If you ever get the chance to go to Cuba ... GO! This program exceeded our every expectation. If you would like to read the journal I kept while there, please visit my document here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VQOUJIha4QZUJgTZ4JR_YgdpdqfulPaSN8BkaCJB3c8/edit?usp=sharing

This program was educational, organized and fun. The group bonded very well and all were active, well informed people. The guides were excellent and I can't express how very much I learned about Cuba. Wonderful people. I wish more Americans could visit Cuba and learn what the country is really like.

The trip was extraordinary, introducing me to a sophisticated and complex culture and a delightful, well-educated and independent people. We don't hear much about Cuba now-a-days and what we heard in the past is way outdated. Cuba is well worth a visit. It's not what you think it is, it's more impressive and more fun. RS has a wonderful curriculum and itinerary. I highly recommend this trip for those who are flexible in body, mind and spirit.

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Cuba. The program covered all aspect of Cuban society and I learned a lot. I appreciated the professionalism and friendliness of the group leader, tour guide and the bus driver.

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.

Cuba was one of the most vital and eye opening travel experiences that I have had. I will remember Cuba with the beauty of the people and the country. I will follow "the hoped for changes" and wish for the best for these lovely people. I can tell you first hand the medical care in cuba is very good. I was told that my stitches were done correctly and am healing well!! Thanks to Phil and your friendly support I have a unique story to tell with a happy ending. Linda Adler

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.

This was a very complete program -educational, great eating places, great speakers, great hotels,wonderful leaders.

Cuba Today: People and Society. Just completed this tour with a 25 member, interesting, fun-loving and well-traveled group. Group Leader and Tour Guide presented various excursions, lectures and activity programs that appealed to everyone. Outstanding food and accommodations.

This was my fifth trip with Road Scholar. It (like the others) was exceptionally well planned and run. Our group leader was unflappable and cared for each participant according to their needs and abilities. Our guide in Cuba was very knowledgeable, interesting, humorous, and thoughtful. The two of them worked well together.

Cuba is a country of contradictions and contrasts, as well as a time warp back to a (very low budget) '50s. The people we met were wonderful. I highly recommend this trip.

Excellent program. Well planned and executed by very competent and enthusiastic leaders (Cuban & Cuban-American) who worked well together. Rather regimented program, probably to satisfy licensing conditions. Very good accomodations, meals, bus.

GO! This is an eye opening experience. You will never read an article about Cuba with the same eyes again.

This was a top learning experience. Our group leader, Lana, provided the information we needed to enjoy our trip, and our tour guide, Guillermo, from Havanatur, was excellent and patient with our many many questions. Our lecturers were accomplished professionals and very thought provoking. Cuba is a land of contrasts: e.g.: passing rice drying on the highway and a bio-tech firm on the same afternoon; almost all Cubans are literate, but books appear to be limited in supply. Rooms were better than expected, food was perfectly fine to really great, and always too much.
Days were long- not really phisically taxing- but I found them to be intellectually and emotionally stimulating and therefore tiring. Cuba appears to be changing rapidly. I am glad to have visited now.
Send me a PM for more specifics!

This was a super experience and should be seen before the country becomes another Miami or large city.

People are exceptional friendly, kind and welcoming.

There is no need to fear a hostile enviroment, or political control as those experiences did not happen.

When the country is open to individual travel, I would be more than willing to travel and even drive in the countryside.

THE CUBAN TRIP WAS POWERFUL - VERY DYNAMIC AND INTERESTING -
OUR ROAD SCHOLAR GUIDE WAS EXTREMELY EFFICIENT AND MADE THE TRIP CAREFREE AND SECURE, AND FUN, ALL AT THE SAME TIME. OUR CUBAN GUIDE WAS SINCERE, HONEST, AND VERY KNOWLEDGABLE. I GOT ALOT MORE OUT OF THIS TRIP THAN I EVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE, AND HAD A GOOD TIME DOING IT. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS "ADVENTURE".

Great trip! Very well organized and every aspect of the itinerary was carried out. The knowledge and expertise of our guides was truly amazing. I have already recommended Road Scholar to my friends who want to have a memorable traveling experience.

Get a whole new perspective on the conditions and situation in Cuba! The trip caused me to admire what Cuba has already accomplished and to realize that normalized relations with the U.S. would help Cuba (and us) accomplish even more. What wonderful, welcoming people we found there!

This was a fantastic way to experience Cuba for the first time. Besides having a charming group leader and informative Cuban guide, the participants were all interconnected through The Friendship Force. Gave me the feeling I wasn't traveling with a group of strangers. The knowledge I received will help me to hold meaningful discussions with anyone on the subject of Cuba.

