Morning: as part of our full-time schedule of professional research on Cuba’s educational system, our group will visit the headquarters of La Colmenita Children’s Theater Company. This internationally acclaimed children's theater group was created in 1990. Since then, it has charmed audiences in more than 25 countries with its message of joy, peace and understanding.

The company, which was given the UNICEF Goodwill ambassador status in 2007, recently toured the United States with performances in Washington, New York and San Francisco. Enjoy a private performance, and exchange with directors, teachers and children!

Lunch: a new wave of paladares (privately-owned restaurants) has recently swept the Cuban dining scene offering excellent food and charming ambient. Today we’ll enjoy a welcome lunch at the stylish Caleza Real, one of Havana's top ten private restaurants.

Afternoon: the next activity in our full-time schedule of professional research, it is a visit to the primary school “Angela Landa”. As Cuba looks forward to increasing its production of foods to reduce its dependency on imports, education officials are now implementing new strategies to encourage the young generations to embrace agricultural related trades from elementary education. What’s exactly been done at elementary level is one of the subjects that school principal, professor Garcia and her team of teachers will attempt to shed light on during our tour of the school.

This visit represents a great opportunity for North American university and college professors, faculty and staff; K-12 Teachers, and other Educational Professionals to conduct professional research on Cuba’s elementary educational system and to exchange with Cuban educators.

The next activity begins with an introduction to Old Havana by one of the primary architects guiding the development of the Havana city. Dr. Miguel Coyula, founding member of the Group for the Integral Development of the Capital (GDIC) will talk about the unique aspects of Old Havana, as well as the need for proper development in the future. You will also be able to view a unique architectural representation of the old city’s footprint and how it evolved, the Old Havana Scale Model.

Afterwards: your Authentic Cuba Travel® guide will take you on a walking tour of some of the most important squares in the “Habana Vieja”— the old walled city. Beginning with the Square of Arms, you’ll learn about the history of Spain’s long involvement in Cuba. The Square of Arms marks the point from which the Village of San Cristobal de la Habana spread, receiving its name from the military exercises that the Spanish Army started holding there in 1584.

Marked by the baroque façade of the Cathedral of Havana, the intimate but beautiful Cathedral Square is a lively spot, and one of the most well preserved areas of Old Havana. A great place to people-watch, you’ll find the Museo de Arte Colonial opposite the Cathedral, as well as cafes and imposing post office. The Museo is itself an architectural delight, built around a courtyard, and houses exhibits of colonial era art and decoration.

The home of the beautiful Lion’s Fountain, the Square of San Francisco of Assis takes its name from the church and Franciscan monastery located there. Originally constructed at the end of the 16th Century, a Baroque remodeling took place in 1730. Now a concert hall and museum, you’ll find on the square a bronze statue of a famous Havana street character known as El Caballero de Paris, the gentleman from Paris. There is also another bronze of Father Serra— a Franciscan friar beatified by Pope John Paul II—and an Indian boy named Juaneño. Historically, the square is important as a storage site for commercial goods arriving on Spanish vessels.

Ironically, Plaza Vieja, “Old Square” was originally named Plaza Nueva, “New Square” when it first came into use in 1559. Surrounded by elegant buildings where the aristocracy once lived, Plaza Vieja has seen more than its share of excitement over the years. From fiestas to bullfights, this square has historically been an important site. It has a beautiful marble fountain featuring four dolphins, and is home to lovely shops, restaurants, galleries and museums as well as residences. Some noteworthy sites on the square include the art-nouveau Palacio Viena Hotel; the Fototeca de Cuba, an important photographic gallery; the Center for the Development of Visual Arts; and the magnificently restored Colegio del Santo Angel.

The final stop before returning to the hotel is Old Havana’s charming handicraft market. Whatever you might purchase, from hand thrown pottery to handmade traditional clothing and jewelry to leather goods and whimsical paper maché figurines, you’re sure to enjoy strolling through Cuba’s largest market to find the best that authentic Cuba can offer. In addition to artisanal souvenirs, you may also purchase original art from some of Cuba’s most promising talents.

Evening: ready to Rumba? Or maybe you’re a fan of Salsa? The evening features some authentic Cuba sounds with Elsa’s Band. With an open-air performance on a rooftop in Old-Havana, enjoy the lighter side of your Cuba educational tour! Not only will you be treated to some wonderful music, you’ll learn about what makes it authentically Cuban.

