Classic Cuba

Arrive in Havana, where your private driver will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your accommodation. After time to refresh, begin your Cuban experience on a private rooftop terrace as the sun sets across the capital. Freshly prepared mojitos and live musicians performing Cuban classics create an atmospheric introduction to the island. Later, settle in for a welcome dinner at an authentic local restaurant, combining traditional Cuban flavours with a refined setting and, depending on the evening, more live music.

Spend the morning exploring the colourful streets and historic architecture of Habana Vieja with your local guide, gaining a closer look at everyday life within the Cuban capital’s historic heart. Pause for lunch at a traditional paladar before seeing another side of Havana from the back seat of a classic American convertible as you cruise through its distinctive neighbourhoods. Later, join a private salsa lesson with local instructors before ending the evening at a fashionable Old Havana rooftop restaurant, where cocktails, local artists and musicians contribute to Havana’s famously energetic atmosphere.

Leave Havana with your private driver and guide for the journey into Viñales, where dramatic limestone formations rise above fertile farms and traditional rural communities. Enjoy lunch overlooking the countryside before exploring the valley with a local farmer. Learn about the agricultural traditions that have shaped the region, pause over freshly ground coffee and travel by oxcart to a family-owned tobacco farm. Here, watch an experienced cigar maker demonstrate the process behind a hand-rolled Cuban puro. Return to Havana for dinner in an architecturally distinctive restaurant filled with classic Cuban character.

Immerse yourself in Havana’s creative and culinary culture, beginning with a hands-on cooking class led by a local chef. Learn to prepare classic Cuban dishes while enjoying coffee and cocktails before turning your attention to the city’s artistic community. Accompanied by a local art specialist, visit two private studios and meet the people contributing to Cuba’s contemporary art scene. Later, experience a guided rum tasting with one of the island’s female rum sommeliers; this element is paid locally. Your final evening culminates with dinner inside a beautifully restored Spanish post-colonial mansion.

Enjoy a relaxed final morning in Havana, with the opportunity to add an optional activity before departure. Depending on your flight schedule, there may be time for one last stroll through the city, a leisurely Cuban coffee or simply a quiet morning at your accommodation. When the time comes, your private driver will transfer you to Havana’s airport for your onward flight, bringing five days of music, food, art, rural traditions and encounters with local Cuban culture to a close.