Morning. Authentic Cuba Travel®’s Havana Jazz Festival Cuba tour is often imitated, but never duplicated, among other things, because we take travellers to explore the authentic Cuba beyond the capital of the country. And today we will travel to Cienfuegos, Cuba’s second smallest province after Havana. Located in Central Cuba, this Cuban province is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and Sierra del Escambray to the East.

Highlights of the province are the impressive neoclassical architecture of the provincial capital, the lavish Moorish architecture of Palacio del Valle, the outstanding Fortress of Jagua, the romantic colonial La Reina Cemetery and its historical centre that has been declared UNESCO World Heritage Site.

During our Support for the Cuban People trip to Cienfiegos, we will engage in authorized Support for the Cuban People activities that are organized by independent Cuban individuals and organizations. En route, we will visit Korimakao, a cultural community project founded by popular Cuban actor Manuel Porto in the 1990’s in Playa Larga, a very remote rural county in southern Cuba.

Porto wanted to bring theatre, music and dance to the inhabitants of this isolated area. The idea grew into the Korimakao Theatre Troupe & Cultural Project that currently involves local residents and artists. This Support for the Cuban People activity will result in a meaningful interaction with the individuals of Cuba. We will enjoy a special performance by Korimakao artists, musicians and dancers and present donations of educational & humanitarian items.

We will enjoy a delicious seafood lunch at privately-owned restaurant Paladar El Butty. We will meet the owner (akas El Butty) and his family who serve the best seafood in town accompanied by great hospitality!

Afternoon: upon arrival in Cienfuegos city, we will visit Proyecto Comunitario Trazos Libres (Free Strokes Community Project), a cultural community project founded by contemporary Cuban visual artist, Santiago Hermes in La Gloria neighborhood, in Cienfuegos city.

Hermes has turned his house into the operational base for a cooperative of local artists whose work center around the preservation and promotion of Cuban artistic traditions through the production of art exhibits, performances and installations about the sugar, cigar and coffee production.

During this Support for the Cuban People visit, we will mingle among the artists and enjoy unique handicrafts, murals, photographs, and traditional costumes. We will learn more about the role of this Cuban based nongovernmental art collective in the promotion of culture in countryside Cuba. This Support for the Cuban People activity will result in a meaningful interaction with the individuals of Cienfuegos, Cuba. We will present donations of educational & humanitarian items.

Escorted by local city planners and architects from the Office of the City Historian, the local organization in charge of the preservation and restoration of Cienfuegos Historical Center, we will embark on a walking tour of Old Cienfuegos. We will start in Parque Marti, a large square that is centered by a statue of Jose Marti, Cuba’s national hero, and surrounded by Cienfuegos’s most imposing neoclassical buildings.

Cubans called Cienfuegos the Spanish city with a French heart because it was founded by French refugees from La Louisiana in 1819- following the purchase of that territory by the US. There’s an inlaid rosette in the park that marks the exact spot where Don Luis de Clouet and other French families held the ceremony of foundation of the city back then.

The south side of the square is dominated by the Capitol of Cienfuegos, former city hall that houses the seat of the People’s Power today (provincial government). Inside the Capitol, there are beautiful mural paintings that depict Cienfuegos’s most remarkable historical moments as well the legend of the creation of the peninsula by native Guanaroca, the first woman created by the Siboney’s moon, Maroya.

Tomas Terry Theatre on the north side of the square was completed in 1889 by the family of Tomas Terry, an industrialist from Venezuela who settled in Cienfuegos and made a fortune in the sugar cane industry. It was Terry’s dream to build Cienfuegos grandest theatre. At his death in Paris in 1886, his widow and sons decided to honor his dream.

In 1887, a jury in Paris selected from among three architectural projects the proposal presented by Cuba born architect, Lino Sanchez Marmol for an Italian style theatre. The same year the first stone was laid down in the same location previously occupied by theatre Isabel II built in 1940.

Tomas Terry was not the only wealthy sugar baron that donated monies for the construction of Cienfuegos greatest public buildings. Take a look at the east side of the square and you’ll see the impressive neoclassical Catedral de La Purisima Concepcion built with the monetary contributions of the Lebranc, the Terry, The Acea and other families.

