Havana
Your flight arrives in Havana in the early evening. You will be met and taken to your boutique hotel fantastically located at the heart of the city on the famous Malecón. You will find yourself within reach of the UNESCO-listed historic centre with its cobbled streets, charming squares and crumbling colonial buildings. Classic American cars cruise through the streets, passing characterful plazas that have been restored to their former glory with flowing fountain centrepieces.
The following day you’ll have the opportunity to delve deeper into the city’s colonial past on a guided tour of the old town, taking in the Plaza de Armas, Plaza San Francisco de Asis, Plaza Vieja and Plaza de la Cathedral. In the afternoon you’ll take a classic 1950’s convertible on the Hemingway Tour to the museum named after the celebrated author, stopping after at the fishing village of Cojimar which inspired the novel ‘The Old Man and the Sea’. Finish at El Morro fort where you can enjoy sensational city views.
The next morning sees you visiting the Museo de Bellas Artes and interacting with local artists in their studios. This is followed by an architectural tour of the city that takes you from the Baroque period to 1950s Modernism.
Stay: Four nights in a double room at Malecon 663 – bed & breakfast
Trinidad
On your way to Trinidad you will stop to explore Cienfuegos, a town whose historic centre has earned it the nickname “pearl of the south”. A guided tour will reveal the finest examples of the city’s 19th and 20th century architecture, including the Jose Marti Park, the Tomas Terry Theatre and the Palacio del Valle. Afterwards you will be transferred to Trinidad.
Regarded by many as the most beautiful town on the island, Trinidad is a vision of shady plazas, traditional markets, bell towers and colonial houses painted in a rainbow of pastel shades. The main square is a joy to explore, filled with grand mansions that date back to the days of the booming sugar industry. You’ll take a guided walking tour around this UNESCO World Heritage site and learn about its complex and varied history, which includes a visit to the local sugar plantations.
On your last day in Trinidad you will set off for Topes de Collantes – a 200 sq km nature park known for its remarkable natural beauty and diversity of endemic flora and fauna. Enjoy bird watching, trekking through tropical forest and swimming in the waters of a waterfall.
Stay: Three nights in a double room at Finca Kenia – bed & breakfast
Havana - London
Today you will be privately transferred to Havana airport in time to catch your flight home.
It was a complicated and very individual trip, and several changes were made by me during the planning. None of this seemed to worry Ayesha and everything went according to plan.
- AM, India, 2014
