Havana & Vinales Guided Tour

When you lands at Havana Jose Marti International Airport (HAV), your English-speaking guide will pick you up and transfer you to the hotel. After checking in, take a rest or do whatever you please.

On learning Cuba’s economic conditions are so harsh that its people are averagely paid only 20 USD per month, you must think that life and public security here are desperate. However, it’s just another unjustified stereotype. Talk to locals and befriend them, to find out poverty doesn’t kill their passion for life; on the contrary, they seek comfort in and are very proud of their art cultures and the natural beauties Cuba enjoys. Also, there is no need to worry about your safety here, as Cuba is among the safest countries in the Americas, with no threats from guns due to the strict control of firearms. However, like in all countries on earth, you might be a victim to pick-pocketing. Please refrain from hanging out alone on the streets at night - it’s not impossible that you might encounter robbery, especially when you are making phone calls.

There’s a lot to say about Cuba’s status quo, but nothing compares taking it in for yourself. You might not know that, people here are still being rationed basic foodstuffs, and for the decades-old water infrastructure - remember this region is a paradise for bacteria and virus to flourish - they are also under the threat of water security (you should also beware not to drink tap water in Cuba); however, you might also not know that, the Cuban government has already been open to change for the better, allowing such privates businesses to appear on this island as mipymes (private stores), which have joined the cause to boost Cuba’s economy and thus people’s living standards. Just explore for more in your hands-on 5 days Cuba Havana tours with us!

Important Note on Items Required to Clear the Customs:
Beside a passport of six-month validity, to go through the customs it also requires you to present your Tourist Card/Tourist Visa, a filled D’Viajeros Travel Form, and proof of insurance coverage (only randomly checked).About Cuban Tourist Card: Whichever country you come from, it’s mandatory that you show the card at the passport control at the airport. Pink cards (50 – 100 USD) are for American and green cards (25 – 40 USD) for people from most of other countries. You can purchase it simply through your airline. Remember to keep it in a safe place, because it’s likely that you will be required to show it again as you leave Cuba. Another thing of note is that, don’t let customs officers stamp on your passport.

About D’Viajeros Travel Form: You might not know this, but this is also required to go through the customs according to the latest policy implemented in 2023. You can only fill in the form 48 hours prior to departure and it would take you just 10 minutes to complete. The information you will give is mainly about passport details and travel plans. Save your form as PDF in advance and that’s it.

For more support, feel free to contact our expert travel consultant, who will be patient to answer any questions of yours.

Accommodation: Hotel NH Capri La Habana

Enjoy a full day reveling in Havana’s most enchanting aspects. In the morning, the guide will escort you to Old Havana for a tour on foot. We will stroll its four age-old plazas, where the essence of Havana’s life and colonial history unfolds. From El Templete, we will approach Plaza de Armas, the oldest of the four, where museums housed in colonial-era buildings are next to each other; we will have a tour inside the City Museum in Capitanes Generales Palace, built in 1549 as the residence for Spanish governors. Then, walk to the second oldest and also the most artistically-paved square, Plaza de San Francisco de Asís, to admire San Francisco de Asis Church and Convent, Havana’s iconic white-marble Los Leones Fountain, etc. At Plaza Vieja (Old Square), you will find an incomparable eclectic collection of centuries-old architectures, as well as beautiful galleries. The last one is Plaza de la Catedral, where the grand Baroque Havana Cathedral awaits. Of course, without people, these squares and buildings are just another inanimate beings. While strolling here, you will pass by tourists from all around the globe, locals, buskers, vendors, and perhaps what the local call the “crocodiles” - women in garish layered dress with a basket of flowers. The crocodiles are a scenery itself; they may come up to you and ask if you want to pay some fee to take pictures with them - just decline if you are not interested.

