Cuba: Hidden Havana

$1,999 per person, double occupancy (single supplement: $299) plus $100 visa processing fee

Optional extension: $499 per person, double occupancy (single supplement: $99)

You are welcome to pay by check or credit card. Please note that a 4% fee will be applied to credit card payments. Please contact us to pay by check.

Price includes:

• All confirmations in the program
• Accommodations as described in the itinerary
• Meals as outlined in the itinerary
• Transportation by private, air-conditioned motor coach as well as transfers for the group as appropriate
• English speaking guide/interpreter to accompany through the whole touring period
• Preparatory cultural and reading materials
• Gratuities

Price does not include:

• Cuban visa, which will be processed by Insider Expeditions at an additional fee of $100
• Flights to/from Cuba (Note: people can book on their own, or Insider Expeditions can arrange for block flights out of Miami; IE can share pricing details after people put in their deposit.)
• Expenses of a purely personal nature (including cab fares, laundry and other personal items, room service charges)
• Transportation of luggage in excess of weight allowance
• Travel insurance (we strongly advise that each participant arrange for their own travel insurance)
• Alcoholic beverages
• Meals not noted in itinerary
• Medical expenses
• Passport application fee
• Costs associated with trip interruption or modification due to weather, travel conditions, political/civil disputes, medical emergencies or other causes beyond our control

A $250 non-refundable deposit from each traveler will secure your position on the trip. The remaining balance is due on October 20, 2017, 75 days prior to the departure date, along with health, liability and flight forms. You are welcome to pay by check or credit card. Please note that a 4% fee will be applied to credit card payments.

This exclusive opportunity is open to NPCA members and their guests only. 

Not yet an NPCA member? Click the "Join Now to Register" button. It's free! 

Already a member? Just click the "Log in to Register" button.

Once logged in, this page will re-load and give you a dropdown menu to select your ticket quantity. Then, click "Purchase Tickets."

On the next screen, you'll submit your contact information and make the initial $250 deposit. You will receive a confirmation email with an additional registration form attached and instructions on where to submit it.

Want to avoid credit card fees? Pay by check! Notify us at nst-cuba@peacecorpsconnect.org that the check is in the mail, then send the check payable to NPCA, 1900 L Street NW, Suite 610, Washington, DC 20036 (note "NST - Cuba, December 2017" in the memo line).

Cancellation by the Traveler

The $250 trip deposit is non-refundable.

• 100% non-refundable 59 days or less prior to departure (October 9 or later)

If a traveler leaves the trip for any reason after it has commenced, we are not obligated to make any refunds for unused services. If a traveler fails to join a tour, join it after departure, or leave it prior to its completion, no refund will be made. 

Each trip requires a minimum number of participants; the trip minimum for “Cuba: Hidden Havana” is 10 travelers. If we sign up enough participants to run a trip, the trip is confirmed, and we'll alert travelers so they can purchase their airfare.

Cancellation by Trip Operator - Insider Expeditions (IE)

IE may cancel a trip at any time prior to departure if, due to terrorism, natural disasters, political instability or other external events, it is not viable for us to operate the planned itinerary. If IE cancels the trip, traveler can transfer amounts paid to an alternate departure date or alternatively receive a full refund. In circumstances where the cancellation is due to external events outside our reasonable control, refunds will be less any unrecoverable costs. We are not responsible for any incidental expenses that you may have incurred as a result of your booking including but not limited to visas, vaccinations, travel insurance excess or non-refundable flights.

Cuba: Hidden Havana

Day 1: Thursday – Bienvenidos to Havana

• 1:30pm- Arrive in Havana at José Martí International Airport.  We will meet our private guide and be expedited to our tour bus, which we will use for the entire program.
• From the airport, we'll head straight to lunch at a popular local paladar. After lunch, our Cuban hosts will meet us here to accompany us to our casas, local bed and breakfasts run by families. Drop off your luggage and settle into your Cuban homes.
• From our casas, we'll go straight to Old Havana for a walking tour. Enjoy a private tour around old Havana highlighting the main historic plazas: the Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza de Armas, Plaza de San Francisco and Plaza Vieja.
• Enjoy a briefing on life in Cuba with a local anthropologist during a welcome dinner.
• Enjoy a welcome cocktail with rooftop views and a beautiful place to learn some new dance moves.  Learn Cuban salsa with a live band and celebrate the end of your first day in Cuba with a group of professional dancers who love to have a good time.
• Return to your individual casas for a good night’s rest.

