Tuesday 25th April – Havana

Morning

• Group arrive at own leisure and transfer from Jose Martí International Airport to Vedado, the modern heart of Havana.
• An official taxi from the airport is USD$25. Alternatively, Cuban Pioneers can arrange meet-and-greet pickup for $50, or arrive in real style in a classic convertible for $95.
• On arrival at the casa, your guide will show you to your homestay (all have A/C and hot shower), where you will be free to relax or meet up with other group members to drink some cool beers.

Afternoon

• The group assembles at around 8:00pm for our introduction into the contemporary night scene of modern Havana.
• We head for dinner at Cafe Laurent, one of the oldest, and we feel best private restaurants, with a range of options to fit all budgets
• We finish the night in classic Cuban style by grabbing a carton (or two) of rum,  and going to people watch on the Malecón – Havana’s famous seawall, known as the “sofa of the city”
• Overnight in Vedado

Wednesday 26th April – Cienfuegos

Morning

• Early morning the group departs for the historic city of Cienfuegos
• On the way to Cienfuegos we stop off at a few places of interest such as the Australia Sugar Mill which is where Fidel commanding activities during the Bay of Pigs invasion.
• Depending on timing we take a stop at a famous crocodile farm which a chance to feed the friendly reptiles and even have photos with them (optional extra charge)
• Once reaching the Caribbean coast we travel along the picturesque Bay of Pigs past the site where the landing of counter-revolutionary exile militia occurred in 1961.
• Today we visit the museum here that recounts the events of this conflict which resulted in the first defeat of a US-backed takeover in Latin America. There are some beautiful places to stop for a swim along the way including a sinkhole which resembles a huge natural tropical fish tank, so make sure to pack your swimwear. SCUBA diving and snorkelling are optional activities here.

Afternoon

• We take our lunch Cuban style by the beach, before carrying on the journey
• On arrival you in with your host family, we will then have an opportunity to have a walking tour of the city. Cubans are known to be very proud people, and the citizens of Cienfuegos call their town La Perla del Sur (the pearl of the south). Founded by the French, Cienfuegos’ appeal lies partly in the European flavour of its colonial hub, with a wide Parisian-style boulevard and elegant colonnades, and there is an ambience to inspire Cuba’s most celebrated Son singer to write the words “Cienfuegos is the city I like best”.
• We head for dinner at a very famous Cuban family restaurant that is very unpretentious and serves great food
• Night out drinking in the bars of Cienfuegos, with clubs available for the truly thirsty ones.
• Overnight

Thursday 27th April – Cienfuegos/Trinidad

Morning

• Depart Cienfuegos for Trinidad which is a short 90 minute, or so journey
• The beautiful colonial city of Trinidad is home to numerous churches and many beautiful colonial buildings. On arrival here we stop for lunch at renowned pizza restaurant whilst your guides arrange our casa in the city
• After checking-in to our rooms in old part of the town we head out for a walking tour of the historic city of Trinidad, including the old town centre, an official cigar shop, and a slightly dodgy back alley one where cheap cigars are available. We finish off with another classic revolutionary museum before heading for some refreshments, which consists of the local Trinidad cocktail.

Afternoon

• We take some time to relax and get changed before heading out for the evening
• We head to a restaurant called La Redacción which serves contemporary fusion cuisine
• The nightlife in Trinidad is probably the most accessible and intense in all of Cuba, with numerous live music venues and many dance performances every day of the week, all amongst the enchanting setting of old colonial buildings and cobblestone streets.
• Overnight in homestay

Friday 28th April – Trinidad

Morning

• In the morning we head to the Valle de Los Ingenios, the valley of the sugar mills, where the wealth of Trinidad came from in the 1800s.
• In the afternoon we offer a number of optional activities such as horse riding to a waterfall, salsa lessons, or free time to explore Trinidad at your own leisure.

