Dance & Percussion in Havana, Cuba

June 6-13, 2015

December 5-12, 2015 January 16-23, 2016

Welcome to Salsa Retreat!

Our Invitation to You:

We welcome solo travelers as well as couples and groups of friends & family members. No prior Salsa or dance experience is needed - many of our guests are absolute beginners! Women and men of all levels of Salsa & dance experience are invited to join us. There is no age limit! You can learn to dance at any age and have a wonderful time! (Guests

under 18 must be accompanied by an adult) We recommend that our guests be in good physical health to participate in our various

activities. All Salsa Retreat guests must read and agree to the Terms and Conditions and sign the liability

waiver prior to attending a retreat. We do not share your information with others unless required to book the vacation, please see

our Privacy Statement for details.

Salsa Retreat has had the pleasure of welcoming women and men of all ages from around the world!

All group retreats in Cuba feature our complete Salsa, music (percussion) & cultural program which has been designed to be enjoyed by guests of all ages and abilities.

How is Salsa Retreat different from other

travel agencies and tour operators?

Unlike mainstream tour operators and travel

agencies, we specialize in high quality and

professional dance and music instruction. We

have spent years to establish solid relationships

with the best instructors available to bring the

unique opportunity to study with them to you. We

specialize in custom-designed itineraries for

individuals and small groups. Our focus is on

sustainable tourism, with low environmental

impact, high cultural interaction and a maximum

benefit to the local dance and music community.

Salsa Retreat

Alice Kupcik

alice@salsaretreat.com

As the Founder and Managing Director of Salsa

Retreat, it’s my personal mission to partner with

you to ensure that your entire travel experience is

rewarding, enriching and as carefree as possible.

Professional dance instruction: We partner

with full-time professional dance instructors and

choreographers as well as music instructors in

the countries we visit who are well known and

accomplished artists. Besides being artists and

performers they each have extensive

experience in working with students of all

backgrounds and levels. Meeting locals: An authentic cultural

experience through meaningful interaction with

locals is our main focus, which is why we only

work with partners and local guides who can

provide you with a unique experience that goes

beyond what you would see on any other tour. Accommodations: All our homestays and guesthouses (based on

location and itinerary) have been hand-selected

and personally inspected to offer a high level of

unique experience, service, cleanliness and

value. Local guides: We use English-speaking local guides who are

passionate about sharing their knowledge and

their country with you. Giving back: We believe that responsible tourism involves

giving back to the community and organizations

that are working to improve the lives of the

poorest citizens in the countries we visit. Each of

our Mexico trips donates 2% of the total tour cost

to a local NGOs. In Cuba, we go out of our way to

work directly with small business owners and

self-employed Cubans to support this emerging

sector, and we avoid working with government

owned businesses and agencies wherever

possible.

ITINERARY

Depart Cancun, Mexico

Saturday

DEPART FOR CUBA

Travel Details: Depart Cancun, Mexico and fly to

Havana, Cuba. Depending on arrival

time, we will either have a group dinner

or skip the group dinner. In that case we

recommend that you eat at the airport in

Cancun before departure. Cubana Airlines tend to change the

schedule of this flight by as much as 5

hours on short notice, so it is advised not

to try to time a flight connection on the

same day.

Sunday

HAVANA

Details: Breakfast with the host family. At 9 AM

we will meet in one of the apartments

as a group to welcome you in Havana.

We will then depart for a half-day

walking tour in Old Havana. Lunch is at

an artist’s house in the Callejon de

Hamel where you will be able to see an

Afro-Cuban dance and music

performance. After lunch we head back

to Havana Centro for our first dance

lesson. The Salsa dance workshop is

lead by the director of the Cuban TV

Ballet and part time Tropicana

choreographer Caruca Rodriguez. We’ll

eat with our families tonight and visit an

outdoor Salsa venue on the Malecon in

the evening to see live music and

dance.

Monday

HAVANA

Details: After breakfast we will meet for our first

music and percussion class with music

professor and well-known musician Ruy

Lopez-Nussa. After the two hour

workshop we will head home for lunch

with the host families. In the afternoon

we will continue with the dance lessons

and today we will start with the Afro-

Cuban movement workshop. The Salsa

workshop will follow immediately

afterwards. Dinner today is with the

group in a neighborhood restaurant.

