Escorted Cuba Tours - Pearl Of The Carribean
The Pearl of the Carribean is an 7 day escorted tour departing on Sundays.
- Day 1 - Havana
- After arriving into Havana Airport transfer to a hotel in the heart of the old quarter for the night.
- Day 2 - Havana
After breakfast a tour of Havana to visit all the major sights of the old city including Plaza de Armas, Cathedral Square, and the narrow cobblestone streets. Visit the Museum of the Revolution, a Cigar Factory and the Havana Club Rum Museum before continuing to the impressive Revolution Square overlooked by the mural of Ernesto Che Guevara. Lunch is taken at a local restaurant.
After lunch the tour continues to Finca Vigia, the former Cuban home of Ernest Hemingway, the contents of which remain untouched since he left the house for the last time. The remainder of the day will be at leisure to enjoy exploring old Havana or relaxing at the hotel.
Dinner will be at one of Havanas picturesque local restaurants with an option to visit the world famous Tropicana Cabaret, depicting the history of Cuban dance & music and involving over 100 dancers.
- Day 3 - Santa Clara
After an early breakfast the tour will leave Havana heading east through the sugar plantations for the town of Santa Clara, the final resting place of Che Guevara. After a visit to the mausoleum and museum the tour continues through the beautiful Escambray mountain range to Cienfuegos, known as Pearl of the South and characterized by colonial mansions overlooking a large bay. Dinner and overnight at a local hotel.- Day 4 - Trinidad
After breakfast the tour will leave for Trinidad, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the best preserved colonial cities in the world. The city is best explored on foot and the tour will include a visit to the Romantic Museum and a chance to try the unique Trinidad rum cocktail at La Canchanchara, an old house dating back to the 18th century. Lunch will be taken in a local restaurant. There will be time to explore independently before returning to Cienfuegos for dinner in a local restaurant and overnight stay.- Day 5 - Cienfuegos
After a short orientation tour of Cienfuegos, the tour departs for Pinar Del Rio province, an area known throughout the world as Cubas main tobacco growing region. A stop will be made en route at Guama were there will be a boat ride through the mangroves to a replica Taino Indian village on the shores of Treasure Lake. Lunch will be taken in a local countryside restaurant before continuing to the La Moka hotel, situated deep in the Sierra del Rosario Nature Reserve. The evening will be at leisure to enjoy the tranquillity of this country hotel with dinner served in the hotel restaurant.- Day 6 - Vinales Valley
The day will be spent exploring Vinales Valley with stops for absorbing the beauty of the area. There will be a subterranean boat ride through the El Indio limestone cave system followed by lunch in a countryside restaurant. Return to the Moka hotel and dinner in the house of a local farmer, an excellent end to the day.- Day 7 - Las Terrazas
After breakfast a visit will be made to the local community of Las Terrazas, followed by a cooling swim in the San Juan river. After lunch transfer back to Havana for return flights or onwards to Varadero for a week of relaxation.
This tour was really interesting and enjoyable. There were only five of us on the tour and we had great fun all the time as our guide Rafeal had a good sense of humour as well as being informative about life and history in Cuba. We would have liked a little more time to explore old Havana, perhaps spending another night there before going to Varadero. Trinidad was particularly lively as the music and dancing were infectious and we had time to go out independently. The Grand Hotel was of a very high standard. The Hotel Moka was in an interesting environment, but almost everyone suffered from bad stomachs there (even guide and driver) so we would happily have given up our final evening there for Havana. The Chinese built coach had poor suspension so it felt like we did a lot of miles but we wouldn?t have missed anything! The guide had lots of stories to pass the time and knew when to keep quiet too. We felt we had seen what life was like for locals and will listen with interest as things change in future. We thoroughly recommend the tour. J.M. Nov 2009<./cite>
Iberostar Hotel in Trinidad provided excellent accommodation, food and service. We liked the town and would willingly have stayed an additional day.
NH Parque Central in Havana also good although the time to explore Havana was also too short (one day). We managed to see Tropicana there and enjoyed that!
La Moka hotel was disappointing (food mediocre and room (no 25) with ants, very damp and strongly smelling of mould). Not possible to change the room because all other rooms were full. The three night stay here was too long!
Our tour guide Gustavel was knowledgeable and personable. The coach driver Felice was also polite and helpful. We saw many interesting sights and the tour was generally very well co-ordinated.
Rating for the tour: 3 out of 5 (because of La Moka)
J.S. Feb 2010
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