Day 2: Friday: Art, Architecture and Cigars

• Enjoy breakfast at your casa.
• Depart to visit La Corona cigar factory and meet with professional cigar rollers who will demonstrate the process of making their world-famous exports.
• We'll then visit a local association to learn more about community organizations in Cuba and how they support the people and culture of this island. We'll enjoy lunch with local and RPCVs living in Cuba.
• Freshen up at your casa before our night out in our local neighborhood.
• Fun and casual neighborhood dinner, family-style, with our Cuban hosts in their homes.
• After dinner, those who still have energy to spare can take an evening adventure to Fábrica de Arte Cubano, a power plant recently converted into a warehouse of art and live music, now one of the most popular and eclectic curated art spaces and nightlife spots in Havana.

Day 3: Saturday - Santeria, Rituals and Mortality

• Enjoy breakfast at your casa.
• Depart to visit Fusterlandia, the private studio of Cuban muralist and ceramist José Fúster, described as the “Picasso of the Caribbean.” Discuss the artist’s public art revitalization project and stroll down streets decorated with mosaics, stopping to interact with the locals whose neighborhood has been transformed by the project.
• Enjoy a visit and a lunch and get a special lesson in spirit and cigar tasting from an expert sommelier.
• Explore Callejón de Hamel, a narrow two-block long alleyway between Aramburu and Hospital streets in Centro Habana. Over the years, it has become a shrine to Afro-Cuban religions through the art created by Salvador González.  The buildings are lined with brightly-colored paintings, murals, sculptures and objects, which depict rituals and deities.  Learn about Santeria from local practitioners, and the complicated layering and transference between Catholicism and African traditions.
• Return to your casa to prepare for our last evening out in Havana.
• Take a sunset cruise in old classic convertibles down the Malecón, the longest promenade on the island and an emblematic social scene for Cubans.
• See the last rays of light fading over Havana at the Christ Statue lookout, learning about the history of this monument and Che’s nearby hangout.
• Reflect on your journey over a farewell dinner featuring local delicacies and traditional foods at the El Cañonazo paladar.
• After dinner, we will stop by a local bar on the way home for a few last mojitos, and you can choose to stay out longer or head home to your casa.

Day 4 : Sunday - Adíos Nuevos Amigos

• Enjoy breakfast at your casa. Say goodbye to your hosts, and check out of your casa.
• Depending on final flight times, relish a final morning of self-exploration in old Havana, featuring several options that will be presented to you by our local guide.
• Ride together to Havana’s José Martí International Airport for afternoon flights

Optional Extension (additional costs apply)

Day 4: Sunday – The Cuban Countryside

• Breakfast at your casa
• Drive out of Havana and into Cuba’s scenic countryside to Las Terrazas, the pioneering eco-village that is now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
• Discuss the reserve and the local community with a sustainability expert, and learn about and dive into different Cuban coffees with the resident growers.
• Swim in the clean, cascading waters that fall into a series of pools at the Baños del San Juan, a popular spot among locals in the area.
• Enjoy lunch en el campo with farm-fresh ingredients at the oldest dedicated vegetarian restaurant in Cuba, and have a discussion on food in Cuba.
• Visit the home and studio of a local artist who takes the recycled paper from the community and generates stationary, cards, and art.
• Wander through one of the country’s oldest coffee plantations, with stunning views of the lush green valley and the Caribbean sea in the distance.
• Return to your casas to freshen up.
• For our final feast, we'll dine at a beautiful art house in old Havana.
• Enjoy a local club with live music and dancing during our final evening in Havana.

Day 5 : Monday - Adíos Nuevos Amigos

• Enjoy breakfast at your casa. Say goodbye to your hosts, and check out of your casa.
• Depending on final flight times, relish a final morning of self-exploration in old Havana, featuring several options that will be presented to you by our local guide.
• Ride together to Havana’s José Martí International Airport for afternoon flights

A Note on Flights:

You can purchase flights on our own or through our block (with flights out of Newark or Miami). We will provide additional flight details and pricing for block purchases soon. Inbound flights should arrive on Thursday by 1:15 p.m. Outbound flights should be afternoon departures.

A Note on Itineraries:

Itineraries and pricing are subject to change. This particular tour has been designed with specific events in mind, and schedules and availability may change in coming months. If any activity or person that is advertised is missed or not available, it will be replaced with an activity or person of equal interest and value. It is quite likely that some adjustments to the above itinerary will be made.

Please contact nst-cuba@peacecorpsconnect.org with any questions about the itinerary, logistics, and payment.