Cienfuegos’ aristocracy also built their private residences around the square, that’s the case of Palacio Ferrer, better known today as Casa de La Cultura. Showcasing Carrara marble floors and walls and a wrought iron staircase that leads to a tower from which you can enjoy a great view of the city, rumour has it it will be completed refurbished into an upscale hotel soon.

Before calling it the day, we will pay a visit to Poco Bonito Gallery, a privately-owned Cuban store run by self-employed Cubans (cuentapropistas) to shop for street and political art produced by millennial Cuban artists.

We will also visit to Casa Huella, a privately-owned Cuban store, run by self-employed Cubans (cuentapropistas) graduated from the Provincial Art School of Cienfuegos. We will meet with Frank, Tita, Alejandra and other artists.

Shopping in these sorts of stores financially supports the Cuban people and the Cuban families while encouraging independent entrepreneurial activities that in turn strengthen civil society in Cuba. Supporting these Cuban entrepreneurs is the main objective of our shopping visits. We will engage with our Cuban hosts in conversations to learn more about the Cuban culture and the challenges the emerging private sector is facing in Cuba.

We now go to Punta Gorda neighbourhood to check in at your Luxury Casa Particular. Punta Gorda, the quarter of Cienfuegos one-time aristocratic families showcases the best privately-owned restaurants, villas and residences.

Morning: after enjoying a complimentary breakfast at our private rental accommodation this morning, we will embark on a day trip to one of Cuba’s more authentic destinations, Trinidad and the Sugar Mill Valley both declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

The 45 minute coastal road trip is as worthy as the destination itself. And we will enjoy the amazing natural scenery of the Escambray Mountains and the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea as we go.

Trinidad was the third village founded by conquistador Don Diego Velazquez in 1514. However, it was not until the mid of the 19th century that Trinidad’s economy boomed becoming Cuba’s third largest sugar cane producer.

The origin of this prosperity can be traced back to the Haitian Revolution when hundreds of French refugees came to Trinidad fleeing the slave rebellion and established a number of sugar mills in the Sugar Mill Valley that soon became the backbone of Trinidad and Cuba’s economy.

During our Support for the Cuban People trip to Trinidad, we will engage in authorized Support for the Cuban People activities that are organized by independent Cuban individuals and organizations.

Upon arrival we will visit Entre Hilos, Alas y Pinceles (Among Threads, Wings and Brushes), a Trinitarian artistic community project founded by renown painter and visual artist, Yudit Vidal. Ms. Vidal has brought together over 20 very talented women artisans to produce finest linen clothing and embroidery of Trinitarian inspiration.

The goal of this project was to provide a way for those craftswomen to financially support themselves and their families. Her painting on their traditional Trinidad stitching on linen produces unique artwork in high demand by locals and foreign visitors alike.

During this visit we will exchange with community members and Ms. Vidal, who has been named as "Ambassador for Peace" by the International Circle of Ambassadors for Peace of Switzerland and France. This Support for the Cuban People activity will result in a meaningful interaction with the craftswomen and their families. We will present donations of educational & humanitarian items.

Escorted by local city planners and architects from the Office of the City Historian, the local organization in charge of the preservation and restoration of Trinidad Historical Center, we will embark on a walking tour of the old city.

As we tour Trinidad’s Historical Center today, we will find that behind most colonial palaces of red terracotta tiles, wide porticoes and ample balconies there’s the name and fortune of a sugar cane baron with properties in the nearby Valle de Los Ingenios.

We will pay a visit to the romantic museum, Museo Romantico housed in the former Palacio Brunet. The museum displays china, silverware and locally-made furniture that once belonged to the Brunet and other wealthy families of Trinidad.

The former house of Sanchez Iznaga contains today the Museum of Colonial Architecture that tells us the history of Trinidad’s authentic colonial architecture through a display of a series of traditional building items (from adobe walls to door hinges to a 19th century shower stall!) and architectural elements such as an impressive portico, shaped fan door headers, el aljibe (a rain water collecting system) and shuttered windows.

