The most exclusive accomodation in Havana. A luxury villa with all services of a hotel. 

Villa Flora’s 6 days guided tour proposal for groups. Each minivan fix 7 people. The itinerary can be modified under previous clients request. We provide a list of suggested restaurants and night clubs and take care of bookings under request.

Day 1

Your local guide, Roly Montero, will be waiting for you with a minivan.

Drive to the Plaza de la Revolucion. This is the most politically important square in Cuba and one of the largest city squares in the world. The square has stood witness to many rallies and revolutions that have altered the course of Cuban history. Presiding over the square is an almost 60 foot statue of José Martí.

Stop at the Presidential Palace, now known as the home of the Revolutionary Museum. The history of Cuban political development is illustrated here from the slave uprisings to joint missions with the ex-Soviet Union. Part of the museum is the Granma Memorial, which preserves the vessel that brought Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and other revolutionaries from Mexico to Cuba in 1956.

Continue to Villa Flora to check in

Depart your villa for a quick view to 5ta Avenida and the neighborhood of Miramar, where your Villa is located. Miramar was the last and neighborhood of wealthy people before revolution and where the most beautiful 50ties properties are located.

Dinner in a Restaurant

Local guide waits for you with a mini van

Plaza de la Revolucion

Depart

Presidential Palace

Depart

Arrive at Villa Flora

Depart for a quick view of the Quinta Avenida and Miramar neighborhood

Dinner in a restaurant

Day 2

Depart your villa and drive to Old Havana to begin exploring the city’s historical core by foot on a walking tour led by architect Ayleen Robaina. As you walk through Old Havana, stop to admire the city’s many squares and its cathedral. Talk with local residents, many of whom have returned to their homes that have been renovated by Habaguanex, the semi-private entity that manages the restoration of Old Havana. 

Before lunch participate in an interactive musical workshop where you will learn more about the Cuban musical tradition. Cuban music comes from a culture of people whose ancestors were not originally from Cuba, and so their European and African (mostly) roots play a dominant role in anchoring its development of music in the country.

Once you understand the Cuban rhythms, there will be a salsa class to show you how the Cubans dance.

Enjoy lunch at a typical restaurant.

After lunch, continue with Ayleen for a visit the Nacional Hotel and enjoy a drink in the Hall of Fame.

Stop at the famous Coppelia (internationally known because by “Fresa & chocolate”, one of the most popular Cuban classic movies) to taste some of Cuba’s best ice-cream. The ice-cream parlor is located in a park and serves up to 10,000 customers a day.

Before returning to the hotel, stop at the University of Havana. Though the University is closed, you will be able to view the campus from the outside steps.

Depart your villa for dinner

Breakfast at the villa

Depart

Arrive in Old Havana and meet Ayleen at the park (Parque Central)

End at Music workshop

Walk to restaurant

Continue with Ayleen to Nacional

Drive to Coppelia

Stop at the University of Havana

Back at the villa

Depart for dinner

Day 3

Depart your villa and drive to Matanzas, a spectacular drive of about 90 minutes.

Explore the historic quarter including Plaza de la Vigia. The Matanzas fire brigade still has its headquarters in the neo-classical Parque de los Bomberos close by.

Stop at the Ediciones Vigia, which was founded in 1985 and produces hand-made first edition books on a range of topics. The books are typed, stenciled and pasted in editions of 200 books. There will be a chance to meet with director Agustina Ponce and a number of the artisans who work with her. 

Close by is the Pharmacy Museum housed in a former pharmacy which was founded in 1882 by the Triolett family. The house itself is beautiful but the collection of original equipment, furnishings and medical recipes is extraordinary. You will be met by director Marcia Brito.

Marcia Brito

For lunch drive a short distance to Jibacoa where we have arranged a day pass at Memories Jibacoa.  Coco palms, cactuses, flowering bushes and plants flourish in the hotel grounds which are set against sparkling blue water and a lush landscape. Enjoy lunch and, depending on the weather, a chance to snorkel and swim in the beautiful water. 

Return to Havana

Depart your villa for dinner in a Restaurant

Breakfast at your villa

Depart

Arrive in Matanzas and explore the old quarter

Visit Ediciones Vigia and Fire Station

Visit the Pharmacy Museum

Depart for Jibacoa

Arrive and pick-up day passes

Lunch

Beach time

Depart to Havana

Depart for dinner

Day 4

Depart this morning and guided visit at the Museo de Bellas Artes, Cuban Collection. The museum’s origins date back to 1842 when the San Alejandro Art Academy started its collection, which forms the nucleus of the museum founded in 1913. It expanded greatly after Castro took over in 1959, notably with works from the private collections of Julio Lobo and Oscar Cintas.

