Best of Mexico & Cuba

Arrival
On arrival at the airport you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel in a classic American car.

Havana, Cuba's colourful capital, is like no other place on earth. The minute you step outside the airport you will know exactly what we are talking about - the classic American cars, the cobbled streets, the fading, peeling paintwork, we guarantee that Havana will be one of the major highlights of your adventure.

Havana Old & New Tour
Today you will get acquainted with Cuba's capital city by taking a guided walking tour through the crumbling splendour of the UNESCO World Heritage listed site, Habana Vieja (Old Havana). Wars and revolution have done little to damage its heritage, making it one of the finest examples of a Spanish colonial city anywhere in the Americas.

You will first enjoy a short walking tour around Old Havana including its most important squares and fortresses. You will then be picked up at the Plaza de Armas in your chauffeur-driven, classic American car for a scenic drive along the Malecón seafront to the elegant suburb of Miramar with a stop at Revolution Square. Finally we include a traditional Cuban lunch, a visit to the Ernest Hemingway museum and drop you off at your hotel.

This evening is at your leisure. You might want to consider taking in a cabaret show at Havana's famous Tropicana nightclub, which boasts more than two hundred performers, a fabulous orchestra and astonishing acrobatic feats.

Breakfast and Lunch included.

Drive to Vinales
Today we'll travel into the Pinar del Rio province in the west of Cuba, and to the small town of Viñales, which possesses some of Cuba's most dramatic landscapes and is the world's best tobacco growing region. This beautiful, fertile valley is surrounded by unusual limestone outcrops known as ‘Mogotes'. A visit here is a great way of gaining an insight into rural Cuban life.

The afternoon is at your leisure and you'll find an abundance of opportunities for the outdoor enthusiast such as horse riding and hiking.

Excursions from Vinales
Today you have the option to choose from the following activities:

- A tour of the beautiful island of Cayo Jutias, 69km from Vinales, which offers 3km of white sand and turquoise water. This area is relatively undiscovered and unspoilt and is an ideal place to switch off and relax on a possibly deserted beach.
- Hiking excursion departing from Coco Solo, this area is nestled in the middle of a surreal landscape of red earth, dark greens, tropical vegetation and rare karstic formations that extends up to Palmarito. The trail is relatively easy to walk and offers beautiful views of the Vinales Valley.
- Enjoy a relaxing day by the refreshing riverbank. This area is known only to the locals and ideal for swimming.

In the afternoon, continue to an authentic fishermen village, Puerto Esperanza and enjoy an early seafood dinner prepared by a local Cuban family. Return you to your hotel in Viñales where the remainder of your day is spent at leisure.

Dinner included.

Vinales - Bay of Pigs - Cienfuegos
This morning we transfer you to Cienfuegos, approximately an 5 hour drive southeast. Along the way, you'll have the opportunity to stop whenever you would like and there are several spectacular Caribbean beaches where you might like to enjoy a swim. Another stop will be at the historic Bay of Pigs where you’ll see the actual place where US forces landed during the 1961 invasion of Cuba as well as visiting a fascinating museum about the invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Australian's may be interested to stop in a small town along the way called Australia. On arrival in Cienfuegos you will check into your hotel, before enjoying lunch at a local restaurant (own expense).

After lunch, your guide will take you on a walking tour of this laid back maritime city, known as the 'Pearl of the South', due to its lovely location on a picturesque Caribbean bay. Walk through the city’s well preserved colonial centre and learn about its proud musical tradition and its famous musicians, like Benny More.

The evening is at your leisure. We recommend relaxing in your hotel pool or enjoying a drink on the rooftop terrace, which offers unsurpassed views of the city.

Breakfast included.

Travel to Trinidad
This morning we'll transfer you to the town of Trinidad, which is often referred to as the Soul of Cuba.

On arrival, we'll include a walking tour of the main sights of the city. The city was founded in 1514 by the Spanish conquistador Diego Velasquez and became a major centre for trading sugar and slaves for almost two hundred years. The wealth generated by the landowners during this region's dark past is reflected by the well restored colonial architecture found in Trinidad's colonial centre, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

After further walking the cobble stoned colonial heart of Trinidad, you should consider a drive out to Playa Ancón for beach time and perhaps even some scuba diving. Tonight we recommend you check out Casa de la Musica for some salsa dancing, before heading to the Disco Ayala, set in a cave.

Breakfast included.

Day at Leisure
Walking tour through the cobbled lanes. Trinidad has a strong artistic tradition and its artists, though not as widely recognised as those from Havana, nonetheless have carved successful national and international careers. Visit some of the most successful contemporary artists in the city. In a relaxed environment you can learn more about their personal stories, works and what makes them tick as artists. Lunch in one of the private restaurant with nice ambiance. In the afternoon excursion to the nearby fishermen village La Casilda and the beaches of the city Playa Ancon.

Breakfast and Lunch included.

Trinidad to Cayo Santa Maria
Today we will transfer you to Cayo Santa Maria, an island paradise on the northern coast of Cuba where you will spend four days relaxing on its long, powder-white sand beaches lapped by warm, blue water.

Along the way, we'll stop in the city of Santa Clara, a key location in the history of the Revolution. We visit three key historical sites, including the massive Che Guevara monument and mausoleum (closed on Mondays), his final resting place.

Afternoon and evening at leisure.

At Leisure
Spend some leisure time with all meals and drinks included at your hotel.

Cayo Santa Maria offers a secluded beach setting and one of the country's best kept secrets. With only seven resorts and no towns it remains largely development-free, and with more than 50kms of spectacular beaches is the perfect option if you prefer to lay back and relax on hammocks or beach chairs. The waters around the bays offer a variety of activities, including snorkelling, diving, sports fishing and even bird watching. You can find nearly two hundred species of birds here such as herons, ibis, pelicans, cormorants and oystercatchers.

