Traveling in Cuba will change the way your family sees—and lives in—the world. Our People-to-People program introduces you to the real people of the island: farmers, artists and dancers, school students, cigar-makers and more. In the company of expert local guides, you go beyond the touristic to see and feel real life. On the streets of Havana, in a mountainous eco-village, in the haunts of Hemingway, or in the fields of a peasant farm, every moment is a revelation—and a truly meaningful opportunity to have unscripted interactions with Cubans from all walks of life. Whether you’re cruising in a tail-finned car from the ‘50s or spotting hummingbirds in a mountain preserve, you’ll end every day in perfectly located hotels (all of them family-friendly, with welcoming swimming pools). Best of all, you’ll have the satisfaction of exposing your whole family to experiences that will touch your perceptions of everything from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the cost of putting food on your dinner table.
 

DAYS 1-3 - URBAN LIFE IN HAVANA
Following an overnight in Miami and a brief charter flight to Cuba, we check in to our hotel in Old Havana. In our explorations of this vibrant city, we’ll take a guided walk in Old Havana. You’ll shop the local markets on a typical Cuban’s budget for food. We’ll interact with the inhabitants and artists on a stroll in the vivid streets of La Muraleando. We’ll retrace Hemingway’s footsteps as we visit small bars he favored and catch the nightly cannon blasts at La Cabaña Fortress.

DAYS 4-5 – FIELDS AND FORESTS OF VALLE DE VIÑALES
Heading out into the country, we visit Las Terrazas, a sustainable community in the Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve where we learn about reforestation. We’ll get a look at school life as we visit with students and teachers in their classrooms. We’ll also spend time at a community project where there’s live music, and wildlife from hawks to alligators. On great rural walks, we’ll talk to peasant farm parents and kids in their fields, and see how the world-famous cigars are rolled, and have lunch at an organic form with amazing views.

DAYS 6-7 - THE CULTURE OF HAVANA
On our return to Havana, we’ll stop in at the workshop where Cuba’s famous car lovers refurbish and maintain their tail-finned treasures. Then, we’ll hop in for a ride to Revolution Square and other points of interest. We’ll get a cooking instruction at a typical restaurant and visit Finca Vigia, Hemingway’s home where he wrote some of his greatest work. In addition to some generous free time for you to explore on your own, we’ll also visit Hotel Nacional, go down into tunnel shelters built during the Missile Crisis, and see the recently reopened U.S. Embassy.

DAY 8 – RETURN TO MIAMI
We return to Miami via charter flight.