One Week Cuba Culture and History Tour

This was our first trip to Cuba - my husband and myself. Though we travel often, we were advised to find a travel agency to prepare an itinerary for us and help navigate any administrative issues related to travel from the US. I am so glad I came upon Zicasso and their recommended agent. Briefly, I cannot imagine a better experience and initiation into Cuba. Our travel agent listened carefully to my hopes and desires for our brief (one week) trip and created an itinerary that gave us a truly in depth sense of the country and the people in a short period of time. All the personnel he selected for us - our guides and drivers - were wonderful and clearly dedicated to giving us an intimate and positive experience of Cuba. The three cities we visited - Santa Clara, Trinidad and Havana - offered a different perspective of this fascinating country, thanks also to the residents we met, including artists as well as individuals working in the service industry. We loved our lodging in both Trinidad and Havana - and felt very well taken care of by the hosts.  They all went out of their way to make us feel welcome

We learned so much, about history, architecture, art, food and of course - to my husband's delight - classic American cars that you see everywhere in Havana. This is what we love - to really learn about the places we visit - and while Cuba is complicated and perhaps we came away with more questions than answers, it was not for lack of discussion with the people we encountered more than willing to tell us about their Cuba. All in all, a tremendous treat. 

Cuba is a fantastic vacation spot, we highly recommend it to all our friends.  The Cuban people are friendly and gracious.  The culture, history, art, food, music, and natural beauty are all great.  

Overall the experience with Zicasso was trouble free and easy.  The travel company that Zicasso connected us with was great.  Our travel agent and the team at the travel company were a dream to work with.  They are very accommodating and flexible, and put together an itinerary that was exactly tailored to our interests.  This travel agent is very responsive and patient, taking lots of time to understand our interests and answer our questions.  The lodgings, guides, drivers, and attractions arranged by our travel company were spot on.  The itinerary was very full, but left enough time for us to explore on our own, or just enjoy the beach in Trinidad.

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.