Afternoon

• After a hard day in the sun, we offer a few hours to relax before again hitting the town
• There are a number of options for dinner depending on the hunger and mood of the group
• At night we head to one of our favourite places in the world, the infamous Cave Nightclub (one of the most legendary in Cuba) for a night of debauchery.
• Overnight in Trinidad

Saturday 29th April – Santa Clara

Morning

• Today we travel to the city of Santa Clara, which was a key city in the triumph of the Revolution (3-hour drive)
• Depending on road conditions we can take a number of different routes around or through the Sierra del Escambray perhaps making a few stops along the way.
• We stop at a genuine tobacco farm to see the process of how farmers make the worlds most famous cigars, and for the adventurous try a little of the produce ourselves. This is a very uniquely Cuban experience

Afternoon

• Upon entering Santa Clara there is a huge statue of Ernesto Che Guevara, beneath which is the mausoleum where his remains are buried, as well as seeing the museum that is dedicated to “Che” the most iconic of all revolutionary figures
• We stop at one of the highlights of Santa Clara, the train that Che derailed during the revolution, which not only makes for a great picture stop but if you like Che hats and t-shirts this is tac heaven.
• Santa Clara is a nice town to spend the evening in, so after dinner, we head to El Mejumje, which is a famous local cultural centre with live music, comedy, and cabaret that very few foreigners visit.
• Overnight in Santa Clara

Sunday 30th April – Havana

Morning

• We head back to Havana in the morning, stopping at the open air October Crisis museum overlooking Havana bay, featuring Soviet nuclear missiles (thankfully now inert!) of the period in 1962 when the world came closer than ever to the brink of nuclear war.

Afternoon

• Lunch in city
• In the afternoon we have a city tour of Havana, encompassing the Plaza de las Armas, complete with a statue of Manuel de Cespedes, one of the leaders of the independence movement. We pass the spot where the city of Havana was founded almost 500 years ago. We visit the famous Museo de la Revolución to learn more about the revolution and its history.
• Visit to the Havana Club Museum of Rum! Free samples optional
• We head back to our casa to freshen up
• For dinner we get ourselves all Presidential by heading to one of the restaurants where the Obamas dined. We will be taking a leisurely one hour stroll to the restaurant, or for those wanting to pimp it up a bit we offer optional hire of a Soviet-era limousine.
• Drinks in the old town, with optional nightclub activities for those with the energy
• Overnight in homestay

Monday 1st May – Havana – International Workers’ Day

Morning

• Trip Highlight – It’s party time, so we have breakfast at 6 am before leaving at 6.30am sharp!
• We head to the outskirts of the Plaza De Revolución where the festivities will be starting to begin to soak up some atmosphere and get ready for the start of the parade
• The actual parade starts at around 7.30 am, where we will join around a million Cubans parading through the plaza in a quintessentially Cuban fusion of fiesta and old-school communist procession. We’ll get a wave from the top leadership of Cuba, including outgoing president Raúl Castro.
• We end proceedings at the baseball stadium (previously visited by Obama) where we will be met by our bus for the drive to Old Havana

Afternoon

• Lunch in old Havana
• We head for a relaxed walking tour of Old Havana which includes various churches and some of the best Spanish colonial era architecture available anywhere in the world, including our favourite the Bacardi building!
• No trip to Old Havana would be complete without a bucket list trip to Hemingway’s favourite bar, the birthplace of the daiquiri cocktail.
• We head back to the casa for some rest and a change after the early start, or for those not so tired some beers on the Malecón
• In the evening we head for dinner at the famous Soviet-Cuban fusion restaurant, one of the legacies of Cuba’s cold war past complete with borsch, perogi and more Soviet propaganda than you can shake a stick at
• Drinks in Havana
• Overnight

Tuesday 2nd May – Viñales

Morning

• Depart for our unique Communist tour of the outskirts of Havana. Our first stop is Lenin Hill, which is where the first ever statue of Lenin was erected following his death. Few Cubans, and even fewer tourists, know about this spot these days!

