Morning: North American Jewish travelers will join services this morning at the Centro Sefardita. Next we will tour the temple and other facilities of this modern building by the hand of Mayra Levy, one of the Jewish community leaders who will tell us about the history of the Sephardic Jews in Cuba. Talking to members is also a great chance to learn firsthand about the daily life of the Jews in Cuba’s capital today.

Afterwards, and escorted by leaders of the Sephardic Centre we will visit the Chevet Achim Shul in Old Havana which is the city oldest temple. Even though, this synagogue is not in use today due to the unstable structure of the building, it is a good opportunity to learn about the plans of the Sephardic Jews to turn it into a museum. This trip also serves as an introduction to the historical centre of the city.

Before embarking on a more in depth exploration of Old Havana this afternoon, we will enjoy a complimentary lunch at Paladar San Cristobal which is popular because of its authentic Cuban dishes.

Afternoon: the best way to explore the sights and sounds of the historical center is by foot. Our Authentic Cuba Tours guide will show us to four out of the five oldest colonial squares in Old Havana today.

We will start at the religious square of the city, the Cathedral Square which takes its name from the Catedral de La Habana completed in the late 18th century. Surrounded by majestic palaces such as the Palace of the Counts of Lombillo, the Palace of the Marquises of Arcos and the Palace of Marquises of Aguas Claras this is the most secluded plaza in the city and the prettiest one.

Next we are off to visit the oldest colonial plaza in the city, the Square of Arms which was a symbol of the Spanish power in the Caribbean island nation for more than 400 years. Used in the mornings for the military exercises of the garrison of the adjacent Fortress of the Royal Force in the 16th and 17th centuries, the plaza was also the stage for official celebrations and political rallies in colonial times and even during the first years of the Republican times.

On a spot marked by a huge ceiba tree and a small neoclassical building known as El Templete, the Villa of San Cristobal de La Habana was founded in 1519, an event that was depicted by French painter Jean Baptiste Vermay in three large paintings contained inside the building since 1828. Next to El Templete we find the 18th century Palace of the Counts of Santovenia that houses today the Santa Isabel hotel.

The Palace of the Captains General and the Palace of the Vice- Governor have stood on the west side of the Square of Arms since the late 18th century. The imposing buildings were erected using local coral stonnes from the area and slave labor and were the seat of Spanish rulers until Cuba gained its independende at the beginning of the 20th century.

In our Cuba tours we also include a visit to the Square of San Francisco de Asis which is named after the convent and church on the south side of the square which displays the highest bell tower in Old Havana. This colonial square dates back to the times when Spanish galleons unloaded Spanish immigrants and African slaves in Havana’s harbor front.

All along colonial and Republican times the square had a busy commercial life, and even today La Lonja del Comercio, the pretty domed building that takes the north side of the square provides office space for foreign companies and joint ventures operating in Cuba.

Plaza Vieja is the last colonial plaza we will visit today. Used for years as a market and a forum for the people of Havana to discuss their daily affairs, Plaza Vieja is today an important epicenter for the promotion of Cuban visual arts with institutions such as the Cuban Photo Gallery, the Center for the Development of Visual Arts and other art galleries occupying the one- time palaces of Havana’s aristocracy.

Tour participants of this Cuban Jews discovery tour will then enjoy free time at Old Havana’s famed handicraft market, where locally made souvenirs and crafts are available for purchase.

We will then return to your accommodation for some refreshments before tonight's evening venue.

Evening: learn such popular Cuban dances as Rumba, Salsa, and the authentic Cuban Son with the help of bandleaders as we enjoy the sights and sounds of a local Cuban band playing just for Authentic Cuba Travel® guests!

Morning: this morning we go up front to meet with the president of the Adath Israel congregation in Old Havana. The Adath Israel synagogue is the orthodox shul serving the city. It was built in 1959, the same year that the Cuban Revolution came to power. The founding members left to the United Sates within a few years. Today the synagogue showcases a fully restored 600-seat sanctuary in the second floor which is used mainly on holidays.

Next we are off to Guanabacoa, a humble town at the other side of the bay of Havana to visit the cemeteries of the Jewish community in Havana, one for the Sephardic Jews and one for the Ashkenazic Jews. Dating back the beginning of the 20th century, a Spanish gate with the star of David marks the entrance to the cementer that also contains a Holocaust Memorial.

