English

Celebrate Purim In Cuba
February 25 - March 4, 2018

Tour Rates & Dates:

This package is currently unavailable. Please check back later or call Ayelet Tours, Ltd. for more information.
*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:

Download a PDF version:

2 nights Hotel Jagua Cienfuegos,
5 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
Breakfast daily
7 dinners, including Purim dinner & Shabbat dinner in Havana with the local Jewish community
6 lunches
Transfers included if arriving/departing with the main group
Entrance fees as per itinerary
Porterage
Cuban emergency medical insurance
Exit tax

These prices do not include:

Roundtrip Airfare (priced separately during booking process)
Cuba Visa (approx. $85 pp)
Any border taxes or visas
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 Sunday February 25, 2018: WELCOME TO CUBA!

• Depart the United States on our flight to Cuba.
• Arrive at the Cienfuegos Airport and meet our local guide and driver.
• Check into our hotel and enjoy a welcome drink and orientation.
• Listen to a moving performance by Cantores de Cienfuegos at Museo Provincial de Cienfuegos, welcoming us to Cuba!
• We enjoy a welcome dinner together at Villa Lagarto.

Overnight Cienfuegos
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 2 Monday February 26, 2018: HISTORIC TRINIDAD AND CIENFUEGOS

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Depart to the beautiful colonial town of Trinidad, a charming city settled in 1514, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.
• Upon arrival, we enjoy a walking tour of historic Trinidad, 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 will learn about the efforts to preserve the city's heritage.
• Enjoy lunch at El Dorado paladar.
• Meet with the famous Santander family, well-known local potters. Visit their workshop and gallery. These artists have been making handmade pottery for over 100 years.
• We return to Cienfuegos and enjoy a tour of Parque Marti and the Thomas Terry Theater. Learn about this UNESCO World Heritage Site, founded by French immigrants in 1819.
• Meet with Rebecca Langus and learn about the local Jewish community with time to deliver gifts and aid.
• Dinner at Los Laureles.

Overnight Cienfuegos
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 3 Tuesday February 27, 2018: SANTA CLARA TO HAVANA

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• We depart for Santa Clara, an important city founded in the 1600's, where Che Guevara won a significant battle, leading to the triumph of the revolution in 1959.
• Stop at the Che Guevara memorial for a photo opportunity in the square, and a visit to the small museum dedicated to Che Guevara underneath the monument.
• 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.
• We depart for Havana.
• Check in to our hotel and have time to relax and refresh.
• We meet for dinner at El Ajibe restaurant.

Overnight Havana
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 4 Wednesday February 28, 2018: PURIM IN HAVANA

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We take in a panoramic overview of the city and 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.
• Next, we stop at Hotel Conde de Villanueva. Here we learn about the history of tobacco and the tradition of cigar rolling in Cuba. Interact with some of the local rollers.
• Enjoy a walking tour of Old Havana (Havana Vieja), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We 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.
• Lunch at Café Del Oriente.
• Free time this afternoon.
• Early this evening, visit the Sephardic Center and meet with Mayra Levy, president of the congregation. In 2011, the Sephardic Center opened the first exhibit displayed in Cuba about the Holocaust. Deliver aid to the community and have the opportunity to interact with some of the seniors served by the synagogue.
• We stay at the Sephardic Center for Purim services, hear the Megillah, twirl our groggers and enjoy Purim dinner together. Hag Sameach!

Overnight Havana
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 5 Thursday March 1, 2018: EXPLORING HAVANA

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Today we visit Patronato, where we meet with President Adela Dworin, and other community leaders. Tour the center and learn about the Sunday school, and have time to deliver our gifts and aid. We also visit the pharmacy at Patronato.
• Continue with visits to the Rosenberg Memorial, Lenin Park, and pass by Havana University.
• Lunch at Il Palio.
• 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.
• Dinner at La Casa paladar.

Overnight Havana
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 6 Friday March 2, 2018: HISTORY OF HAVANA

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We begin the day with a visit 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.
• Continue to the Jewish cemetery in Guanabacoa, including a special memorial service at the site of the Holocaust Memorial.
• As the sun sets, we participate in Shabbat services at Patronato.
• This evening, we enjoy Shabbat dinner at our hotel.

Overnight Havana
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Day 7 Saturday March 3, 2018: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning we stop at Almacenes de San Jose market, where we stroll through the stalls of arts and crafts made by the locals.
• Lunch at Café Laurent.
• Visit the Cuban Art Collection at the Fine Arts Museum.
• Visit the Museum of the Revolution, where we gain an understanding of the momentous change that has occurred in Cuba due to the Revolution over 50 years ago.
• We enjoy a classic car ride from our hotel to our farewell dinner at La California paladar as we recall all that we have experienced together.

Overnight Havana
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 8 Sunday March 4, 2018: DEPARTURE

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• We have the morning at leisure for last minute shopping on our own.
• Transfer to the airport for our flight back to the United States.



The Memories Last Forever!
*Itinerary subject to change