NEW YEAR'S IN CUBA!
Salsa. Cigars. Celebrate.
December 30, 2020 – January 3, 2021
Like many other cultures across the world, Cubans have their own colorful set of New Year's traditions that showcase the uniqueness and vibrancy of the island.
For most Cubans, the arrival of the new year is a family celebration where white rice, black beans, and of course, roast pork grace every table.
Regardless of their economic conditions, their race, or their religious beliefs, all Cuban families try to come together on New Year's Eve to spend the last night of the year surrounded by family members, friends, and neighbors, to enjoy a time of happiness and forgiveness, and to toast to "health, money, and love," and "a new year, a new life."
Cuba has a very large soul. It’s all owing to a culture which is rich, vibrant and immensely varied. At the island’s heart are the Cubans, brought to the island by the trade winds from all corners of the earth to forge a new people.
Amerindian Taino, Spanish, African, French, Asian and English ways of life took root in Cuba, but in the mixing of the cultures became something new and utterly distinct.
The people of Cuba, the vibe of Cuba, the spirit of Cuba will touch you deep down in your soul.
Join us.
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ITINERARY
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
10:31AM - Our flight departs Miami International airport
11:47 AM - After clearing passport control and retrieving our baggage, our driver and guide will greet us. At our first stop, we will exchange our money to the local currency, CUC's.
Next ...our Welcome Lunch at Los Nardos Restaurant. (Included)
On our way to our home for the next few days, we will enjoy a Havana City Tour with a panoramic view of Plaza de Revolucion, Vedado, and the famous Malecon.
After check in, take a few minutes to meet your new travel friends or maybe sneak in a nap.
6:00 PM - Our driver will pick us up - we will grab a bite to eat (not included). Restaurant will be the tour guide's choice.
7:45PM - When the sun sets, our driver and guide will whisk us away to witness the 9:00 PM Cannon Firing Ceremony at Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña. After the ceremony, our driver returns us to our accommodations.
>Meals: Lunch
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Thursday, December 31, 2020 | NEW YEAR'S EVE
8:30 AM - Breakfast
10:30AM - Hot! Hot! Hot! Rooftop Salsa Lesson: Our driver will pick us up and take us to the dance studio. Enjoy fun class instructors, great salsa music, original Cuban salsa, and professional dancers.
We will have the unique experience of dancing on a terrace. After the two hour lesson, we will enjoy having the chance of interchanging thoughts and opinions with the teachers and staff.
After our dance lesson, we will have lunch at an authentic Cuban restaurant (not included.) Tour guide's choice. After lunch, we will be returned to our accommodations.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to COVID 19, restaurants and event venues in Cuba are currently closed. Once the country re-opens, we will provide details about our New Year's Eve celebration. The New Year's Eve celebration party/activity is not included in the package rate and will be offered as an optional add on. You may reserve your package now and add the NYE celebration at a later date when available.
>Meals: Breakfast
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Friday, January 1, 2021 | HAPPY NEW YEAR!
9:00 AM - Breakfast
Today is an independent day to enjoy Cuba on your own.
Optional Independent Tours to consider (Not included in the package)
Spend the day at the beautiful Varadero Beach. Verardero is a popular beach town in Cuba and is known for its spectacular beaches and picturesque views. There’s plenty to see and do in Varadero including many tours. Swim with dolphins or explore the city ...either way, you’re sure to have a truly memorable trip when visiting Varadero.
Head to Vinales in Pinar del Rio. Beautifully rural, Vinales is a Cuban national park. While in Vinales, visit a peasant's farm where you will learn about the processes of tobacco, rum, coffee and honey. Enjoy the tasting of a cigar, rum and honey ...ride a horse in Viñales Park ...visit the Cueva del Indio and sail by boat through the underground waters of the San Juan River.
Visit The Museum of the Slave Route at the Castillo de San Severino. Cuba is one of the countries that experienced the longest slavery period in the world, from 1511 until 1886. Of the two and a half million enslaved people imported into the Spanish colonies from Africa, almost 40% were taken to Cuba. Objects, pieces, pictures and belongings that illustrate the slavery times are exhibited in the museum.
