Best of Cuba

Through our 30+ years of visiting Cuba, we have developed this 16-day tour based on the best locations for observing and experiencing what makes this largest and most unspoiled island in the Greater Antilles special. We visit unique and opulent natural areas in search of unusual wildlife, including the world’s smallest bird and the Northern Hemisphere’s smallest frog.

In the mountainous western province of Pinar del Río, we visit a number of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, including Viñales National Park with its distinctive karst landscape. We then move on to the fabled Zapata Peninsula, an area of flooded woodland and salt marshes that is home to a large number of birds, mammals, fishes, and amphibians. We hope to find many of Cuba’s endemic birds here, as well as migrating waders and shorebirds. Our visit to Las Salinas, the remote salt flats supporting flamingos, egrets, and shorebirds, is always a highlight.

On the way to our mountain retreat in the beautiful Sierra del Escambray Mountains, we explore the little-changed colonial town of Trinidad. Our guided nature walks in the mountains take us through tall pine and eucalyptus forests as well as lush, ferny undergrowth that cover the mountainsides. We spend some time on Cuba’s idyllic north coast at Cayo Las Brujas, part of the complex of keys forming the so-called Jardines del Rey (‘Gardens of the King’). We also stop at Santa Clara — the site of the last battle of the Cuban Revolution — and have a fitting end with a tour of Old Havana, which is rapidly being restored to its original grandeur.