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Cuba/United States (FL)

Cuban Connections: A Journey From Miami to Havana

Program No. 25161RJ
Delve into the relationships between Cuba and the U.S. on this adventure through two cities — Miami and Havana — and through decades of shared history and differing cultures.
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Country StudiesSmall GroupNew
Length
8 days
Rating
New
Activity Level
Starts at
4,349
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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
8 days
7 nights
What's Included
15 meals ( 7B, 3L, 5D )
2 expert-led lectures
17 expert-led field trips
2 flights during the program
3 hands-on experiences
1 performance
An experienced Group Leader
7 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
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Activity Note
This daily schedule is a representative guide. Hotel check-in from 4:00 p.m. Remember to bring your nametag (sent previously). If your flights are canceled or delayed, please call the Road Scholar Flights Emergency Number: (802) 254-7190.
Afternoon:
After checking in at the hotel, take some time to freshen up. We will gather in the hotel lobby with our Group Leader before dinner. The Group Leader for this program is a highly experienced Miami and Cuban travel expert.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night's rest for the day ahead.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 15 miles, approximately 40 minutes total riding time. Walking up to 1.5 miles, approximately 2 hours. Standing on paved paths with limited places to sit.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
After breakfast the Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Program-related travel and transfers will be via private motorcoach unless noted otherwise. After the orientation meeting we will travel to the Freedom Tower where our Group Leader will share the history of this building, constructed in 1925, originally as a newspaper office. In 1962 it became the Freedom Tower, the center for the new federal Cuban Refugee Assistance Program begun in the wake of the Communist Revolution in Cuba. As we explore this Mediterranean Revival style landmark, we’ll begin our conversation about the experiences of Cuban migrants to the United States. Our morning will continue with a visit to the Bacardi Building, where we will learn the history of this important Cuban family and their business in Cuba and the United States. Our morning tour concludes with a visit to the Miami History Museum, where we will view the rustic boats and rafts fleeing Cubans took to get to the United States.
Lunch:
We'll enjoy lunch as a group at a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
After lunch, we’ll visit the Church Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora de Caridad (The National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity), where we will deepen our understanding of the Cuban American community in Havana. We’ll then return to the hotel to rest or enjoy time on your own exploring the city.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be glad to offer suggestions.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 15 miles, approximately 40 minutes total riding time. Walking up to 1.5 miles, approximately 2 hours. Standing on paved paths with limited places to sit.
Breakfast:
In the hotel restaurant.
Morning:
We’ll begin with a coach ride to the iconic Calle Ocho, the center of the Cuban Diaspora, to visit Little Havana. A highlight will be our visit to the Domino Park, where we’ll have a chance to chat with locals and try our hands at a game of dominoes! A quick coach ride will take us to the world famous Versailles Cuban restaurant where Cubans gather to discuss politics. You’ll be able to enjoy a Cuban croqueta and a cafe cortadito, or perhaps a pastelito. Our morning will conclude with a visit to the Ramon Puig Guayaberas store where you’ll learn a bit about the history of the guayabera, Cuba’s best known garment, at the store where famous Cuban Americans shop!
Lunch:
We’ll enjoy lunch as a group at a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
After lunch we will visit the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University, where we will enjoy a lecture from Professor Guillermo Grenier. Dr. Grenier is an internationally recognized expert on Cuban American migration, political ideologies, and immigrant incorporation who will inform our understanding of the complexities of Cuban American identity and experience. After our lecture from Dr. Grenier, we will visit the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora, which will allow us to further explore the history, experiences, and cultural contributions of Cubans living in the United States.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be glad to offer suggestions.
Evening:
Prepare to travel to Havana tomorrow morning!
Activity Note
This daily schedule is a representative guide. Program elements in Cuba are controlled by the Cuban government and are subject to change on short notice, as are flight times. Hotel check-in from 4:00 p.m. Remember to bring your nametag.
Breakfast:
At the hotel or boxed breakfast depending on departure time.
Morning:
Miami - Havana Flight Details: American Airlines Flight #2705 Check in: 6:30 am Depart Miami: 9:30 am Arrive Havana: 10:45 am. These flights are part of a group block booking, and American Airlines does not award miles for these flights. Coach transfer from the hotel to the Miami Airport. An additional Orientation will be given after you arrive in Havana en route to the hotel. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Our accommodations in Cuba feature clean, comfortable rooms with private baths and standard amenities. Cuban hotel standards may not equal their American or European counterparts. Improvements are ongoing, and we hope that any potential glitch in service or amenities is a minor trade-off for the authentic connections and enrichment we will experience. Meals will be in paladares: privately owned and operated family restaurants. A reminder: The regulations that govern our program and are set by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Program elements in Cuba are controlled by the Cuban government and are subject to change on short notice; therefore, the daily schedule is a representative guide. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. 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. Road Scholar programs are carefully crafted to comply with these regulations. All itineraries reflect this emphasis. Visits with independent social projects, religious organizations, and members of civil society are included in every program. Thank you for your understanding.
