Cuba
The Best of Cuba: From Viñales Valley to Habana Vieja
Program No. 22143RJ
From dominoes to a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, experience all things Cuban on a learning adventure that explores the western regions of this fascinating island nation.
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Protecting the Environment
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12 days
11 nights
26 meals
11B 8L 7D
4
Trinidad, Sugar Mill Valley
Trinidad
6
Matanzas, Community Projects
Matanzas
At a Glance
Support the people of Cuba while we take an immersive look at this island nation's natural spaces and cultural treasures. Journey through Havana, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Matanzas and Viñales to meet local residents who share with you their way of life, their arts and community organizations dedicated to giving back to their people. Gain insight into Cuba's natural resources during field trips to Las Terrazas — a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve — Casa de Caridad Botanical Garden, and local tobacco and organic farms. Enjoy meals at local paladares, immerse yourself in Havana’s Fine Arts Museum, and discover captivating plazas that invoke the colorful culture and powerful history that makes Cuba, Cuba.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking up to two miles a day on a combination of cobblestone streets and dirt paths. Getting on and off of a motorcoach. Navigating high curbs, uneven steps, and stairs without railings. Travel in a tropical climate.
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Learn about local crops during a field trip to an organic farm where you will enjoy a home-cooked lunch with fresh ingredients from the farm.
- Engage with local Cubans as you learn to play dominoes with members of a local club.
- Explore Las Terrazas, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that began as a reforestation project in the 1960s.
General Notes
Note: Round-trip flight from Miami to Havana is included. Road Scholar offers opportunities to travel legally to Cuba under the new OFAC Regulations published June 5, 2019. Following the General License category “Support for the Cuban People,” Road Scholar programs include activities intended to strengthen civil society in Cuba. Each day's program promotes independence for the Cuban people and results in meaningful interactions with the Cuban people. Questions about traveling to Cuba? Road Scholar has your answers. Learn more: https://www.roadscholar.org/travel-tips/cuba/.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Marta Núñez Sarmiento
Marta Núñez Sarmiento is a retired professor at the University of Havana where she taught methodology and gender studies. Her research has concentrated on women and employment in Cuba, gender studies in Cuba, images of women in Cuban mass media, and transition projects for Cuba proposed by Cuban American and U.S. scholars. She holds a master’s in sociology and a PhD in economics. She has been a visiting professor at universities around the world and a consultant on gender for the UN and other NGOs.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Jose Luis Sande
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Jose Luis Sande has been a Cuban travel leader for more than 16 years. He is fluent in English and Spanish, and his far-reaching knowledge about Cuba makes him especially capable of providing a world-class educational experience. Jose was a high school English teacher before training to become an exploration leader. He lives with his wife, an English teacher herself, and his two sons in Havana. Jose is also an avid cyclist and specializes in leading groups in Cuba by bicycle.
Elias Valor
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Elias Valor is one of the many amazing bi-lingual Cuban leaders, who works with and has been trained by Road Scholar. He is the Cuban expert, and is responsible for relaying local knowledge, and both cultural and historical information for the places we visit throughout the program. Elias will answer questions pertaining to Cuba and the Cuban people.
Marta Núñez Sarmiento
View biography
Marta Núñez Sarmiento is a retired professor at the University of Havana where she taught methodology and gender studies. Her research has concentrated on women and employment in Cuba, gender studies in Cuba, images of women in Cuban mass media, and transition projects for Cuba proposed by Cuban American and U.S. scholars. She holds a master’s in sociology and a PhD in economics. She has been a visiting professor at universities around the world and a consultant on gender for the UN and other NGOs.
Camilo Garcia Lopez Trigo
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Camilo García Lopez Trigo has represented Cuba at its Embassy in Canada, the United Nations in the Netherlands, and in Washington DC. He also is involved in the National Center for Sex Education (Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual, or CENESEX. He shares his experiences representing Cuba in both friendly and adversarial nations, and his views on the current and future state of US-Cuba relations. Dr. García is a professor at the University of Havana International Relations School and an expert in US political studies.
Hector Aviles
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Hector Aviles is one of the many amazing bi-lingual Cuban leaders who work with and has been trained by Road Scholar. He is the Cuban expert and is responsible for relaying local knowledge, and both cultural and historical information for the places we visit throughout the program. Hector will answer questions pertaining to Cuba and the Cuban people.
Dariem Zamora
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Dariem Zamora was born in Cuba. He has lived in Miami, Florida, since 1995 and has been involved in Cuba travel since 2002. He has visited Cuba more than 50 times, leading groups all over the Island. He has a deep understanding of Cuba and is eager to discuss Cuban culture, politics, economics, and history. Every program is a new adventure for Dariem and an opportunity for him to introduce his country’s beautiful cities, landscapes, and the vibrant spirit of the Cuban people.