The rest of the day will be devoted to follow in the footsteps of famous American novelist, Ernest Hemingway. Our Cuba travel takes us to Cojimar first, a fishermen coastal town where the famed writer used to hang out in the afternoon after he finished his morning writing sessions at Finca La Vigia. Here Hemingway docked El Pilar, his provervial boat.

We will have a drink at Las Terrazas de Cojimar bar-restaurant. This is the same “The Terrace” that Hemingway depicts in his book The Old Man and the Sea and where the author enjoyed spending time drinking with the local fishermen.

Optional Lunch: optional lunch presents as a great opportunity to eat in a privately-owned family restaurant which are abundant in the area. Your Authentic Cuba Travel® tour guide will facilitate individual bookings and we will provide you with a list of recommended paladares before tour departure. Enjoy!

From Cojimar, we will go on to tour Finca La Vigia, an estate house located atop a hill about twenty kilometeres east of Havana. This property is where Ernest Hemingway lived from 1939 until 1960, more than 20 years. World known Hemingway's works such as Islands in the Stream, The Old Man and the Sea, and Across the River and Into the Trees were written here.

Since 1961, a museum was established to preserve the thousands of books, art collection, guns, fishing tackle and other properties of Hemingway. Among the most precious belongings of the famed journalist, the museum also contains original manuscripts, over three thousand photos and letters and other documentation.

The museum draws millions of visitors and scholars every year looking to learn more about the life and work of Ernest Hemingway. And it is included in the National Trust for Historic Preservation List of of Endangered Places as well as in the World Monuments Fund.

Evening: before the night draws to a close, tour participants of this authentic Cuba tour will have the opportunity to attend the Fire of the Cannon of 9 O'Clock, a tradition held at the Fortress of San Carlos de Cabana that dates back to colonial times and it is considered one of Havana’s oldest and most popular ceremonies.

Morning: guided tour of one of the most iconic cigar factories in Cuba, the Real Fabrica de Tabacos Partagas founded in 1845 by Don Jaime Partagas, the most influential businessman in the Cuban cigar industry of the 19th century who also named a cigar brand after himself the very same year.

He realized that quality tobacco leaves were the key to produce the finest cigars so he bought plantations in Vuelta Abajo, a region in the western province of Pinar del Rio that has traditionally been recognized as Cuba’s prime tobacco growing lands. He also came up with the best methods for tobacco leave fermentation, aging and curing. The way of decorating and packing the cigar boxes today are also partially its very own ideas that were soon imitated all through the industry.

Lunch is not complimentary today which presents as an excellent opportunity to try a Cuban Paladar (family- owned private restaurant) (optional/ not included in costs). Your Authentic Cuba Tours guide will help you booking. No worries.

Afternoon: regardless the reason you decided to travel to Cuba, a visit to the Palace of Fine Arts (Cuban Collection Building) is always an authentic Cuban attraction not to be missed. This world class museum showcases the largest collection of Cuban art in the planet. Period. It is impeccably curated into 8 thematic rooms dedicated to distinct historical periods from colonial arts to the conceptual art of the last decades.

Evening: there are countless evening entertainment venues around the National hotel every night. We recommend the Cuba explorer to walk a couple of blocks to the Jazz club, La Zorra y El Cuervo, Havana’s top Jazz venue to enjoy Latin jazz, Cuba jazz, and other rhythms by Cuba’s leading Jazz Musicians (optional/ not included).

Morning: today marks the beginning of our exploration of Cuba’s countryside so put your Cuba explorer caps on! Along the journey, we will discover the authentic Cuba that exists in historical cities like Santa Clara our first destination which is renowned for being the last battleground in the war against the army of dictator, Fulgencio Batista.

Tired of the attacks of Caribbean pirates and buccaneers, the inhabitants of Remedios, a coastal town in the northern shoreline of central Cuba, founded Santa Clara inland in 1689.

The city is also a popular destination for those seeking to understand better the life of Argentinean guerilla fighter Ernesto “Che” Guevara whose remains rest in a Mausoleum at the Square of the Revolution which will be our first visit upon arrival at the city. The crypt-like resting place also contains the remains of sixteen of Che Guevara’s companion guerilla fighters who were killed in Bolivia in 1967. Adjacent we find a Museum showcasing photos, belongings, documentation and artifacts related to the guerilla fighter.

