Cuba November 8 – 18, 2019 $2950

November 22 – December 2 $2950

Our Cuba tour is a fully guided,relatively allinclusive tour using a local English/Spanish speaking guide plus an experienced USA trip leader. This helps to maintain our idea of the proper style of relaxed group travel. While this is our “first visit” to Cuba, this is our tenth “first premier tour” and every one of the previous 9 were loads of fun. Twelve years later I still think of the first panda volunteering trip I led as one of the best trips I have been on. And I doubled down on that feeling with our first Uganda safari and gorilla trek! I expect Cuba will join the list of “first trip” special events.
American’s ask “can I legally travel to Cuba?”
Yes you surely can as long as you adhere to the requirements of the Federal Government’s travel license. On this tour you will travel under the license of “Support for Cuban People” and you will be provided a certificate showing that your travel complied with the requirements.
The focus of this trip is given by our travel license “support for Cuban People”. This tour will be heavy on direct interaction with real local Cubans. From where we stay to the food we eat and the activities we partake in such as art, dance and music will all involve common people doing things with us &inserting ourselves into a brief moment of their busy lives.

A Baja Jones trip would not be complete without outdoor nature connected activities. In 25 years as a guide and tour leader I have never led a trip that didn’t involve nature, animals, water or all of those. This Cuban tour will continue that tradition as we ride a ferry boat across the Havana Harbor, slide quietly on the Rio Hatiguanico in search of crocs and brilliant endemic bird species and snorkel along some beautiful coral sand beaches.
To ensure our adherence to the Support for Cuban People license we will stay in Casa Particulares which are homes of Cubans also referred to simply as ‘casas’. The local Cubans have set up their homes much like a B & B in the USA to earn extra income. We will eat many of our meals in paladares, which are local style restaurants, again giving us the opportunity to interact and support Cuban people. Havana is said to have a lively street food scene which I personally will dive into. We will undertake a few activities such as dance lessons given by local dance experts, enjoying local musical jam sessions and for those with interest in the more occult we will have an opportunity to learn about the Santeria religious beliefs and practices.

Things to know about the trip

Other costs: The trip is intended to be relatively all inclusive.
Included are: Transport for tour itinerary, accommodations in Casa Particulares, English/Spanish speaking Cuban guide, English speaking trip leader from USA, airport transfer at arrival and departure, most meals except ballet night and optional fashion dinner show. Breakfasts will be eaten at our accommodations while lunch and dinner will be determined as the day progresses.

Contact info: The best way to reach Keith is by email to Keith@jonesadventures.com with a reply usually within hours and never longer than 24 hours. If a reply doesn’t arrive it means your email was lost or didn’t get to Keith.

You are also welcome to call Keith any day between 8:00 am and 7 pm California time.
1-626-512-0877 We are phasing out our old office #562-889-4016 so please remove it from your contact list.

Itinerary outline:
Day 1, 2 & 3, November 8, 9 & 10: Havana
Day 4 & 5, November 11 & 12: Peninsula de Zapata an undeveloped wilderness
Day 6 & 7, November 13 & 14: Vinalesa beautiful and special UNESCO Heritage Site
Day 8, 9, 10 November 15, 16 & 17: Havana
Day 11 November 18: Departure

Expanded tour itinerary November 8 – 18 and Nov 22 – Dec 2: Remember detailed itineraries are likely to undergo daily changes due to local conditions at the time of the tour.

Day 1 November 8 Arrival day
6:00 pm: Welcome dinner

Day 2 November 9 in Havana:
8:00 am: Breakfast
9:30 am: Walking tour of Old Havana
12:00 noon: Lunch at Doña Eutimia which is often considered the best restaurant in Havana. The fare offered at Doña Eutimia is typical Cuban fare, with chicken, pork and fish dominating the menu, in a variety of preparations.
1:00 Pm: After a relaxing lunch let’s go for a ride in an old 50s American car while doing a driving tour of Havana.
4:30 Pm: Dance lesson for those who want to pick up the basic of Salsa or Rumba.
6:30 Pm: Dinner at La Barracawhich is located inside the grounds of Cuba’s landmark hotel, the Hotel Nacional. The hotel offers magnificent views of El Malecon, Havana’s famed waterfront boulevard, and out to sea. Set in lovely gardens, under a traditional thatched roof, La Barraca serves traditional Cuban criollo fare with rice, beans, chicken, and pork, dominating the menu. A highlight of this restaurant is their all you can eat Creole special, that includes rice, beans, salad, chicken and pork, which is a great way to experience Cuban food.