We will also visit the Iglesia Parroquial de La Santisima Trinidad, that threasures the venerated Christ of the Veracruz; the Museo de La Lucha contra Bandidos, located in a former 18th century convent of San Francisco de Asis that displays objects related to the war against counter revolutionary military groups that operated in Sierra del Escambray in the early years of the Cuban Revolution; and many other buildings.

We will have a complimentary lunch at privately-owned restaurant, Paladar Solananda (one of Trinidad’s top ten private restaurants) located in a exquisitely refurbished colonial house showcasing European antiques and furniture. We will exchange with the staff and owners over mojitos to learn more about their entrepreneurial dreams in a centralized economy.

Afternoon: we visit the Casa Templo de Santería Yemayá. This is an opportunity to see a Santeria altar dedicated to Yemayá, Goddess of the Sea, and exchange with religious leaders about Afro-Cuban religion and influences in Cuba today.

Next, we will board our air-conditioning bus for a short 10 minute ride to the Valle de Los Ingenios (Sugar Mill Valley). By now we know the importance of the valley for the economic development of the city so it is only fair we pay a visit. We will stop at a lookout for a panoramic view of the series of valleys (San Luis, Agabama-Meyer and Santa Rosa) that comprise the Sugar Mill Valley. Many of the mills and estate house remain today (mainly in ruins though).

It could be the quality of the region’s clay and the skills of the artisans who have been passing from generation to generation the genuine techniques, but the fact remains that Trinidad’s pottery making is one of Cuba's most authentic traditions. We will visit the privately-owned Workshop of the Santanders, one of those legendary families next.

As we walk the streets of Trinidad, we will run literally into dozens of privately-owned studios and art galleries, most of them catering to mass international tourism to Cuba. Yet there are those rare artists who are not driven by commercialism, but by genuine artistic expressions. That’s the case of Iván Basso and Jorge César Sáenz. That's why, before heading back to Cienfuegos, we have chosen to devote some time during our Cuba tours for Support for the Cuban People to give our tour participants the chance to get to know them better.

Dinner: 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 Paladar L'Ache, one of Cienfuegos's top ten private restaurants.

After dinner, we recommend to pay a visit to nearby Casa de La Musica to listen to Cuba’s best salsa bands live and dance with Cubans and tour mates. Your Authentic Cuba Travel® guide will keep you posted on the schedule of evening venues in the city.

This morning we say goodbye to central Cuba. After enjoying our complimentary breakfast, we travel back to Havana City to attend the venues of the International Jazz Festival of Havana 2025.

At Authentic Cuba Travel®, one of the Cuba travel tips we always give our American travelers is to visit local communities off the Cuba's tourism beaten track to discover the authentic Cuba. And that’s what we will do next. US visitors will meet ordinary Cubans whose lives have been positively impacted by the artwork of the Caribbean Picasso- a nickname Cuban artist Jose Fuster is commonly given.

We will visit their homes at the seaside village of Jaimanitas, the epicenter of Jose Fuster street art gallery project. Here dozens of humble homes are covered in amazing, wildly ceramic murals, and other artworks. Then we will have some time to exchange with Jose Fuster, and other members of the Community Project of Jaimanitas about this outreach program that has changed the lives of humble fishermen for the best. This Support for the Cuban People activity will result in a meaningful interaction with the individuals of Cuba. We will present donations of educational & humanitarian items.

Arguably serving the best Creole food in Cuba, today’s complimentary lunch will be served at El Aljibe restaurant, which garnered international attention after an appearance on US TV Show NO RESERVATIONS hosted by late chef Anthony Bourdain.

Afternoon: as part of our Support for the Cuban People travel to Cuba, we have scheduled a private exchange with the organizers and children of the Children Theatre Group, The Little Beehive located in Vedado neighborhood. This world renowned independent theatrical group, official UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors, has performed extensively around the globe and even in the United States recently. The children and teachers will engage in a lively chat with our tour participants and even perform a play in English. What a treat! We will present donations of educational & humanitarian items and ask how we can help promoting their message of peace in the USA.

Check in at your hotel Valentin Quinta Avenida (Valentin 5th Avenue) or Luxury Casa Particular and we will call it the day.

