Day-by-day programme of this 11-day itinerary across From Havana to Trinidad and the cayos.
Day 1 â Arrival in Havana
Landing in Havana, Cuba's capital suspended in time, among 1950s American cars, music and peeling but magnificent colonial buildings. A first stroll in Habana Vieja.
- âïļ Havana â Aeroporto Jose Marti de L'Avana (HAV)
- ð Habana Vieja â Habana Vieja, a UNESCO site, is an open-air museum: four great colonial squares (Plaza Vieja, Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza de Armas, Plaza San Francisco) linked by cobbled streets, among pastel Baroque buildings, courtyards, bars where Hemingway drank his mojito (La Bodeguita) and daiquiri (El Floridita), and live music on every corner. Vintage American cars zip past in bright colours. You dine on Cuban flavours. Tomorrow the capital in more depth.
- ðĻ Hotel Lido â Habana Vieja / Centro, L'Avana
Day 2 â Havana, between Capitolio and Malecon
A full day in Havana: the Capitolio, the Malecon seafront, the Vedado district and the Plaza de la Revolucion, perhaps aboard a 1950s American convertible.
- ð El Capitolio â You start from the Capitolio, twin of the one in Washington, and the nearby Gran Teatro and Parque Central, where gleaming vintage American cars wait. From here the Paseo del Prado leads to the sea. An unmissable classic is a city tour aboard a 1950s open-top convertible, along the wave-battered Malecon, from where Havana reveals itself in all its decadent beauty. In the afternoon, Vedado and the history of the Revolution.
- ð Plaza de la Revolucion â In the modern Vedado district opens the Plaza de la Revolucion, a huge space where Fidel Castro gave his marathon speeches: on the side, the iron outlines of Che Guevara ('Hasta la victoria siempre') and Camilo Cienfuegos stand out on the buildings. It is the symbolic heart of socialist Cuba. On the way back, you stroll among the decaying mansions of Vedado and end with a cocktail and live music. Tomorrow you head west, into the Vinales tobacco valley.
Day 3 â The Vinales valley
A journey west to Vinales, a UNESCO valley of distinctive mogotes (sugarloaf hills) and tobacco plantations, in the most authentic rural Cuba.
- âïļ Havana â Vinales â Vinales, Pinar del Rio
- ðŊ Vinales Valley â You explore the valley on horseback, by bike or on foot, among the plantations: you visit a tobacco finca where a guajiro (farmer) shows how the leaves are dried in wooden barns and hand-rolls a cigar in front of you, to smoke with a coffee or a rum. You see the Mural de la Prehistoria painted on a mogote and the Cueva del Indio, a cave with an underground river. At sunset, the valley turns golden. You dine in the village with live music.
- ðĻ Mystique Vinales Central â Vinales, Pinar del Rio
Day 4 â More of Vinales
A second day in the Vinales valley among caves, viewpoints and fincas, to enjoy the slow rhythm of the Cuban countryside before setting off again.
- ð Vinales Viewpoint â From the Mirador Los Jazmines you enjoy the most famous view over the Vinales valley: the mogotes rising from the green plain of tobacco fields, under the Caribbean sky. You visit more caves, a coffee finca and chat with the farmers, discovering a Cuba far from the beaches and the cliches. It is the moment to slow down and savour rural authenticity. You dine again in the village. Tomorrow a long transfer across the island to Cienfuegos, on the Caribbean Sea.
Day 5 â Towards Cienfuegos
A long transfer across the island to Cienfuegos, an elegant French-influenced colonial city on a large Caribbean bay.
- âïļ Vinales â Cienfuegos â Cienfuegos, Cuba
- ð Punta Gorda â Towards evening you reach Punta Gorda, the strip of land jutting into Cienfuegos bay: here stands the Palacio de Valle, an extravagant Moorish-style palace with a panoramic terrace where you sip a cocktail at sunset, as the sun sets over the water and pelicans fly low. It is the most romantic corner of the city. You dine on fish on the bay. Tomorrow the jewel of the trip: colonial Trinidad.
