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| Saxophone player in Havana, Cuba // Photo by Joe Pike |
CheapCaribbean.com will begin offering eight-day tours to Cuba in early 2016.
Led by Cuba Travel Services, a U.S.-based operator that charters flights from Miami to Cuba, the nine tours will bring travelers closer to the rich history and beguiling, raw culture of this Caribbean Eden, which has been in a veritable time warp since the U.S. instituted an economic and trade embargo in the 1960s.
The trips, which start at $5,500 per person, include all accommodations, meals and air/ground transportation for departures starting February through October 2016. The journey will kick-off with one night in Miami, followed by four days in Havana, where travelers will tour the country's historic capital city – both on foot and in a 1950s classic antique car – and its famed sites, such as the Revolution Square; "Fusterlandia," a community project in Jaimanitas created by Jose Fuster, who is known as the "Picasso of the Caribbean;" and Las Tres Monedas, a local lounge owned by the famous artist, Kadir Lopez Nieves.
The trip will culminate in the resort town of Varadero, where travelers will meet with local artist Manuel A. Alvarez Suazo ("Lolo"), who expresses his sublime vision of Havana on large canvases; interact with local musicians and dancers at the Casa de la Cultura; stroll through Finca La Coincidencia, a farm founded by artist Hector Correa; and tour the Casa Dupont, also known as Xanadu, the former estate of American millionaire Irene Dupont.
Cuba is the most recent example of CheapCaribbean.com's expanding footprint in newer, more off-the-beaten-path destinations. In January, the brand began offering trips to Haiti through partnerships with the Haiti Tourism Board and Moulin Sur Mer, its first hotel partner in the region. Due to high demand, the brand has added additional trips to Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Belize.