This was a very interesting trip. The lecturers were all very good presenters - especially enjoyed the architect's presentation. Our local Cuban guide was skilled at sharing details of life in Cuba under the Castro regime - and we enjoyed his excellent translations during our interactions with locals who didn't speak English. The accommodations and meals were much better than I expected. Cuban people were friendly, helpful and surprisingly candid. My favorite experience was visiting a local farmer. He didn't own his home, or the backyard where he kept his pig, but he was obviously happy with his opportunity to raise a pig, sell her piglets, and call himself a farmer. Just a few years ago, the pig would have been owned by the government, and, if he sold a piglet, it would have been on the black market and risky.

A wonderful trip, well planned and well executed with tons of things to see, great personalized concerts and lectures. This trip really opens your eyes and your heart to the Cuban people and their continued struggle to find their true identity. The food was true Cuban food, not some impersonation. The people are warm and friendly and not once did we ever feel threatened in any way, even walking the streets alone at night and not speaking any Spanish.

An excellent and informative program on a little known country of the world. Presented in an informal and relaxed way. The food was surprizingly great but the portions are huge.

An intense and amazing experience from start to finish. Great opportunity to see Cuba in transition. Fantastic, well-informed lecturers and field trips with charming and insightful local guide.

This trip is not for wimps because conditions in Cuba are third-world in terms of food and sanitation. Anyone with food restrictions should think twice. That said it is a terrific trip with lots of learn and truly eye opening. Great leaders and speakers.

This program is wonderful!!!!! It is informative, set up well for active participants and certainly helps one understand a very much unknown " close neighbor".

If you have so much as a fleeting thought about visiting Cuba with Road Scholar -- do it! Any pre-conceived view you might have about Cuba and the Cuban people will challenged and become multi-dimensional.

This is an excellent program. I learned a great deal about US-Cuban relations and history and understand more about the point of view of the Cuban expatriates who are now in the US. I found out the effects of the Embargo and how damaging it is to all of us, too.

This trip was very interesting and a real education about the reality of Cuba. We learn history in school but there is nothing like going to a country to see, experience and learn firsthand. Also, our group was very cohesive and we all had a wonderful time...

The quality of the guides makes all the difference in the world on trips set up by Road Scholar and our US and foreign guides were outstanding.

I couldn’t begin to say what was the best thing about this tour - it was all so wonderful! The lectures were very enlightening and relevant to what we saw each day. The people to people activities brought us in close contact with Cubans from all walks of life and I thought were a very valuable experience. And, of course, it was great to finally see the places you’ve only read about in books or newspapers. I could not believe the amount of delicious food we had each day nor the variety of restaurants we visited. Both our American guide Martin and a Cuban guide Hector were so knowledgeable and sensitive to the needs of the group. My luggage did not make it to Cuba and they both put forth extraordinary efforts to see that I got it. It was a fabulous experience and I wish I was going again next week!

I just returned & it was fantastic. I learned so much. Our RS guide, Martin was good, but the key is your Cuba guide. Ours was Hector and he was just fabulous as was our driver, Johnie. My only criticism is I am exhausted. We started at 7am with b'fast every day & often didn't get back to our hotel room until 10pm at night. But there is little I would shorten or leave out. We learned so much-even while driving thru Cuba. Nacional Hotel was perfectly fine. The bathroom was great & the bed fairly comfortable. Hotel Jagua in Cienfuegos is not as good. The rooms are large & it is nice to have a balcony overlooking the sea, but the bed had no mattress pad, just a thin sheet between mattress & you. The blankets in closet, drapes & bedcovers were dirty-drapes had mold. The floor had not been well swept, but the bathroom was clean. All meals were adequate-some were absolutely fabulous. I feel guilty about even these complaints when you consider the life most Cubans live and all the shortages they endure.

Our leadership team of Mary Peara and our Cuban guide Magaly worked together superbly to give us a meaningful experience. They exposed us to many facets of how Cubans live and of their society and culture. We had a congenial group of 20 who asked many good questions. And we had an excellent and courteous driver, Juan Carlos, who made his own contribution to our trip.

