Cuba
Cuba Today: Havana, Cienfuegos & Trinidad
Program No. 22461RJ
Discover the unique social and cultural changes taking place in Cuba today as you enjoy a musical performance, converse with locals and embark on a walking adventure of historic Havana.
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At a Glance
Welcome to Cuba: A mosaic of colorful buildings and diverse locals that comes together to form a country rich in history, culture and art. On a special journey that begins and ends in Havana, support entrepreneurs, musicians, artists, religious institutions and business leaders while learning about their lives. Alongside Cuban hosts, learn about U.S.-Cuba relations as you explore the vibrant cities that make this country so unique. Immerse yourself in colonial architecture, Art Deco buildings, classic cars and lively music while learning how a country shaped by so many outside influences could create such a strong sense of community.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking up to two miles a day on a combination of cobblestone streets and dirt paths. Getting on and off of a motorcoach. Navigating high curbs, uneven steps and stairs without railings. Travel in a tropical climate.
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Learn how to play dominoes with members of a private dominoes club.
- Enjoy a performance from a private Cuban dance company and meet with the dancers.
- Meet with members of an artist community and learn about Cuba's artistic heritage and developments in contemporary art.
General Notes
Road Scholar offers opportunities to travel legally to Cuba under the new OFAC Regulations published June 5, 2019. Following the General License category “Support for the Cuban People,” Road Scholar programs include activities intended to strengthen civil society in Cuba. Each day's program promotes independence for the Cuban people and results in meaningful interactions with the Cuban people. Questions about traveling to Cuba? Road Scholar has your answers. Learn more: https://www.roadscholar.org/travel-tips/cuba/.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Maritza Corrales
Maritza Corrales is a Cuban historian who has dedicated her life's work to researching the history of Jews in Cuba. Born in 1948, she is a graduate of the University of Havana and lives in Havana. She has been a consulting scholar to various research and academic institutions in Cuba and has published numerous articles on the history of Cuban Jews. She has lectured at universities in Israel, Spain, Mexico, and Cuba.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Maritza Corrales
View biography
Maritza Corrales is a Cuban historian who has dedicated her life's work to researching the history of Jews in Cuba. Born in 1948, she is a graduate of the University of Havana and lives in Havana. She has been a consulting scholar to various research and academic institutions in Cuba and has published numerous articles on the history of Cuban Jews. She has lectured at universities in Israel, Spain, Mexico, and Cuba.
Alejandro Anido
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Alejandro Anido is one of the many amazing Cuban leaders, who works with and has been trained by Road Scholar. He is a Cuban expert, and is responsible for relaying local knowledge, and both cultural and historical information for the places we visit throughout the program. He will answer questions pertaining to Cuba and the Cuban people.
Ilen Chou
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Ilen Rodriguez is one of the many amazing Cuban leaders who works with and has been trained by Road Scholar in addition to being trained and scheduled by Havanatur, the government-run operator in Cuba. She is the Cuban expert and is responsible for relaying local knowledge, and both cultural and historical information for the places we visit throughout the program. She will answer questions pertaining to Cuba and the Cuban people.
Camilo Garcia Lopez Trigo
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Camilo García Lopez Trigo has represented Cuba at its Embassy in Canada, the United Nations in the Netherlands, and in Washington DC. He also is involved in the National Center for Sex Education (Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual, or CENESEX. He shares his experiences representing Cuba in both friendly and adversarial nations, and his views on the current and future state of US-Cuba relations. Dr. García is a professor at the University of Havana International Relations School and an expert in US political studies.
James Warner Fitch
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James “Jim” Fitch is a Vermont native and graduate of Northeastern University with a degree in international business. After several years in the corporate world, he traded in his loafers for trekking shoes, leading educational travel programs for teenagers to Spain and Costa Rica. Jim joined the Peace Corps for three years, teaching entrepreneurship and business skills to underserved communities in the Dominican Republic. He began working with Road Scholar in 2015.
Jose Armando Diaz
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José Armando Díaz was born in La Habana, Cuba and moved to Miami at the age of six. He graduated from Florida International University with a marketing degree, then worked for Pan Am and Delta Air Lines. With his passion for travel, history, and culture, he attended the International Tour Management Institute to become a travel director. Jose’s ultimate goal was to lead programs in his homeland. He believes bringing people to see Cuba’s beauty and the warmth of its people creates a positive impact.
Carlos Guillermo Campos
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Carlos Campos was born in New Jersey to Cuban immigrants. Currently, he lives in the wine district of Ribera del Duero, Spain. With over 40 years in the travel industry, he has worked in over 85 countries and visited 107 countries in total. One of his favorite destinations to work and spend time in is Cuba. Being of Cuban descent, he feels a very close bond with the country and its people.
Vivian Antunez
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Vivian Antunez is an industrial engineer who graduated from the Technological University of Havana, CUJAE, in 2007. She completed a master's in total quality management in 2011, and a Ph.D. in economic sciences at the University of Havana in 2017. She has worked as a researcher and consultant in many Cuban organizations, including PNUD of United Nations Office in Havana and World Food Program Office in Cuba. In 2015, she completed a European diploma in management education at the ESADE Business School in Barcelona.
Suggested Reading List
(10 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Cuba Today: Havana, Cienfuegos & Trinidad
Program Number: 22461
Moon Cuba
A practical guide in the Moon series, packed not only with travel necessities (hotels, restaurants, sights), but also with a good overview of history and destinations throughout Cuba.
The Double Life of Fidel Castro: My 17 Years as Personal Bodyguard to El Lider Maximo
In The Double Life of Fidel Castro, one of Castro's soldiers of 17 years breaks his silence and shares his memoir of years of service, and eventual imprisonment and torture for displeasing the notorious dictator, and his dramatic escape from Cuba.
Cuba, A History in Art
This slim, yet comprehensive survey of Cuban art between 1725 and 1959 explains the development of artists’ styles and how developments in Cuba (and especially Havana) changed their work.
Our Man in Havana
The classic story of a British vacuum cleaner salesman who gets accidentally drawn into Cold War espionage with disastrous results.
Hemingway's Boat
Focusing on the years 1934 to 1961, from Hemingway's pinnacle as the reigning monarch of American letters until his suicide, Paul Hendrickson traces the writer's life through the story of his beloved boat, Pilar. On display at Hemingway's Finca La Vigia in San Francisco de Paula, east of Havana, it is easy to see how this sleek craft attracted Hemingway, the setting for so much of what the writer loved and the leitmotif of Hendrickson's supple elegy.
Dreaming in Cuban
A short, poetic novel of three generations of Cuban women, their reaction to the revolution and the complex relation between those who remained in Cuba and those who settled in the United States. Excellent reading.
Cuba
With full-page photographs, introductory essays on history, architecture, music, food and more, this oversized, illustrated paperback by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Francois Missen and photographer Pierre Hausherr captures the spirit of Cuba, its people, nature and culture.
Cuba, What Everyone Needs to Know
Director for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Julia Sweig traces the geography, history and identity of Cuba in this admirably succinct portrait of the island nation and its role in world affairs.
The Distant Marvels
A life-affirming tale of love set during a hurricane in 1960s, post-revolutionary Cuba. To keep hope alive amongst the evacuees, Maria Sirena tells the incredible story of her childhood during Cuba's Third War of Independence.
Cuba Map
A detailed, double-sided laminated map at a scale of 1:1,000,000.