Sample Itineraries

Cuba Sample Itinerary

Please remember that this is given as a guide, and is subject to change! Most cultures are not as preoccupied with schedules and time as we are. It is best if you are not overly concerned with scheduling.

Saturday

Morning: 11:00AM pick up at the airport.

Lunch at hotel.

Afternoon: Orientation and lecture on Cuban American history by Prof. Carlos Alzugaray from the Center for Cuba – U.S.A studies and former Cuban Ambassador to the European Union

Sunday-  “Historic Havana Cultural Day”

Morning: after breakfast, volunteers begin with a walking tour of Havana Vieja beginning at the Plaza de Armas, where the first Europeans settled in the 16^th century. We will visit several buildings dating from the earliest days of Havana. Learning how the settlement was governed and what types of commerce allowed the city to become a key trade center in the Caribbean. We will explore the development of Cuban society and the key role sugar and shipping played in Cuba’s history.

Sites to be visited:

Plaza de Armas- a scenic tree-lined plaza formerly at the center of influence in Cuba.  It is surrounded by many of the most historic structures in Havana as well as important monuments.

Castillo de la Real Fuerza- built between 1558 and 1577, and the former residence of the Spanish Captains for over 200 years.

Palacio de los Capitanes Generales- The Palacio currently houses the Museo de la Ciudad and was the former residence of the Spanish Captain Generals.

Palacio del Segundo Cabo,- a former palace incorporating Moorish, baroque and neo-classical elements.

Plaza de San Francisco- a cobbled plaza punctuated at the center by the Fuente de los Leones and surrounded by buildings dating from the 18th century. The plaza is dominated by the baroque Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco, dating from 1719.

Plaza Vieja- This plaza is the first intention of a planned city expansion in Latin America and the first one to be designed in Old Havana without religious or military uses. Dating from the 16th century, formerly a market plaza surrounded by aristocratic residences and apartment buildings.

Afternoon: Lunch at El Patio, followed by finisihing the tour with the following key sites:

Plaza de la Catedral and the Catedral de San Cristóbal de La Habana- with mismatched towers framing a baroque façade as well as a main altar made of Carrara marble inlaid with gold, silver, onyx and carved wood.

Parque Metropolitano- an urban, ecological, and social project being developed around the last 7 km of the Almendares River, the most important river of the Cuban capital. As an ecological park, the project will address the deforestation problem in the zone, the uncontrolled social and industrial waste, and the general lack of care of the region that threatens the area’s flora and fauna and the Almendares River itself.

Night: Dinner at Doña Carmela followed by attending the Cannon blast ceremony at La Cabaña fortress.

Monday

Morning: Breakfast and then transfer to Pinar del Rio City in western Cuba. Introduction to the work projects, specifically working with children with down’s syndrome.

Lunch

Afternoon:  Continue with work project.

Dinner and free time.

Tuesday

Morning: Breakfast and continuation of work projects.

Lunch

Afternoon:  Continue with work project and then special cultural activity (Cuban dance lesson).

Dinner and free time.

Wednesday

Morning: Breakfast and continuation of work projects.

Lunch

Afternoon:  Continue with work project.

Dinner and free time.

Thursday

Morning: Breakfast and continuation of work projects.

Lunch

Afternoon:  Tour of Viñales Valley, considered one of the most beautiful landscapes in the island, and special visit with both a traditional tobacco farmer and his family and then a visit to a well known botanical and herb garden.

Dinner and free time.

Friday

Morning: Breakfast and continuation of work projects.

Lunch

Afternoon:  Dinner and party with work project community.

Saturday

Morning: Transfer back to Havana for departure or independent travel.

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