Cuba holiday, West to East

Planet

The program offers lots of adventure in the countryside and mountains with day walks, water- and beach activities. This Cuba group tour is designed and offered by guides who are certificated in the field of ecological tourism and have been guiding in the Caribbean & Latin America for many years. This Cuba group tour of 24 days gives a unique insight into the Cuban culture and nature. On our Cuba tours all walks are guided by local guides and organized by local organisations that respect and take care of nature. Your tour leader and local guides have an extensive knowledge of fauna and flora. As on Cuba a green pharmacy has been developed in the last decades you also may learn a lot about medicinal properties of Caribbean plants. A holiday to Cuba off the beaten tracks with local guides brings income to local Cuban people and their families. By making use of ecological responsible excursions during your travel on Cuba, you support the people to continue with taking care of their natural reserves.

People

1) Roundtrip over Cuba from West to East, with expert tour leader and mainly private minivan transfers, staying in boutique homestay in Havana at beginning and end and the rest casas particulares to connect with the real Cuban life. Private bus transfers with your own driver have as great advantage that we will make beach & snorkeling stops along the way, that we can enjoy more of the real Cuba and that we have more freedom than with a regular bus trip. This trip can also be done all in style with American oldtimers out of the 50's on one stretch of the itinery or through the whole of Cuba with private operating drivers who were able to maintain their family car in a good state.

2) This group trip is exceptional in that we stay at homestays as a group, separated over different homes. It gives you more insight into the real Cuban life, an opportunity to improve your Spanish and access to excellent Cuban home cooking. We always dinner together at the casas particulares one or two nights to support the families and share this moment together in the cosy ambiance of a Cuban home. The income to the Cuban families goes directly into the Cuban society and support a whole family.

3) We work at all locations with local guides, some are working for the state some have started their own micro-enterprise which is allowed since 2011. They bring in their knowledge and Cuban feeling and form part of the Cuban experience. In two opportunities we work with guides who started their own business, they can tell us about the changes Cuba is going through and they can only survive as they are exceptional guides and contracted by us. In all cases a tip is essential to support the local guides and their families with their daily living.

4) We visit two times local mountain schools, besides being an interesting and beautiful experience to see al these children we can leave a donation for the school, teachers and kids. When we visit farmers during your excursion, we ask participants, if appropriate, to donate luxury articles like ballpoints, soap and shampoo, buy some coffee, handicraft and/or leave a donation. In Havana at the start or at Baracoa in East Cuba we collect clothes, shoes and toiletries to donate to a Cuban organization, which supports people with little or no resources. You can also leave clothes, mountain shoes, toiletries or other articles with your local guides after the excursion.

5) Your tour leader has guided around 50 trips over Cuba the last 18 years and is an expert on nature and culture of this fascinating island in the Caribbean. Cuba has become like a family for your guide and it is not unlikely that you might experience the same. It is a special opportunity to travel with your guide and to be invited to take part in the Cuban rhythm of life on all parts of the island! This trip is for all ages from young to old, families with children, couples and singles alike. We have several free days and the program can always be modified to specific needs and wishes on location between the traveling moments
Your guide is also a certified PADI Advanced Open Water Diver and can help you with all your questions about diving in Cuba. He supports several families with children with clothes, medicaments, books, second hand luxury articles, purchases of their handicrafts, and donations for constructing materials and improving their housing.

This operator empowers a womens coffee cooperation Madre Solar and NGO in the Andes of Venezuela. Their vision is to provide solidarity to the entire coffee community in the area, striving to improve the quality of the life of children and families of the coffee communities. With this holiday and all our tailor made travels in Latin America you support local families on your destination of travel and you make it for us possible to support mothers and children in the Andes of Venezuela through this cooperation and NGO. Through their different programs the cooperative aspire to offer training technique in administration, management, accounting, among others and offer scholarships to students and subsidies to primary schools in rural coffee communities, as well as inspire to new forms of community economic organization.