Afternoon

• Lunch at a Cuban style street restaurant
• We now visit the incredibly secret bunker where the Soviet Union stored the nuclear weapons that precipitated the Cuban Missile Crisis. This site is of extreme historical significance and was only recently discovered. This is not on the tourist trail!
• We now visit the former Soviet embassy, a huge example of socialist architecture, as well as some other Soviet-era tower blocks for some great fusion photos of Havana’s rich history
• We take the 2-3 hour scenic drive to Viñales. On arrival, we check into our casa before heading out for dinner and drinks in this formerly sleepy town that whilst still relaxing now has a bustling nightlife.
• Overnight in Viñales

Wednesday 3rd May – Viñales

Morning

• In the morning we head to the prehistoric wall for some amusing photos before heading over to a tobacco farm for a chance to see the process of cigar making, as well as have a try of the produce
• Another great reason to come to this farm is for the stunning views of the surrounding rolling hills that you get from here

Afternoon

• Lunch at farm accompanied by great views
• Viñales is famous for its stunning caves, with a number being big tourist attractions, we avoid them like the plague grab our local guide and head to a cave that is (currently) relatively unknown. It takes an hours hike, and then heading through the cave network with lights before we hit the swimming part of the adventure. Truly stunning, so don’t forget the go-pro!
• We head back to the casa for a shower before heading out to a great vantage point to enjoy our last sunset with a cocktail as a group
• We finish our last night in Viñales with an authentic home cooked Cuban meal at our casa.
• Drinks and conversation in the rocking chairs on the patio to end our last evening
• Overnight

Thursday 4th May – Havana

Morning

• Head back to Havana after breakfast
• End of Cuba tour. For those not continuing to Colombia we can arrange airport transfers or a range of optional activities.

Afternoon

• Optional – Visit to El Capitolio. This astonishing building was erected in the 1920s – a time known as “The Dance of the Millions” in Cuba due to all the cash coming in from the sugar boom. Modelled on the US Capitol, it’s an incredibly opulent edifice and has recently been refurbished and reopened as the Cuban Parliament.
• Optional – head to Jose Martí monument in Revolution Square. Practically every tourist to Havana sees this from the outside – but very few go inside. After several years closed, the elevators are now operational again, and it’s possible to go to the top of this monument, which is the highest point of the city of Havana! This is the closest you can get to the Palace of the Revolution, where the highest levels of the Cuban Communist party ran the country from. See if you can peep into Raul Castro’s office window!

Friday 5th May – Havana to Bogotá

Morning

• Breakfast in Casa
• Head to the airport for midday flight to Bogotá

Afternoon

• Arrival in Bogota
• Check in to hotel in the trendy but edgy central Candelaria district.
• Ceviche, or raw fish cooked in lime juice is a very South American, and Colombian thing, so we head to a restaurant to try this delicacy. For non-fish lovers there will be other options.
• Beer and explosives go together like peas and carrots, so we finish our first night in Bogotá by playing the local traditional sport of tejo, which is literally throwing iron balls at explosives while drinking beer. Great stuff!

Saturday 6th May –  Havana/Bogotá

Morning

• Breakfast in hotel
• Head to the Military Museum where we even learn about the not commonly known role of Colombia in the Korean War!
• Walk around the Parque Simon Bolivar and see what the locals get up to outside of work
• Stop by the Congress and Supreme Court, which was seized by the Marxist guerrillas in 1985

Afternoon

• Lunch in the city
• We visit the Colon Theatre, which is where the peace process between the government and FARC was signed, as well as the Museo Banco De República, the main modern art museum
• Head to the south side of the city, the main working-class area, for a bit of people watching. We head for dinner and then for a Friday night out to remember in the Colombian capital. If you can’t dance don’t worry, (optional) rum will be available!
• Overnight in Bogotá

Sunday 7th May – Sierra Nevada National Park

Morning

• We get up early for the under two hours 9am flight from Bogotá to Cartagena
• On arrival, we transfer directly to the Sierra Nevada national park, which is home to many of the indigenous peoples of Colombia as well as its most diverse biosphere.

