Just a Week in Western Cuba

If you’ve only a week to spare, you can still see a lot and taste the real Cuba. This holiday visits Havana and the most evocative places around the western part of the island.

Customer rating 100%

'Just a Week in Western Cuba'

What makes this trip special?

Cuba's unforgettable capital

Havana

There is no other capital city in the world quite like Havana. Impossible to sum up in only a few words its combination of magificently restored buildings, crumbling apartment blocks, classic cars, lively atmosphere and sense of defiance will stay with you for a long time.

Colourful and lively colonial town

Trinidad

The magnificent colonial town of Trinidad has recently been restored under UNESCO World Heritage, with brighly painted facades, cobbled streets, bands playing and horse drawn carts the town feels very much alive.

Rich colonial heritage

Cienfuegos

The magnificent colonial town of Cienfugos with its lively squares, elegant buildings and fascinating history is a pleasant place to stroll around and get to know the local life.

Self-sufficiency in a Cuban context

Las Terrazas

A model working community, Las Terrazas was designed to explore a self-sufficient Cuba. The area has plenty of opportunities for walkers and good bird life.

Cigars, gardens & village life

Vinales

The small town of Vinales offers visitors a peek into everyday rural cuban life, as well as stunning botanical gardens and a number of family run tobacco farms.

Memories of Che

Santa Clara

The 'armoured train' in Santa Clara, still showing the bullet holes, that Che and his men derailed days before winning the revolution. Just outside the town is Che's mausoleum and a small museum in his honour.

Itinerary

Day Overnight
1 Havana
2 Havana
3 Havana
4 Trinidad
5 Trinidad
6 Pinar del Rio
7 Pinar del Rio
8 Pinar del Rio
For the detail of each day click the ‘Day-by-day’ tab above.

Day-by-day itinerary for 'Just a Week in Western Cuba'

DAY 1

Havana

You are met on arrival at Havana airport and transferred to your hotel in Old Havana

DAY 2

Two days to explore Havana with your private city guide (see ‘Your Man in Havana’ on page 9).

DAY 3

In Havana

DAY 5

Trinidad

Today you are collected from your hotel by your touring guide and driven via Santa Clara to Trinidad. In Santa Clara (p13) you visit Ché’s mausoleum and small museum, and the armoured troop train wrecked by Ché in an action that changed the course of the war. After lunch in Santa Clara you drive down to the picturesque colonial town of Trinidad (p12) for one night, where you stay in the historic centre. You might take an evening stroll among its cobbled streets before dinner, which is at your hotel, then visit the Casa de Trova for some live Cuban son.

DAY 5

Your guide takes you on a walking tour of Trinidad, including a visit to the Romantic Museum, followed by lunch. Then it’s an hour or so’s drive to Cienfuegos (p13), a colonial port founded by French settlers in the early nineteenth century. Explore the town with your guide. The evening is free: your guide can suggest a restaurant for dinner.

DAY 6

BLD

Pinar del Rio

Today you travel to Pinar del Río province, stopping at Soroa for lunch and to visit its extensive orchidarium, then continuing to stay 2 nights at the nearby community of Las Terrazas (p11) where the rest of the afternoon is free. Dinner at your hotel.

DAY 7

BLD

Today you explore this lovely countryside, sometimes breathtakingly beautiful as sheer-sided limestone hills rise above tropical plains rich with hibiscus, bougainvillea and flame trees. You stop with your guide at the characterful little town of Viñales, and continue to the heart of Cuba’s tobacco farming region. Your guide takes you on country stroll to see how the leaves for some of the world’s finest cigars are grown, harvested and dried. You return to Las Terrazas in the evening.

DAY 8

This morning you visit the limestone caves of Cueva de los Portales, Ché’s base in the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, then Hacienda Cortina–a park in classical style, complete with folly, from the early 19th century: shades of Stourhead in the tropics. After lunch, you return to Havana airport for your international flight home. Beach options Your guide can easily drop you at Cayo Levisa at the end of this trip. Jibacoa and Varadero are also in reach, or the itinerary could be turned around to end at Trinidad. See p41.