- ðĻ Hotel La Union, Affiliated by Melia â Centro / Punta Gorda, Cienfuegos
Day 6 â Trinidad, a colonial jewel
A short journey along the coast to Trinidad, a UNESCO colonial city with its cobbled streets, pastel houses and music spilling from every house.
- âïļ Cienfuegos â Trinidad â Plaza Mayor, Trinidad
- ðŊ Casa de la Musica â In the evening, Trinidad lights up with music: on the steps of the Casa de la Musica, beside the Plaza Mayor, Cubans and travellers gather to listen to live son, salsa and trova, dance under the stars and drink a mojito. It is the festive, warm soul of Cuba, where music really is everywhere. You let yourself be swept up by the rhythm. Tomorrow the history of sugar in the Valle de los Ingenios and a Caribbean beach.
- ðĻ Hotel La Ronda â Centro storico, Trinidad
Day 7 â Valle de los Ingenios and Playa Ancon
The Valle de los Ingenios, a UNESCO site telling the history of the sugar plantations, and an afternoon on the Caribbean beach of Playa Ancon.
- ð Valle de los Ingenios â The Valle de los Ingenios (valley of the sugar mills), a UNESCO site, was the heart of Trinidad's wealth: dozens of sugarcane plantations worked by thousands of African slaves. Today the ruins of the ingenios remain and the Manaca Iznaga tower, 45 metres high, from which the masters watched the slaves and whose bell marked the work. Climbing it gives a view over the valley and prompts reflection on a hard page of history. In the afternoon, relaxation by the sea.
- ð Playa Ancon â A few kilometres from Trinidad, Playa Ancon is the most beautiful beach on the south coast: white sand and a calm turquoise sea, perfect for swimming or snorkelling on the reef just offshore. After the colonial alleys, it is time to relax with a cocktail under the palms. At sunset you return to Trinidad for another evening of music. Tomorrow you continue to Santa Clara, on the trail of Che, and towards the cayos.
Day 8 â Santa Clara and towards the cayos
Santa Clara, city of the decisive battle of the Revolution and of Che Guevara's mausoleum, then the journey to the cayos, the turquoise-sea islands to the north.
- ð Che Guevara Mausoleum â Santa Clara is inseparably linked to Che Guevara: here in 1958 Che led the decisive battle (derailing Batista's armoured train, today a monument you can visit) that paved the way for the Revolution's victory. On the great Memorial, a bronze statue depicts him with his rifle, and the mausoleum beside it holds his remains, brought back from Bolivia. It is a place of pilgrimage for many. After the visit you continue north, towards the cayos.
- âïļ Santa Clara â Cayo Santa Maria â Cayo Santa Maria, Villa Clara
- ðĻ Melia Las Dunas â Cayo Santa Maria, Villa Clara
Day 9 â Sea in the cayos
A day of relaxation on the paradise beaches of Cayo Santa Maria, between swims in the turquoise sea, snorkelling and the slowness of the Caribbean.
- ðŊ Cayo Santa Maria â A day entirely devoted to the sea: you swim in the transparent waters, snorkel on the reef rich in colourful fish, or take a catamaran to reach offshore sandbanks and swim with starfish. Alternatively, you simply relax in the shade of the palms with a book and a cocktail. It is the picture-postcard Caribbean Cuba. You enjoy the last sunset over the sea. Tomorrow you return to Havana for the last night.
Day 10 â Back to Havana
Return to Havana and a last evening in the capital, among music, mojitos and the city's unique atmosphere, perhaps with a show or a final convertible ride.
- âïļ Cayo Santa Maria â Havana â L'Avana
- ðĻ Hotel Lido â Habana Vieja / Centro, L'Avana
Day 11 â Departure from Havana
Return flight from Havana. The end of a journey among vintage cars, colonial cities, tobacco valleys, revolution and Caribbean beaches.
- âïļ Havana â Aeroporto di Milano Malpensa (MXP)