Lunch:
Arrival at Aeropuerto José Martí — José Martí International Airport (HAV), about 14 miles from the hotel. We will make a stop at Revolution Square en route to a private restaurant for lunch. Afternoon arrival in the hotel.
Afternoon:
After lunch we will check into the hotel and have time to freshen up and settle in before dinner at the hotel.
Dinner:
We’ll enjoy dinner at the Hotel Grand Aston.
Evening:
Relax and prepare for your first full day in Havana.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 20 miles total, approximately 2 hours riding time. Walking and standing for approximately 3 hours, pedestrian streets, cobblestones, high curbs.
Breakfast:
In the hotel restaurant.
Morning:
Following breakfast, we will welcome an expert Professor to the hotel for a lecture on Cuba-US relations that will allow us to understand this complex relationship from a new perspective. Following this riveting conversation, we will be picked up by our coach at the hotel to enjoy the American Old Cars Project. We’ll venture to Santos Suarez to visit a private mechanic workshop where these antique cars get fixed. We’ll then enjoy a ride in these cars to Sloppy Joe’s where we can have a drink and learn about the history of this establishment.
Lunch:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be glad to offer suggestions.
Afternoon:
Our Cuban host will guide us around Old Havana, where sites visited will include the Bacardi Building in Havana, again giving us an opportunity to explore Cuban American relations from a new angle. Next we’ll visit the Clothing Designer Project "L&M Details" in Calle Obispo, where guayaberas are made. We’ll have a chance to meet the owner and interact with their members of their design workshop, allowing us to see how Cubans and Cuban Americans alike understand and create their most iconic garment. We’ll wrap up our time in Old Havana with visits to individual artist studios.
Dinner:
After a visit to the hotel to freshen up, we will enjoy dinner at a Paladar (private restaurant).
Evening:
At Leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 70 miles, approximately 2 hour riding time throughout the day. Walking up to 1.5 miles, approximately 2 hours. Standing on paved and unpaved paths with limited places to sit.
Breakfast:
In the hotel restaurant.
Morning:
Following breakfast we will board the coach for a trip to Santa Cruz del Norte, where we will visit the village of Camilo Cienfuegos, aka, the Hershey Town. Named for famed American chocolatier Milton Hershey, the town was originally built by the Hershey Company to house workers in the chocolate industry. We’ll have a chance to explore the village and learn about its history, and to meet with a local to learn about the town’s past and present. We’ll return to Havana for the rest of the day.
Lunch:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be glad to offer suggestions.
Afternoon:
Dominoes – Cuba’s national game – has its own set of rules, and is played enthusiastically in private and public. More than competition and skill, it is a greatly enjoyed social activity. We’ll meet members of a local dominoes league, learn the Cuban rules, and then play with club members. Teams will rotate and each American will play with one Cuban, presenting an opportunity to practice a few words in Spanish and learn the differences between Miami and Havana dominoes play.
Dinner:
We will dine at Paladar “Casa Miglis” and enjoy a performance by the Havana Queens Dance Company, who exquisitely blend classic and contemporary Cuban dance in an unforgettable spectacular!
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 15 miles, approximately 1 hour riding time throughout the day. Walking up to 1.5 miles, approximately 2 hours. Standing on cobblestone streets and navigating uneven sidewalks, high curbs and stairs without railings.
Breakfast:
In the hotel restaurant.
Morning:
Following breakfast we will board the coach for our journey to Cojimar, a picturesque fishing village that was the setting for Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. Here you will explore the beautiful Malecon and Parque Ernest Hemingway, interact with the fishermen as they go about their work, and even meet one of the last people who met Hemingway! Next we will visit the Finca Vigia Museum, the home where Hemingway lived and wrote some of his best-loved novels. We then return to Old Havana.
Lunch:
On your own to choose from the many independently owned paladares in Old Havana. The Group Leader will be glad to offer suggestions.
Afternoon:
This afternoon we'll set out on a walking tour of two of Old Havana’s four plazas: Plaza de la Catedral that originated in 1592, with its main feature the ornate Catedral de San Cristóbal; and Plaza Vieja, laid out in 1559 when it was the “new” square, now surrounded by elegant, historic buildings. Along the way, we’ll visit the studios of two contemporary painters to see how their works reveal a look at life in Cuba today. Finally we will visit a private Tobacco-Roller Project and learn about this essential art and aspect of Cuban culture.
Dinner:
Farewell Dinner at Paladar.
Evening:
Our final evening in Cuba might be spent listening to music in the Plaza Vieja or packing to ready ourselves for tomorrow’s journey back to Miami.
Activity Note
The Group Leader will announce airport transfer time based on flight schedule.
Breakfast:
In the hotel restaurant.
Morning:
Havana - Miami Flight Details: American Airlines Flight #2706 Check in: 8:45 am Depart Havana: 11:45 am Arrive Miami: 12:45 pm. Group transfer to the Havana airport. Flight times are always subject to changes made by the airline. Please do not schedule connecting flights within 3 - 4 hours of arrival in Miami due to possible delays, schedule changes and airport security (PLEASE NOTE: The flight time is subject to change.) This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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