Opinions on a tour, please

Going to Havana for one day in October.

I have reached out to the four places I saw mentioned the most;

Cuba Outings

Genuine Cuba

Blexie

Havana Journeys

I asked for a car with AC to take us around and that we would like to go shopping, to lunch, to hear some live music, see the Fusterlandia area, maybe Havana Club tour and open to other suggestions. Then I asked for someone to take us out at night to somewhere to hear music but not Tropicana or somewhere large and showy.

Two of the places responded right away.

Both want to do a 9 to 3 tour.

We don't get into port until 10am and then I understand we might not get to get right off, and still need to exchange money.

One has quoted me $185 and the other $120. Big difference.

One said nothing about the evening. The other told me we would be fine going to the old city in front of the port ourselves.

Is there anything else I should be asking? I have one day and want to do this right.

thanks!

You can contact Stefano from Havanacar.net

They offer private tours starting at the time you prefer.

Higly recommended!

We cruised on NCL Sky last week to Havana. We hired a private guide, Katiusca, through one of the companies you mentioned for $120 for 6 hours, but she is open to taking bookings directly and that does seem the best way to get funds directly to Cubans who really need it. Her email is: katiusca77@nauta.cu. We booked a "Support for the Cuban People"-qualified tour and I can’t recommend Katiusca enough. She met us promptly at Plaza de San Francisco, just in front of where the cruise ship docks. She’s an intellectual property lawyer, but needs the guide work to support her family. She's a mother of 2 teenage girls, bright, very knowledgeable about Cuban history, and speaks excellent English. Katiusca knew Havana well, took us through a walking tour of Old Havana, then by driver in a perfectly-preserved 1955 Ford to more distant areas of the city and a charming palador (private restaurant) where we enjoyed lunch and a little impromptu music and dance by the owner and cooking staff. She was mindful of the restrictions put on Americans by the new regulations and adapted our tour to our specific interests and places of interest. A visit to lush Parque Almendares provided a fascinating and unexpected glimpse at a riverside Santería ritual in progress. Katuisca was frank and fascinating in her explanations of Cuban life and culture.

We, too, were scheduled to dock at 10am so planned our tour from 11am-5pm. We actually docked earlier and even though we were in Group 4 to disembark, we were off a couple of minutes past 10am. (Groups of non-excursion guests were called quickly--every 10 minutes or so--and Groups 3 and 4 were called together.) Despite our fears, it took us all of 20 minutes from the time we stepped off the ship until we were through customs, security and money exchange. All is very efficient and the cruise terminal is very conveniently located. Out earlier than expected, we had free time, so explored the church on Plaza de San Francisco before meeting Katiusca. After the tour, we cleaned up then went back out and wandered the city until midnight, enjoying daquiris and great music at Floridita (famous Hemingway bar and "birthplace of the daquiri") and walking down the Prado (wide avenue) and back along the seawall to the ship (a long walk, but we're big walkers). Parts are very seedy (and parts are gorgeous), but we never felt unsafe. The worst street was Teniente Rey between Plaza Vieja and the Capitol: dark and derelict with scattered people hanging out--but again, we didn't really feel unsafe and no one bothered us. People do try to get you to stop at restaurants and clubs, to buy things or hire a taxi, but no one hassled us if we just said "No, gracias," and kept walking. Taxis were plentiful.

BTW, I see very little chance of anyone questioning tour qualifications for the "Support for the Cuban People" category. Check that category on the cruise line doc, the cruise line obtains a tourist visa which says absolutely nothing about why you're in Cuba, local Cuban authorities only look to see there is a visa. Upon returning to the U.S. (the only country that cares about the "Support for the Cuban People" and other "license" requirements), you'll just be one of hundreds getting off a cruise ship from Cuba. We went through passport control in Miami without question. We are, of course, keeping all our records for 5 years as required, but it seems like a pointless exercise.

[As an aside, the company messed up the dates of our tour. I requested the correct date and they confirmed the correct date, but the final document they sent the week before the cruise reflected the day before our arrival. Both of us were at fault as I did not notice prior to leaving on the cruise that the date on the document was wrong. Thankfully, I had ship wifi due to a situation at home I needed to be reachable for so they were able to contact me via WhatsApp and rebook the tour. I didn't get the message until later, though, because we were ashore at Great Stirrup Cay that day so poor Katiusca waited nearly two hours in the heat the day before we arrived, but showed up cheerfully the next day anyway after I sorted things out with the company. She expected nothing for her wasted time although we were happy to make it up to her. Anyway, it reflected well on her and the lesson is to double check documents before leaving.]

Enjoy Havana!

