Central Holidays has expanded its destination offers beyond Europe and the Mediterranean with the launch of five people-to-people itineraries in Cuba—Afro Cubanismo, L’Chaim Cuba, A Taste of Havana, The City & The Sea, and Hola Cuba. These 5- to 9-night programs immerse guests in Cuba’s culture while teaching travelers about its history, art, religion, and music scene.
The 10-day Afro Cubanismo itinerary ($4,199), for example, starts off in Havana where guests visit the Museum of the Revolution, speak with the Afro-Cuban community of Regla, and meet a well-known Afro-Cuban filmmaker and expert in Cuba race relations. Next, guests fly to Santiago de Cuba to explore the birthplace of some of Cuba’s most famous musicians. Then they’ll visit Camaguey to explore many UNESCO World Heritage sites, see the city’s churches, and enjoy a live Afro-Cuba jazz show at a local nightclub.
The 9-day L’Chaim Cuba ($3,999), meanwhile, beings in Cienfuegos with a walking tour of Cuba’s “Pearl of the South.” Travelers will meet with local residents and business owners, join the members of the small Jewish community of Cienfuegos, take a full-day excursion to the colonial city of Trinidad, take a tour of the old city of Havana and visit Hemingway’s winter home, tour the Orthodox Adath Israel Synagogue, meet the only kosher butcher in Cuba, visit the Sephardic synagogue Centro Safardi, and attend Shabbat services at Temple Beth Shalom.
Rates are double occupancy and include international air from Miami to Havana, a pre-tour briefing at a Miami Hotel, VIP priority check-in at Miami International Airport, all hotel accommodations and meals as outlined in the itineraries, baggage fee for the first checked bag, all ground transportation, airport transfers in Cuba, a full people-to-people cultural exchange program, all entrance fees for activities and events, a professional English-speaking Cuban guide, and a Central Holidays tour manager, as well as a Cuban visa and Cuban health insurance. Any travel agent who books these tours for themselves can book them for $1,000 off the price, while their travel companions get $750 off any of the programs. For more information on the other new Cuba tours, call (800) 539-7098 or visit latinamerica-vacations.com.