From the museum, drive a short distance to NostalgiCar, a classic car mechanic shop. Here you will meet with the owner of the shop who will talk about his business.

Choosing your car to travel in, drive to lunch stopping in route at John Lennon Park where you can see a sculpture of the former Beatles member John Lennon, sculpted by Cuban artist José Villa Soberón. On a marble tile at the foot of the bench there is an inscription written, in Spanish, "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."

Continue on in the classic cars to the home and studio of artist José Fuster for a private lunch. Fuster has turned his neighborhood into one enormous piece of mosaic art. His vast array of works evoking the nation’s African roots from ceramics to whimsical paintings drawn from ordinary life in Cuba: commuters crowded inside creaky, smoke-belching buses, the ubiquitous dominoes games in backyards and street corners.

After lunch, drive a short distance to enjoy a private performance of the dance/musical group Havana Compass. Liliet Rivera is the founder of Cuba Havana Dance Troupe, which is dedicated to the study and choreography of traditional and modern dances. In partnership with percussion artist, Eduardo Cordova, the troupe has created an exciting, diverse performance with traces of Spanish dance form, African-Cuban Jazz rhythm and modern dance.

Depart to your villa

Depart to dinner in a restaurant or to visit mythic Tropicana Caberet,

Breakfast at your villa

Depart for the museum, guided visit

Nostalgicar

Stop at John Lennon Park

Lunch at Fuster’s

Havana Compass – music and dance

Back to your villa

Depart for dinner or Tropicana cabaret (optional)

Day 5

Depart your villa for a full day excursion west of Havana.

After a drive of just over an hour stop at the Orchid Farm at Soroa, which is maintained by the University of Pinar del Rio. The hilly grounds contain over 800 species of plants, including 200 endemic to Cuba, all thriving in the humid climate. Soroa

Close by is Las Terrazas, an example of a Sustainable Development project with the main goal of reforesting and area of 5000 hectares, as well as improving the living conditions of the population scattered in the mountains.

Stop here for lunch at a vegetarian restaurant called El Romero

After lunch enjoy an opportunity to zip-line. The Canopy Tour in Las Terrazas is nearly 2km aerial tour using steel cables to whiz above the surrounding landscape and Las Terrazas’ fascinating scenery.

Optionally instead of Las Terrazas you can visit Viñales Valley and its beautiful landscapes of flat-topped hillocks.

Return to Havana mid-afternoon.

Dinner served at the villa

Breakfast at your villa

Depart

Havana - Soroa

Las Terrazas or Viñales Valley (optional)

Lunch

Depart to Havana

Dinner at the villa

Day 6

Depart your villa and drive to Callejon de Hamel, the site of a huge multi-dimensional Afro-Cuban mural. Here there will be a chance to learn more about the Santeria religion where you meet with a Santeria practioner

Continue on to Havana’s Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña. Today La Cabaña, together with El Morro, is part of the “Parque Histórico-Militar Morro-Cabaña” (military-historic park) and houses several museums. The Cuban Missile Crisis Museum exhibits missiles and other items from the Cuban Missile Crisis period. The Museo de la Cabaña documents Cuba’s military history, and the Museo del Che is dedicated to the life of Ernesto “Che” Guevara.

Enjoy a pig roast lunch in Cojimar at Casa Grande.  It was in Cojimar in 1762 that the English put ashore their invasion army and captured Cuba for King George. It is also the place where Ernest Hemingway berthed his legendary fishing boat, the Pilar III. Admire the bust of Hemingway made from brass fittings that each fisherman in the village donated after Hemingway’s death

From here drive a short distance to Alamar to participate in a baseball game, which we have invited some Cubans to join us for.

Before returning to your casa, visit the Havana Zoo. Opened in 1939, this is Cuba’s oldest zoo. It is also known as Zoológico de 26 and is one of the most popular places for Cuban families to visit. And although there are many different species, monkeys are still the main attraction. By the entrance, a sculpture by Rita Longa, Grupo Familiar en el Zoológico Nacional (Family at the National Zoo) stands out for its simplicity and beauty.

Depart your villa for dinner

Callejon de Hamel and meet Elias

La Cabaña Fortress

Lunch at Casa Grande

Baseball game in Alamar

Zoo

Back to the villa

Depart for Dinner