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Best-Day Adventures
Humanitarian Mission to Cuba
April12-18, 2018

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.
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:
Experience Cuba with all your senses amidst a mixed, vibrant culture locked in time. Step back to 1959 & see the cars, taste the unique foods, hear incredible music & sway to the sounds of Cuba.

Save $100 by sending final payment by check
FINAL PAYMENT DUE February 11, 2018 
(or upon registration after that date) 

OPTIONAL 1-NIGHT MIAMI PRE-STAY:

* Additional 1-night at the Miami Courtyard Marriott
* Group dinner (on own) will be arranged
* Transfer to Miami Airport (via hotel shuttle)

TOUR PACKAGE INCLUDES:

* 4 nights Melia Cohiba Hotel, Havana Cuba
* 2 nights Hotel Jagua, Cienfuegos Cuba
* Roundtrip flights from Miami
* 7-Day/6-Night touring 
* 16 Meals; 6 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 5 dinners
* Fully escorted by Best-Day Adventures
* Daily sightseeing, excursions & entrance fees as listed in itinerary
* Airport transfers on arrival and departure
* Baggage handling (one bag per person)
* Transportation throughout on a private modern air-conditioned motor coach
* Services of a professional Tour Guide and Best-Day Adventures Tour Leader
* Travel assistance provided by Ayelet Tours
* Gifts and prizes for all guests
* VIP treatment throughout

TOUR PACKAGE DOES NOT INCLUDE:

* Domestic airfare to Miami
* Prepaid gratuities ($20 per person/day pre-collected)
* Travel insurance (highly recommended)
* Cuban Visa ($85 per person pre-collected)
* Items of a personal nature
* Gifts/aid to Cuban communities (suggestions for what to bring will be provided)

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Tour Itinerary:

Pre-Tour Wednesday, April 11, 2018: PRE-TOUR ARRIVAL

• Group “follow the leader” dinner (on own) will be arranged.

O/N Miami

MAIN TOUR

Day 1: Thursday, April 12, 2018: ARRIVAL IN CUBA

• Morning meet & greet at Miami International Airport before our flight to Havana.
• Arrive at the Jose Marti Airport, Havana. Bienvenidos!
• Meet our English speaking guide and driver.
• Lunch together at Il Palio paladar.
• Begin with an overview tour of Havana, passing Lennon Park, Havana University, the Rosenberg Memorial, and 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.
• Hotel check- in to Melia Cohiba Hotel with time to relax and freshen up.
• Welcome drink and orientation meeting.
• Dinner at El Mediterraneo paladar.
• Later this evening we “follow the leader” and enjoy drinks and/or a show (on own) at one of Havana's local hotspots!

O/N Havana

Day 2: Friday, April 13, 2018: HAVANA

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We begin our day with 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.
• Stop by the Raquel Hotel, a Jewish-themed hotel
• Visit Casa de la Artesania. Learn about the history of tobacco and the tradition of cigar rolling in Cuba. Interact with roller and locals.
• Lunch at El Templete paladar.
• After lunch, continue to Patronato Beth Shalom Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Havana, where we meet with Adela Dworin, the President and other community leaders. Tour the center with time to deliver our gifts/aid.
• Next we enjoy an architectural tour of Prado Street to see the unique buildings and all of the old classic cars.
• Return to our hotel with time to freshen up.
• Tonight we visit the Templo Sefardi (Sephardic Synagogue of Havana) and meet with Mayra Levy, president of the congregation, to deliver our gifts/aid. Here we see the first Holocaust Memorial Exhibit in Cuba, created in 2001 by the Templo Sefardi.
• Shabbat services and dinner at the Sephardic Synagogue with community members.