Hi - although you have already reached out to 4 companies, I will add in a recommendation for FerTours, with whom we had an excellent customized experience in August 2018. They have been highly reviewed on this board as well as on Trip Advisor.

Whatever you end up doing, I’d be in favor of the company that is most responsive and willing to customize for your needs. What I liked about FerTours is that they answered all emails within one day, and were completely flexible about requests to visit certain places, including during the tour itself. After all, this is your day in Havana, so you should feel comfortable to customize except for the few places where there are government restrictions.

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Going to Havana for one day in October.

I have reached out to the four places I saw mentioned the most;

 

Is there anything else I should be asking? I have one day and want to do this right.

 

thanks!

I had a wonderful full day tour (walk old town, lunch at a paladar, afternoon tour in a convertible, ended with mojito at the Hotel Nacional) with these folks last year. They may be able to meet your schedule, they also have an evening tour on certain nights of the week.

Response time was quite good, as I recall. Highly recommended.

http://havanatourcompany.com/

Going to Havana for one day in October.

I have reached out to the four places I saw mentioned the most;

Cuba Outings

Genuine Cuba

Blexie

Havana Journeys

I asked for a car with AC to take us around and that we would like to go shopping, to lunch, to hear some live music, see the Fusterlandia area, maybe Havana Club tour and open to other suggestions. Then I asked for someone to take us out at night to somewhere to hear music but not Tropicana or somewhere large and showy.

Two of the places responded right away.

Both want to do a 9 to 3 tour.

We don't get into port until 10am and then I understand we might not get to get right off, and still need to exchange money.

 

One has quoted me $185 and the other $120. Big difference.

 

One said nothing about the evening. The other told me we would be fine going to the old city in front of the port ourselves.

 

Is there anything else I should be asking? I have one day and want to do this right.

 

thanks!

We just got back from Cuba and had a fantastic private tour. The company is Authentic Cuban Tours. You can search for them on Trip Advisor. We had a 5 hour tour, 2 hours in an airconditioned pink 1956 Cadillac, and then a two hour walking tour and 45 minute lunch. Jessica and Max are a married couple who recently started their own business. . They are very flexible and will personalize your tour to your liking. Jessica speaks excellent english, she is professional and very personable. Her recommendation for lunch was excellent. A place more of the locals go..

We did a caberet at Nationale Hotel, price was 40 cucs per person and we bought tickets the night we went. Excellent show and fun time. We went early, there is a bar called the hall of fame with many pictures of famous Americans, and there is a nice bar in the gardens. We took a cab to and from the cruise ship. It included a mojito.

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Going to Havana for one day in October.

I have reached out to the four places I saw mentioned the most;

Cuba Outings

Genuine Cuba

Blexie

Havana Journeys

I asked for a car with AC to take us around and that we would like to go shopping, to lunch, to hear some live music, see the Fusterlandia area, maybe Havana Club tour and open to other suggestions. Then I asked for someone to take us out at night to somewhere to hear music but not Tropicana or somewhere large and showy.

Two of the places responded right away.

Both want to do a 9 to 3 tour.

We don't get into port until 10am and then I understand we might not get to get right off, and still need to exchange money.

 

One has quoted me $185 and the other $120. Big difference.

 

One said nothing about the evening. The other told me we would be fine going to the old city in front of the port ourselves.

 

Is there anything else I should be asking? I have one day and want to do this right.

 

thanks!

I got curious what a 12 hour tour service would cost. I checked with Roly from Havana Memories. He gave me a 12 hour quote: pick up at port 11 AM, drop off at 11 PM. The day is yours. You can customize it anyway you want. The quote includes 1 guide, 1 driver. Their standard car is a hardtop Classic American Car with AC. Convertibles are available with advance reservation and with extra cost. Their guides are professionals (e.g. lawyer, teacher). They also offer additional professional photography service to chronicle your day with them for an extra cost. What's nice is you don't have to pay until you meet their guide. It eliminates the unknown of how to pay for US residents! "The payment have to be in cash because we don’t have a way to get any deposit." See his quote attached below.

You may want to check them out and compare https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147271-d6132524-Reviews-Havana_Memories-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html

https://havanamemories.jimdo.com/

On our private tour with them we are also going to Fusterlandia. Roly recommended for us stop by the John Lennon Park on the way back from Fusterlandia and take a peek at the Yellow Submarine bar...good to consider if you are a Beatles fan! Please note that Fusterlandia closes at 4 PM.

I am sure many of the tour vendors will offer similar fully customizable service. There are many good guides around in Havana referenced in CC posts and TripAdvisor. Have fun with your research!

Laurence

On Thu, Sep 20, 2018 at 6:53 PM Rolando <rolyincuba@nauta.cu> wrote:

You may be interested that "private tour agencies in Cuba" are not allowed!!!