Dancing after dinner is optional. We will

have at least one instructor with us as

well as a few dance partners.

Tuesday

HAVANA Details: After breakfast we will meet for our music

and percussion class. Lunch is at home

with the host families. In the afternoon

we will continue with the dance

workshops. Dinner is again with the group

in a neighborhood restaurant. Dancing

after dinner is optional. We will have at

least one instructor with us as well as a

few dance partners.

Wednesday

HAVANA Details: After breakfast we will meet for our music

and percussion class. Lunch is at home

with the host families. In the afternoon

we will continue with the dance lessons.

Dinner is again with the group in a

neighborhood restaurant. After dinner

there is a visit to La Casa de la Musica to

see live music. We will have at least one

instructor with us as well as a few dance

partners. Thursday

HAVANA Details: After breakfast we will meet for our last

music and percussion class. The

instructors will show what we learned

and there will be an opportunity to

record videos. Lunch is at home with the

host families. In the afternoon we will

meet for our last dance lessons, here

also we can record teacher demos.

Dinner is one last time with the group in

a neighborhood restaurant. Dancing

after dinner is optional as usual.

Friday

REGLA – FINCA VIGIA - COJIMAR

Travel Details: On our last day we will leave Havana

after breakfast to see some of the

surrounding areas. First we will drive

east to visit Regla and the church of the

Virgen de Regla. From there we will

continue to Finca Vigia – Ernest

Hemingway’s former residence. We will

have lunch on the coast in a small artist

town called Cojimar where Hemingway

used to visit. On the way back to Havana

we will stop at the Morro Castle to enjoy

the view of the city and then continue

with a tour of the parts of town we didn’t

have a chance to see so far, especially

Miramar and Vedado. Dinner is with the

host family tonight and then there is one

last chance to see live music and dance

in the neighborhood.

Saturday

HAVANA - CANCUN Travel Details: Today we have our last breakfast with the

host families and then depart to the

airport to return to Cancun. Cubana Airlines tend to change the

schedule of this flight by as much as 5

hours on short notice, so it is advised not

to try to time a flight connection on the

same day.

CUBA

OUR LOCATION IN HAVANA

TOTAL COST OF 8-DAY JOURNEY $2,900 (per person, double occupancy) Single supplement: $250

Tour is limited to 15 participants. Single travelers who would like to share a room can be

accommodated. Request a booking form today to assure your place by contacting:

alice@salsaretreat.com, 206.234.3720.

Airfare will not be included in the trip cost. Included in the trip cost (unless otherwise indicated):

authorization letter from Salsa Retreat that allows you to travel to Cuba legally and purchase

trip insurance

accommodations in Casas Particulares (homestays with local families)

all meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and beverages at breakfast

all transfers and ground transportation

dance lessons lead by first class instructors, and individual dance partners (incl. music guide

and a few dance partners for night outings)

drumming and percussion lessons with well-known musicians and instructors

tours and cultural explorations as well as local tour guides and a Salsa Retreat representative

as required by the People-to-People license

taxes and credit card fees

Not included are:

airfare (from your home town to Cancun and from Cancun to Cuba)

hotel in Cancun to avoid missed flight connections

Mexico Departure Tax ($35 USD)

Cuban visa fee ($25 USD)

Cuba departure tax ($25 CUC)

entrance fees and beverages (except beverages at breakfast)

tips and cover/drinks for the dancers who go out with us at night

This trip is permitted by a specific People-to-People license issued by the Department of the

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). This itinerary was designed to provide an

educational experience with numerous opportunities for meaningful interaction with Cubans. In

accordance with the travel license, this trip does not include tourist activities or free time to explore

Havana on your own. Travel restrictions in Cuba, such as limits on how much one may spend and

what may be purchased, will be provided in your pre-departure materials.

Because beach visits and tourist activities are not allowed under the People-to-People license, we

decided to route our trip through Cancun so that you can add a beach vacation before or after your

Cuba excursion. We can help with where to stay in the area.

ABOUT SALSA RETREAT Salsa Retreat was founded in 2008 in order to offer meaningful vacations that connect visitors with

locals based on the common passion for music and dance.

It is our mission to provide sustainable dance retreats and workshops with the goal to offer

authentic learning experiences to the traveler while maximizing the positive impact on the local

community.

