
Cuba
A Look at Life in Havana
Program No. 23508RJ
Immerse yourself in the culture of Havana through meaningful interactions with locals, and learn about how the complicated history has impacted this remarkable city.
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Protecting the Environment
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At a Glance
Embark on an extraordinary urban adventure as you get to know Cuba’s people, culture and history through its capital city. Discover the plazas of Old Havana with your Cuban host and venture to the outskirts of the city for a taste of rural life. Enjoy interacting with local artists, community organizers, business owners and farmers while learning about this city by supporting the amazing people that call it home. Support freedom of expression for Cuban artists, engage with owners of private enterprises by exclusively using their businesses, and promote the emergence of Civil Society by openly and freely sharing your own ideas and insights.
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…
- Gain an intimate understanding about life in Cuba — politically and culturally — as you meet local artists, musicians, dancers and farmers.
- Engage in a lecture about Cuban architecture from a renowned urban architect and city planner.
- Learn about Cuban organic farming and enjoy traditional dance from a private dance company.
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: www.roadscholar.org/cubafaqs.
Featured Expert
All trip experts

Karina Sanchez
Karina Sanchez is one of the many amazing bi-lingual Cuban leaders, who works with and has been trained by Road Scholar. 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. Karina will answer questions pertaining to Cuba and the Cuban people.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Karina Sanchez
View biography
Karina Sanchez is one of the many amazing bi-lingual Cuban leaders, who works with and has been trained by Road Scholar. 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. Karina will answer questions pertaining to Cuba and the Cuban people.
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.
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.
A Look at Life in Havana
Program Number: 23508
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.
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, 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 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.
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, 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.
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."
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 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.
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.
Culture Smart! Cuba
A concise, well-illustrated and practical guide to local customs, etiquette and culture.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Our Man in Havana
The classic story of a British vacuum cleaner salesman who gets accidentally drawn into Cold War espionage with disastrous results.
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.
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.