English

Ayelet Tours' Traveling University
with Professor Stephen Berk
Humanitarian Mission to Cuba
March 17 - 24, 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.
This tour is currently SOLD OUT.  A waitlist has been started.  To add your name to the waitlist, please contact Rebecca@ayelet.com or call 800-237-1517 ext. 342.

Tour Overview:

Download a PDF version:

This Amazing Mission Includes:

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
7 dinners & 6 lunches
Shabbat dinner at Patronato with the local Jewish community
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
Hotel overnight in Miami on March 16th
(Contact Ayelet for help booking)
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)

Tour Itinerary:

Day 1, Friday March 17, 2017
• Depart Miami on our very early morning 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
• Check into our hotel with time to relax and freshen up with a welcome drink
• Short orientation meeting to review program with Professor Stephen Berk
• Continue to Patronato, where we meet with Adela Dworin, the President and other community leaders. Tour the center with time to deliver our gifts and aid
• We stay to enjoy Shabbat services and dinner with community members
Overnight in Havana
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Day 2, Saturday March 18, 2017
• Breakfast at the hotel
• This morning we stop at Almacenes de San Jose handicraft and artists' market
• Lunch at Café Laurent
• Afternoon at leisure to explore this amazing city on own
• Enjoy a Classical car ride from our hotel to the restaurant
• Dinner at La California paladar
• Later this evening we have the option to enjoy drinks and a show at the famous Buena Vista Social Club adjacent to the Melia Cohiba Hotel (on own).
Overnight Havana
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Day 3, Sunday March 19, 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
• 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 The Templete paladar
• 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. Deliver gifts and aid to the community.
• In 2011, the Sephardic Center opened the first exhibit displayed in Cuba about the Holocaust.
• Return to our hotel
• Dinner together at Café Orient
Overnight Havana
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Day 4, Monday March 20, 2017
• Breakfast at the hotel and check out
• Morning lecture with Professor Stephen Berk on the bus on the way 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 and aid.
• Lunch at Santa Rosalia paladar
• Continue to the beautiful port city of Cienfuegos, Cuba's “Pearl of the South"
• Tour of Cienfuegos land-marks including Parque Marti and Thomas Terry theater. Learn about this UNESCO World Heritage Site, founded by French immigrants in 1819
• Check-in at the Jagua hotel with time to freshen up
• Dinner at Los Laureles Jagua paladar
Overnight in Cienfuegos
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Day 5, Tuesday March 21, 2017
• Breakfast at the hotel
• This morning we meet with Rebecca Langus and learn about the local Jewish community, with time to deliver our gifts and aid
• Enjoy a performance by Cantores de Cienfuegos at Museo Provincial de Cienfuegos
• 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
• Return to Cienfuegos for dinner at Villa Lagarto paladar
Overnight in Cienfuegos
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Day 6, Wednesday March 22, 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 our own)
• 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
• Arrive in Havana
• Check into your hotel
• Dinner at Starbien paladar
Overnight in Havana
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Day 7, Thursday March 23, 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
• Farewell dinner together at Esparanza paladar
Overnight Havana
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Day 8, Friday March 24, 2017
• Breakfast and check out of hotel
• Transfer to the airport for our flight back to Miami
• Departure back to Miami from Havana