Evening: tonight marks the fourth night of the Havana Jazz Festival 2025. Your authentic Cuban guide will keep you posted on the schedule of the Jazz Festival so that you decide the best venues to attend. Keep your ear on the ground for the unscheduled Jazz sessions that usually unfold during this night. Also do keep your VIP All Access Jazz Pass handy to make sure you have complete access to concerts and music events.

Morning: As part of our Support for the Cuban People trip to Cuba, we will engage in authorized Support for the Cuban People activities organized by the Cuban community project Cabildo Quisicuaba, under the direction of Dr. Enrique Alemán Gutiérrez and its team of more than 74 health professionals and social workers that volunteer their time to the project. Promoting the community involvement in the preservation of the Cuban identity and its culture through different out-reach activities in Centro Habana municipality, the Cabildo Quisicuaba has made possible the creation of a community library, an amusement park for children, a community theatre troupe, 7 dancing and performing art groups, as well as several workshops.

We will meet with and enjoy the musical offerings of a local children's chorus or even the rapping abuelitas (grandmothers). This Support for the Cuban People activity will result in a meaningful interaction with the individuals of Centro Habana community in Havana, Cuba. We will present donations of educational & humanitarian items and ask how we can help promoting their work in the USA.

Featured 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 delicious lunch at the stylish Caleza Real, one of Havana's top ten private restaurants.

This is a unique opportunity to see how Cuban entrepreneurship is reshaping the dilapidated Cuban culinary industry one dish at a time. As part of your lunch and your Support for the Cuban People experience to Cuba, we will establish a dialogue with local restaurateurs to learn how they have been able to reconcile the socialist centralized economy with the demands of the free market in the booming private Cuban hospitality industry.

Afternoon: the best way to appreciate the historic yet vibrant neighbourhood of Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is by foot. And that’s what we will do after lunch guided by our Authentic Cuba Travel® guide.

Your Cuban tour guide will be explaining about the historical restoration project that is taking place in Old Havana. You will also visit social and community outreach projects during this walking tour.

We will start by visiting El Templete (or Little Temple in English), at the east side of Plaza de Armas (Square of Arms) the city’s oldest square and the seat of Spanish power and rulers in the island for over 400 year. Marked today by a neoclassical chapel erected in 1828 and a Ceiba tree, this is the spot where the foundation of the city took place in 1519.

We will also explore Palacio de Los Condes de Santovenia, an 18th century building that houses today the Hotel Santa Isabel dating back from 1867!

On the west side of the square is the Palacio de Los Capitanes Generales (Palace of the Captain Generals), Cuba’s most magnificent baroque building that was the seat of authority and the residence of the Spanish rulers (at the time known as Spanish captains general) in colonial times.

Adjacent to the Palace of the Captain Generals we find another beautiful example of authentic Cuban baroque architecture, the former headquarters of the Spanish governor or Palacio del Segundo Cabo.

We cannot continue our guided walking tour of this authentic Cuban attraction that is Old Havana without noticing Cuba’s oldest military fortress, the Fortress of the Royal Force. It was the first residence of the Captains general until the Palacio de Los Capitanes Generales was completed...some two hundred years later.

Now we will walk a few blocks to Plaza de La Cathedral (The Cathedral Square) surrounded by noble palaces and presided over by the Catedral de San Cristobal de La Habana.

The Jesuits began the construction of the church in the mid of the 18th century, but they couldn’t finish it as the order was expelled from the island in 1767. Considered as the most beautiful example of authentic Cuban baroque architecture, it contains the remains of Christopher Columbus inside a dramatic funeral monument.

During the early Spanish colonization of Las Americas, the wealth seized from people from Peru to Mexico, mainly in the shape gold, passed through Havana on the way to Spain. Merchants made fortunes providing goods and services to the crews while in Havana. That’s the wealth upon which the great buildings you see in Old Havana today were built and San Francisco Square is no exception.

Visit to the Experimental Printing Workshop, a cooperative workshop where young lithographers ply their art. You will have ample time to engage with Cuban artists about this independent art project that follows a very unique cooperative model in Cuba in which artists directly benefit from the sales of their artworks. Support for the Cuban People meaningful exchange in between the US travelers and the Cubans is quite an unforgettable experience of our Cuba tours and travel.

