Cuba holiday. Salsa, Spanish and trek in the Sierra Maestra
| country: | Cuba |
| trip type: | Moderate walking holidays |
| departures: | 2009: Oct and Dec dates to be confirmed |
| price: | From £1025 - £1175 (14 days) excluding flights |
the amazing things you'll be doing
This two week trip combines intensive Spanish tuition or Cuban dance classes for one week in Santiago de Cuba, with a second week in the Sierra Maestra mountains including visiting la Comandancia de la Plata, Fidel's secret mountain base where he planned events leading up to the Revolution. The dance classes are taught by professional tutors from the Ballet Folklorico Cutumba, one of Cuba's most famous dance and music companies whilst Spanish lessons are taught by professionally qualified and experienced Cuban teachers. The visit to the Sierra Maestra mountains is accompanied by fully qualified, bilingual specialist guides.
Included in the tour are: 13 nights accommodation – 10 nights single or shared room, half board homestay in Santiago de Cuba, 2 nights shared room, half board in 3*** hotel in Santo Domingo, 1 night shared room, B&B, 3*** hotel accommodation for last night in Havana; all airport transfers if travelling with group; transport for all visits included in the itinerary; 6 x 3 hours of Cuban dance or Spanish language classes, 2 afternoon cultural activities, 2 nights out to live music venues, services of bilingual tour leader throughout.
Please note that it is not always possible to schedule the last night of the holiday in Havana as it depends on the availability of group flights. If the last night is not spent in Havana, it will be spent in Santiago de Cuba instead
Included in the tour are: 13 nights accommodation – 10 nights single or shared room, half board homestay in Santiago de Cuba, 2 nights shared room, half board in 3*** hotel in Santo Domingo, 1 night shared room, B&B, 3*** hotel accommodation for last night in Havana; all airport transfers if travelling with group; transport for all visits included in the itinerary; 6 x 3 hours of Cuban dance or Spanish language classes, 2 afternoon cultural activities, 2 nights out to live music venues, services of bilingual tour leader throughout.
Please note that it is not always possible to schedule the last night of the holiday in Havana as it depends on the availability of group flights. If the last night is not spent in Havana, it will be spent in Santiago de Cuba instead
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Group arrival at Holguin airport and transfer to Santiago de Cuba and homestay. |
| Day 2: | Welcome briefing meeting, orientation tour of the city, afternoon or evening cultural activity. |
| Day 3-7: | Morning classes x 3 hours (Spanish or Cuban dance), 2 afternoon cultural visits, 2 accompanied evenings out to live music venues and clubs. |
| Day 8: | Full day excursion outside Santiago de Cuba, mountains and beach day |
| Day 9: | Free day in Santiago to explore rumba parties, Casa de la Trova afternoon concerts or just to relax. |
| Day 10: | Santiago – Santo Domingo. Travel to Santo Domingo after breakfast. Check into 3* Villa Santo Domingo x 2 nights. Walk along the river to visit sites associated with the Revolution. Return to hotel. Dinner |
| Day 11: | Travel by truck or jeep to Alto de Naranjo, visit La Comandancia, Fidel’s strategic base in the Sierra Maestra mountains, lunch and afternoon visit to La Platica ecological community. Return to hotel, dinner and free evening. |
| Day 12: | After breakfast, travel to Santiago via Bayamo, a historic town where the Cuban national anthem was penned. Lunch stop. Arrive Santiago late afternoon. Homestay accommodation, dinner and final night out with group in Santiago. |
| Day 13: | Early morning flight to Havana and free afternoon to explore the city. Check into hotel in Old Havana. Evening cultural activity. |
| Day 14: | Optional guided walking tour of Old Havana and visit to craft markets. Afternoon transfer to airport for overnight flight back to UK. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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When out on tour we encourage learning about the country we are travelling in, the local culture of the people we work with and the areas we pass through. Our guides hold informal talks with groups to inform about and discuss with them all aspects of local life. This helps understanding of the area and appreciation of the people who live there.
We encourage everyone to learn some Spanish whilst they are on tour so as to be able to communicate with local people, even at a basic level. All our dance/language tutors and specialist guides are local people and they are treated and paid fairly. It is our policy to carefully dispose of all waste whilst we are on trek. Food is purchased locally and we use food products with as little packaging as possible, and encourage cooking with local products. Whilst in towns we use homestay accommodation or small locally owned hotels wherever possible. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |