26th Havana Book Fair Tour - ala.org · TICO No. 50018706 877 280 2054 Toll Free ACTA No. 9735559...

TICO No. 50018706 877 280 2054 Toll Free

ACTA No. 9735559 647 351 8191 Toronto

IATA TIDS No. 96-5 3230 6 647 342 3622 Facsímile

Authentic Cuba Travel No. 201009735 [email protected] Email

Hello Cuba Travel No. 201009693 www.authenticubatours.com Website

1 | P a g e Authentic Cuba Travel/ Hello Cuba Travel

American Library Association

26th Havana Book Fair Tour Friday, February 10 – Friday, February 17, 2017

Planned itinerary

In addition to the visits and activities listed below, visits to various types of libraries will be

included. Volunteering opportunity scheduled to occur at Cienfuegos Provincial Library.

Day 1. Friday, February 10, 2017. Hola Cuba!

*Dinner included

Arrival at "Jose Marti" International Airport in Havana City.

Transfer to your Hotel Nacional located at the cultural center of Havana City built in 1930.

The hotel’s long list of famous guests includes Rita Hayworth, Fred Astaire, Ernest

Hemingway, Walt Disney, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Errol Flynn, and Winston Churchill.

Welcome cocktail upon arrival to the Hotel Nacional. Meet your Authentic Cuba Travel tour guide and tour bus driver.

Evening: There’s a new wave of private restaurants that has swept the Cuban capital offering

exciting cuisine in atmospheric surroundings. This evening we’ll enjoy a welcome dinner at

one of Havana's very best family-run restaurant paladar ‘La Fontana’.

TICO No. 50018706 877 280 2054 Toll Free

ACTA No. 9735559 647 351 8191 Toronto





Day 2. Saturday, February 11, 2017. Explore Old Havana!

*Breakfast and lunch included

Tour will include among other sites:

Morning: Guided walking tour of UNESCO World Heritage Site, Old Havana.

The Cathedral Square, named after the masterpiece of Cuban baroque architecture;

Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, the former official residence of the governors of Havana

(now home to the Museum of the City of Havana); Palacio del Segundo Cabo which houses

important publishing concerns; Castillo de la Real Fuerza; Plaza Vieja, the only civic square

of colonial times now with visit important institutions for visual arts.

Free time in the famous handicraft market of Old Havana, located inside the Almacenes de

Depósito San José, an old warehouse on the harbourside where you can purchase all sorts of

crafts and souvenirs by local artisans.

Lunch at La Mina restaurant.

Afternoon: Visit Finca Vigia, the hilltop villa 20 kilometers east of Havana, where Ernest

Hemingway lived from 1939 to 1960. Finca Vigia houses original book and short story

TICO No. 50018706 877 280 2054 Toll Free

ACTA No. 9735559 647 351 8191 Toronto





manuscripts, letters, photographs, Hemingway’s fishing tackle and art and gun collections,

and a 9000 volume library.

Evening: Attend one of the most traditional and popular ceremonies in Cuba, the Fire of the

Cannon of 9 O’clock at the Fortress of San Carlos de La Cabana.

Day 3. Sunday, February 12, 2017. Havana– Matanzas – Cienfuegos


Morning: Departure for Matanzas City, also known as the Venice of Cuba and the city of

bridges of which there are seventeen crossing the three rivers that traverse the city (over

Yumuri, San Juan, and Canimar rivers). It is also known as "La Atenas de Cuba” (the Athens of

Cuba) for its wealth of poets.

Rest stop in Bacunayagua Bridge for a Piña Colada and enjoy the view over the highest bridge

(110 mts) in Cuba, one of the marvels of Cuban post- revolutionary architecture.

Visit to Ediciones Vigia, a unique publishing house that produces handmade paper and first

edition copies of books. Only 200 copies of each book are made so each is a collector’s item.

Meet with director, publishers and artists.

Lunch at Ruinas de Mata Siete restaurant.

TICO No. 50018706 877 280 2054 Toll Free

ACTA No. 9735559 647 351 8191 Toronto





Afternoon: Continue on bus drive to Cienfuegos, in Central Cuba. The colonial town of

Cienfuegos was founded in 1819 in the Spanish territory but was initially settled by

immigrants of French origin. It soon became a trading place for sugar cane, tobacco and

coffee because of its position on the Caribbean coast of southern-central Cuba at the heart of

the country’s sugar cane, mango, tobacco and coffee production area.

A guided walking tour of UNESCO World Heritage Site, Cienfuegos Historical Center. We will

visit neoclassical buildings around Paseo del Prado and the main Square Jose Marti.

Visit the elegant art gallery Galería de Arte Maroya.

Stay at the Jagua Hotel, with views over the waters of Cienfuegos Bay.

Dinner at the hotel.

Day 4. Monday, February 13, 2017. Discover Trinidad de Cuba, a UNESCO World Heritage Site *Breakfast, lunch and dinner included Morning: Embark on a day trip to nearby Trinidad city, another outstanding example of a

colonial city. Trinidad has maintained its historic core, featuring the highest percentage of

surviving antique buildings and public squares and bringing together architectural, historic

and cultural elements of great value.