Cayo Santa Maria to Havana
A representative will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to Havana airport for your departure flight.

The drive will take approximately four hours, so if your flight is an early departure we will need to reduce your stay in Cayo Santa Maria by one night and replace this with a night in Havana.

Arrive in Mexico City
On arrival at the airport you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel.

Mexico City is quickly becoming a must-see destination in Central America with its revamped public spaces, exciting new culinary scene and buzzing downtown area. These combined with the city's historical elements make for what is sure to be a highlight of your trip.

City Tour
Today we will explore magnificent Mexico City, built by the Spanish on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, the old Aztec capital. The city's historical heart is its vast central square, or El Zocalo and on this tour you will have the opportunity to visit it along with the Metropolitan Cathedral, which is the largest church in all of Latin America. You'll drive along the famous boulevard Paseo de la Reforma, built during the short-lived reign of Emperor Maximilian to connect the main square and his castle in Chapultepec.

You'll also visit the National Palace, which hosts Diego Rivera's murals depicting the history of Mexico and is one of the oldest government seats in the world. Your last stop is the Museum of Anthropology, where you will have some time to explore the treasures of the Aztec culture at one of the finest archaeological museums in the world.

*Please note that the Museum of Anthropology is closed on Mondays.

Breakfast included.

Teotihuacan Pyramids & Guadalupe Shrine
Located 50-kilometres north-east of Mexico City are the 'must-see' archaeological ruins of Teotihuacan - the site of the massive Pyramid of the Sun and Pyramid of the Moon which dominate the skyline of the complex. This was once the country's biggest ancient city and capital of the Aztec people, who ruled over the largest empire in the pre-Hispanic era. Guarded by mountains, this magnificent city is thought to have been founded early in the 1st century AD and reached its peak around 500 AD, when its influence extended down to Guatemala and as far north as present-day Texas. With the help of a local guide we have time to stroll down ‘The Avenue of the Dead', uncover its many wonders and imagine what life must have been like nearly two thousand years ago. We will also visit the Basilica de Guadalupe, Latin America's most revered religious shrine, where the Virgin of Guadalupe is said to have appeared before an Indian named Juan Diego in 1531, and an image of her was miraculously emblazoned on his cloak. We will have time to explore the New Basilica de Guadalupe (the Old Basilica, built in 1700, is slowly sinking) and to see Juan Diego's cloak.

After our exploration we return to Mexico City in the afternoon.

Breakfast included.

Departure from Mexico City
Our representative will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to the airport for your departure flight.

Villahermosa Arrival
On arrival at Villahermosa airport you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel in Palenque.

Archaeological Tour
This morning we will visit the archaeological site of Palenque, a World Heritage Site, located 7km outside of the town of Palenque overlooking the swampy plains that stretch northward all the way to the Gulf coast. Palenque flourished between AD600 and 800, when its influence extended throughout the basin of the Usumacinta River. The site, surrounded by rainforest where toucans and howler monkeys live, is made up of some five hundred buildings spread over 15 sq km, of which only a few have been excavated. We will explore the magnificent ruins, including the Temple of the Inscriptions – the tallest and stateliest of Palenque's buildings, the Temple of the Sun – crowned with a prominent roof comb, The Palace – with its maze of corridors and rooms, and many other beautiful buildings.

Breakfast included.

Drive to Campeche via Isla Aguada and Edzna
A representative will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to Campeche. On the way stop at the Natural Reserve of Laguna de Terminos and at the small fishing village of Isla Aguada where you will take a boat tour through the lagoon (approx. 1.5hrs). On this trip, you will see plenty of dolphins and if you are very lucky even the very shy manatees. Stop at an island in the lagoon and see the local flora and fauna. Continue towards Edzná, with its remarkable main temple and the large ball court. Finally, you will head towards Campeche and where you will have walking city tour of the historical centre.

Breakfast included.

Travel to Merida via Uxmal & Kabah Ruins
You will be picked up from your hotel for a day tour and drive into the so called Puuc Region, which means “hilly landscape” in the Mayan language. Here you will find Uxmal and Kabah, two very interesting archaeological sites (UNESCO World Cultural Heritage). The Puuc culture exhibited a highly decorative expression in their architecture, and at Uxmal, besides the Pyramid of the Dwarf, you will see the Nun's Quadrangle and the Governor's Palace, among others, where beautiful stone relief masks and ceremonial patterns cover the façades, and in Kabah, you will be lead over an ancient Maya White Path “Sac-Beh”, to discover the kind of explosion in decor and stone art in the façade of Codz Pop temple full of amazing masks and patterns. Lunch will be eaten at a local restaurant near the sites. Late afternoon you will be transferred to your hotel in Merida.

Breakfast and Lunch included.

Chichen Itza Visit / Travel to Tulum
Today will be one of the highlights of your Mexican adventure as you enjoy a visit to the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, located 120km east of Merida. One of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Chichen Itza is the best restored of Yucatan's Mayan sites. While here we will explore the magnificent ruins set in a dense jungle, including:
- Pyramid of Kukulcan, its height and striking geometric design the most prominent of this site.
- The Great Ball Court , the largest and most impressive in Mesoamerica.
- The Sacred Cenote, a natural well used for human sacrifice.

We'll also see many other beautiful temples. From Chichen Itza we'll head to the white sandy beaches of Tulum.

Tulum options
One of the advantages of our tailormade itineraries is the ability to change things to create your perfect holiday. If you would rather skip Tulum, you can choose to visit another destination such as Merida, Cancun or Playa del Carmen. Speak to your travel designer for more information.

Breakfast and Lunch included.