Route map for Cuba 'Just a Week in Western Cuba' holiday

Guide prices for 'Just a Week in Western Cuba'

*where possible

options	based on	all year	low season	mid season	high season	peak season	other season
Mid-range hotels	2 people sharing
Upper range hotels*	2 people sharing
Top range hoteles*	2 people sharing

Prices are per person and include:

Cuba Visa
airport transfers
all accommodation
all transport
meals where specified, B = breakfast, L=lunch, D= dinner

Prices do not include:

international flights
travel insurance
items of a personal nature such as drinks, tips, laundry, etc

Customer reviews for 'Just a Week in Western Cuba'

Recent reviews are shown here from holidays based on this initial design. In each case the itinerary may have been modified (a little or a lot) to suit the individual traveller.

Average customer rating 100%

Overall I was very satisfied with the holiday arrangements and your company. Thanks.

Overall is was an excellent trip. Our guide was very helpful and well informed.

Seasonal information for 'Just a Week in Western Cuba'

Select your month of travel:

Along this route in January

Day	Location	Max °C	Monthly rainfall

Typical weather for January

Max °C figures are the average daily maximum temperatures for the month. Rainfall is the average precipitation for the month.

Hotels for 'Just a Week in Western Cuba'

Select your preferred accommodation option

Days 1 - 2

Tejadillo

The Hotel Tejadillo is composed of three restored colonial mansions dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. The location is ideal, just around the corner from Cathedral Square in the heart of Old Havana. Most of the hotel’s 32 rooms are arranged around a small, pleasant and tranquil courtyard adorned with a central fountain and pierced dramatically by a tall, tropical tree.

Hotel facilities include a bar, lifts, TV room, restaurant and tour booking desk.

Day 3

Hostal Del Rijo, Sancti Spiritus

Sancti Spiritus

Average rating 4.3 (13 ratings)

Formerly the residence of the renowned and illustrious doctor Don Rudesindo García Rijo in 1818, after whom it is named this hotel is a renovated colonial mansion on the town square in Sancti Spiritus. It is located on the tiny Plazuela Honorato del Castillo and looks out toward the 17th-century parish church, Parroquial Mayor del Espíritu Santo, and is very close to the bridge over the Yayabo river, both of which are National Monuments. The 16 rooms are arranged around a central patio courtyard with fountain. They are large with private bathroom, TV, fridge, safe and a/c. Steep stairs. No lift. The hotel has a small restaurant and a café and bar that opens onto the square. This is a bed and breakfast hotel but there is a restaurant close by.

Day 5

Las Cuevas

Trinidad

The hotel Las Cuevas, Trinidad, is located just above historic town of Trinidad, with panoramic views of the Caribbean and the town. It is a short walk from the town's centre. `Las Cuevas' literally translates as `the caves', and this is a suitable name as the hotel is placed above an open cave which used to house a popular disco!

The hotel has a buffet and a la carte restaurant, a snack bar, swimming pool, nightclub, internet access, tennis courts and car rental. It also offers horseback riding for those who want to explore the surroundings in a more natural way! Each of the Hotel Las Cuevas' 110 air conditioned rooms contains satellite TV, a safe deposit boxes and terraces .

Days 6 - 7

La Moka, Las Terrazas

La Moka

Average rating 4.4 (46 ratings)

Worth a visit as a place of interest in itself, La Moka is part of a fully self-sufficient eco-community called Las Terrazas, in Piñar del Rio. La Moka has nicely appointed, comfortable rooms with attractive Spanish tiled flooring and wonderful views from the bathroom, as the baths are carefully designed to look into the trees. The verdant grounds are well cared for and you will see how the local community live and work, which is an important part of the whole complex. There are various restaurants for you to choose from, and all use the home grown local fare. La Moka is also good for walking, and even has a zip line for the adventurous! Horse riding is a popular activity here.