This was an absolutely amazing trip! Our group facilitator was incredible--enthusiastic, flexible, warm, helpful, and fun. We had a wonderful and extremely knowledgeable guide, and a marvelous bus driver who was as good on the dance floor as he was behind the wheel. I learned so much and had the opportunity to experience a wide berth of Cuban culture and life in a very short time. Cuban people are vibrant, resilient, and have endured so much. I so appreciated the insiders' perspective that this experience provided.

For me, this was my best Road Scholar experience. I had long wanted to visit Cuba and this was a phenomenal trip. We did so much in such a short time and thanks to our great group leader everything went very well. I learned so much and will be sorting out the details for some time, and for sure I will never see Cuba again in the same way that I did. The Cuban people are delightful and I truly enjoyed my time in their country.

An extraordinary experience.

"Cuba Today: People and Society" was a wonderful trip! The Cubans were friendly, warm, showed great spirit even through their difficult economic situation. Wonderful learning revitalizing experience.

Bill and Sherry Foster from Sitka, AK
Number of programs attended:1(although Bill has been an insturctor on some Alaska trips)
Date attended 02/02/12/-02/10/12
Place is very important to us so in that sense the trip was a success.
One reason for this trip was to revisit a Cuba I(Bill) had visited as a college student (and show my wife) just a few months after the 1959 Castro revolution. I visited with a friend after riding bicycles from Hannibal, MO to Key West, FL and on to Santa Clara, Cuba to see Cuban college friends. So Santa Clara was the on the planned itinerary and the place I wanted to spend a little time. So for 52 years I had waited for a revisit to Santa Clara. We had a great time at the senior center and on the way back to the bus I asked our Cuban leader if we could detour just three blocks to see the area I had spent two weeks with my Caban friends in 1959. The answer was no. I think I had a lot to offer the group because I had photos of what it was like in 1959...before our Cuban guide was born! A missed opportunity.
I admit I (Bill) was more interested in the pre 1959 cars than most members of the group and kept lagging behind but I think some free time would take care of that.

I think ending the days activities mid afternoon would give some much needed free time. As it was by the time we finished dinner it was dark. We never had the time to even dip our toe in the pool.

Our Group Leader Cuqui Zuloaga really did a great job keeping us on task and taking care of problems but the the Cuban guide (who knew the facts) did not interact with the 24 of us in the group. She almost always ate with the bus driver at a separate table and rarely personally interacted with us.

Don't let these negative comments keep you from going...go to Cuba with Road Scholar and be flexible and you will have a great time. Had a lot more to say but the 2000 character limit cut us off.

The best part of this trip is the chance to interact with the Cuban people. They are muy amable. Join a conga line in a senior community center, dance with the performers at a Santeria church, enjoy the children's performances at the Beny More school, and share a cup of coffee and conversation with a local family.

Tthis trip did not live up to my expectations, though the group participants were interesting and congenial

Bob from Bethesda, MD number of programs attended: 1 Date attended: 4/8/12-4/16/12 The Cuban tour provided a fine experience mainly because it gave access to a country that is out-of-bounds for most Americans. Our understanding of the society was fostered by several good lectures and by the work of two guides, one from the U.S., the other a Cuban native. The highlights of the trip were the explorations of Old Havana, and the interior cities of Trinidad and Cienfuegos. All of them have numerous examples of colonial architecture and urban design. Cuba Today: People and Society is somewhat a misrespresentation of this tour. Rather it is a nostalgic visit to pre-revolutionary Cuba and one cannot but feel in a time warp characterized by old Detroit cars, Daiquiris and fond memories of Papa Hemingway. Just consider: most Cubans consider education, medical care and old age pensions to be the principal achievements of their Revolution. And yet, we never saw one school, one medical facility, nor did we get to talk about such subjects with ordinary Cubans. The leadership of the revolution is presented by images of Che Guevara who has been dead all of these years. More than fifty years after the Cuban Revolution, I did not walk away with a balanced view of its victories and failures and how its people expect to move forward in the years ahead.

I had a good time and enjoyed every day even though some were very busy. Mostly, my fellow travelers were what made it so great.

ALL MATERIALS THAT WERE NECESSARY FOR TRIP WERE IN MY MAIL BOX WHEN I RETURNED HOME FROM THE TRIP. I HAVE A PROBLEM UNDERSTANDING THAT!!

This is a grand experience. One must remember that the history is written and presented from the Cuban prospective. Expect that and don't be critical. We present our history from our point of view. All people do. The flora is amazing and the people in the community are so warm and friendly. This is not true of all the hotel staff. One person in the street said in English "Americans (our group was all white). Martin Luther King's dream will be true." That is what I was most remember about this wonderful trip.

