Cuba cultural vacations, 15 days

Planet

We directly run all our ground services and do not go through a second agent as the majority of tour providers to Cuba do. Our own dedicated staff are local to Havana and regional centers. A network of tour leaders, local guides and local transport providers, plus local office staff will help make your trip special. We use local coordinators in regional centers to get the best possible access to services possible and to bring in local expertise.

This trip if filled with opportunities to get to know the culture and vibrant society of the intriguing island nation of Cuba. Nearly all of the accommodation is in the homes of Cuban families, where you will get to see how Cubans live, observe their way of life, and participate in their culture. Homestays have a much less detrimental affect on the environment as they are smaller scale than large hotel chains and you will observe the same routines of life as the locals. We also encourage our groups to eat in small Paladars run by the locals or to eat in

People

This tour visits the remote Yumuri village, an agricultural and fishing village where we enjoy a beautiful meal and boat ride down the picturesque Yumuri river. Tourism gives this village a much needed economic boost, as it is the only available employment for many in this town between harvest seasons. This is also a good place for you to bring donations, such as clothes, shoes, linens, particularly items for children. We also support the ballet school in Camaguey with our visits and by encouraging donations there. The ballet school has a costume department that runs on more creativity than resources, and would welcome donations of sewing and costuming supplies (thread, needles, sequins, etc).

This trip is filled with opportunities to get to know the culture and vibrant society of the intriguing island nation of Cuba. Nearly all of the accommodation is in the homes of Cuban families, where you will get to see how Cubans live, observe their way of life, and participate in their culture.

We directly run all the on-ground services and do not go through a second agent as the majority of tour providers to Cuba do. We have our own dedicated staff of locals in Havana and regional centers. A network of tour leaders, local guides and local transport providers, plus local office staff. We use local coordinators in regional centers to get the best possible access to services possible and to bring in local expertise.

Our tour leaders are paid fair and healthy wages, and thusly are prohibited from taking commissions or other unethical business practices. We offer bonuses and other incentives to encourage honesty and transparency from our tour leaders which results in better service to our customers and has a positive influence on the local culture where they are seen as role models. The tour leaders receive annual training in several different subject areas, including responsible travel, safety, diversity, and ethics, and we encourage them to develop and grow through additional training, special projects, and leadership opportunities.

We encourage and support their charitable endeavors. We have a team of kind-hearted generous tour leaders who have initiated company-supported donation drives and fundraising for disaster relief, medical expenses, and animal welfare.

We also encourage our groups to eat in small Paladars run by the locals or to eat in homestays with local families.

We ensure that we 'spread the wealth' throughout each town so the benefit is to the community as a whole and not a few individuals. In this we attempt to get as many local providers involved in our tours as possible, providing a BBQ by the river, or similar activities where the group is mixing with the real locals and not just those in the tourism industry.

We encourage respectful travel in Cuba. Our Cuban tour leaders will give you an insight into the complex Cuban history and society. The tour leader will demonstrate how this unique country has managed to resist many of the negative impacts of North American culture, influence, and capitalism, and how it has achieved significant social goals, and at the same time, show you the short-comings of the present system.

The maximum group size of this tour is limited to 12 travelers which enables us to more easily interact with the Cubans and to visit their homes and places of work and play. It also minimises our impact on the local culture and society. You will get the chance to visit government run local community projects such as the ‘organoponicos’ (urban based community organic produce gardens), and ration stores.

All travelers are encouraged to explore with the group and on their own, learn a few words of the ‘Cubanised’ Spanish, and to interact with the locals as much as possible. The local guides are employed to help explain as much as possible about the cultural differences and the historically significant places that we visit and to make your experience in Cuba as enjoyable and as much fun as possible.

Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our Australian and US offices operate according to our responsible tourism policy.