Turn up at The Tropicana. Known as a paradise under the stars, the club is located outdoors in a wooded area making it unique among the city’s traditional cabarets. This is a Vegas-style extravaganza with seating for 1,400 people and 200 performers going through the full range of popular Cuban dance. As you’d expect, the dancers are beautiful ...the costumes and choreography are amazing.
>Meals: Breakfast
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Saturday, January 2, 2021
8:00 AM - Breakfast
9:00AM - Our driver will pick us up for our Cuban Cigar making class. Using age old Cuban techniques, learn how to craft your very own cigar AND how to smoke a Cuban cigar! Your expert cigar aficionado will share some tips and best practices when smoking some of his own hand-rolled cigars like the impressive (5" long w/ 58 ring gauge) Robusto Supremo. During class, your host, a rum sommelier, will present some tremendous Cuban rums and coffees that will pair well with the cigar we will be smoking.
11:30 AM After class, we will have lunch (not included). Tour guide's choice.
1:00 PM Our classic convertible cars will pick up us for a two hour tour of Havana. One of the great charms of life in Cuba is the profusion of American classic cars that still provide transportation to the masses. A subclass of these cars is the fancy and colorful convertibles that take tourists throughout the city.
After our classic car tour, we will enjoy a walking tour through amazing Old Havana including visiting Floridita, Ernest Hemingway's favorite hangout in Havana, and shopping on the famed Calle Obispo. After shopping 'til we drop, our driver will return us to our accommodations.
>Meals: Breakfast
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Sunday, January 3, 2021
8:00 AM - Breakfast
9:15 AM - Our driver will pick us up to transfer us to Jose Marti airport.
11:43 AM – Goodbye Cuba! Flight departs for Miami.
12:59 PM - Arrive home to the good ol’ USA!
>Meals: Breakfast
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(Itinerary is subject to change. Please be flexible and understand that the itinerary is subject to change based on availability at the time of arrival. It's "the Cuban Way" to make last minute changes. If any activity is not available it will be replaced with an activity deemed comparable by our local tour guide.)
Accommodations
Accommodations are assigned based on availability. Requests not accepted.
La Habana Bed & Breakfast
This home is an expansive residence located in the sophisticated Vedado area. The property is newly remodeled and decorated and features fully equipped rooms and a large roof top terrace garden area perfect for relaxing and socializing.
All the bedrooms have private bathrooms, newly purchased double beds, refrigerator, AC, television, a strong box safe, and bathroom accessories.
There are ample living room and dining room areas and the rooftop terrace is an additional living space to have breakfast, relax, or gather with friends or family.
Boutique Residence Casa Bed & Breakfast
In the popular Vedado neighborhood, this home is one of the most magnificent in terms of spaciousness and fine decor.
Newly remodeled, the home features several large bedrooms and baths, jacuzzi tubs, and expansive patio areas. Each room has a private bathroom with shower.
The home staff are very friendly, attentive, and professional.
This is one of a few places in the area that has a gym.
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The New Year's in Cuba! celebration package includes...
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Nonstop Roundtrip Flights from Miami to Havana
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Transfers between the airport and your B&B
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Four-night stay at La Habana Bed and Breakfast OR Boutique Residence (Each room has a private bathroom with a shower. The stay requires climbing stairs.)
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Cuba Visa (Required to enter Cuba)
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Cuban medical insurance (Required by Cuban law)
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Tours and entrance fees included in the itinerary
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English speaking tour guides
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Four breakfasts
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Welcome Lunch
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Cuba T-shirt
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$1069 per person / double occupancy
$1304 per person / single occupancy
$200 Deposit per person (Nonrefundable. Nontransferable.)
LIMITED SPACE! Our last two Cuba trips SOLD OUT! Don't miss out!
Balance due November 27, 2020
Cancellation policy...
If cancelled before 11/27/2020 your cancellation fee will be $350.00 per person
If cancelled after 11/28/2020 your cancellation fee will be total amount paid (Total is nonrefundable.)
Cancellations must be received in writing. Additional terms and fees apply to extra services, tours, and partial room cancellations.