This program was an excellent introduction to Cuba and I am very glad that I participated.

The Cuba adventure I just returned from was one of the highlights of my life! This was my 11th Road Scholar learning adventure. All of them have been wonderful but I now rank this as #2 (right under Safari in South Africa/Zimbabwe). It was different from anything I have ever experienced. I loved every minute it......... You just have to wear your "flexibility hat" every minute while in Cuba!

Before going to Cuba with Road Scholar, I wanted to see and learn about as much of people's life in Cuba as I could. I accepted that I might see only the outside of things, from the vantage point of riding a bus. But our wonderful Cuban guide Magaly and our Road Scholar guide Mary Peara offered so many chances for us to go inside everyday stores and markets frequented by Cubans; to visit with people in their homes; and to talk with Cubans at schools, a synagogue, a community center, etc, that we did accomplish more than just scratching the surface of understanding Cuba. In addition, we could not have had a more compatible and considerate group of travelers on the trip. We hope to cross paths with some of them again.

Our trip to Cuba was terrific! Our tour leader, Mary Peara was excellent and knowledgeable. Our local guide was generous in her help and sharing the "Cuban reality". The group we traveled with shared our curiosity and interest in Cuba and a pleasure to travel with. We had many lively conversations. This more than just a tour, it was an experience in understanding the people and culture of Cuba.

Our trip to Cuba was fascinating. We are thinking a lot about both the history and the future of US-Cuban relations and will stay much more involved in this issue. Our Cuban guide, Magaly, was superb and Mary Peara, our tour leader, was thoughtful and kind. We enjoyed getting to know the other participants.

Just got back from Cuba. Very tired but the trip was great!! Dolores McCalla

Wonderful trip; wonderful guides. Tremendous learning experience. Cuba has done amazing things for its people, and should be a partner for the U.S. The sooner that cruel embargo goes the better.

Pat from Ithaca,NY This was my first RS program attended, and was a wonderful trip with excellent guides: Magaly and Federica! Thankyou everybody for the stop in Nueva Paz, and experiencing the village where my Grandparents roamed. I will post some pics later.

A wonderful trip. Local Guide Magaly and Road Scholar Tour Guide Federica made this a fun as well as educational trip. Our group had 24 people in it and was very well organized. We all learned a LOT about Cuba and they kept us VERY busy! What a fascinating country! Great fellow travellers, too.

This was a very good trip. The one criticism I have is that there was no "down" time. Our days were packed morning until night, with no rest time nor time to take in the night life.

Jose is a fantastic leader and could not be improved upon. The trip itself is overwhelming, cramming about a semester's worth of knowledge into a week. The days, although not physically active, are exhausting, very full. I learned more in a week than I have on other three-week trips, returning home feeling stuffed with information and impressions.

This trip truly enlarged my perspective about Cuba. The activities were fast paced and diverse. I learned a lot and commend this trip highly.

The Cuba and Society trip was absolutely excellent. We saw many aspects of Cuba which you would never get to see on your own. Our guides were outstanding wherever we went (as were those who shepherded us around). I learned so much, and so many questions have been floating in my mind now that we have returned. I now understand why friends have raved about Road Scholar!

Surveys never have the exact choices one would want, but yours was easy to use.

Cuba is a fascinating place. It has an economy that is turned upside down (the custodian who cleans the toilet and charges tourists 25 cents for toilet paper makes 10 times as much as a doctor who is paid only 1 dollar a day by the Communist government government). The law that only cars made before 1959 can be bought or sold has turned it into the world's largest classic car show. It’s sad to see the decaying grandeur of Havana, a result of government ownership of the buildings. I enjoyed the laid-back ambiance of a people who have no incentive to work. The Road Scholar tour was led by charming knowledgeable guides.

this is an outstanding trip would consider it under new experiences and educational well planned and guided
good food and comfortable accomidations
thank you road scholar

Fascinating to see Cuba. hear music, see art, taste well prepared food-some in privately owned restaurants. Challenging ideas & views.

