Tauck has announced it is expanding its eight-day People to People Cuba itinerary for 2015, adding five additional days and expanding beyond Havana and its surroundings to include (along with three nights in Havana) multiple-night hotel stays in three additional cities, plus a single-night stay in a fifth city.
Where Tauck’s initial Cuba itinerary spent six nights in Havana, the company’s new 13-day journey (from $7,465, double occupancy, plus airfare) spends three nights in Havana, two nights in Cayo Santa Maria, three nights in Camaguey, one night in Holguín, and two nights in Santiago de Cuba. (As with Tauck’s earlier Cuba itinerary, guests spend the tour’s first night at the Sofitel Miami prior to boarding a charter flight to Havana the following morning.)
In Cuba, Tauck guests will learn about the country’s history during discussions with local experts, beginning with a cultural exchange at the Museum of the Revolution in Havana. On subsequent days, staff members at the Sugar Mill Museum near Remedios will discuss the region’s history as a leading sugar producer, and docents at the Che Guevara Mausoleum in Santa Clara will highlight the life of Guevara, who was Fidel Castro’s second-in-command during the Cuban Revolution. Fidel and Raul Castro will themselves be the topic of discussion with a historian in Birán, birthplace of the Castro brothers, while another local historian will share the story of 19th-century freedom fighter and national hero Jose Marti at his tomb and memorial in Santiago de Cuba.
The role of the arts in Cuban culture will also be highlighted throughout the journey, during experiences ranging from an architectural walking tour with a local expert in Habana Vieja (Old Havana), to dance demonstrations in Santa Clara and Camaguey, to a musical performance by a children’s group in Caibarién. Tauck has also arranged for its guests to personally meet a wide array of Cuban artisans, including musicians, dancers, painters, sculptors, potters, weavers and gardeners. And Tauck guests will also learn about daily life in Cuba, in discussions with local restaurateurs, printers and fishermen, and during a visit with a local family in the small village of La Maya, where family members will provide insights into everything from Cuban cuisine to the current employment outlook to their hopes for the future.
Included in the price of Tauck’s new Cuba itinerary are all accommodations, gratuities, meals, ground transportation, sightseeing, luggage handling, airport transfers and much more. Departures are scheduled from January through early June, 2015.
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