Hi, this might sound an odd request to those of you who know that I regularly visit Cuba but I'm looking for some feedback and info from anybody who has done an escorted tour of Cuba. This year, for health reasons, I'm giving the Carnevale in Santiago da Cuba a miss as I don't think that I have the stamina at the moment for both the humidity and staying up dancing until 4.00am every morning! Also, I think that Cuba is likely to change a great deal in the near future if Obama continues to modify the US embargo, so this is the summer that I've decided that I would really like to take the opportunity to see more of the island before it changes for ever. And for the same health reasons, I've decided that this year I'm looking for a bit more comfort than most casa particulares (which I usually stay in) can provide so I'm looking at staying in hotels instead. They don't need to be grand, a Cuban 2/3 star will do - I'm not particularly looking for 5* tourist hotels. My general feeling of frailness at the moment also means that I don't feel up to travelling around on my own - it's something I've done a lot of in the past but this year I feel in need of the security that goes with having a rep/tour leader on tap.
Having done a fair bit of asking around and looking at itineraries on the Net etc, the two frontrunners for me seem to be Kuoni and Escape Worldwide. Both are fairly expensive compared to what my Cuba trips usually cost but both guarantee small groups with local tour guides, visit the places I want to see, use smaller hotels with a bit of character and both would enable me to spend a few days in Santiago catching up with friends there so I don't mind the cost. Has anybody on the forum used either of these TOs for tours of Cuba? And if you have what has been your experience of them? Or does anybody know of another TO that they would recommend and that they think might fit the bill? By the way, I was put off Intrepid Travel as a result of a friend's experience who wasn't impressed with them - she has been a number of times on the same trips as me to Santiago and decided she knew more than the local tour guide did!
Thanks in advance for any help anybody can offer,
SM
Hi SMa
We did the Kuoni Discover Cuba Tour in April 2006 and had a great time. My review is 4 sides of A4 long though - do you want to PM me your email address so I can send to to you? Otherwise ask me some questions and I will attempt to answer them!
We did the Kuoni Discover Cuba Tour in April 2006 and had a great time. My review is 4 sides of A4 long though - do you want to PM me your email address so I can send to to you? Otherwise ask me some questions and I will attempt to answer them!
Hi Corinne,
Thanks for such a prompt reply - I'm seriously looking at combining Kuoni's 'Enchanting Cuba' and 'Discover Cuba' tours. You can do them 'back to back' so to speak which means that I get a few days in Havana as well as a tour of both the east and west of the island. I'm not that bothered by the idea of a beach-based extension - I sort of feel that Varadero would be my idea of hell and that even Guardalavaca wouldn't be my cup of tea (or should I say glass of rum!).
I've PMd you my email address - I would be really interested in reading your review.
Many thanks,
SM
Thanks for such a prompt reply - I'm seriously looking at combining Kuoni's 'Enchanting Cuba' and 'Discover Cuba' tours. You can do them 'back to back' so to speak which means that I get a few days in Havana as well as a tour of both the east and west of the island. I'm not that bothered by the idea of a beach-based extension - I sort of feel that Varadero would be my idea of hell and that even Guardalavaca wouldn't be my cup of tea (or should I say glass of rum!).
I've PMd you my email address - I would be really interested in reading your review.
Many thanks,
SM
Hi SM
I went on a two week tour from Holguin to Vinales with Travelsphere in 2007 and was highly satisfied with the holiday. The hotels were a mixture some good, some poor and the one where we spent our last three nights in Havana very good. As a Cuba regular you won't be upset by the lack of luxury in some of the hotels that some fellow travellers complained about but on the whole the tour was pretty good. Travelsphere do holidays for single travellers without single room supplements but I have found that the basic prices for singles holidays are considerably more than the ones in the normal brochure so you aren't saving anything by using this service. The tour I went on was the normal tour where you would have to pay single room supplement. If you need any more info let me know.
Judith
I went on a two week tour from Holguin to Vinales with Travelsphere in 2007 and was highly satisfied with the holiday. The hotels were a mixture some good, some poor and the one where we spent our last three nights in Havana very good. As a Cuba regular you won't be upset by the lack of luxury in some of the hotels that some fellow travellers complained about but on the whole the tour was pretty good. Travelsphere do holidays for single travellers without single room supplements but I have found that the basic prices for singles holidays are considerably more than the ones in the normal brochure so you aren't saving anything by using this service. The tour I went on was the normal tour where you would have to pay single room supplement. If you need any more info let me know.
Judith
Hi Judith,
Thanks for the tip, I'll check out Travelsphere - haven't looked at them yet. As for single supplements they are par for the course, though that was what was so attractive about the deal that Kuoni was trying to put together for me. I thought that £2,649 for 22 nights including single supplements - and staying at the Hotel Nacionale in Havana between the two halves of the holiday - was a good buy. Unfortunately, the only dates they could come up with for this summer aren't the best for someone who teaches at a University where re-sits take place in late August and for which I would really need to be back in time for.
As you say, it's best not to expect too much from hotels in Cuba but most are a step up from the casa particulares that I'm used to. And as I said to Corinne in my PM - nobody goes to Cuba for the food!