This was a very educational and enjoyable program. Our leaders were outstanding and the variety and number of experiences were amazing. It truly was a people to people program meeting Cubans of all ages and walks of life.

This trip truly enlarged my perspective about Cuba. The activities were fast paced and diverse. I learned a lot and commend this trip highly.

The Cuba People-to-People experience was memorable and mind-expanding. I learned so much about the country and its people. Meeting everyday folks and chatting with them was an unexpected pleasure. I thought there would be more control over who we met and our conversations with them. We had the opportunity to talk with musicians, book sellers, dancers, seniors (who were definitely spry and active), teachers, students, religious workers, hotel personnel. Food was good most of the time but it helps if you like rice with beans and seafood. The days were long and nights seemed short but we had many unforgettable experiences. Travel to Cuba with Road Scholar is highly recommended. I may return sometime. Kathy

Trip was interesting and showed some of the "reality of Cuba" and the gaps between intent and actuality. Cuban people warm, friendly, welcoming and also quite economically poor. The contrast between the two currencies in the country, convertible and national Cuban Pesos,and what was available with each was quite interesting and unfortunately problematic for the Cuban people.
I would have wanted more lectures. The level of information and instruction our Cuban guide provided was less than we have experienced on many Road Scholar adventures including those to other communist/socialist,developing countries.

I attended the People and Society program and loved every moment of it. The country is fascinating and the people are wonderful. The hotels were first rate, the food was wonderful, and the tour guides were caring and knowledgeable. Thank you Phil and Magaly for a great experience. Carole Hinkelman

Really amazing trip, the program was demanding, but enjoyed every part of it, and really loved our guides, Yeraldine and Guillermo, plus our very safe bus driver Louis. The hotels were the best possible, and the food was delicious (with the exception of breakfast at the Jagua Hotel, which was inedible. The speakers and stops were all outstanding, and we really learned a lot about the country while enjoying the experience.

Go! It is a fascinating place and a study in human craziness!

If you want to see Cuba now before it changes dramatically, touring with Road Scholar is an ideal way to do it.

Cuba Today: People and Society was an excellent educational opportunity, learning first-hand about the socio-political nature of a country and its people that few Americans know much about. Although my first trip with Road Scholar, I had minimum expectations gleaned from friends who travel often with RS. I am pleased that all of my expectations were exceeded. The group leader and Cuban guide, the lecturers, even the participants, were all engaging, interesting and capable. This visit offers a fresh perspective on why the US should re-think the imposition of our anachronistic Cuban embargo. This was a real eye-opener and a terrific trip, full of value.

Our domestic faciltator, Monica, was the best! She handled every situation with speed, ease and grace. Kudos!

An eye-opening informative and well presented program. Kudos to Road Scholar for making it available!

Excellent, well planned trip to a fascinating country. The Cuban/American trip coordinator and the Cuban tour guide added the perspective from a family that left after the revolution and a family that stayed. Expert lecturers were interesting and informative and the people to people visits were varied and gave insight into what life is like in contemporary Cuba and the effect the US embargo has on their lives.
Accomodations and meals exceeded expectations.
We look forward to returning to the island we hope will soon no longer be "forbidden."

My wife and I just returned from a Road Scholar trip to Cuba. Our experience was just terrific. We were especially impressed with Jose, our Cuban tour guide. Jose was accomodating and so knowledgeable. His presentations at the Fine Arts Museum of Havana and the Bay of Pigs Museum were filled with special insights and incredible, interesting details. Richard D. Hunt, Jan. 14, 2013

CUBA - PEOPLE & SOCIETY - YOU SHOULD GO!!

The Road Scholar trip to Cuba was fabulous! I have not stopped talking about it since I returned home, and to my joy, most people I talk to are very interested in hearing about Cuba. The leaders were very informative and fun to be with. The group was great. I highly recommend this program.

What a wonderful, total immersion learning experience! I will see Cuba with new eyes after this.