catedral. Hotel Parque Central  (B, L, D)

Friday, May 11: Depart Havana – USA
Transfer to the airport this morning for your return flight to the USA. (B)

Package price for this exciting trip is only It will come to $4,055.00 per person based on double occupancy. The single supplement is $820.00.

Licensed OFAC Travel Service Provider: 
Vaya Sojourns, Inc.
Approved Dept. of Justice California Seller of Travel #2098652-40

For more information, call Linda at Pacific Harbor Travel at (831) 427-5000.