From the museum, we will go for some complementary lunch and refreshments to the Los Caneyes Hotel.

Afternoon: we will meet with one of the most thriving Jewish communities outside Havana, the Tikum Olam congregation in Santa Clara. Escorted by David Tacher, its leader and other members we will pay a visit to the Jewish cemetery and the refurbished synagogue to learn more about the Cuban Jews of central Cuba.

In the late afternoon, we will say farewell to our new Cuban friends in Santa Clara and hit the road again. This time we will go south to the Caribbean city of Cienfuegos, The Pearl of the South where we will spend the next two nights.

Upon arrival at the city we will head straight to your Luxury Casa Particular

We will enjoy a complimentary dinner at your accommodation.

Morning: unfortunately Cienfuegos lacks a synagogue or temple for the local Jewish congregation to gather around holidays and to attend Shabbat services, so the apartment of Rebecca Langus is considered by all as the epicenter of Jewish life in the city. And that includes our tour participants who will be welcomed by Rebecca, her family and other Jews of Cienfuegos this morning for a chat about the origins and challenges of the congregation today.

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

Afternoon: our North American Jewish travelers will embark next in a guided tour of the historical center of Cienfuegos. The old town has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the large number of well preserved neoclassical buildings contained within this area. Our Authentic Cuba tour guide will start the afternoon exploration at park Jose Marti, the original site of foundation of the city in 1819.

Inaugurated in 1895 with a performance of Verdi’s Aida, the theatre Tomas Terry stands on the north side of the park. This remarkable 950 seat auditorium still showcases most original elements such as the hardwoods carved seats, the detailed ironwork of the balconies and the wall murals and ceiling fresco.

The east side of the square is occupied by the neoclassical Catedral de la Purisima Concepcion which also showcases several original pieces such as the made-in-France clock tower machinery and the stained glass windows.

The provincial Art Gallery La Maroya on the south side of Parque Marti has one of the best collections of local arts and crafts for sale in the city. Therefore, all our Cuba tours provide some free time for personal explorations and free souvenir shopping.

Evening: your Authentic Cuba Tours guide will keep you posted on entertainment venues in the city tonight. Usually Casa de La Musica, within a walking distance from the Jagua hotel, features the most popular Cuban bands and it is a great place to meet locals and dance all night long (optional/ not included in costs).

Morning: today we will embark on the exploration of one of Cuba’s most authentic colonial cities. In fact, no other city is Cuba is charge with such a colonial atmosphere as beautiful Trinidad.

The best way to explore this UNESCO World Heritage Site is by foot. Trinidad is a faultless remnant of the early colonial days with beautifully conserved cobblestone streets and mansions with barely a trace modern times.

We will visit the Architecture Museum of Trinidad which houses an incredible array of samples representative of the Trinitarian architectural development in the 1700’s and 1800’s. The mansion was the former residence of one of Trinidad’s wealthiest families, the Sanchez Iznaga who owned extensive sugar cane plantations in the Sugar Mill Valley.

Another mansion surrounding the Plaza Mayor (town’s central square) is the one of the Counts of Brunet housing today the arguably most visited of museums in Trinidad. The Romantic Museum showcases the typical domestic daily life and decorative objects (porcelain, glass, paintings and furniture) of Trinidad’s aristocracy.

Displaying a collection of trucks, weapons, items related to the Cuban Revolution struggle to get rid of counter-revolutionary military gangs operating in the Escambray Mountains in the early 1960’s, we will visit the Museo de La Lucha contra Bandidos that occupies the area of the former Convento de San Francisco.

Trinidad is famous for its many pottery makers, and before departing, we will take the time to meet The Santanders; a family that’s been passing down the authentic Cuba’s tradition of making pottery for generations.

We will make a stop at a lookout point over the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Sugar Mill Valley for a panoramic view of the breathtaking natural beauty of the fertile plains where Trinidad’s sugar cane plantation owners established their estates and mills.

Before heading back to our accommodation in Cienfuegos, we will enjoy some free time in the historical center for some last minute shopping in the array of street markets that of the city.

We will depart early in the morning to Havana City International Airport so that our tour participants may catch their flights back home.