Cuba Self-Drive & Beach holiday in 15 days

Fly from the UK to Cuba where on arrival in Havana, you will be met by your driver and transferred in a classic American car to your accommodation where you will stay for 3 nights.

After breakfast, you will be picked up from your hotel by your English-speaking guide for a grand tour of Havana in a Classic American car. You’ll pass the famous Malecon (Seafront promenade), the Capitol building (Capitolio), the Revolution Museum, the Fine Arts Museum, the Parque Central (Central Park) and the Gran Teatro de la Habana.

There will be short stops along the way and once you get to Revolution Square, you’ll have plenty of free time to take pictures of the surrounding buildings. After two hours, you’ll continue your guided tour on foot in Havana Vieja, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and visits include the Plaza de Armas, the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the Templete, the Palacio del Segundo Cabo and the Palacio de Los Capitanes Generales, the main street ‘Calle Obispo, Ambos Mundos hotel, Havana’s first University San Geronimo de la Habana, the Plaza de la Catedral and the Bodeguita del Medio.

There will also be time to visit the Palacio de la Artesania to buy some souvenirs.

Enjoy a day at leisure day, where you are free to discover Havana’s many little secrets on your own. You can visit some of the landmarks you’ve seen during yesterday’s city tour, or you can relax and soak up the vibrant energy of this fascinating colonial city.

Your car will be dropped off at your hotel in the late afternoon.

Leave Havana behind and drive westwards to the province of Pinar del Rio, famous for being Cuba’s tobacco capital and its distinctive limestone rock formations called Mogotes.

Enjoy the rolling green scenery and the agricultural region’s typical red dirt and arrive at the small farmer’s town of Viñales.

Today you’ll see more of the countryside during your horse ride through the Viñales valley, dotted with small farms and stop at a local tobacco farm. Here you’ll learn about the growing and drying process of the region’s most famous product.

You’ll also visit a cave inside a ‘Mogote’ and there’s the opportunity to go for a swim in a natural pool inside the cave, so don’t forget to bring your swimming gear.

After Viñales, your journey continues to Las Terrazas, a tiny eco-village located inside the Sierra del Rosario biosphere reserve. A successful ecological restoration project turned land that had been badly damaged by extensive monoculture farming of coffee, into a biosphere reserve in the seventies.

Nowadays the area is lush with a rich birdlife and looks as if it’s been pristine and untouched by human hands for centuries. There’s only one hotel in the eco-village, which is where you will be staying, on a hill with lovely views of the small lakes.

Today you will be going on an interesting tour called ‘Community, Nature and History’, where you learn about the Las Terrazas community and its surrounding park, including visits of the artisanal market and art studios.

Afterwards, visit the former coffee plantation of Buena Vista and where you pick up more information about the process of growing and processing coffee during the colonial era. Lunch is included at one of the local restaurants and at the end of the tour, you can go for a swim in San Juan river.

Today’s route will take you from Las Terrazas to Cienfuegos, with an optional detour to the infamous Bay of Pigs, where the CIA-backed invasion of Cuban expats took place. You can visit the local museum commemorating the battle for a trip down the island’s history.

You’ll arrive in Cienfuegos in the late afternoon, in time for a stroll along the city’s boulevard to enjoy a lovely sunset. Cienfuegos is a relatively young city, founded in the 19th century, by mostly French colonists from Louisiana and Haiti, after France lost both colonies, and much of the city’s buildings are reflections of the French architectural style of the time

Enjoy a day at leisure in Cienfuegos, where you can enjoy its many colonial buildings, art galleries, museums, and artisanal markets.

Drive from Cienfuegos to Trinidad along the coastal road with its many small coves and beaches. Another option would be to drive through the Topes del Collante mountain range and visit the El Nicho waterfalls, again with the opportunity to dip into the natural pools beneath the waterfalls.

One of the highlights of the trip is our 4 hour guided walking tour of Trinidad, which will leave your head spinning at the end after all the knowledge you had to absorb. You’ll hopefully get a grasp of the art and history of this intriguing place as not only will you learn about the original inhabitants the Taino Indians, you’ll also get to know more about the Spanish colonial heritage, the sugar plantations and its slaves, the independence wars and social revolution.

You’ll visit several important Plazas, the home of the former professor at the Art Academy in Trinidad, Carlos Mata who collects and restores antique, and the art gallery of Lazaro Niebla who makes portraits of wood.

The last leg of your journey will take you from Trinidad to the Varadero beach resort, where you can relax and spend your last few days soaking in the sun and sea.

Your car will be picked up from your hotel in the late afternoon.

Free day

Today you will be transferred back to the airport in time for your flight home.

The Manaca Iznaga is a former sugar plantation and the best-preserved sugar mill and plantation in the Valley the los Ingenios or Valley of the Sugar Mills. Founded in 1750 it has a haunting history as its owner became one of Cuba's wealthiest man through slave trafficking. The 44 metre high tower was used to watch the slaves. Nowadays you can climb the tower for views of the valley.