Morning: the first activity in our full-time schedule of professional research this morning, it is a visit to the Cuba Higher Institute of Arts (ISA). Comprised of individual schools for modern dance, ballet, drama, design, music, and fine art, the ISA is facing new challenges with the current shift away from the arts and humanities as the government places more emphasis on technical and agricultural training. You will hold professional meetings with school administrators and members of the faculty to discuss the future of the ISA. A tour of the main facilities will also be conducted.

This visit to the Cuba’s School of Arts presents an unparalleled chance for North American university and college professors, faculty and staff; K-12 teachers, and other educational professionals to conduct professional research on Cuba’s higher artistic education and the challenges it faces in the light of the new approach to higher education in Cuba.

Lunch: today’s complimentary lunch is a unique opportunity to meet with an individual representing the best of Cuban education during the post-revolutionary period. A student at the ISA during the 1960s, Jose Fuster is now an internationally recognized artist, producing fascinating paintings and murals, as well as dynamic sculptural installations. More than just an individual artist, Mr. Fuster incorporates art into the life of his community with projects such as a chess park, a local swimming pool, and the decoration of more than 80 homes in the fishing village of Jaimanitis. Mr. Fuster will host the Authentic Cuba tour for lunch at his residence and studio where everyone can participate in a delightful session of show-and-tell!

Afternoon: the National Museum of the Literacy Campaign is the repository of materials documenting the remarkable year of 1961 when Cuba set out to eradicate illiteracy. Through a government- supported campaign, more than 700,000 people were taught to read and write in a single year with the help of 260,000 volunteer teachers, from teenagers to professionals, housewives to retirees. The host of the Authentic Cuba visit is Luisa Campos, director of the museum. She was one of those volunteers and now consults for literacy programs in numerous countries.

This guided educational tour will be of particularly interest for the professional research of those travelers from USA, Canada and all over the world whose profession, professional background, or area of expertise (including area of graduate-level full-time study) relates to the history of literacy education and alternative approaches to teaching. The ideal approach to teach and learn literacy depends on the student. Every student is an individual with unique strengths, weaknesses, interests, and ways of learning. So how do you teach 700 000 people of different ages and backgrounds in such a record time? What teaching approach was used and why it worked.

Evening: there’s nothing like real cannons and a bit of pageantry to get people excited. Tonight, your Authentic Cuba tour guide will escort you to the “Fire of the Cannon of 9 O'Clock.” A favorite of locals and visitors alike, this ceremony was started by the Spanish, and takes place each evening at the Fortress of San Carlos de Cabana. In addition to some very Cuban pomp and circumstance, you’ll also have a fantastic panoramic view of the city below.

Morning: today is another special day of our education tour to Cuba as our group will visit the prestigious Escuela-Taller (Workshop School) “Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos” . Founded more than 20 years ago, this authentic Cuban school teaches young students the arts, techniques and methods of historical preservation and restoration.

Our professional meeting with Cuban teachers this morning will be of particularly interest for the professional research of those travelers from USA, Canada and all over the world whose profession, professional background, or area of expertise (including area of graduate-level full-time study) relates to the teaching of skilled trades. With an aging workforce, the school is training skilled trades people who can help restore, preserve and maintain the historical and architectural heritage of the nation.

Next you will visit Finca Vigia, a hilltop villa 20 kilometers east of Havana, where famed author Ernest Hemingway lived from 1939 to 1960. It is here where the writer completed some of his greatest works, including The Old Man and the Sea, Across the River and into the Trees, and Islands in the Stream.

The villa has been maintained as a museum for the past 49 years. It contains original book and short story manuscripts, letters, over 3000 photographs, Hemingway’s fishing tackle and gun collections, furniture, priceless art collection, and a 9000 volume library that contains rare first editions of his books and those of other famous writers.

Finca Vigía has made both the World Monuments Fund List of 100 Most Endangered sites, and The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Places.

Lunch at La Terracita Paladar in Cojimar fishing village. Eating in private family-run restaurants directly supports the Cuban people and the Cuban families financially while encouraging independent entrepreneurial activities that in turn strengthen civil society in Cuba.

Tour around Cojimar fishing village, where Hemingway kept his boat Pilar. The writer is remembered by the town with a small gazebo that encircles a commemorative bust, sculpted from the melted down propellers donated by local fishermen.