In the event the trip is cancelled by Ebony Vacations | GoGIRLS! Travel Club, due to COVID -19 restrictions, all payments made will be refunded to the original form of payment. Should guests cancel their trip, normal cancellation policies apply.
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This is an escorted group trip. Men are welcome. No children, please.
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A valid passport and a Cuban visa are required to travel to Cuba.
Each passenger must sign an affidavit (provided) stating she/he will be visiting Cuba to support the Cuban people.
In order to satisfy US requirements, visitors must engage in the type of activities outlined in the itinerary full time and keep receipts and itineraries for 5 years.
It is necessary to change USD or Euros to CUC's once in Cuba.
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Ways to meet the US State Department requirements of the In Support of the Cuban People Category
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Provide support by bringing needed contributions like toiletries, home goods, gently-worn clothing/foot wear, confections, souvenirs, school supplies. etc.
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Lodge at a private casa particular (Bed & Breakfast)
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Use private transportation
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Eat at private “paladares” (restaurants).
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Visit with Cuban families to learn about their goals and to get insight into ways to help in the future (vocation training, small business, children’s needs, etc.).
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Use a Cuban guide to explain all the important processes in Cuba (what type of licenses Cuba is providing for private businesses, how private enterprises work, and ways to support private projects).
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Must engage in these types of activities full time (minimum of 6 hrs. a day) and keep receipts and itineraries for 5 years.
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We reserve the right to refuse any reservation. We reserve the right to make comparable substitutions for hotels. Decisions are final.
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Disclaimer: The information provided on this itinerary is based on industry practices and standard interpretations of OFAC rules and does not constitute legal advice. For more information call OFAC at 202-622-2480
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Ebony Vacations enters into contracts with hotels and air, land, or water transportation companies, but all such entities are owned and operated by independent contractors.
Ebony Vacations is not responsible for any negligent or willful act, omission, or failure to act on the part of any such entity or its employees, or of any other third party beyond its direct control.
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GOT QUESTIONS? WE HAVE ANSWERS!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. May flights from my city be included in my package?
A. Flights for this group trip are available from Miami only.
Q. Do roommates have to make their reservations at the same time?
A. It is not necessary for roommates to save their spot at the same time. However, if there is only one person on the reservation who has paid her/his deposit, the single occupancy rate will apply. If and when a roommate books her/his part of the reservation, the reservation will revert to the double occupancy rate. Please note: Naming your roommate in the comments of a reservation request does not make a reservation eligible for double occupancy. Double occupancy rates apply only when two people on a reservation have paid deposits.
Q. Can I set up a payment plan?
A. Yes. Send an email totravel@ebonyvacations.com and Include the date to start your payments, the amount of each payment and the dates the payments are to be processed.
Q. Who is Ebony Vacations?
A. Ebony Vacations is the travel agency extension of GoGIRLS! Black Travel Club.
Q. Does GoGIRLS! offer roommate matching?
A. Because each guest is better at selecting a roommate than we are, we do not offer roommate matching. We do post for roommates on the Facebook page so members may contact each other.
Q. If something comes up and I cannot go on the trip, can I get my deposit back?
A. Deposits are nonrefundable.
Q. Can three guests to a room be accommodated?
A. Three guests can be accommodated. To request rates, please send an email to travel@ebonyvacations.com
Q. Is insurance included in my package?
A. Medical insurance required by the Cuban government is included in your package. Our travel insurance providers do not offer insurance to Cuba. You may wish to check with your insurance company or credit card provider.
Q. Is a land only option available?
A. Land only rates are not available.
Q. Why is there a notice to substitute accommodations?
A. Chances are you will be lodged in the accommodations noted. However, there can be factors that are out of our control such as an Act of God, employee strikes, the location overbooking, etc.
Q. Do I need a visa to enter Cuba?
A. Visas are required to enter Cuba. Your Confirmation-Receipt will include a link to the affidavit you need to apply for your visa. We will apply for your Cuba visa on your behalf.
Q. Can I use my miles/points toward my package?
A. Your miles/points cannot be used toward your package, however you will earn AAdvantage points for your flights.