Our trip to Cuba was delightful, illuminating, and interesting. We were fortunate to have an excellent group leader, a fascinating tour leader, and a great bunch of fellow travelers who were tolerant, talkative, and fun. The trip is demanding in one sense in that we cover a lot of ground and a lot of activities to get as much information about Cuba and her people as possible. But our group leader made us as comfortable as possible and we all figured we can sleep when we get home! I believe we all came away with a new appreciate for the Cuban people, a much more indepth knowledge of its history, and a changed view of where Cuba may be heading and what part the US could play in that direction. I highly recommend this trip for anyone with even just the smallest interest in Cuba.

The Road Scholar Cuba trip provided both education and interaction through historic tours, local speakers, meetings with families - all put into context by the excellent Cuban guide who accompanied us as we got to know a complex and beautiful country and its relationship with the US.

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.

This program change my veiw of Cuba. I always pictured Cuba as a severly repressive country, but the people are great and the country beautiful. it just has a failed economic plan.

Great, easy to follow!!!

This was our first trip with Road Scholar and we were tremendously impressed, both by the substance of the program and by the attention to logistics. Our group leader, Cuqui Zuloaga, was terrific about following through on all the details of keeping a trip like this moving; and if circumstances changed on the ground, she was able to improvise as necessary to ensure that nothing fell through the cracks. On first encounter, Cuba can be a difficult place to comprehend, but this Road Scholar program puts out a great effort to help the traveler make the cultural leap that is far wider than the 90 miles to Florida.

If I had to suggest any changes to the program, I would focus on two areas. First, the schedule was very tightly packed and it was go-go-go every day and evening with no chance to relax, reflect, explore in depth or just wander. Second, we had such great presentations from two university professors that many of us wished we could have had more. However, to accommodate these changes (more flexibility, more presentations), either lower priority activities would have to be dropped, or the program lengthened by a day or two. Or possibly even a combination of the two.

As a final comment, I would suggest that Road Scholar consider using another hotel in Havana besides the Nacional. True, the Nacional is a genuine Havana landmark, full of history. But we had an experience with the hotel that causes us to question its honesty and integrity. We got badly scammed in the process of having a few days laundry washed and no amount of effort by our leader, Cuqui, could get them to backtrack. If the hotel cheats guests, then maybe Road Scholar needs to think about using another one.

A very profound trip! Well planned and balanced experiences. Leaders very perceptive in meeting any unforeseen circumstances. A most insightful trip. Enjoyed the food, art, and music.

We appreciate this opportunity to visit Cuba. There were some blips/ bumps but we thought it was as well orchestrated as POSSIBLE. I've taken 53 Elderhostel Road Scholar programs, from easy to most challenging and have traveled all continents(albeit not always with Road Scholar). My point is that we MUST be flexible, open and forgiving! Except in the most physically challenging programs, some participants are just plain whiny, egocentric, inflexible and don't listen! Thank you again for this special opportunity!

This was Road Scholar (Elderhostel) trip number 19 for my wife and 15 for me. We thought the trip compared well with the best ones we have taken including Turkey, Mexico, and Panama. Our guides, Christy Alcebo and Oscar Rodriquez, did an outstanding job of keeping us on schedule, very well informed, and answering all our questions. The hotels were good with no problems and the food was plentiful and adequate. Some highlights were the architect’s presentation and the senior center visit not to mention the family home visits, Hemingway’s farm, the religious exposure, and the artistic and musical presentations. We particularly enjoyed talking to people on the street and their pleasantly surprised expression when they found out our group was from the United States and not Canada or Europe. The trip length was about right and we returned to Miami a bit tired but very well satisfied. We highly recommend this trip to anyone who wants to see a people and country that the last 50 years has passed them by.