Afternoon: as part of our full-time schedule of professional research on Cuba’s educational system, this afternoon we will hold professional meetings with Cuban professors at the Lizt Alfonso Ballet School founded in 1991. Lizt Alfonso’s choreographies are dance and music of a kind no one else creates: a seamless fusion of Spanish classical dance, ballet, flamenco and Afro-Cuban dance.

This activity will be of particularly interest for the professional research of those travelers from USA, Canada and all over the world whose profession, professional background, or area of expertise (including area of graduate-level full-time study) relates to dance education and the establishment of dance as an art form in education.

During the afternoon, your Authentic Cuba educational tour will also visit the Palace of Fine Arts, a tremendous institution housing several hundred years of authentic Cuban masterpieces including works by Wilfredo Lam, René Portocarrero, and modernist sculptor, Rita Lonja. Beginning with the 17th century, the museum’s collection is a comprehensive overview of Cuban art movements from the colonial era until the present day.

Evening: although there is no included activity this evening, Authentic Cuba Travel® recommends an optional outing to one of Cuba’s hottest jazz scenes, The Fox and the Raven Jazz Club. Your Authentic Cuba guide will make sure you have the latest information on who’s playing live at the club. It’s a must for any jazz enthusiast, or for anyone who wants to experience a different side of the authentic Cuba sound.

Morning: it is time to wear our Cuba Explorer hats. An early morning departure with your Authentic Cuba Travel® team takes you out of Havana City and puts you on the road to different part of authentic Cuba, its center. Over the next two and a half days, you’ll get to visit a variety of Cuban cultural and educational sites and institutions in two different UNESCO World Heritage cities, Cienfuegos and Trinidad.

The first activity in our full-time schedule of professional research this morning, it is to attend professional meetings with sports and physical education teachers, trainers and coaches at the Cienfuegos’ Sports School (Escuela de Iniciacion Deportiva Escolar (EIDE)) “Jorge Agostini”. This activity will be of particularly interest for the professional research of those travelers from USA, Canada and all over the world whose profession, professional background, or area of expertise (including area of graduate-level full-time study) relates to sports and physical education.

Lunch is included at Paladar Ache, one of Cienfuegos top ten private restaurants, serving local specialties in a pleasant courtyard.

Afternoon: in the afternoon, our Cuba education tours feature a visit to the historical center. We’ll walk off our excellent lunch with an guided tour of the oldest part of the city. The historic center of Cienfuegos was given its status as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO based on its being the preeminent, surviving instance of urban planning from the Spanish Enlightenment period of the 19th century, and demonstrating that movement’s attention to gracious civil engineering, harmonious order, and hygienic accommodations. Originally, the town was laid out in grid pattern containing twenty-five blocks.

There is no other place in the entire Caribbean region that has such a collection of Neo-classical structures, although other styles were later woven in. In the downtown center, there are 333 extant buildings that date before 1900. The area is now a mix of both residential and public buildings.

Our Cuba cultural walk will begin in the Jose Marti park, where you’ll see the only Arch of Triumph in all of Cuba. From the park, one can easily walk up the Cienfuegos Boulevard to the main thoroughfare of the city, the Paseo de Prado, which has the distinction of being the longest street bordered with trees in all of Cuba.

One interesting fact about Cienfuegos City is that is wasn’t founded by the Spanish colonialists, but rather by French settlers in 1819. Although it was a Spanish colony, and the Spanish had established a fort nearby to protect their trading vessels from pirates, the founders came primarily from Bordeaux and Louisiana.

During our educational tours to Cuba, tour participants will have the chance to learn more about this fascinating place known as both “The City of Domes” and “The Pearl of the South.” Interesting points include the Palacio Ferrer, an eye-catching blue building combining eclectic styles, the 19th Century Cathedral de Cienfuegos with its two towers of different heights, and the Tomas Terry Theater, an Italian-style building with elegant wrought ironwork and distinctive murals.

Our Authentic Cuba visit to historical Cienfuegos will wrap up with a visit at the stunning Palacio de Valle, a former palace combining elements of Venetian, Moorish, and Gothic architectural styles among other influences. The Palacio de Valle also affords an excellent view of the harbor. A look at the bay will help you understand why Cienfuegos City is one of the busiest seaports in Cuba. The center of Cuba’s sugarcane industry, coffee is also grown nearby. Cienfuegos City is a fairly small metropolitan area, with a population of approximately 188,000, although in the entire province, there are closer to 400,000 people.

Sometime around 5 o’clock we will board our air-conditioning bus to continue our Cuban journey to the colonial city of Trinidad. Check in at your Luxury Casa Particular. You'll have time for dinner and a swim in the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea.

