I haven't used Voyager Cuba but like most UK based TO to Cuba it looks like their escorted tours are actually provided by Havanatur, the Cuban state owned agency - they have exactly the same names and itineraries! I have toured Cuba on a tour organised by Havanatur and it was excellent. Very small groups - in my case there were 4 of us in a people carrier for the first week and just me, a driver and an English speaking guide for the 2nd!

But given that Voyager Cuba are really only acting as agents for Havanatour I would suggest that you consider booking direct via their UK office. A quick check on their website at

http://www.havanatour.co.uk/

suggests that you might get a better price if you do so. The link above will take you there - don't use the one with a Havanatour.com url which is for a US based company that others on both here and TripAdvisor have had bad experiences with. Havanatour will also organise a beach add-on and in effect provide you with a customised holiday package for a competitive price. I did two week long back-to-back tours with some time in Havana plus 4 days AI in Varadero with Virgin flights for less than the prices Voyager Cuba seem to be charging for a 7 day tour + 7 day beach hotel stay.

SM

getting off topic slightly, I remember SMa posting a warning about a fake havanatour website and some others connected to it, and I traced the company behind them to the British Virgin Islands. But the post has now disappeared. Anyone know why?

Steve, the posts haven't been deleted - my warning that you were thinking about is probably the one here:

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=146182

and this thread provides further details of what happened when another member of HT booked with the 'wrong' website:

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=104&t=143537

SM

SM

your first link mentions another post 146180 and I thought I'd added some details to that, but now I can't find it. I know the Cuba post have been moved but it doesn't seem to be there.

Sorry, Steve, in that case it has me stumped!

SM

the reason I was wondering is that at the back of my mind the dodgy company I was thinking of had other sites that had Voyager in the name - although the one just asked about is based in the UK so doesn't seem to be involved.

Some posts in previous topics were removed. Nothing wrong with what Steve posted at the time, but when that information was picked up by Google, we were being targeted by 'outsiders' who only wanted to use us a platform for some libelous allegations about the company and named individuals associated with it. Some weren't even speaking from personal experience, but only from what they had read on other forums.

If I remember correctly, with so many URLs and different spellings being posted at the time, the name of the reputable or recommended agent was also being unfairly tarnished.

Hopefully the same thing won't happen now that the 'other' company has been mentioned again. But just for clarification and hopefully to avoid any confusion, the previous complaints and libelous allegations were not about http://www.havanatour.co.uk. Voyager Cuba (the subject of this latest topic) did not feature in any of those previous topics or complaints either.

David

Thanks for the info SMa.
I have contacted the company for a quote.
A relief that it is the legit one !

Cheers
Brian L

All is explained - thanks for that David.

Brian L, let us know how you get on.

SM

An update -- we have booked a holiday !
The quote from Havanatours was a little more than the Cubavoyager one but we have a local independent Travel agents ( not a High St Holiday shop) that we have used in the past and going through them they shaved the Havanatours price down a little bit and so we have booked through them. Two weeks in January, one week the tour and 6 days at Cayo Levisa.
Never been to Cuba so really looking forward to it.
Thanks for all the advice.
Cheers
Brian L

Oh I'm so envious! Cayo Levisa is a lovely little place - very quiet and peaceful but with a lovely white sand, palm tree fringed beach. I really enjoyed a day trip there on one of my trips and bitterly regretted that in a moment of madness I finished that same holiday with 4 days AI in Varadero - the idea was to have a few days R&R after a particularly tiring 14 day tour but I spent every day there wishing that I'd taken the extra time and effort to go back to Cayo Levisa for those 4 days instead. There really isn't that much to do but lie around drinking rum cocktails but the food was good for a small criolla kitchen and the cabins are right on the beach with no shortage of sunbeds etc. You might also get live music on a few afternoons in the restaurant/bar but it will be a great place to relax and soak up the sun in between dips in the sea which is exceptionally clean.

If there's anything I can help you further with, don't hesitate to ask on the Cuba forum.

SM

My husband and I have just come back from Cuba. We used voyager and they were great. We didn't do a tour we made our own itinary and voyager sorted everything out for us. We had 4 nights in Havana, flew to Cayo Coco for a week by the beach, flew back to Havana for another 3 nights. It worked perfectly. When ever I needed info before we went I emailed the company and got a reply the same day. Can't praise them enough. Cuba is a very special place go for it.