Cuba Cultural Extravaganza ~ March 2024

SORRY! This tour is sold out. Please contact us if you’d like to be put on the waiting list for this tour or let us know if you are interested in our April tour to Cuba!

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Note: Cancellation fees apply. Please read our Booking Terms and Conditions before registering.

Cuba Cultural Extravaganza

The tour begins with your arrival into José Martí International Airport in Havana on March 25, 2024.

If you’d like additional hotel nights prior to or after the tour dates, we will book them for you!

Day 1 – Havana
Monday, March 25, 2024
Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Upon arrival into Havana, you’ll clear customs and immigration and then be met by a guide and driver for the start of our Cuban adventure!

We’ll start with lunch at a charming paladar (a small family-run restaurant) located on the waterfront. This will give us some time to get to know one another as well as our local guide, and to learn a bit about Cuba.

After lunch, we’ll venture off to the home of José Fuster. José is a local artist best known for his ceramics, paintings and drawings and whose current work includes a cultural project called Allegria de Vivir (Joy of Living).

In the late afternoon, we’ll enjoy a live jazz performance in the back yard of our bed and breakfast. With such an intimate setting, we’ll have the chance to chat with the artists and hear about their experiences as musicians in Cuba (and about their travels abroad).

Dinner will be at a woman-owned paladar. We’ll learn all about her success as the owner of one of the most popular paladars in Havana!

Overnight in Havana at The Lofts or similar.

Day 2 – Havana
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After a wonderful breakfast, we’ll start our day with an informal discussion about gender roles in Cuba with a female sociologist. This will help us understand the importance of women in Cuban society.

We’ll then take a walking tour of Havana with a local expert. The focus will be on private enterprise growth and we’ll get to meet a number of women who have started their own businesses, including those in the fashion industry.

Lunch will be at a charming local restaurant in Old Havana before we have some free time in the afternoon. If you like, we can provide some suggestions for what you can do but you might also want to relax and retreat from the heat.

We’ll have a wonderful dinner together this evening.

Overnight in Havana at The Lofts or similar.

Day 3 – Havana (Viñales day trip)
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, we’ll head out for an early morning drive through the Cuban countryside to Viñales (about 2.5 hours away). From here, we’ll take an easy hike through the valley to a remote and picturesque pineapple farm where we’ll enjoy a traditional Cuban lunch.

We’ll then visit a nearby tobacco farm to learn a little about the cultivation and processing of tobacco, which is so important to the Cuban economy.

In the afternoon, we’ll make the drive back to Havana. Today will be a long day so dinner will be on your own to allow for some flexibility in your schedule.

Overnight in Havana at The Lofts or similar.

Day 4 – Havana
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, we’ll visit Plaza de la Revolución (Revolution Square), where many of the city’s notable buildings are and where a number of rallies take place.

We’ll then head to a cooking class that’s led by a mother/daughter duo. These ladies have become so popular that they now have their own cooking show on Cuban television! Lunch will be what we prepare with these amazing ladies.

Afterward, we’ll visit a locally-owned bakery (because who doesn’t want fresh baked goods after lunch!?) that’s also run by a mother/daughter duo.

Once we’re well-fed, we’ll visit a number of private artist studios and galleries to get a sense of the country’s vibrant art scene.

We’ll have dinner at a local restaurant and overnight in Havana at The Lofts or similar.

Day 5 – Havana – Cienfuegos – Trinidad
Friday, March 29, 2024
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, we’ll check out of our accommodations and head to Cienfuegos (about 3.5 hours away). This charming city is called the Pearl of the South and is located on the Bay of Cienfuegos. It’s here that we’ll have lunch at a local paladar and have some time to take in the sights.

We’ll then depart for Trinidad (about one hour away), where we’ll check in to our accommodations.

Dinner and overnight in Trinidad at bed and breakfasts (the group will likely be split into two different accommodations due to the lack of larger hotels in this area).

Day 6 – Trinidad
Saturday, March 30, 2024
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

This morning after breakfast, we’ll take a walking tour of Trinidad, led by a female architect and restoration specialist. She will tell us all about the colonial architecture of this magical and vibrant city.

We’ll have lunch at a local paladar and then, in the afternoon, visit a women’s weaving cooperative that showcases the embroidery work of 30 women from around Cuba. We’ll also have a chance to visit a ceramics studio, an art form for which Trinidad is famous.