Plaza de San Francisco, our next stop, soon became the trade square of the city during early colonial times. Galleons full of Spanish immigrants and African slaves called port here to unload their human cargo and stockpile before continuing on journey to The West Indies.

No wonder Cuba’s first commodities market was built here in 1909, the domed Lonja del Comercio. Today it houses foreign enterprises with joint ventures in Cuba.

One of the latest squares to be founded in colonial times was Plaza Vieja (Old Square) and it was completely restored in the 2000s. Surrounded by wide-balcony elegant-porticoe mansions of Havana’s one-time wealthiest merchants, the square contains no government or religious buildings, an element that makes it unique in the Spanish fabric.

Now it’s time to enjoy some free shopping time, as we will visit the newest harbour side home of the Handicraft Market of Old Havana at the Cultural Centre San Jose’s Old Warehouse. This is the place to buy some Cuban souvenirs or a great paining or sculpture created by self-employed (cuentapropista) Cuban artists and artisants, or just enjoy the sea breeze as you admire the architecture of the building.

Next we will pay a visit to Piscolabis Bazar-Café, a privately-owned Cuban bazaar and coffee shop run by self-employed (cuentapropista) Cuban fashion designer Sandra De Huelbes to shop for some exclusive clothing and accessories as well as unique souvenirs and local handicrafts. Shopping in these sorts of stores directly supports the Cuban people and the Cuban families financially while encouraging independent entrepreneurial activities that in turn strengthen civil society in Cuba.

The array objects for sale are as diverse as the team of Cuban artists that produce them. Supporting these Cuban creators is the main objective of our shopping visits. While sipping on Cuban coffee, we will engage with our Cuban hosts in conversations to learn more about their approach to empower artistic creation inspired by Cuban culture.

Evening: tonight marks the fifth night of the Havana Jazz Festival 2025. Your authentic Cuban guide will keep you posted on the schedule of the Jazz Festival so that you decide the best venues to attend. Keep your ear on the ground for the unscheduled Jazz sessions that usually unfold during this night. Also do keep your VIP All Access Jazz Pass handy to make sure you have complete access to concerts and music events.

Morning: as part of our Support for the Cuban People trip to Cuba, we will engage in authorized Support for the Cuban People activities organized by world acclaimed Cuban community project Vocal Clave de Sol, founded by Nuria and Yamile Garcia in 2009. Promoting independent musical education in San Agustin, a community in Havana lacking in recreational and artistic venues for the youth, this independent organization started with just 9 members (ages 7 to 16) and has grown to more than 200 now.

During our visit we will engage with the members to learn more about the role of this nongovernmental organization in promoting traditional Cuban music and culture in the community. This Support for the Cuban People activity will result in a meaningful interaction with the individuals of San Agustin community in Havana, Cuba. We will present donations of educational & humanitarian items, enjoy a special performance by the students, and ask how we can help promoting their work in the USA.

The great US author Ernest Hemingway spent about 20 years in Cuba and today we will embark on a tour to follow his trail in the Caribbean island. We will start by visiting Finca La Vigia (Watchtower Farm) located on a small hill of San Francisco de Paula, a humble town in the outskirts of Havana, where the US novelist lived most of this time and completed his most successful novels.

Hemingway used to wake up early in the morning and write for about 6 hours, sometimes from a three story tower next to the main house, sometimes standing in front of a wooden book case on top of which we can still see his typewriter. Here he completed books such as The Old Man and The Sea and Islands in the Stream.

The property has been kept as a museum for more than 49 years. The interior of the main estate remains unchanged since 1959 when Hemingway left for the United States. Hemingway’ shoes, glasses, hunting trophies, original manuscripts, letters, books, pictures and all his possessions are on casual display just like the writer may show up anytime.

Many times, after completing his morning writings, Hemingway used to go out to Cojimar, a coastal fishing town where he kept his fishing boat Pilar, and then go fishing in the company of Gregorio Fuentes, the Cuban captain of Pilar for the rest of the afternoon.

