Havana was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century and due to its strategic location it served as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the continent becoming a stopping point for the treasure laden Spanish Galleons on the crossing between the New World and the Old World. After the revolution the beautiful old town got badly destroyed and the country had no money to restore it. The historic centre was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. Over the last 20 years the Cubans were working on their old town and now it is really beautiful!

The Cueva de los Peces is a 61 meter deep sinkhole that is full of various types of colourful fish. We will spend some time here and also take the opportunity to swim in this huge aquarium.

The Bay of Pigs is an inlet on the southwest coast of Cuba. Its name originates from "cochinos", which in Cuban Spanish refers to the queen triggerfish, inhabiting the coral reefs at the Bahía de Cochinos.
It became famous in April 1961 as the landing site for the CIA-trained army of exiled Cubans. They wanted to link up with counter-revolutionaries and overthrow the Castro regime. Fidel himself led the defense in the three-day battle that resulted in the defeat of this fatally-flawed invasion. Its failure led directly to the cause of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Let’s find out more about the invasion!

Cienfuegos, the youngest of Cuba’s cities, was founded by French settlers in 1819. Peaceful and calming, it enjoys a lovely bay setting, delightful provincial architecture, and a baseball team that has provided many famous players to the US Major Leagues. Walk the plaza and seafront Malecón boulevard and admire the Palacio del Valle.

Topes de Collantes is a nature reserve park (and UNESCO World Heritage Site) established in the southeastern ranges of the Escambray Mountains. The vistas are sublime and the air is crisp and pine-scented as we ride past coffee plantations and through stands of Royal palms.

The valley was a center for sugar production from the late 18th century until the late 19th century. At the peak of the industry, over fifty cane sugar mills were operated in this valley, with over 30,000 slaves working in the mills and on the surrounding sugar cane plantations. The entire area covers 100 square miles and includes the sites of over 70 former sugar mills. Our stop at Hacienda-Torre Iznaga is an opportunity to learn about the brutal history of slavery, but also to enjoy a freshly-squeezed guarapo (sugarcane juice).

The Mausoleum of Ernesto Che Guevara, guarded by a gigantic statue of himself, contains the remains of the Marxist revolutionary and his 29 fellow Guerrilleros killed in combat during the attempt to encourage an uprising in Bolivia during the dictatorship. The monument was created in 1988, but not until 1997 that Guevara's exhumed remains were transferred to Cuba. Santa Clara was chosen as it was the city that saw the final battle in 1958 between the Revolucionarios and the government of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, who fled into exile after the Santa Clara battle.