Betty Vander Kaaij
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Betty Vander Kaaij graduated with a BA in hotel and tourism and jump-started her career in hospitality with Westin Hotels. After stints in Miami, Seattle, and abroad, she moved back to Mexico City and married a Dutch hotelier. In 1997, they were invited to Havana for Cohiba Cigars’ 30th anniversary. Betty fell in love with Cuba and its people and promised herself that one day she would return. Her dream came true in 2011, when she started leading groups to the island.
James Warner Fitch
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James “Jim” Fitch is a Vermont native and graduate of Northeastern University with a degree in international business. After several years in the corporate world, he traded in his loafers for trekking shoes, leading educational travel programs for teenagers to Spain and Costa Rica. Jim joined the Peace Corps for three years, teaching entrepreneurship and business skills to underserved communities in the Dominican Republic. He began working with Road Scholar in 2015.
Julie Cardenas
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Julie Cardenas hails from Naples, Florida. She holds a B.A. in biology from Florida Gulf Coast University and certificates as a Florida Master Naturalist and NAI Certified Interpretive Guide. With an affinity for traveling and being on the water, Julie spent her early career cruising oceans, rivers, and inland waterways. As a naturalist, she traded seasons leading winters in the Florida Everglades and summers in Southeast Alaska. Leading Road Scholar groups since 2012, Julie currently directs programs in South Florida, Cuba, and Alaska.
Suggested Reading List
(17 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
The Best of Cuba: From Viñales Valley to Habana Vieja
Program Number: 22143
Cuba, Art and History from 1868 to Today
With ravishing color reproductions of murals, posters, paintings and photographs, this magnificent book documents the history of art in Cuba from independence.
Cuba Map
A detailed, double-sided laminated map at a scale of 1:1,000,000.
Dreaming in Cuban
A short, poetic novel of three generations of Cuban women, their reaction to the revolution and the complex relation between those who remained in Cuba and those who settled in the United States. Excellent reading.
Cuba, A Traveler's Literary Companion
Bardach (Without Fidel) samples terrific contemporary writers for this anthology, organized geographically.
Culture Smart! Cuba
A concise, well-illustrated and practical guide to local customs, etiquette and culture.
Trading with the Enemy
Miller captures the openness, sensuality and pride of Cuba and the Cubans in this eloquent account of entertaining travels in Fidel's Cuba.
Havana, A Cultural and Literary Companion
An illuminating guide to the city, its history and geography, as the inspiration for writers, artists, musicians and intellectuals.
Cuba, What Everyone Needs to Know
Director for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Sweig traces the geography, history and identity of Cuba in this admirably succinct history of the island nation and its role in world affairs.
Moon Handbook Cuba
Baker's comprehensive, indispensable guide leaves no stone unturned, covering the natural, cultural and political life of the island with style.
Cuba
With full-page photographs, introductory essays on history, architecture, music, food and more, this oversized, illustrated paperback by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Francois Missen and photographer Pierre Hausherr captures the spirit of Cuba, its people, nature and culture.
Teachings of the Santeria Gods, The Spirit of the Odu
Ocha'Ni recounts 100 sacred stories of Santeria, collected from the oral tradition of the African diaspora, ranging from creation myths, to love stories and share the wisdom and spirituality of Yoruba people.
Without Fidel
A PEN award-winning journalist who has covered Cuba for 15 years, Bardach (Cuba Confidential) brings knowledge, tenacity and verve to this report on the future of the country.
The Cuba Reader: History, Culture, Politics
Organized chronologically, this multi-faceted portrait of a nation, with most of the selections by Cuban writers, includes not only history, journalism and literature but also songs, paintings, poems and cartoons and speeches.
Our Man in Havana
The classic story of a British vacuum cleaner salesman who gets accidentally drawn into cold war espionage with disastrous results.
This is Cuba
Corbett interviews everyday people living on the fringe's of Castro's official Cuba for this account, both a stinging indictment of government policy and a testimony to the Cuban spirit.
The Sugar King of Havana
John Paul Rathbone recounts "elegant, decadent and whirligig years" of pre-revolutionary Havana and the dramatic life of Julio Lobo, the richest man in Cuba (until Castro’s revolution did away with such men). Surviving assassin's bullets and making and losing two fortunes, Cuba's last tycoon went from glittering man about town in pre-Revolutionary Havana -- and one of the world's richest men -- to solitary exile in Spain. With a mother that traveled in those same circles in Havana, Rathbone brings depth and the perspective of an insider to this fantastic story.
The Old Man and the Sea
Hemingway's brief story of a fisherman who after 84 days with no luck finally makes a big catch is also an affectionate portrait of life in Cuba. It won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.