From an email exchange with Havana Memories:

From another email exchange, his service will make sure you don't go to any places forbidden by the US government:

We cruised on NCL Sky last week to Havana. We hired a private guide, Katiusca, through one of the companies you mentioned for $120 for 6 hours, but she is open to taking bookings directly and that does seem the best way to get funds directly to Cubans who really need it. Her email is: katiusca77@nauta.cu. We booked a "Support for the Cuban People"-qualified tour and I can’t recommend Katiusca enough. She met us promptly at Plaza de San Francisco, just in front of where the cruise ship docks. She’s an intellectual property lawyer, but needs the guide work to support her family. She's a mother of 2 teenage girls, bright, very knowledgeable about Cuban history, and speaks excellent English. Katiusca knew Havana well, took us through a walking tour of Old Havana, then by driver in a perfectly-preserved 1955 Ford to more distant areas of the city and a charming palador (private restaurant) where we enjoyed lunch and a little impromptu music and dance by the owner and cooking staff. She was mindful of the restrictions put on Americans by the new regulations and adapted our tour to our specific interests and places of interest. A visit to lush Parque Almendares provided a fascinating and unexpected glimpse at a riverside Santería ritual in progress. Katuisca was frank and fascinating in her explanations of Cuban life and culture.

 

 

We, too, were scheduled to dock at 10am so planned our tour from 11am-5pm. We actually docked earlier and even though we were in Group 4 to disembark, we were off a couple of minutes past 10am. (Groups of non-excursion guests were called quickly--every 10 minutes or so--and Groups 3 and 4 were called together.) Despite our fears, it took us all of 20 minutes from the time we stepped off the ship until we were through customs, security and money exchange. All is very efficient and the cruise terminal is very conveniently located. Out earlier than expected, we had free time, so explored the church on Plaza de San Francisco before meeting Katiusca. After the tour, we cleaned up then went back out and wandered the city until midnight, enjoying daquiris and great music at Floridita (famous Hemingway bar and "birthplace of the daquiri") and walking down the Prado (wide avenue) and back along the seawall to the ship (a long walk, but we're big walkers). Parts are very seedy (and parts are gorgeous), but we never felt unsafe. The worst street was Teniente Rey between Plaza Vieja and the Capitol: dark and derelict with scattered people hanging out--but again, we didn't really feel unsafe and no one bothered us. People do try to get you to stop at restaurants and clubs, to buy things or hire a taxi, but no one hassled us if we just said "No, gracias," and kept walking. Taxis were plentiful.

 

BTW, I see very little chance of anyone questioning tour qualifications for the "Support for the Cuban People" category. Check that category on the cruise line doc, the cruise line obtains a tourist visa which says absolutely nothing about why you're in Cuba, local Cuban authorities only look to see there is a visa. Upon returning to the U.S. (the only country that cares about the "Support for the Cuban People" and other "license" requirements), you'll just be one of hundreds getting off a cruise ship from Cuba. We went through passport control in Miami without question. We are, of course, keeping all our records for 5 years as required, but it seems like a pointless exercise.

 

 

[As an aside, the company messed up the dates of our tour. I requested the correct date and they confirmed the correct date, but the final document they sent the week before the cruise reflected the day before our arrival. Both of us were at fault as I did not notice prior to leaving on the cruise that the date on the document was wrong. Thankfully, I had ship wifi due to a situation at home I needed to be reachable for so they were able to contact me via WhatsApp and rebook the tour. I didn't get the message until later, though, because we were ashore at Great Stirrup Cay that day so poor Katiusca waited nearly two hours in the heat the day before we arrived, but showed up cheerfully the next day anyway after I sorted things out with the company. She expected nothing for her wasted time although we were happy to make it up to her. Anyway, it reflected well on her and the lesson is to double check documents before leaving.]

Enjoy Havana!

Due to reading your post, we contacted Katiusca directly and were able to secure her services last week. She was absolutely the best !! She modified the tour to our wants. We did some of the same as you did, but also some different things. We missed the ritual, but saw plenty of the ritual items left behind. Katiusca never rushed us and she genuinely wanted us to get to "know" Cuba and the people of Cuba

She even arranged dinner reservations and for the driver to meet us again later at night to take us to watch the sunset and to dinner.

I thoroughly recommend Katiusca to anyone traveling to Havana !!

Tcut, I told her I found her through the post you made and she questioned your name, as she wanted to reach out and Thank You ! I told her I'd let you know. She was going to look through her notes. Did you go to Buenvista for lunch ? I did not keep track of actual spelling or area it was located in and I wanted to recommend it to others.