SM
Thanks for the tip, I'll check out Travelsphere - haven't looked at them yet. As for single supplements they are par for the course, though that was what was so attractive about the deal that Kuoni was trying to put together for me. I thought that £2,649 for 22 nights including single supplements - and staying at the Hotel Nacionale in Havana between the two halves of the holiday - was a good buy. Unfortunately, the only dates they could come up with for this summer aren't the best for someone who teaches at a University where re-sits take place in late August and for which I would really need to be back in time for.
As you say, it's best not to expect too much from hotels in Cuba but most are a step up from the casa particulares that I'm used to. And as I said to Corinne in my PM - nobody goes to Cuba for the food!
SM
Hi Judith, I've checked out Travelsphere and they look good but don't have any availability in the late June/early July period which is what I need because of other commitments. Escape Worldwide have given me a decent quote, so thinking of booking with them.
SM
SM
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Edited by
SMa
2009-05-29 12:33:52
Hi Sma
Glad you've found what you are looking for. As I get older I'm beginning to find solo travelling a bit of a hassle and must admit that on the few accompanied tours I have taken it's been a bit of a relief to put all of the arrangements in someone elses hands. Last year when I was stranded for a few days in Bangkok during a solo trip I did think about what would have had happened if I had been taken ill.
I think small group tours, though usually more expensive are the way to go.
Judith
Glad you've found what you are looking for. As I get older I'm beginning to find solo travelling a bit of a hassle and must admit that on the few accompanied tours I have taken it's been a bit of a relief to put all of the arrangements in someone elses hands. Last year when I was stranded for a few days in Bangkok during a solo trip I did think about what would have had happened if I had been taken ill.
I think small group tours, though usually more expensive are the way to go.
Judith
Hi Judith,
As you'll know yourself from Cuba, things are never quite as straightforward as they could be! 6 months ago I wouldn't have thought twice about travelling around on my own but at the moment I would just feel more secure knowing that somebody else was dealing with the vagueness and occasional uncertainty that is all part of the Cuban experience :-) Escape says the groups are usually around 15 people, 20 max so that feels like both enough to know there's bound to be some likeminded people that I'll probally get along with and also enough that others will not be lacking in company and regard me as a bit of a 'party pooper' if I feel the need to retreat from too much 'groupiness'. I'm not a misanthrope really but I do like the security of knowing that I'll be able to take time out on my own too.
SM
As you'll know yourself from Cuba, things are never quite as straightforward as they could be! 6 months ago I wouldn't have thought twice about travelling around on my own but at the moment I would just feel more secure knowing that somebody else was dealing with the vagueness and occasional uncertainty that is all part of the Cuban experience :-) Escape says the groups are usually around 15 people, 20 max so that feels like both enough to know there's bound to be some likeminded people that I'll probally get along with and also enough that others will not be lacking in company and regard me as a bit of a 'party pooper' if I feel the need to retreat from too much 'groupiness'. I'm not a misanthrope really but I do like the security of knowing that I'll be able to take time out on my own too.
SM
Well I've gone and done it and booked with Escape Worldwide! I fly out on the 5th July to Havana, staying in the Sevilla for a few days to recover from the flight - I've always fancied its fading grandeur! Then off to Trinidad via Santa Clara (in order to pay homage to Che!), followed by Pina del Rio and Vinales before heading back to Havana and then flying onwards and eastwards to Holguin, Baracoa and Santiago to catch up with friends there. And though I never thought I'd ever say this - I'm finishing up with 4 nights in Varadero! They offered me this as an extension at such a knockdown price that I thought that I'd be a fool to turn down the opportunity for a few chill-out days before flying home.
I can taste the mojitos already
SM
I can taste the mojitos already
SM
Sm
Hope you enjoy your trip. I've had a look at the website and I'm assuming that your tour is the Comprehensive Cuba one. It looks good, similar to the tour I took. I'll be interested to read your thoughts on Varadero (is it a sterile resort or has it any character?) after your return. I'm not a beach holiday fan but have on occasion added the odd few days of relaxation on to the end of my tours and I think 4nights/3days is about the maximum amount. I find it amazing though that people will fly over eight hours to spend two weeks at a beach resort without venturing out to see the country and Cuba as you know has a lot to offer. But we are all different and as the saying goes 'each to his own'.
Judith
Hope you enjoy your trip. I've had a look at the website and I'm assuming that your tour is the Comprehensive Cuba one. It looks good, similar to the tour I took. I'll be interested to read your thoughts on Varadero (is it a sterile resort or has it any character?) after your return. I'm not a beach holiday fan but have on occasion added the odd few days of relaxation on to the end of my tours and I think 4nights/3days is about the maximum amount. I find it amazing though that people will fly over eight hours to spend two weeks at a beach resort without venturing out to see the country and Cuba as you know has a lot to offer. But we are all different and as the saying goes 'each to his own'.
Judith
Spot on, Judith, it is the 'Comprehensive Cuba' tour - it's composed of the 'Pearl of the Caribbean' tour followed by the 'Cradle of the Revolution' one. I think it will be pretty tiring which is why a few 'poolside' days before the flight home suddenly looked quite attractive 
Less than 4 weeks to go and counting!
SM
Less than 4 weeks to go and counting!
SM
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