Cuba highlights and beach holiday

Planet

You’ll find Cuba has some beautiful landscapes, from the unspoiled tranquil beaches of Maria la Gorda to the lush vegetation of the Humboldt National Park – and we want to keep it that way! This itinerary includes a trip to Las Terrazas, Cuba’s pioneering eco-village, where you’ll stay in an unusual eco-resort with an airy atrium built around a giant lime tree. The proceeds from tourism go back into preserving the area’s unique biosphere, its ruins of 18th century coffee plantations and upkeep of the ecological research centre.

On the tour we will travel as lightly as possible, for example walking to hidden waterfalls, and exploring the landscape on horseback in Viñales.

Throughout our trips we prioritise small-scale, low impact accommodation, such as locally-owned Casa particilares and we visit local farmers and businesses who are balancing crop growing with protecting the landscape.

Meanwhile at our offices in Brighton, we’re dedicated recyclers and work hard to reduce the amount of energy we consume. Our local partners do the same; keeping energy use to a minimum and using energy-saving light bulbs. We even advise our customers on keeping energy use down in their travel documentation.

People

We firmly believe in the concept of meaningful travel; having experiences which benefit you and the destination you’re visiting. We advise all our customers on local customs and cultures in their travel documentation.

You will be visiting local businesses, such as coffee growers and cigar makers and meeting the local guajiros in Viñales. We’ve included a few casa particulars in this itinerary – a private room in a local home. By staying with a family instead of in a hotel, you’ll put money directly into the pockets of the local people and catch a glimpse of how Cubans really live.

We’re really proud that our local partners care as much about meaningful travel as we do. They work together with several artists, dancers, and intellectuals in Cuba and stimulate cultural tourism by organizing workshops, tours and courses to promote the Cuban culture.

We also support a local project in Cuba; the Music Fund for Cuba. They support the education and development of music and performing arts in Cuba. The Music Fund for Cuba provides much needed support and equipment for children and young Cuban musicians, dancers and artists throughout the island.