Dinner will be on your own tonight to allow for some flexibility in your schedule. Our local guide will provide info on a number of options.

Dinner and overnight in Trinidad at bed and breakfasts (the group will likely be split into two different accommodations due to the lack of larger hotels in this area).

Day 7 – Trinidad – Havana
Sunday, March 31, 2024
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, we’ll make our way back to Havana (about 4 hours away).

Along the way, we’ll stop for lunch in Cojimar, a small fishing village known as the inspiration for Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea.

Once back in Havana, we’ll check into our accommodations and have some time to settle in before enjoying a dance performance from a well-known dance troop where we’ll see a variety of dances for which Cuba has become famous.

We’ll also have time for a private tour of the Fabrica de Arte, a cultural and art center, before a final dinner together!

We’ll have dinner at a local restaurant and overnight in Havana at The Lofts or similar.

Day 8 – Havana – Return home
Monday, April 1, 2024
Meals: Breakfast

While we won’t have a scheduled time for breakfast this morning, it will be the last chance to say goodbye to our travel-mates before heading to the airport for our flights back home (boo hoo!).

** Itinerary subject to change without notice.

__________________________________________________________________
SORRY! This tour is sold out. Please contact us if you’d like to be put on the waiting list for this tour or let us know if you are interested in our April tour to Cuba!

Land costs: $4,535
Single supplement: $925
Tourist card/visa: $100 (card is required but it’s optional that we get it for you)

Interested in sharing the cost with another traveler? We do our best to pair up travelers so as to avoid the single supplement. However, priority is given to the first deposits received. If you’re interested in sharing, please send in your deposit as soon as possible in order to take advantage of this benefit. (Why a single supplement charge? See this FAQ page for an explanation.)

Looking to share a room? Check out this post to see what’s available.

Booking and Payment Details

Tour price includes: 7 nights accommodation, sightseeing entrance fees, activities as outlined in itinerary, 19 meals, transportation via coach, an excellent English-speaking (female) guide, driver and all tips for guide and driver. Bottled water is included although we encourage you to bring your own reusable bottle for the tour.

Tour price does not include: International flights, Cuban visa/tourist card (we provide for additional cost), travel insurance, Covid-19 testing (if required), some meals, souvenirs, personal purchases (such as snacks) and beverages.

This trip is limited to 15 women and requires an $800 deposit to secure your spot.

Minimum bookings required: 8 people (minimum reached)

Final payment is due no later than January 25, 2024.

As a boutique tour company, we really appreciate checks as it helps cut down tremendously on pesky bank fees. We ask that if you’re able, please pay the deposit or full amount by check, Venmo or wire transfer.

Here’s our mailing address:

WanderTours
PO Box 16102
Seattle, WA 98116

Note: Cancellation fees apply. Please read our Booking Terms and Conditions before registering.

The fine print

Cuba Women-only Tour Registration Form (sent to tour participants once deposit is received)

 Cuba Women-only Tour Itinerary March 2024 (PDF)

We have partnered with Travel Insured International so that you have ability to purchase “cancel for any reason” insurance. We HIGHLY recommend travel insurance (no matter who your provider is) to protect your travel investment from any future issues.

For questions, contact Beth at:
beth (at) wandertours (dot) com
206-317-1860

Trip Leader: Beth Whitman
Beth can’t wait to escort this group to Cuba for this inaugural journey. As a warm-weather lover, she has long wanted to visit this island nation, but has allowed other travels to take precedent. With a calmer political climate and with a connection to one of the strongest ground operators who knows how to focus on the women in Cuban culture, she felt like NOW is the time to make this dream trip a reality!

Beth is the author of the Wanderlust and Lipstick guides including The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo and For Women Traveling to India. She is the publisher and founder of Wanderlust and Lipstick and WanderTours and hosted the She’s Bold podcast, which can be found through your favorite podcast provider.

Local Tour Guide: Joslin Fritz
Joslin is thrilled to be working again with Beth Whitman, after leading her first international tour for WanderTours back in 2009! After working as an international tour leader around the world, Joslin first traveled to Cuba in 2012 and quickly fell in love with this fascinating country. She moved to the Caribbean island in 2015 and quickly started focusing her time and expertise on this destination. She is returning to the field to be a part of this special WanderTours trip which has been many years in the making! She is so excited to travel with you (and Beth!) and share her knowledge of Cuba with you.