Morning: on our Cuba Education Tours, we like to begin the morning with a visit to the Academy of Painting "Oscar Fernandez Morera". Teachers and students will give you an intimate guided tour of the school, and engage you on the nature of the work they are performing there. A rare chance to experience the Cuba educational system outside of Havana City, the principal will also join you.

This visit represents a great opportunity for North American university and college professors, faculty and staff; K-12 teachers, and other educational professionals to conduct professional research on Cuba’s secondary educational system and to exchange with Cuban teachers.

Lunch at Solananda Paladar. Eating in private family-run restaurants directly supports the Cuban people and the Cuban families financially while encouraging independent entrepreneurial activities that in turn strengthen civil society in Cuba.

Afternoon: this afternoon you will discover why the well-preserved old part of Trinidad is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Founded nearly at the same time as Havana City by the Spaniard, Don Diego Velázquez, the site for Trinidad was chosen based on its location midway between the ends of the island, and because it was protected on the north side by mountains. It was a perfect staging point for further incursions into the Americas, as well as quickly becoming an important commercial center for cattle and tobacco, and later, the production of sugar. Both Hernández de Córdova (in 1517) and Cortez (in 1519) departed from Trinidad in their conquest of the New World.

Trinidad received World Heritage Site status not only because of its historical importance to Cuba, to the sugar industry, and to the exploration of the Americas, but also because of its architectural preservation. Gorgeous buildings such as the Palacio Brunet and the Palacio Cantero have survived with many of their original features such as murals, marble floors and earthenware tiles intact. Homes are typically painted in tropical, pastel colors, have open windows covered only by wooden grillwork or shutters, and red-tile roofs.

Another centerpiece of the old city is the Church of the Holy Trinity, finished in 1892 and built to replace a previous church destroyed by a hurricane. It contains one of the most sacred objects in Cuba, a wooden statue called “The Lord of the True Cross” which left behind in Trinidad after the ship carrying it to Mexico was sent back to port three times because of storms. Local worshippers decided that God intended for the statue to remain in Trinidad and have venerated it ever since.

You will continue your authentic Cuba tour of this amazing World Heritage Site with a short bus ride into the valley, a living testament to the history of the sugar industry in Cuba. The Valle de los Ingenios contains what has survived of numerous sugar plantations, the summer mansions of their owners and living quarters for the slaves who worked the plantations. It is the end of the slave trade that contributed to the decline of Trinidad and allowed the magnificent preservation of both the city and the outlying plantations.

After a photo opportunity from which you will be able to take in the entire Sugar Mill Valley, our Cuba educational tours usually continue with a visit to a family of authentic Cuba artisans, the Santanders. The Santander Family has been making pottery for many generations, and follows in the long tradition of potters in Trinidad.

Finally, we’ll wrap up our busy day with a chance to stroll and shop in the outdoor artisanal markets featuring local handicrafts, especially textiles and crochet.

Return to your private rental accomodation.

Evening: You’re free to enjoy the restaurants and music at the hotels this evening, but for anyone that wants to have an authentic Cuba dance experience, we recommend Casa de la Trova. With lively, traditional, folk music, visitors will feel welcome to break out their dancing shoes and hit the dance floor.

Morning: as part of our full-time schedule of professional research on Cuba’s educational system, our group will meet Cuban doctors at a Family Doctor’s Office. Despite working within the framework of a developing country, Cuba is internationally recognized for its excellent healthcare system. Although it spends less per capital than the U.S. on health care, it achieves comparable results. This exchange presents an unparalleled chance for North American university and college professors, faculty and staff; K-12 teachers, and other educational professionals to conduct professional research on Cuba’s medical education.

The Cuban Family Doctor and Nurse Program is a unique approach to dispatching medical care to where it is most needed, in a cost effective manner. The program trains one primary care physician and one nurse to work together as a team. Find out what the U.S. might learn from the success of this particular Cuba educational program.

Return to Havana City, check back into your hotel Valentin Quinta Avenida (Valentin 5th Avenue) or Luxury Casa Particular located at the cultural center of Havana City.

Morning: time to say good-bye to your Cuba travel and head home to share what you’ve learned! Your Authentic Cuba Tours guide and bus driver will see you safely back to the airport in plenty of time for your international flight. Please be advised that there is an airport departure tax of 25 Cuban Pesos that must be paid in cash.