We have lead our first tour to Oaxaca in January 2009, and have welcomed many groups and

individual travelers in Oaxaca since.

In 2013 Salsa Retreat has received a specific people-to-people license issued by the U.S. Treasury

Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). Pursuant to section 31 C.F.R. § 515.565(b)(2) of

the Cuban Asset Control Regulations, this license allows any American who books a trip with Salsa

Retreat, LLC to travel to Cuba legally. As a registered guest on one of our people-to-people trips, you

will receive a copy of our OFAC issued license, and Letter of Authorization allowing you to travel to

Cuba and re-enter the U.S. legally. Salsa Retreat handles all of the paperwork and requirements for

your visit to Cuba.

Our first visit to Havana, Cuba took place in January 2014, exactly five years after our first dance trip

to Oaxaca.

BOOKING AND OTHER INFORMATION

View complete Terms and Conditions

A non-refundable deposit of $600 is required to hold your reservation. The balance of the retreat

cost is due and must be received by Salsa Retreat no later than 30-days prior to the “Departure

Date” for your retreat. Payment can be made by check, or with VISA, Mastercard, American Express

or Discover using our secure online payment option with PayPal. Prices do not include airfare. You

do not need to have your flight booked in order to put a deposit down. However, please confirm tour

availability with us prior to booking your flights. After full payment is received we will send you a

packet of information outlining what to bring and additional information to prepare you for your visit

to Cuba.

Cancellations by You

Salsa Retreat works with quality vendors, instructors, and guides to provide you with a unique

retreat. In order to best serve all our guests and provide high quality services Salsa Retreat has a firm

cancellation policy. There are no exceptions to this policy. We strongly encourage and recommend

that you obtain trip interruption/cancellation insurance to protect yourself in the event that you

must cancel your retreat for any reason. This insurance can be purchased from various travel

insurance companies, including World Nomads. You may cancel your reservation, in writing only,

according to the following fee and refund schedule:

31 days or more before Departure Date: FEE: $600USD REFUND: Full amount paid minus fee

30 days or fewer before Departure Date: FEE: Full cost of the tour REFUND: None

Our Cuba retreats require a minimum of 10 (ten) participants. For this reason, and others, if you

cancel your retreat within 30 days of the Departure Date, we must impose a cancellation fee of the

full tour cost so that we can avoid cancelling the entire retreat for all other clients who have booked

with us.

Cancellations by you that are not made in writing (email is acceptable) are not valid under these

Terms and Conditions. There are no exceptions to our cancellation policy.

If you cancel thirty-one (31) days or more before the Departure Date, additional fees may apply. In

addition to the fee stated above, any cancellation fees, surcharges, or nonrefundable deposits

charged to Salsa Retreat by its suppliers, such as individual hotels, guides or other third parties, will

be added to and part of the cancellation fee per person.

No partial refunds will be given for unused hotel rooms, meals, sightseeing trips, transportation

services, or other segments or portions of your retreat for any reason whatsoever. The cost of the

retreat is a package cost and refunds and credits are not available for services not used.

Cancellations by Salsa Retreat

We do our utmost to maintain our standard of never canceling a retreat, but we reserve the right to

cancel a retreat if the minimum group size of 10 participants has not been reached 30 days before

the Departure Date. However, we will not cancel a retreat on this basis if we have previously

informed you that the retreat has reached the minimum requirement and you should purchase

airline tickets.

In rare circumstances, events outside the control of Salsa Retreat may require that a retreat be

cancelled. If we cancel a retreat, all deposits and payments made to date will be refunded in full.

In the event that we do not receive your payment of the final balance on the due date (at least 30

days prior to the departure date) and you have not otherwise notified us of your intent to cancel

your reservation, we will cancel your reservation and refund any payment made less a $600

cancellation fee.

Because we strongly recommend that you obtain trip insurance and because you have notice of this

cancellation policy, Salsa Retreat is not responsible for any additional personal travel expenses you

may incur in connection with cancelled retreats including airline tickets.

TO MAKE YOUR RESERVATION, REQUEST A BOOKING FORM BY CONTACTING: EMAIL: alice@salsaretreat.com PHONE: 206.234.3720

WEB: www.salsaretreat.com

© Salsa Retreat 3/1/2015