Cuba
Cuba Today: Havana and Viñales
Program No. 22879RJ
Discover the history and culture of Havana as you meet with dancers, fishermen, entrepreneurs and more. Explore the Viñales Valley to uncover the natural beauty of this region.
Enroll with Confidence
We want your Road Scholar learning adventure to be something to look forward to—not worry about. Learn more
Protecting the Environment
We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Learn more
At a Glance
Gain rare insight into the history and culture of Cuba through important interactions with local business owners, historians, a dance company and farmers. Contrast the city architecture of Havana with the beautiful landscapes of the Viñales Valley, full of karsts and tobacco farms.
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…
- Enjoy a performance from an independent Cuban dance company and meet with the dancers to discuss and support their craft.
- Discover the magic of maintaining antique American cars with a visit to a mechanic's workshop.
- Learn about the history of Cuban music during a discussion with a Cuban expert.
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
Alberto Faya
Alberto Faya is a Cuban singer, researcher, composer, and professor of music. He has a degree from the University of Havana, is a professor of musical culture there, and gives lectures relating to Cuban history, culture, and music. During the 1970s, he worked to better incorporate African and Afro-Cuban music in Cuban society, striving to air Afro-Cuban rumba music on radio stations. Faya is a believer in the ongoing melding of different cultures and considers culture as the means by which personal identity is derived.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Alberto Faya
View biography
Alberto Faya is a Cuban singer, researcher, composer, and professor of music. He has a degree from the University of Havana, is a professor of musical culture there, and gives lectures relating to Cuban history, culture, and music. During the 1970s, he worked to better incorporate African and Afro-Cuban music in Cuban society, striving to air Afro-Cuban rumba music on radio stations. Faya is a believer in the ongoing melding of different cultures and considers culture as the means by which personal identity is derived.
Carlos Guillermo Campos
View biography
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.
Ayleen Robainas
View biography
Ayleen Robainas is an architect who graduated from the Technological University of Havana, CUJAE, in 1989. From 1996 to 2012, she was vice-director and designer at the Directorate of Heritage Architecture, and later as head of the "Colonial Havana" project workshop at the “Restaura” Projects Company. Between 2013 and 2015, she served as executive secretary of the Provincial Monuments Commission at the Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Office of the Historian. Since 2017, she has been a specialist in the Master Plan Management Group.
Suggested Reading List
(20 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 and Viñales
Program Number: 22879
Havana, A Cultural and Literary Companion
An illuminating guide to the city, its history and geography, as the inspiration for writers, artists, musicians and intellectuals.
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.
Cuba and Its Music, From the First Drums to the Mambo
A thorough and entertaining history of Cuba and its music by the popular radio producer, music historian and cofounder of Cuban record label QbaDisc.
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 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, 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.
Our Man in Havana
The classic story of a British vacuum cleaner salesman who gets accidentally drawn into Cold War espionage with disastrous results.
Trading with the Enemy
Miller captures the openness, sensuality and pride of Cuba and the Cubans in this eloquent account of entertaining travels in Fidel's Cuba.
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.
Havana, History and Architecture of a Romantic City
This magnificent history of Havana, featuring 480 color illustrations, shows the city and its growth from its founding as a Spanish colony to independence.
Havana & Cuba West Map
A full-color map to the city center of Havana, at a scale of 1:10,000. Plus, on the reverse, a regional map of Cuba at a scale of 1:600,000.
Cuba Journeys
Fields presents Cuba in his newest collection, featuring 120 color and 30 black-and-white photographs that illustrate the island's diverse landscapes. He captures the Matanzas coastlands, Vinales Valley tobacco fields and Havana metropolis, which serves as a backdrop to a series highlighting classic American cars. Includes cultural and historical commentary written in English and Spanish.
Culture Smart! Cuba
A concise, well-illustrated and practical guide to local customs, etiquette and culture.
The Old Man and the Sea
Hemingway's brief story of a fisherman who, after 84 days with no luck, finally makes a big catch. It’s an affectionate portrait of life in Cuba and winner of the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
A Simple Habana Melody, From When the World Was Good
An unlikely love story and lyrical tribute to Latin music by the author of Mambo Kings.
The Pride of Havana
Professor Gonzalez Echevarria expertly traces the arc of baseball in Cuba, intertwining its heroes and their stories with the politics, music, dance, and literature of the Cuban people.
Cuba, This Moment, Exactly So
This deluxe coffee-table book organizes 250 black-and-white photographs around micro-stories that immerse readers in the heat and culture of the "Pearl of the Antilles." Includes a foreword by great travel writer Pico Iyer.
The Spaces Between, Contemporary Art in Havana
This study of shared, communal spaces for Havana artists examines the context of contemporary Cuban art. Including major contemporary figures, the work discusses artists’ techniques, their major themes and the environments in which they create.
New Art of Cuba
A survey of Cuban art since 1981, all by young artists who have come-of-age since the revolution, and revised to reflect more recent developments. Twenty-four new color plates augment the 200 black and white illustrations.
Passage to Cuba
An wonderful coffee-table book that takes readers through the crumbling, baroque splendor of Havana. Subtitled "An Up-Close Look at the World's Most Colorful Culture."