And that’s where we are heading next. Worth mentioning the fact that his novel The Old Man and The Sea that granted him the Nobel Prize for Literature was inspired on the life of a fisherman from Cojimar. The presence of Hemingway can be felt around town from the small gazebo that contains a bust of the US writer to Las Terrazas restaurant where a large portrait painting of the author is displayed altogether with a collection of pictures.

We will enjoy a complimentary lunch at AMOS paladar (privately-owned restaurant) owned by Ramses Batista, one of Cuba’s most well-established photographers today. As part of our lunch and our Support for the Cuban People experience to Cuba, we will establish a dialogue with Ramses and his team to learn how they have been able to reconcile the socialist centralized economy with the demands of the free market in the booming private Cuban hospitality industry.

Then we will visit his privately-owned AMOS Photography Gallery, and get up close and personal with the work of Ramses Batista. We will revisit Mr. Batista’s 20-plus-year career featuring portraiture, social documentary, religion, landscapes, and nudes. Supporting these Cuban entrepreneurs is the main objective of our Support for the Cuban People trips.

Visiting an artist’s studio is like a small window into the artist’s mind and heart. Next we’ll get to explore those spaces with private visits to the privately-owned studios of some notable contemporary artists like Alicia Leal and her daugher Cirenaica Moreira as well as younger artists like Ernesto Benitez and the Britos’ Sisters making their mark on the Cuban art scene. We will engage with our Cuban hosts in a conversation to learn more about the Cuban culture.

Along the way, you’ll have the opportunity to share directly with the artists, ask them questions about their work and methods, and see the diverse influences, heritages, and imaginations at play. Meeting with Cuban artists up close and personal is an exclusive experience of our Cuba Tours.

Next we will learn about Cuba’s maritime history at the Fortaleza de Los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro (El Morro Fortress). The fortress was built in the 16th century to guard the entrance to the Bay of Havana from the attack of pirates and corsairs. Sitting on a rocky bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean it displays breathtaking views over Havana city. Showcasing an iconic lighthouse, 3 metter thick walls and deep moats, The Fortress has been a landmark of Cuba’s military architecture for centuries.

Inside the Fortress, there’s also a Cigar Store that carries all brands of Habanos. Your tour guide will show you to the store where you can puff the famous Cuban cigars.

Evening: tonight marks the sixth night of the Havana Jazz Festival 2025. Your authentic Cuban guide will keep you posted on the schedule of the Jazz Festival so that you decide the best venues to attend. Keep your ear on the ground for the unscheduled Jazz sessions that usually unfold during this night. Also do keep your VIP All Access Jazz Pass handy to make sure you have complete access to concerts and music events.

Today we will take a day tour to explore another authentic Cuba destination, the Vinales Valley. Vinales was declared as Cultural Landscape Site by UNESCO in 1999 because of its beautiful landscape dotted with mogotes (conical limestone hills), tobacco houses and bohios (a sort of huts); because of the distinctive vernacular architecture of its houses; and because of an authentic system of agricultural methods for the tobacco harvest that farmers have been passing through generations.

En route to Vinales Valley, we will visit the outreach community project El Patio de Pelegrin, the brainchild of Cuban painter Mario Pelegrin. This humble privately-owned art gallery and pottery workshop in Consolacion del Sur Municipality (Western Cuba) has turned into a powerhouse for the promotion of cultural and artistic projects in this countryside community.

During this visit we will engage with Mario Pelegrin and his team to learn more about the role of this independent organization in Pinar del Rio. This Support for the Cuban People activity will result in a meaningful interaction with the individuals of Consolacion del Sur, Cuba. We will present donations of educational & humanitarian items and ask how we can help promoting their work in the USA.

Upon arriving at Vinales town, we will enjoy a delicious traditional countryside lunch at the privately-owned bar-restaurant Paladar Yuri & Nino, El Campesino. Yuri is a young woman entrepreneur who started this small restaurant that has expanded into a large establishment. Yuri and her family work hard to create delicious and plentiful food that comes with a beautiful mountain view.

