Havana Past/Present/Future Tour 2020
Sunday, February 2 to Sunday, February 9, 2020
Our signature insider’s tour! For 20 years we’ve been going to Cuba to explore Havana, mingle with the locals, visit unique local projects and to have a good time! Once again, two of Cuba’s finest guides will be on hand: Rita, active in the Cuban women’s movement for 25 years and an experienced group leader and Roberto, one of Cuba’s top environmentalists with encyclopedic knowledge of all things Cuban. Rita and Roberto will be taking us to places of cultural and historical interest as well as Havana’s most engaging neighbourhoods, cultural sights and restaurants. Michael has been leading these groups for years and will provide support, insights and inside tips on the latest new restaurants and the best places for ice cream and coffee!
Accommodations:
We will be staying in an B&B located in Havanas Vedado’s neighbourhood. This is a vibrant area near the University of Havana featuring many places of interest. We will have four rooms in a large and beautiful house built by the vice president of Cuba in 2002. Single and double rooms available. We will also have additional apartments in an apartment building across the street from this house.
Breakfast is included. And when the week is over, you can return to Toronto on a Sunwing flight or stay with other group participants at one of the top-rated Varadero resort hotels.
Sunday, February 2
Morning: We recommend booking with Sunwing from Toronto to Varadero with a morning arrival.
A bus will be awaiting us and we will head to Havana.
Afternoon: check into our accommodations, group orientation meeting,
Evening: Dinner at local restaurant
Monday, February 3
Breakfast
9:30am: Old Havana walking tour. “Old Havana” was founded in the 16th century
and became a major port of call for the Spanish treasure fleet when crossing the
Atlantic to transport goods from territories in the Americas to Spain. It is a
designated UNESCO world heritage site.
Rita and Roberto will each lead a group. They will tour the historical sites and plazas
while discussing the architecture and the historical significance of the area.
LUNCH
1:30-2:30:
Visit to Havana Arts and Crafts Market.
We will provide suggestions for interesting museums and other Havana spots that you might want to visit.
6:30pm: Meet for 7:00 pm dinner (optional)
Tuesday, February 4 – Saturday, February, 8
9:00am: Each morning will begin with a morning talk and conversation period with guest speakers who are experts in the field of topics such as women’s and LGBTQ rights, the law, public health, mental health, technology, the environment and economics. Current issues and future prospects, plans and opportunities will be explored.
Optional Dinner: Each night, the group will meet at 6:30pm to go for a group dinner. In recent
years, Havana has seen a huge increase in the volume and quality of restaurants. We will be
finding the most interesting ones to dine at. Dinner is not included in the fees and is entirely
optional.
Tuesday, February 4
9:00am: See morning talks above
11:00am: Psychoballet Visit
Psychoballet is a type of music and dance therapy created in Cuba by psychologists Dr. Elsa
Gutierrez in the 1970s as a way move beyond traditional psychotherapy to help populations
with special needs. It is now a popular approach throughout Cuba and Latin America.
We will have a chance to meet the founder and crew members for a Q and A as well as watch
performances.
1:00pm: Lunch in Old Havana
Afternoon: Free time
We will provide suggestions for interesting museums and other Havana spots that you might want to visit.
6:30pm: Meet for dinner
After Dinner: Current cultural events happening in Havana. In the past, our groups have attended to ballet, theatre and jazz performances, participated in salsa classes, listened to local musicians at neighbourhood live music venues… we will see what’s on and let you know.
Wednesday, February 5
9:00am: See morning talks above
11:00: Visit to the Antonio Nunez Jimenez foundation for nature and humanity. This is
one of the few foundations in Cuba that is devoted to sustainability. Their offices are also
a museum of cultural and historical artefacts and significant paintings from Cuba‘s past
and recent times.
1:00pm-2:30 pm: Lunch in the Playa neighbourhood
Afternoon: Free Time
We will provide suggestions for interesting museums and other Havana spots that you might want to visit.
6:30pm: Meet for dinner
Thursday, February 6
(No morning talk today)
9:30am: Bus to Organic Farm
We will visit the first organic farm developed in Cuba. Founded in the 1990s, this project was a response to the economic crisis and the loss of oil after the Soviet Union and the Eastern Block collapsed. With scant resources, Cuba had to develop a new way of producing food. Organic farms, located near cities, were developed throughout Cuba. We will meet with one of the founders and staff, tour the farm and learn about the history of the project as well as the current food situation in Cuba
Lunch and afternoon: We will go Cojimar, a fishing village where Hemingway hung out. We will have lunch there and learn about Hemingway’s life here and this village.
7:00pm: Dinner
Friday, February 7
9:00-11:00: Morning talk
Free time
4:00pm: Performance and meeting with founder, staff and children of
La Colmenita, The “Little Beehive”. La Colmenita is Cuba’s
internationally-acclaimed children’s musical theatre group. Developed in
the 1990s as a way of encouraging children in a community to
participate in music and dance, the company has evolved into a
significant organization with many local chapters throughout Cuba.
We will meet the founder and director of La Comenita, Alberto “Tin”
Cremata and attend a performance afterwards. Our visits to this group
have always been one of the highlights of our tours.
Dinner in Old Havana
Saturday, February 8
9:00am: Morning talk
11:30am: Visit to the home of Haydee and Abel Santamaria. This brother and sister were part of Fidel Castro’s inner circle of friends wanting to create change in Cuba in the early 1950s. Their apartment served as a meeting place where Castro and his followers developed the first revolutionary act in 1952. The apartment is now a museum and offers a chance to learn more about Fidel Castro, his friends and the Cuban revolution.
1:00pm-2:30 pm: Lunch in the Vedado neighbourhood
Afternoon: Free time
6:30pm: Last night dinner
Sunday morning, February 9
Return to Varadero to board flight back to Toronto OR….
For those of you wanting a little beach time to balance out the city, we’re offering the opportunity to hang out with some great people at the Royalton Hicacos Varadero Resort and Spa, one of Varadero’s top-rated hotels according to TripAdvisor!
Travellers are welcome to join us for both Havana AND Varadero or just one or the other. It’s all up to you 😊
For information about costs, please click here
***Alterations to the above schedule may occur due to the realities of Cuba planning***
