Programa: Trip to central Cuba

Management

This trip is supervised by a certified driver-guide who can be bilingual if you require it, and who is part of our team in Cuba. Local guides also accompany you in certain places.

Food

All breakfasts are included. For lunches and dinners, when they are not included in your stay, you can eat in a restaurant. You will find them near the main tourist sites or in towns and villages. Some dinners will be priced at your hosts' home. For others (not included in your stay), you will find restaurants for all budgets at each stage.

Meals: The menus are usually composed of chicken, fish or pork accompanied by congri (rice and black or red beans) and plantains. In the family houses, the dishes are very varied and abundant, highlighting local products: breadfruit, cassava, banana, mango, guava, pineapple, papaya, coconut, pork, chicken, fish and sometimes lobster. There are also private restaurants offering refined cuisine.

Drinks: in Cuba you can find excellent seasonal fruit juices, local beers (Bucanero and Cristal) and of course rum with which some essential cocktails are prepared: mojitos, daiquiris, Cuba libre, piña colada...

Water: During your stay, drinks, including mineral water, are at your own expense. You can fill your water bottles in towns, springs, hotels. It is best to treat it with cleansing pills (micropur or hydroclonazone). If you buy bottled water, we advise you to buy 5-liter bottles to refill your bottles as you go. If you wish to purchase these bottles, you can do so at the beginning of your stay in Havana or Sanctiago, as well as in the main cities of the country.

Accommodation

In most cases, you will be hosted by locals, in their "casas particulars": Cuban families will welcome you into their home. You sleep in a double/twin room with a private bathroom.

For certain stages we choose local category hotels from 3 to 5 stars, standard comfort. Please note that hotels in Cuba belong to the State. Therefore, we have no control over the quality of the services provided. The rooms are always clean and spacious with a private bathroom, but in some establishments the services may not be up to international standards.

In the different Sierras, certain stages require sleeping in a camp. They are generally quite basic. They sleep in a dormitory for 4 to 6 people. Blankets are provided but we advise you to also bring a sleeping bag for cool nights depending on the season.

Transportation.

Parking: The driver is in charge of it.

Transportation is carried out in an air-conditioned vehicle. On some routes, we can also use 4x4 vehicles.

Budget and exchange

The official currency is the Cuban peso. The Cuban Peso (CUP). 1USD = approximately 24 CUP and 1€ = approximately 29 CUP. Please note that an 18% tax is charged when exchanging US dollars. This is not the case with other currencies. So you can change your currency in all the tourist cities (Havana, Sanctiago, Trinidad, etc.) and you will also find ATMs in those same cities. At the end of your stay in Cuba you can exchange the remaining money back into your currency. Please note that American credit cards and American Express traveler's checks cannot be used. We also advise against traveler's checks, which are often difficult to cash. To know the exchange rate in real time, we recommend you enter the website: www.xe.com

Tips

This is a common practice but not mandatory that only depends on your satisfaction. As a general rule for good service, you can base yourself on the following amounts:

• 3 USD per day and per person for the guide.
• 2 USD per day per person for the driver
• 1 USD per day per person for a local guide

Baggage

On any trip it may happen that your checked luggage does not arrive at the destination at the same time as you. This is rare but it is better to be prepared for any eventuality.

As a precautionary measure, remember to pack something in your carry-on luggage to survive the first few days: underwear, some t-shirts, your hiking shoes and sandals.

Do not forget that any sharp objects or containers of liquids are prohibited in the cabin of all airplanes and must be in checked luggage.

Budget

We have very competitive prices. Request a quote for your trip.

The extraordinary experiences and wonderful memories of this trip that you will share with family and friends are priceless.

The price includes

• 13 nights in a hotel, guest house or country lodging (in the mountains), all with breakfast.
• Lunch and dinner on days 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10, lunch on day 13 and dinner on days 3, 8, 11 and 12
• Entrance fees to the sites provided in the program.
• Accompanying a guide driver from day 1 to day 13.
• Our assistance 24 hours a day, every day during your stay.

The price does not include

• Registration fees (from 12 years old): €18 per person
• International flight
• The tourist card (necessary to enter the country)
• Personal insurance.
• The supplement in a single room: contact us
• Fuel for the car.
• Meals not mentioned in "Price includes"
• Tips, all expenses and personal equipment, drinks and everything that is not in “The price includes”

We recommend you

• Cap or sun hat
• A scarf to protect the neck.
• A pair of sunglasses.
• 1 or 2 undergarments such as short or long sleeve t-shirts
• Quick-drying short and long sleeve cotton t-shirts.
• 1 light fleece or equivalent
• 1 warm fleece or equivalent
• A waterproof, breathable and hooded windbreaker jacket
• A layer of rain
• 1 or 2 shorts and long pants
• 1 comfortable pair of walking pants (ideally with removable legs)
• 1 pair of spare pants (hiking or equivalent)
• 1 swimsuit
• 1 pair of waterproof and comfortable “trekking” shoes, with high and non-slip shafts
• 1 pair of sneakers or equivalent light footwear for easy stages and at night
• 1 pair of water sandals for diving or swimming (especially for people who don't want to wear fins while diving)
• Pairs of thick socks for walking.

Passport

Mandatory. Any person wishing to make a tourist stay in Cuba must be in possession of a passport with a validity period greater than that of the planned stay, a return/exit ticket from Cuba and a tourist card issued by the Cuban consulate in their country. city.

The traveler must ensure that he does not exceed the maximum duration of his stay, under penalty of being detained by the immigration services upon departure.

From January 1, 2022, a new digital form must be completed within 72 hours prior to arrival in Cuba. It can be submitted in digital format, but printing it can save time upon arrival.

The tourist card

Mandatory. The tourist card or entry visa to Cuba is an electronic document that is managed through the Cuban electronic visa portal and is issued at a consulate of the Republic of Cuba.

When booking your trip to Cuba, we will ask you if you want us to manage your tourist card(s), and if so, we will take care of managing them and sending them to your email.

Please note that, due to the laws of the United States blockade against Cuba, travelers who have been in Cuba since January 12, 2021 and who wish to go to the United States cannot benefit from the regime (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) ESTA or another automatic visa and must apply for a visa at an American consulate before embarking on a trip to the United States.

Travel insured

Traveler insurance is not really mandatory, no one is going to require it from you. Most likely you will not need to use insurance. But if you need travel insurance, it will be better to have it on hand.

If you travel to another country or do not have insurance coverage in your country, we recommend that you take out our IATI Traveler Insurance.

IATI Traveler Insurance is a company that has been operating since 1885. With more than 130 years of experience, this insurer is a benchmark in the sector.

Contract your traveler insurance here

Recommendations

Travel insurance must cover your risks from the day you board the plane until the day you return to your place of origin.

Always leave a copy of your insurance policy and contract with your family back home.

Carry a copy of your insurance policy and contract digitized on your phone.

Take the original policy and the contract in separate documents.

Send us (to your travel agency) a digital copy of your traveler insurance policy.

The above is to ensure that if you need your travel insurance policy, you will have it available in one way or another.