This was my second Elderhostel to Cuba, and it was like it was awarded to the low bidder. Even the trip description was not up to Road Scholar standards -- misspellings, grammatical errors, etc.
I'm glad I went, but it would have been more enjoyable if the guides had been more organized. I'm not sure how much was poor planning and coordination and how much was just bad luck, but many of the things I was looking forward to didn't happen.
The first night’s speaker didn’t show up. The last night's speaker came an hour late, after we had been dismissed, insisting she had been told 5:30, not 4:30.
We didn't meet with a Catholic priest, no guest discussed "Practicing Religion in Cuba," and no member of the local clergy met with us at dinner so that we could exchange ideas. With such an emphasis on religion, I had promised (before the trip) to speak to my church elders guild about religion in Cuba. I will have to do some serious study.
We didn't get to Beny More art school. We did not see “magnificent stained glass windows” at Catedral de ía Purisima Conception. No local craftsman accompanied us on our tour of old Havana. At the leprosy hospital, we did not meet Cubans coming for their weekly pilgrimage. We did not see Colon Cemetery. We went to the Used Book sellers market twice, but didn’t get to Plaza Viejo.
The trip description was right on when it warned that Cuban hotels may not be up to our standards. But other hotels (European chains) exceed my standards. I stayed in two on the first trip.
Granted, that one cost about $1,000 more, but the two organizers knew so much about Cuba, and knew so many Cubans who could make it special for us, it was worth the difference. This was our trip leader’s first visit to Cuba. The local guide couldn't answer questions without relying on her party-line mental script, and the tour leader didn't know enough to give us another perspective. I wondered if they had even read the tour description.

This is an excellent program for anyone who is curious about the Cuban people and the impact that Communisim, the US imbargo and the Bay of Pigs invasion has had. You will learn about the hard life and daily struggle of the Cuban people as well as how they cope with many issues. Despite the difficulty of life in Cuba the people are extremely friendly and polite.

This is a GREAT opportunity to see an overview of Cuba before Starbuck's and McDonald's invade. It is important to bring things that people really need and have difficulty finding, or simply can't afford. Sample ideas: soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, large bottles of aspirin, tubes of simple antibiotics [bacitracin], bandaids, school supplies, pads of paper, shoes your kids or grandkids have outgrown and are still in good condition, the newspaper/magazine you purchased at the airport (I left copies of the Wall Street Journal and the NYTimes), clothing in good condition that you can leave at the hotel for the maid. All such items are greatly appreciated.

This is a great program. I wanted to experience life in Cuba before it changes too much, and this gave me a sampling. The glimpses into life of ordinary Cubans were from what we saw and what our guide explained (Jose was very informative). We saw several aspects of local life, e.g. agro business, horse drawn transportation in rural areas, crowded busses, even a shop. We did not see inside people’s homes. We learned something of the mysteries of the dual currency, and what effects it has on life for Cubans. Life for tourists is much better than for Cubans. We were in hotels which provided nice accommodation with the basics; there were even multiple channels on TV. The restaurants we experienced were among the better ones available (with just one meal which disappointed the group). We even had dinner one evening in a privately owned restaurant. The program was busy, and we had little time to wander about on our own; that will have to wait for another visit there. The visits to arts schools were both informative and entertaining; we were all impressed at the talent of the children, and what was accomplished with so little resources. We learned about the history of Cuba, and saw bill boards everywhere for the Revolution. As we were advised, we needed to be prepared for the unexpected in Cuba (e.g. power failure when visiting one place in Havana); the local tour guide and our coordinator worked their magic to overcome obstacles and ensure we had a great time. Highly recommended, and a great first trip with Road Scholar.

We really enjoyed this trip. We had been curious about Cuba for years, and this trip provided a great opportunity to visit that country and meet some of its people, and learn more about its history, politics and culture.
It is a beautiful country, and this was a well-run tour. Our guide, Jose Luis, was terrific. All the field trips went to very interesting locations, and most of the lectures were well worth our time. The Hotel Nacional in Havana was muy elegant and historic, in a great location on the Malecon. The Cienfuegos hotel is in a beautiful location, also, but the rooms, while large with lovely balconies, were pretty basic otherwise. The presentations on Santeria and other Afro-Cuban religions were fascinating, the food on the whole trip was good, and the bus was very comfortable. We were amazed by the wealth of beautiful buildings in Havana, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara and Trinidad. And the arts in Cuba are thriving -- music, dance, painting, printmaking -- very creative and vibrant, and we were exposed to much of it during the tour. We would recommend this tour to anyone with an average fitness level.

I've been home less than two weeks and am ready to be taking this trip again. I loved it. I enjoyed visiting the churches, synagogues, cemeteries, museums; I enjoyed meeting Cuban artists, musicians, academics, and others; I enjoyed learning about Santeria and seeing the colorful art on Calle Hammel in Havana. I wish we had had more time to wander the streets on our own, mingling with the people, but I understand that the strict rules for U.S. travel to Cuba make that impossible. The food was good, the hotels and bus were quite comfortable, the Cuban people were friendly and likable. The views from the hotel in Cienfuegos were spectacular (an example is here: http://tinyurl.com/3v9epp4). I also found this trip the perfect length for me. I greatly prefer trips of a week or ten days to longer trips, regardless of destination.