Afternoon: we will take another escape into the local tobacco farm of one of those families that have inhabited the region for generations dating back to colonial times when Spaniards- from Canary islands mainly, settled in this region in an attempt to move away from the monopoly of tobacco trading imposed by Spain. We will learn about the ancient techniques of tobacco growing of this region that produces the best tobacco in the world. We will also learn about the daily life and struggle of the locals.

Our Support for the Cuban People tours and travel to Cuba continues with a meeting with the owners of a local Room for Rent business. After Cuba’s open up to private enterprise, renting rooms and houses have become one of the most popular activities among Cubans. Even Vinales town, tucked away in Sierra de Los Organos, is not immune to the entrepreneurial fever overtaking Cuba these days. And private accommodation businesses are booming in the village of Vinales.

We’ll take a tour to the Indian Cave. Once used as a burial site by the Gunahatabeyes, one of the native people of Cuba, the cave was rediscovered in 1920. We will walk some 300 meters into the cave towards a river that flows underground the mogote. Then we will travel by boat another 400 meters to the other site of the hill.

There’s a gigantic 180-meter-long mural on the side of one of the mogotes known as Dos Hermanas. This is our next stop. The painting was done by Cuban artist Leovigildo Gonzalez, a pupil of Mexican Diego Rivera and is better known today as the Prehistoric Mural because it depicts prehistoric animals whose fossils were found in the region.

Then we will head back to Havana just in time for freshen up, have some dinner (not included) and go out explore tonight’s main venues of the International Jazz Festival of Havana. Did we mention yet that you should not forget your VIP All Access Jazz Pass?

Evening: tonight marks the seventh night of the Havana Jazz Festival 2025. Your authentic Cuban guide will keep you posted on the schedule of the Jazz Festival so that you decide the best venues to attend. Keep your ear on the ground for the unscheduled Jazz sessions that usually unfold during this night. Also do keep your VIP All Access Jazz Pass handy to make sure you have complete access to concerts and music events.

Morning: another key element of our authentic Cuba tours that sets our Cuba travel company apart from the rest it is the escapes that we make into the most humble yet genuine neighbourhoods of Cuba to discover authentic traditions and get to know the real Cuban people. And we are about to experience another one of those adventures as we visit Santa Amalia neighbourhood where a group of elder dancers have maintain tap dancing alive in Cuba for decades. Now they will display their dancing skills to live Jazz music. We will spend the morning exchanging with members of the Santa Amalia Community Project and the Santa Amalia Tap Club.

Next, we’ll also visit the Callejón de Hamel Community Project, an alley where all the buildings display murals inspired by Afro-Cuban culture and religions created by the late Salvador Gonzales. Salvador Gonzalez was a well known Cuban muralist, painter, and sculptor. He has murals in Philadelphia, New York and Norway. We'll meet with local artists to review the influence of the African culture and religions in Cuban art.

Optional lunch (not included in tour cost): with the help of your Authentic Cuba Travel® guide assisting with individual bookings, lunch time serves as a good opportunity to try a new paladar (family-run privately-owned restaurant) and support the independent Cuban entrepreneurs.

Then we will go shopping to some of Havana’s most recognized privately-owned stores. Shopping in these sorts of stores directly supports the Cuban people and the Cuban families financially while encouraging independent entrepreneurial activities that in turn strengthen civil society in Cuba.

We will meet with Alex Oppmann, a self-employed Cuban (cuentapropistas) businessman who runs Alma Shop, a privately-owned Cuban store where you can find some of the finest Cuban gifts and souvenirs (from jewelry to Cigar humidors).

Then we will meet with Rosana Vargas, a Cuban self-employed (cuentapropistas), designer and business woman who owns Rox 950 Jewellery Store, a privately-owned Cuban jewelry store.

Before heading back to our hotel we will pay a visit to Clandestina Store and Studio, the first privately-owned store opened in Cuba in 2015, run by self-employed Cubans (cuentapropistas) Idania del Rio y Leire Fernandez to buy some unique Cuban fashion clothing.

Evening: attend the closing ceremony of the 40th International Jazz Festival of Havana 2025. Please, do not forget your VIP All Access Jazz Pass.

Today marks the end of our Cuba Jazz adventure. Your Cuban guide and bus driver will escort you to the International Airport for departure.