Escorted Tours 2020 & 2021 - 2nd Edition - Mercury Holidays

LATIN AMERICA 79 For full tour itineraries, please visit us online at www.mercuryholidays.co.uk/tours MEAL PLAN: All meals included ACCOMMODATION Havana 2 nights 4 ★ H10 Panorama Hotel Viñales 2 nights 3.5 ★ Rancho San Vicente Cienfuegos 2 nights 3.5 ★ Club Amigo Rancho Luna Varadero 1 night 5 ★ Iberostar Bella Vista VARADERO BEACH STAY 4 nights 5 ★ All Inclusive from £319 or 7 nights 5 ★ All Inclusive from £489 Visit our website to learn more about our extensions. EXTEND YOUR TOUR DEPARTURES & FROM PRICES 2022 DEPARTURES AT 2021 PRICES CONTACT US FOR DATES • Prices based on flights from London Heathrow to Cuba with Virgin Atlantic • A single supplement starts from just £259 • Private Tour supplement from £689 Havana Tour modern and historic Havana, explore the country’s revolutionary past in Santa Clara, experience rural Viñales and make your way to Caribbean shores in Varadero on our tour of this unique island. PACE: 03 Nov 20 £2,249 24 Nov 20 £2,099 10 Jan 21 £2,119 14 Feb 21 £1,999 14 Mar 21 £2,139 18 Apr 21 £2,279 02 May 21 £1,919 06 Jun 21 £1,919 12 Sep 21 £1,599 10 Oct 21 £1,799 21 Nov 21 £2,099 THIS TOUR INCLUDES ALL MEALS DAILY VIVA CUBA 9 days from £1,599pp TOUR HIGHLIGHTS ✔ Havana city tour, including visits to Revolution Square and Floridita’s Bar ✔ Tour the streets & plazas of Trinidad ✔ Che Guevara’s mausoleum in Santa Clara ✔ Tobacco plantation, ancient river cave and Cuban cigar factory in Viñales ✔ Buena Vista Social Club Show and cocktail master-class ✔ Cannon ceremony at La Cabaña Fortress ✔ Unwind on the beaches of Varadero DAY 1: UK TO HAVANA D Depart London on your scheduled, direct flight to Havana. On arrival, you will be met and transferred to your beach front hotel. After an afternoon at leisure re-join your group for tonight’s welcome dinner. DAY 2: HAVANA B/L/D Today starts with a walking tour through Old Havana. Wind your way along the cobbled streets and past faded buildings. Stop at Floridita’s Bar, the famous hangout of Ernest Hemingway. Enjoy one of the bar’s daiquiris before lunch at a local restaurant. Make your way to the city’s craft market and browse through the multitude of stalls. This evening, after a festive dinner at a local restaurant, witness the Nine Cannon Ceremony at Morro Fortress. Next, experience Cuba’s rich musical culture with a rhythmic live music performance at the Buena Vista Social Club Show. DAY 3: HAVANA TO VINALES B/L/D Journey to the fishing village of Cojimar, the inspiration behind Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”. Visit Finca Vigia, the writer’s former home where many of his belongings are on display. Next, participate in a cocktail lesson before lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, depart for Vinales, stopping en route at Las Barrigonas, a tobacco farm that grows some of the world’s finest tobacco. Explore the tobacco plantation then travel onward to Vinales for your overnight stay. DAY 4: VIÑALES B/L/D Soak in the slower pace of rural life in breath-taking Viñales, a town framed by limestone hills and dotted with tobacco farms. A scenic drive through the rural landscape takes you to the cigar factory and tobacco plantation in Pinar del Rio where you can witness how Cuba’s famed cigars are toasted and rolled. Next, board a boat and float downriver to Cueva del Indio, a river cave that was once an ancient indigenous dwelling. Your boat ride then carries you to Mural de La Prehistoria, a fantastic 120-metre-long rock mural. After lunch at a local restaurant, return to your hotel for an afternoon at leisure. DAY 5: VIÑALES TO CIENFUEGOS B/L/D Depart Viñales and drive to Soroa where you’ll wander the fragrant pathways of its Orchideary. Continue to Las Terrazas, a rural community set in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Explore the trails that criss- crosses this area, led by a local guide. After lunch, drive onwards to the seaside city of Cienfuegos, your home for the next two nights. DAY 6: CIENFUEGOS B/L/D After breakfast, make the short trip from Cienfuegos to Trinidad for a morning tour of the city. Admire the fascinating artefacts of the Romantic Museum then continue on to Bar La Canchanchara for a taste of the bar’s signature cocktail, made of local rum, honey, lemon and water. After lunch, return to Cienfuegos for a city tour and an afternoon walk down the central boulevard and a visit to the magnificent Palacio de Valle. DAY 7: CIENFUEGOS TO VARADERO B/L/D After breakfast, travel to Santa Clara, the centre of revolutionary Cuba. Explore the Che Guevara Square, Museum and Mausoleum then visit the Armoured Train Monument. Make your way to tranquil Parque Vidal, the city’s central park, and take in the elegant Neo-Classical buildings which line its borders. Drive onward to the seaside resort town of Varadero for your overnight stay and an afternoon at leisure. DAY 8/9: VARADERO TO HAVANA TO THE UK B A morning at leisure gives you ample time to soak up some sunshine on the nearby beach front. In the afternoon, transfer to the airport in Havana for your return flight to the UK, or continue on to your chosen extension. B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner FOR YOU TO KNOW: A tourist card and travel insurance are required when travelling to Cuba and must be obtained before travel. Tips: We recommend you allow approximately £32pp for the duration of your tour. Optional excursions are at an additional cost. Coach Air