We will then leave the square and walk for a few minutes to the bar La Bodeguita del Medio to have a glass of mojito. This is not the kind of bar that you used to hang out. Perhaps it’s because where it is located, perhaps it’s because the unique Bohemian air, the bar was so popular that it became the haunt of musicians, journalists and writers in around 1950. At least two Nobel Prize winners in literature - Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Neruda - have once patronized it. There is even a saying that mojito was invented here. Out of the bar, we will get across Obispo Boulevard to see Grand Theater of Havana and National Capitol of Cuba. Enjoy a visit to Partagás Cigar Factory if today falls on weekdays.At noon, don’t miss Restaurante 5 Sentidos for lunch (at your own expense). Classy Cuban food and service have made it the best among the top-rated restaurants. Promise you will try their Ropa Vieja (spiced shredded beef with tomato sauce), the national dish!

Out on Havana’s streets, nothing would be more eye-catching than those fleets of time-warping classic American cars. But you will learn that the antiques are not just some fancy props for Cuba to show off; instead, they are actually being used in various fronts of Cuban life, and resulted from restricted trade policies and depressed economic conditions where people had no money to buy new cars. Nevertheless, it’s a culture and a miracle unique to Cuba. This afternoon, you will hop in one of those vintage cars to tour around modern Havana. We will drive onto the coastal Malecón, stop to see Morro Castle, and visit University of Havana and Colón Cemetery to take pictures from outside; the last point is Revolution Square.

➤ Important Note:
While out into modern Havana on the vintage car, it’s possible that your driver would speed it up to 90 to 100 km/h – don’t be embarrassed to ask him to go slower! Those antiques from the early last century have no seatbelts and most no roofs, which means to go at this exciting speed is putting your life at risk.

After the exploration, the driver and the guide will send you back to the hotel for rest.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel NH Capri La Habana

After breakfast, we will head to Fusterlandia in Jaimanitas - a colorful block covered by Mosaic tiles, the bold dream of the artist José Fuster - to have some big smiles.

Go on a drive for 2.5 hours to Viñales Valley, the destination found in every Cuba travel itinerary. Set in a karst landscape formed 150 million years ago, Viñales offers ideally fertile red soils for farming of certain crops, including tobacco leaves for cigars. Agricultural life here pivots around traditional manual operations, which, together with the unusual natural beauty, have made Viñales a UNESCO heritage. Whether it is mogote hills rarely found elsewhere on earth, or the secrets behind Cuban cigars, you will witness all for yourself. Upon arrival, your guide will take you to Montesino's tobacco farm to learn how legendary Cuban cigars are made; you will also have a fascinating time at the drying house.

Enjoy a sumptuous garden-to-plate Cuban lunch at the organic farm Agro-ecological El Paraiso. In the afternoon, you will explore Indian Cave with a boat trip along the subterranean rain river inside. Next on the agenda is Mural de la Prehistoria, a fun mural on a mogote hillside alluding to the evolution theory. An informal lesson of salsa dance is also in store.

For dinner, try Cuban lobsters and other meat in Restaurante Bar Razones (at your own expense). You will find offerings here much cheaper than in Havana - lobsters are half the price! Tacos, salad, soup… they have dishes for vegans, too.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel E Central Vinales

This morning, we will spend a total of 2 hours driving and ferrying to Cayo Levisa, the must-visit for beach persons who are here to discover west Cuba. For its location, Levisa will impress on you its tranquility – the mix of less-exploited sands and the turquoise sea water is a pleasure to the eye. Of course, if you are more of a people person, hang around cafés and bars. Here, you can swim or register at a diving center to explore reefs and ship wreckages left from 17th - 18th centuries; you can also kayak, windsurf, or pedal a boat to dive into the mangrove forests nearby. Searching for pelicans, drinking mojito under palm trees, and watching the sun set are all among the activities for fun. Just enjoy your leisure time as you please.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel Cayo Levisa

Your tour in Cuba will come to an end today. If you depart for home later today and still have free time, stay longer on Levisa to continue to explore what it offers. When it’s time, we will send you to Havana’s airport. Safe journey home!

➤ Important Note:
For Cuba’s backward economy and the government’s inadequate management, the old infrastructure here, which includes the airport facilities, has yet to receive enough funds to be improved and thus runs at a really low efficiency. That’s why we suggest you should make it to the airport at least three hours prior to departure and print your flight ticket out in advance. The working staff will also likely to prolong the check-in process with unpredictable questions.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel NH Capri La Habana