Guided walking tour of UNESCO World Heritage Site, Trinidad’s Historical Center.

Visit the Museo Municipal de Historia located in the beautiful Neo Classical Cantero palace. In

addition to antiques and 19th-century furnishings, there are bits and pieces of slave history,

and exhibits of revolutionary Cuba. For many visitors, though, the highlight is the climb up

TICO No. 50018706 877 280 2054 Toll Free

ACTA No. 9735559 647 351 8191 Toronto





the narrow and wooden stairs to the tower, which has terrific bird's-eye views of Trinidad

and the surrounding area!

Visit the mirador (lookout) over the Sugar Mill Valley, designated by UNESCO as a World

Cultural Heritage Site in 1988. It constitutes a sort of triangular plain covering some 250

square kilometers and includes the San Luis, Agabama-Meyer and Santa Rosa valleys, besides

the coastal plain of the south delta of the Manati River.

Lunch at Trinidad's famous paladar El Dorado (private family-run restaurant).

Afternoon: Trinidad is well known for its pottery makers. We meet with a family that has

been passing the tradition for generations: the Santanders.

Return to your hotel Jagua, in Cienfuegos.

Dinner at the Hotel.

Evening is free to enjoy the hotel amenities and the lively streets of Cienfuegos. How about

live Cuban popular music on steps of Casa de la Música– a great opportunity to dance with

Cubans and your tour companions.

Day 5. Tuesday, February 14, 2017. Cienfuegos-Havana

Morning: Library volunteer activity at Cienfuegos provincial library, or other nearby library.

Lunch at the family-run restaurant.

Afternoon: Transfer back to Havana City.

Check in at the Hotel Nacional.

Evening: Enjoy a performance of the world famous “Buena Vista Social Club” at the classy Habana Cafe cabaret. (Optional – Not included in tour cost)

TICO No. 50018706 877 280 2054 Toll Free

ACTA No. 9735559 647 351 8191 Toronto





Day 6. Wednesday, February 15, 2017. Havana

Morning: Participate in joint ALA-ASCUBI program at José Martí National Library. An

opportunity to share and learn from colleagues in Cuba. This is part of the annual two-day

professional conference put on by the National Library and ASCUBI.

Lunch at the family-run restaurant paladar “La California”.

Visit to the Partagas Cigar Factory, founded in 1845. It is the oldest cigar factory of Cuba and

still employs tobacco readers to reading aloud to workers. Try your hand at cigar rolling.

Afternoon: Visit to the Casa de Las Americas which promotes, researches, supports, awards

and publishes the work of writers, sculptors, musicians, and other artists and students of

literature and the arts.

Exploration at La Cabana Fortress, seat of the International Fair of Havana. Exchange with

local exhibitors, publishers and writers and participate in programmed activities.

Free evening.

Day 7. Thursday, February 16, 2017. Havana


Morning: Visit to the Literacy Museum in the Liberty City neighbourhood of Havana to

learn the history of the Cuban literacy campaigns.

Lunch hosted by Lunch hosted by Jose Fuster, one of the most important Cuban ceramists

and painters today who has an entire neighborhood in western Havana into a giant art

installation that involves locals and their actual homes as part of the exhibit.

TICO No. 50018706 877 280 2054 Toll Free

ACTA No. 9735559 647 351 8191 Toronto





Afternoon: Participation in the 26th International Book Fair of Havana at La Cabana Fortress,

seat of the book fair (free time to explore the exhibition pavilions on your own). Exchange

with local exhibitors, publishers and writers and participate in programmed activities.

Evening: Enjoy Cuban Jazz at ‘La Zorra y El Cuervo’, Havana’s most famous Jazz club. The club

features great performances by island bands and soloists! (Optional, not included).

Day 8. Friday, February 17, 2017. Departure

*Breakfast included

Transfer to Havana City International Airport for departure.

TICO No. 50018706 877 280 2054 Toll Free

ACTA No. 9735559 647 351 8191 Toronto





GROUND COSTS:

Ground tour cost per person in a group of 27 to 29 paying travelers plus one (1) trip leader

traveling free of all ground package costs: $2,699 USD

Prices are per person based on double room occupancy. All taxes included.

Single Room Supplement (optional): $889 USD

Services Included:

5 nights at Hotel Nacional or similar with breakfast included.

2 nights at Jagua Hotel with breakfast and dinner included.

16 Meals: 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, and 3 dinners included.

Havana International Book Fair Pass.

Luxury air-conditioned coach transportation and professional driver.

All activities, speakers, meetings and meals as described in itinerary except those noted as

"optional" or "not included in cost."

An expert Cuban English speaking guide and translator throughout the program, together with

ongoing support from Authentic Cuba Travel' staff in Cuba and Canada.

Official Asistur Cuban health insurance coverage.

Services Not Included: Activities listed as "optional" or "not included in cost" in itinerary.

International airfare to and from Cuba.

Gratuities for Cuban tour guide, bus driver, chambermaids, restaurant staff, porters, etc.

Cuban airport departure tax of 25.00 Cuban convertible pesos.

Optional travel interruption and cancellation insurance.

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