Day 1: Athens - Flight to Havana
Athens Airport. Overnight stay on the plane.
Day 2: Havana - Varadero
Arrive in Havana in the morning and depart for Varadero, via an interesting route along the North Coastline. We will see the old oil pumps, pass through Matanzas, considered the city of intellectuals, and stop at the Bacunayagua Bridge to enjoy the unique view of the area. Arrival at the hotel and free time to relax on the magnificent coast with an All Inclusive program (all meals and local drinks at your hotel are included in the price).
Day 3: Varadero
Free day to enjoy your hotel facilities, the tropical beach of Varadero for swimming and various water sports. Optionally, you can choose the one-day Catamaran cruise to the island of Cayo Blanco. The excursion starts in the morning from Varadero Marina and includes unlimited local cocktails and refreshments on board, and seafood lunch on C. Blanco. You will also have the opportunity to admire the coral seabed at a specific point along the route with equipment (mask, snorkel and fins) provided free of charge and the unique experience of swimming with trained dolphins in the presence of instructors in a specially designed dolphin cage in the open sea. Upon arrival in Kagio Blanco, you will have free time on the beach and a seafood lunch at the island's seaside tavern (indicative cost 115 € per person). Return to the hotel in the afternoon.
Day 4: Varadero - Santa Clara - Trinidad.
Breakfast and room delivery. We depart by road for Che Guevara's hometown, the heroic Santa Clara, a city directly associated with the great revolutionary. Visit to the Mausoleum and the Che Museum in the Leóncio Vidal Park. At the entrance to the mausoleum, the imposing bronze statue of Comandante, about 7 metres high, with a gun in his hand, dominates the entrance. Our next destination is traditional, colonial Trinidad, a city founded by the Spanish in the early 16th century, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. Visit the main square (Plaza Mayor), surrounded by colonial buildings, the "Museum of Colonial Architecture" and the traditional café La Canchánchara, where we will enjoy the local drink made of rum, honey and lemon that the colonialists gave to the slaves to give them strength. Free time to stroll through the picturesque cobbled streets with their colourful shops or shop in the open-air bazaars. Check-in at our hotel and dinner. In the evening you will have time to walk around the historic centre again and enjoy music and dancing.
Day 5: Trinidad - Sienfuegos - Guam - Havana.
Departure for Cienfuegos, a city built in 1819 by French colonists and one of the country's most important ports. During the panoramic tour of the city, we will stop at the central square with its white statue of the goddess Athena, dominated by the Tomas Terry Theatre, the City Hall and the classic University building. On the sea, on the narrow peninsula of "Punta Gorda" we will visit the "Palacio del Valle", a very impressive 100 year old building, an architectural masterpiece, a combination of romantic, gothic, Venetian and Moorish styles. From the cellars and the imposing salons, we will ascend to the roof of the Palace, where the view of the city is enchanting. We continue to the Zapata Peninsula in Guamá, Cuba's largest natural lake. In "La Boca" is the "Crocodile Breeding Farm" that we will visit. These animals, an important part of Cuba's wildlife, are protected in their natural habitat from uncontrolled hunting. Continue by road west to Havana. Arrive late in the evening in the capital and settle into our rooms.
Day 6: Havana, City Tour & American Antique Ride
Breakfast at the hotel and then depart for our guided tour of the most beautiful city in the Caribbean. We will start in Revolution Square with its huge portraits of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos. We will then pass by the University of Havana, cross the "modern" district of Vedado with its main square Copelia and the famous Malecón beachfront avenue, ending up at the Capitol, an exact replica of the one in Washington, D.C., United States. Our tour changes pace and we enter Habana Vieja or Old Havana, a cultural heritage of humanity and protected by UNESCO since 1982, which is home to some of the finest colonial buildings in the Caribbean. We will tour the rum museum where we will be offered a drink, visit the only Greek Orthodox church in the Caribbean, St. Nicholas and then we will walk to the Plaza de San Francisco de Asís, the Old Plaza (Plaza Vieja), the Plaza de Armas and the Plaza de la Catedral, the Templete Church and the Castillo de La Fuerza Real. Lunch at a local restaurant. We will end our walk with a visit to the pirate fortress El Moro, in a peripatetic position at the entrance to the harbour and with a magnificent view. Return to the hotel and free rest of the day. We will simply "steal" some of your time, offering you an unforgettable ride in antique cars in the lush green forest of Havana.
Day 7: Havana, full day excursion to Vignales
After breakfast, depart for the majestic Viñales Valley in Cuba's westernmost province, Pinar del Río, where the tobacco for the world's finest cigars is grown. A visit to a cigar factory to see how they are processed. Our walk in the Viniales Valley will be unforgettable: green velvety hills known as mogotes, which are found nowhere else in the world, emerge from the valley lush and almost eerie... towering palm trees, waterfalls and underground caves with rivers make up a magical landscape. A visit to the huge Mural of Prehistory (Mural de la Prehistoria) and the Indian Cave (Cueva del Indio), to cross its underground river by small boat. Lunch at a local restaurant in a unique setting with live music. Back in Havana, we will stop at the Los Jazmines Observatory with its magnificent view of the entire Vignales Valley. Arrival in Havana and free for the rest of the day.
Day 8+9: Havana, free day
Breakfast. Free day in Havana to enjoy this unique city with the charm of the 60's, wander around its historic center, taste the delicious cocktails with the sounds of live music in the dozens of bars and do some shopping. We suggest you visit some of the city's very worthwhile museums, while your guide will give you all the necessary information to discover the unknown and hidden corners of the city. In the evening we suggest you take a stroll through Habana Vieja and enjoy Ernest Hemingway's favourite drinks: daiquirí (daiquiri) at Floridita and mojito (mojito) at Bodeguita del Medio.
Day 10: Havana, return flight
Breakfast at the hotel and we depart already with a sense of nostalgia for Havana airport, where we will take our return flight via Istanbul.
Day 11: Arrival in Greece (Athens).
Arrival in Greece and end of journey full of images and unforgettable memories.