Day 3 November 10 in Havana:
8:00 am: Breakfast
9:30 am: The museum of the revolution.
11:00 am: Dance lesson
12:00 noon: Lunch
1:30 pm: Callejon de Hamel art center visit and street rumba performance
4:00 pm: Private time until dinner.
5:30 pm:
7:00 pm:

Day 4 November 11 depart Havana to Zapata Peninsula
7:30 am: Breakfast
9:30: depart to Zapata Peninsula sightseeing along the way.
12:00 noon: Lunch along the way
2:00 pm: Check in to our accommodations then time to explore the local area or laze on the shore of the Bay of Pigs.
6:00 pm: Dinner

Day 5 November 12: River trip and exploring the area all day
7:00 am: Breakfast
8:30 am: Depart to River exploration.
12:00 noon: Lunch
1:30 pm: Snorkeling instruction and snorkeling or lazing on the shore of the Bay of Pigs. This area is said to have some of the Caribbean’s finest coral snorkeling areas.
6:00 pm: Dinner

Day 6 November 13: Departure to Vinales
7:00 am: Breakfast
8:30 am: departure from Playa Larga sightseeing along the way.
11:00: Lunch early to break up the 4 hour drive.
2:00 /3:00: Arrival and check in at our Casa.
6:00 pm: Dinner

Day 7 November 14: Explore Vinales
8:00 am: Breakfast
9:30 am: Horseback ride through the tobacco and farmland – destination a busy cigar factory where we will have a tour of the cigar making. Everything in this valley is organic and farmed by hand to protect the tobacco plants. If you don’t want the horseback ride you can opt out and just walk along a similar path with the same ultimate destination.
12:00 noon: Lunch
1:00 pm: Boat ride into a cave
6:00 pm: Dinner

Day 8 November 15: Departure from Vinales to Havana
7:00 am: Breakfast
8:30 am: Depart to Havana sightseeing along the way
11:30 noon: lunch
1:00 pm: Finish lunch and arrive in Havana. Check into our accommodations.
2:00 pm: Time set aside for cultural interaction with local Cubans.
6:00 pm: Dinner

Day 9 November 16: Exploring Havana
8:00 am: Breakfast
9:30 am: Head to Hemingway’s house
11:00 am: We will visit Hemingway’s favorite two bars where he indulged in mojitos and daiquiris.
12:30 noonish: lunch
2:30 Pm: Finish with Hemingway and move on to a The National Museum of Fine art.
7:00 pm: Dinner and fashion show at La Maison

Day 10 November 17: Exploring Havana
8:00 am: Breakfast
9:30 am: We take the ferry boat to Regla across the bay. A fine time to get a different view of Havana while enjoying a short trip on the water. Perhaps learn about Santeria while in Regla.
12:00 noon: Lunch
1:00 pm: Ferry boat back to Havana.
2:00 pm: Enjoy the street art of Fusterlandia.
5:30 pm: Dinner a bit early to allow plenty of time at the theatre
7:00 pm: An evening at the Gran Teatro de Habana – The Ballet.

Day 11 November 18: Departure to the airport after breakfast

General license “Support for the Cuban People”
We will travel under this general USA travel license. No individual application is necessary. Each individual group member is required to maintain a record of their activities. I will assist with this by providing a certificate of compliance and detailed itinerary plus an end of trip review that will recap all the actual activities individuals took part in. This license requires a generally full schedule of activities. However not all members of our group must participate in the same activity at the same time to qualify for this license.
A Cuban visa is required and current cost is $75 USD purchased at the Miami air terminal.
Our tour “begins” upon arrival in Havana, Cuba where we will arrange transport from airport to the first nights accommodations. Keith will fly into Havana a few days prior to the trip start date. For those in Thailand interested in this trip, Onanong will likely arrive on the trip start day leaving from BKK then changing planes in Incheon ICX and then on to Havana.