Kayak silently along the coast and take in the natural beauty and exotic wildlife of the mangroves. Starting at the beach of 'Guajimico', which means 'place of the fishes' in the language of the Cuban natives, there will also be time to rest, swim and lunch, so make sure to bring your swimwear and snorkelling gear.

Swap your car for two wheels and cycle about 10 kilometres along the coastal road to Cienfuegos. When you reach the Guanayara park in the Escambray mountain range, you can leave your bike at the entrance and walk for about 2 kilometres until you reach the beautiful Guanayara waterfalls with

It’s not easy to avoid the big hotels when you’re staying in the Varadero hotel zone, but the La Ocean Varadero El Patriarca is by far one of the smallest (with 420 rooms) in the whole area.

Not a high-rise like its neighbours, the resort has easy access to the white sandy beach. Named after a giant 500-year old cactus El Patriarca, which is difficult to avoid when you’re in the gardens that surround the resort, there is a selection of rooms to choose from.

The spacious pool and garden rooms either come with a balcony or terrace and can accommodate a family of four. These comfortable and elegant en-suite rooms have a double or twin bed, sofa bed, A/C, television, safe, fridge and tea and coffee making facilities.

Couples who prefer a bit more privacy there are the Adult rooms, which are slightly larger and come with privileged amenities like an adult-only pool and designated private areas.

The resort has five restaurants serving a variety of Caribbean, Italian and Creole cuisine, as well as a  coffee shop and three bars.

Stepping into the luxurious lobby of the Iberostar Grand Trinidad in Trinidad feels like going back in time.

In keeping with the traditional colonial architecture of the city, this adult-only hotel (minimum age 15) is all about comfort, outstanding service and out of the world interior touches.

It has an amazingly spacious and airy indoor courtyard from where you can look up at the three floors. With great amenities in all the 36 en-suite rooms, you’ll find the peace and comfort after a hectic day of sightseeing. All the rooms either have a French-style balcony or a terrace, as well as A/C, safe, television, coffee and tea making facilities, minibar and safe.

The main restaurant specialises in Cuban specialities and international cuisine, whilst the Gourmet restaurant pulls out all the stops and offers a fine dining experience accompanied by the best wines and aged rums. Even if you don’t smoke, you must visit the elegant Fumoir, where you can learn all about the Cuban cigar and light one up at the end.

the delightful Hotel La Moka is the only accommodation within the eco-village of Las Terrazas

Located within Cuba’s first UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, it’s the perfect place to relax and soak up the vibrancy of the art community that resides in the village.

Built by local workers in order to promote tourism to the area, the hotel is designed in a traditional Cuban style and set in lush gardens.

There are 42 rooms altogether, and the en-suite standard rooms are spacious and with large glass windows and balconies with lovely views of the surrounding area. The rooms have A/C, television, telephone, safe and a minibar A/C. If you are interested in staying with the locals, the hotel also offers five community rooms with shared facilities.

There is a swimming pool, tennis courts and a restaurant that uses local produce. The hotel can also organise tours in the area (like canopy tours, hiking and fishing trips) and is particularly popular with birdwatchers due to its location in the reserve and nearby lakes.

The Hotel La Union in the old part of Cienfuegos is another example of a classic gem.

Converted to an outstanding establishment that has maintained its architectural heritage, it was originally built in 1869 and completely restored in 2000. This elegant colonial-style property has 49 rooms.

Managed by the same company that also owns the Melia Buenavista in Cayo Santa Maria, the hotel has two most impressive open-air inner courtyards surrounded by spacious en-suite rooms. The rooms are all fitted out with colonial-style furniture and have A/C, safe, minibar and satellite television.

Other rooms either have a city or pool view. The hotel has an exclusive terrace bar, a meeting room and a restaurant that serves internationally renowned gastronomic dishes.

Located in the Old part of Havana and close to the San Francisco Square, you must definitely stay in the charming Hotel Raquel.

Especially if you appreciate the Art Nouveau style and history of this beautiful establishment. Originally built to house offices and used as storage space, the building was renovated and turned into a hotel with 25 rooms.

The impressive atrium with coloured light panels gives the building an ethereal look. The en-suite rooms with all its modern amenities look down into the covered courtyard.

As its name indicates the hotel has strong links with the Hebrew culture, which can also be found in the Jardin del Eden where dishes are prepared according to the Hebrew tradition.

The charming Hotel E Central Viñales is a relatively new, small boutique hotel.

Located next to the central square of Viñales and right on the main avenue, all the 23 en-suite rooms have a balcony, A/C as well as a television. There is free Wifi in the reception area.

The hotel is within walking distance of the open-air souvenir market, Valle de Vinales and the Polo Montanez Cultural Centre as well as a variety of restaurants.