Afternoon

• Lunch in Sierra Nevada
• We will have lots of opportunities to explore the area and see wildlife
• At night we not only camp out in the reserve but also do the whole BBQ and rum thing
• Camping overnight

Monday 8th May – Sierra Nevada National Park

Morning

• We visit one of the local indigenous peoples – the Wiwa – in an Indian Reserve in the mid-highlands to learn about how they live

Afternoon

• Local lunch with the Wiwa
• We head back to Cartagena, where we check into the hotel before heading out for dinner to a Peruvian restaurant and drinks in Café Havana
• Overnight in Cartagena

Tuesday 9th May – Cartagena

Morning

• Cartagena is an old colonial city, so we spend the day touring around this historical city
• We check out the old town and the city walls, as well as its 500-year-old coral stone forts from the Spanish era

Afternoon

• Climb La Popa Hill for a great view of the area and visit the 17th century Santa Cruz monastery
• Check out the Spanish Inquisition Palace, where people were tortured and executed for crimes against Catholicism
• Head out for local food and drinks in the Cartagena old town
• Dinner at Interno, a restaurant inside the women’s prison, staffed by prisoners
• Overnight in Cartagena

Wednesday 10th May – Guatapé

Morning

• Take a 10am flight to Medellín, Colombia’s second city
• Medellín was the notorious crime-ridden home of drug lord Pablo Escobar, but since the mid-1990s things have calmed down a lot.

Afternoon

• Head to Finca la Manuela, reachable only by boat. Pablo has many houses, but this is the only one which is largely untouched since the time when he was alive.
• We’ll head to Piedra de Peñol, a striking monolithic rock sticking 220 metres out of the ground. Time permitting, we’ll climb to the top for the spectacular sunset view.
• Overnight in our rustic accommodation in the Colombian countryside.

Thursday 11th May – Medellín

• Head to Hacienda Nápoles, the biggest of Pablo Escobar’s residences. Now a theme park, we’ll see the animals descended from those which Pablo kept in his private zoo. We’ll be able to ride the water slides, while exploring to find the traces left of Pablo’s time there.
• Head back to Medellín
• Dinner and drinks in the trendy Poblado area

Friday 12th May – Medellín

Morning

• You can’t go to Medellín without learning about its most infamous resident, so we do the full Pablo Escobar tour. Our local guide was Pablo Escobar’s driver – now gone straight, he’s very open to questions about what it was like working for the world’s most infamous drug lord!
• We then go to explore the many luxurious buildings used to launder his money, as well as check out his bombed-out safe in the Monaco building, which was where the first car bomb in Colombia was detonated
• After visiting Pablo´s prison or the “Cathedral”, get spectacular Medellín views and get ready to visit the cemetery where siblings and cousins of the mafia boss finally rest even near Griselda Blanco or “black widow”, who was once Pablo´s mentor.

Afternoon

• After lunch, we finish off the Pablo tour by visiting the spot where he died. Now a quiet residential neighbourhood, the rooftop location is easily recognised in the photos published of his lifeless body. It’s still uncertain whether he was shot by the police, or whether he killed himself to avoid capture.
• We’ll jump on the metro system and transfer to Medellín’s famous cable car public transport, for a bird’s eye view of local neighbourhood life.
• Head to the famous Museo de Antioquia including the world-famous sculptures by Fernando Botero in the park outside the museum
• Go for dinner and drinks in Medellin
• Overnight in Medellin

Saturday 13th May

Morning

• We get up early for our morning flight to Bogotá, where the tour ends, with YPT being able to arrange ongoing transport or accommodation for those that need it.
• Alternatively join us for a tour extension to Cali, and find out about Escobar’s deadly rivals the Cali Cartel!

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