O/N Havana

Day 3: Saturday, April 14, 2018: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Depart for 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. Wander in the free enterprise stalls that have sprung up across from the Fuster house.
• 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 Hemingway's writing such as The Old Man and the Sea.
• Lunch at Talisman Restaurant, where we participate in a cooking class with a Cuban chef!  Following the class, we enjoy the food we just prepared!
• After lunch, we have the option to (choose one):
o Visit the Fine Arts Museum and see the Cuban Art Collection
o Meet with a former Cuban baseball player to learn about the importance of the game and how it is woven into the fabric of Cuban culture. Over 200 Cubans have played Major League Baseball in the US including current stars, Yasiel Puig (LA Dodgers), Aroldis Chapman (NY Yankees) and Jose Abreu (Chicago White Sox). (Pending availability/confirmation)
• Dinner tonight is on own (“follow the leader” option will be available).
• Later this evening we enjoy drinks and a performance at the Tropicana show, a world-renowned cabaret and club in Havana, Cuba. It was launched in 1939 at Villa Mina, a six-acre (24,000m2) suburban estate with lush tropical gardens in Havana's Marianao neighborhood.

O/N Havana

Day 4: Sunday, April 15, 2018: CUBAN HERITAGE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We begin the day with the Jewish cemetery in Guanabacoa, including a special visit to the site of the Holocaust Memorial.
• Visit the Museum of the Revolution to gain an understanding of the momentous change that has occurred in Cuba because of the Revolution 50 years ago.
• Lunch is on own (“follow the leader” option available), followed by a drop off at the San Jose Artisan Market or the hotel for a free afternoon
• Sunset Classic car ride from our hotel to dinner at Café del Orient.
• After dinner, we have the option to be dropped off at the famous Hotel Nacional, where we have the opportunity to explore this historic hotel and enjoy a drink in a world famous bar, surrounded by history. Taxis available (on own) to return us to our hotel.

O/N Havana

Day 5: Monday, April 16, 2018: TO THE INTERIOR - CIENFUEGOS

• Breakfast and check-out of the hotel.
• Depart Havana on our long drive into the interior.
• Upon arrival in Cienfuegos, we enjoy lunch at a local paladar.
• Next we enjoy a tour of Cienfuegos, including Parque Marti and the Thomas Terry Theater. Learn about this UNESCO World Heritage Site, founded by French immigrants in 1819.
• This afternoon we take a short hike in the Sierra de Escambray at Topes de Collantes; a nature reserve park in the Escambray Mountain range. Nature is the big attraction here. We'll first embark in an open-air truck for our 40-minute journey into the park. Upon arrival, our guide will lead us on a 45-minute trek along an easy pathway through the mountainous foliage, natural crystal clear pools, and stunning waterfalls, with a little wildlife and bird-watching along the way.
• Return to Cienfuegos and check into the Jagua Hotel.
• Dinner at Los Laureles paladar.

O/N Cienfuegos

Day 6: Tuesday, April 17, 2018: TRINIDAD

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Depart for the beautiful colonial town of Trinidad, a charming city settled in 1514 which is a UNESCO heritage site since 1988.
• Arrive and 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 Santander family, well-known local potters. Visit their workshop and gallery. These artists have been making handmade pottery for over 100 years.
• Lunch at El Dorado paladar.
• Time permitting, we stop for a little beach time on the beautiful Ancon Beach.
• Return to the beautiful port city of Cienfuegos, Cuba's “Pearl of the South."
• We visit with Rebecca Langus in her home, where she offers Jews from the neighboring communities to gather for holidays and services, and have the chance to deliver our gifts/aid.
• Enjoy a special, fun farewell dinner at Villa Lagarto.

O/N Cienfuegos

Day 7: Wednesday, April 18, 2018: SANTA CLARA/DEPARTURE

• Breakfast and check-out of the hotel.
• This morning we listen to a moving performance by Cantores de Cienfuegos at Museo Provincial de Cienfuegos.
• Depart Cienfuegos for Santa Clara.
• Arrive in Santa Clara, an important city founded in the 1600's, where Che Guevara won a significant battle securing the victory of Cuban the revolution in 1959.
• Stop at Che Guevara Memorial with a photo opportunity at the Square.
• Farewell lunch at Santa Rosalia paladar.
• 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/aid.
• Transfer to the airport in Santa Clara for our late afternoon flight back to Miami (please note food options are extremely limited at Santa Clara airport - be sure to bring a snack with you and plan to have dinner upon arrival in Miami).
• Early evening arrival back to Miami.

The Memories Last Forever!
*Itinerary subject to change