Cuban Culture and Heritage: Havana to the Bay of Pigs

We really enjoyed the trip. Havana was great and we would like to return one day. The drivers were perfect and we really appreciated their kindness and friendly faces every day. Zicasso's travel agent was friendly and took good care of everyone. We loved the Havana BnBs. The staff at both places went beyond what was required. The accommodations were lovely. The BnB at the beach was OK. However, they need to improve the seating on the beach. There were only two chairs that were comfortable and the husband of the host was using one when we arrived. We never really got to enjoy the beach because the other chairs were too hard or missing cushions. I know that it was requested that we add a day to visit this area, but in hindsight, it was too far to travel in an old car for older people. It was hard on the back. Also, unless you are interested in the beach, there isn’t much to do. I would skip that area, especially if it’s for one day.

The food was good in most every location we ate. I didn’t particularly like the dinner when we were at the beach. Sometimes the meals were too large, especially after eating a big meal for lunch and dinner. One of our favorites was the pork sandwich, which we ate on the way to Trinidad – simple and smaller. Plus, eating such large meals at lunch took a lot of time.

I think additional time for sitting in cafés and enjoying music would have been good. We really didn’t get to enjoy much local music, which was something Gary and I were looking forward to. The days were pretty full, so we would have had to eliminate something in order to do that, but I think that would have been OK.

We particularly liked the events where we were able to interact with the locals. For example, the dance school was very enjoyable. We also liked the senior center where we dropped off our donations.

We really enjoyed our time and, as I said before, we hope we can return for another visit.

In conclusion, the biggest changes I would recommend would be less time eating at lunch so we could experience more things, more time enjoying the local atmosphere (like music in the late afternoon), not trying to do too much on a trip, and not traveling too far, but it was a great trip!

We had a wonderful trip, truly unforgettable. Our guide and our driver were amazing. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and accommodating. They took care of everything, and took us to wonderful places. I can't have enough praise about that aspect of the trip. We weren't as lucky with accommodation, but sometimes things happened that are outside of anyone's control. We did not have hot water in the place we stayed for 3 nights in Trinidad. Other than that, I have nothing but hight marks. A very well organized trip, superb agency, and greta people.

Our Zicasso travel expert did a great job making all of our arrangements and making changes as needed while we were in Cuba. Our local guide and driver were excellent. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable, very patient, and so gracious. Our driver took good care of us too. The guest house in Havana was amazing. The guest house in Trinidad was mediocre. The guest house in Varadero was in a great location and just fine. We loved the itinerary. The activities were diverse, interesting, and fun. We could not believe the VIP treatment we received everywhere we went – the dance school, the cabaret venue, restaurants, etc.

After a very shaky start, the trip turned out great. We became alarmed and almost aborted the trip when we were given a translator whose English skills were poor AND no one picked up our friend at the airport which had been prearranged. By the time we had gathered her, it was 4 pm and we were supposed to set off on a 7 hour journey to Trinidad. It didn’t seem wise to embark on such a trip so late in the day. We were also concerned about the “vintage “ cars without seat belts or headrests. If we had been better informed regarding the situation, we would have understood and agreed to this arrangement without question. Cuba is, after all, in economic crisis. Our agent heard our concerns and responded beautifully. She couldn’t do anything about the old cars without safety features but she recommended that we stay the night in Havana. She put us in a fabulous hotel. From then on, the trip was spectacular. She sent a new translator who was fabulous. Our accommodations in Trinidad were just lovely as were the restaurants and activities. The hike could have been better described. It was very difficult. We turned back because we didn’t have enough water or walking sticks. Bay of Pigs was interesting. We would have loved a guided snorkeling tour. I would recommend this group provided they use our translator or equally competent translator and that they upgrade their descriptions of the “vintage “ cars and the outings.