English

Ayelet Tours' Traveling University
with Professor Stephen Berk
Humanitarian Mission to Cuba
December 10 - 17, 2017

Tour Rates & Dates:

There are no Departure Dates available for this Package.
*Please note that all rates displayed are based on standard room double occupancy.
All rates above are in US Dollars, and are based on full payment by credit card unless otherwise noted.
If check payment discount is available for this tour, it can be selected after clicking "BOOK" above.
(Deposit can still be paid by credit card). Upgraded room categories may be available to book later in the booking process.
If Land & Air price is displayed, the air portion includes tax and fuel surcharges, which are subject to change until ticketed.

Tour Overview:

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Roundtrip airfare from Miami
3 nights Melia Cohiba Hotel, Havana Cuba
2 nights Hotel Jagua Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos Cuba
2 nights Melia Cohiba Hotel, Havana Cuba
All touring and sightseeing per an agreed upon itinerary in a deluxe
air-conditioned vehicle with an English speaking guide
Pre-trip orientation meeting at Miami airport prior to boarding
Breakfast daily
4 Lunches
6 Dinners including Shabbat dinner at Patronato 
Lectures with Dr. Stephen Berk throughout
Cuban Travel Visa
Cuban emergency medical insurance
Transfers included
Entrance fees and activities as per itinerary
Exit Tax 
Porterage

These prices do not include:

Domestic airfare to Miami
Any border taxes
Tips to guides, driver, and dining room waiters
($20.00 per person, per day-pre-collected)
Any items of a personal nature
Travel Insurance
(Highly recommended)

While this tour is sold out, please click for more information on our March 2018 and December 2018 tours to Cuba!

Tour Itinerary:

Day 1 Sunday December 10, 2017

• Depart Miami on our flight to Havana.
• Arrive at the Jose Marti Airport
• Meet your English speaking guide and driver
• Panoramic overview of the city. Stop at Revolution Square. The square is dominated by the José Martí Memorial. This famous square is where Fidel Castro delivered the majority of his lengthy political addresses. Continue with visits to the Rosenberg Memorial, Lennon Park, Havana University
• Lunch at Il Palio
• Continue to Patronato, where we meet with Adela Dworin, the President and other community leaders. Tour the center and the Sunday school, with time to deliver our gifts and aid. Visit the Pharmacy at Patronato
• Check into our hotel with time to relax and freshen up
• Welcome drink and orientation meeting to review program with Stephen Berk
• Welcome dinner at El Aljibe restaurant

Overnight in Havana

Day 2 Monday December 11, 2017

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Morning lecture with Professor Stephen Berk
• Depart for a walking tour of Old Havana (Havana Vieja), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Learn about the history of Havana as we visit highlights of the city and the colonial plazas. Visit Jewish points of interest such as the Raquel Hotel, a Jewish-themed hotel, and visit Adat Israel, the Orthodox synagogue, where we will meet with Jacob Berezniak to deliver our gifts to the community
• Visit the hotel Conde de Villanueva. Learn about the history of tobacco and the tradition of cigar rolling in Cuba. Interact with roller and locals
• Lunch at Café del Oriente
• After lunch, stop at Almacenes de San Jose handicraft and artists' Market.
• Continue with a visit to the Sephardic Center. Meet with Mayra Levy, president of the congregation, who discusses the role of Sephardic Jews in the resurgence of Jewish life in Cuba. In 2011, the Sephardic Center opened the first exhibit displayed in Cuba about the Holocaust. Deliver aid to the community
• Return to our hotel
• Dinner at La Casa Paladar

Overnight Havana

Day 3 Tuesday December 12, 2017

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Morning lecture with Professor Stephen Berk
• We begin the day with a visit to the Jewish cemeteries in Guanabacoa, including a special memorial service at the site of the Holocaust Memorial
• Continue to Finca Vigia, the villa that Hemingway called home for 21 years. His home is now a museum with many of his personal belongings. Learn how Cuba influenced his writing
• Lunch at Finca Yoandra / Il Divino. Take a glimpse into this organic urban farm and community project with a private restaurant in the outskirts of Havana
• Visit the Cuban Art Collection at the Fine Arts Museum
• Return to hotel
• Light the first candle of Hanukah together this evening.
• Dinner on your own

Overnight Havana

Day 4 Wednesday December 13, 2017

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out
• Depart to the beautiful colonial town of Trinidad, a charming city settled in 1514 which is a UNESCO heritage site since 1988. Lecture on the bus with Professor Stephen Berk
• Arrive in Trinidad. Lunch at El Dorado paladar
• Enjoy a walking tour of historic Trinidad which is a 500 year old city with Spanish colonial architecture. Only a few square blocks in size, historic Trinidad is famous for its lovely cobblestone streets, pastel houses with wrought iron grills, as well as beautiful palaces and plazas. You'll learn about the efforts to preserve the city's heritage
• Meet with the famous family Santander, well-known local potters. Visit their workshop and gallery. These artists have been making handmade pottery for over 100 years
• Continue to the beautiful port city of Cienfuegos, Cuba's “Pearl of the South"
• Check into Jagua hotel
• Dinner at Villa Lagarto
• Light the second candle of Hanukah together this evening.

Overnight in Cienfuegos

Day 5 Thursday December 14, 2017

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Morning lecture with Professor Stephen Berk
• Tour of Cienfuegos including Parque Marti and the Thomas Terry Theater. Learn about this UNESCO World Heritage Site, founded by French immigrants in 1819
• Enjoy a performance by Cantores de Cienfuegos at Museo Provincial de Cienfuegos
• Meet with Rebecca Langus and learn about the local Jewish community with time to deliver gifts
• Lunch at Finca del Mar
• Continue to Santa Clara, an important city founded in the 1600's, where Che Guevara won a significant battle which led to the triumph of the revolution in 1959
• Stop at Che Guevara Memorial with a photo opportunity at the Square
• Meet with David Tacher, a leading representative of the Santa Clara Jewish Community, where we will learn about the local community and deliver our gifts.
• Stay and enjoy a dinner at Santa Rosalia Paladar in Santa Clara
• Return to hotel
• Light the third candle of Hanukah together this evening.

Overnight in Cienfuegos

Day 6 Friday December 15, 2017

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out
• Depart for Havana city. On the way, lecture by Professor Stephen Berk, discussing the impacts of the US embargo on Cuba and the history of US/Cuban relations
• Lunch on the way (on own)
• Arrive in Havana
• Stop at the impressive Fuster house/studio to see this unique mosaic masterpiece. Learn about the artist's project to beautify and help the community he lives in
• Check into your hotel and get ready for Shabbat
• Light the fourth candle of Hanukah together this evening.
• Shabbat services and dinner at Patronato with community members

Overnight in Havana

Day 7 Saturday December 16, 2017

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Day at leisure
• Classical car ride from our hotel to the restaurant
• Farewell Dinner at La California paladar
• Light the fifth candle of Hanukah together this evening.

Overnight Havana

Day 8 Sunday December 17, 2017

• Breakfast and check out of hotel
• Transfer to the airport for our flight back to Miami
• Departure back to Miami from Havana


The Memories Last Forever!


*Itinerary subject to change