Fertours havana ?

Looking at them for one or two days in Havana. Has anyone used them and if so how were they? Would welcome any feedback either way. :):)

We just returned from our sailing on Majesty of the Seas & used FerTours for our 2 days. Our guide Luis Enrique was very accommodating to flex our touring plans to ensure that we could see as much as possible during our time there. For example went to the art museum rather than shopping and discovered some very interesting works. We had some challenges with the weather but all worked out great. Fernando was great in communicating via email when we booked. I would recommend them for sure & if you have Luis, please say hello for us. :cool::cool::cool:

I highly recommend using I Love Cuba Photo Tours instead. They are rated #1 in Havana, so likely have better reviews overall than the group you are looking at. I just used them for 2 days and they were phenomenal!!

I highly recommend FerTours. We used them last summer for our day in Havana, and were completely satisfied with the arrangements before and during the day. You can search for my full review in the Cuba forum. Have fun!

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My wife and I used FerTours Havana when we visited Cuba on May 17th, 2018 as part of a cruise on RCL Majesty of the Seas. We are very glad that we did. It was an enjoyable and educational day in Havana, thanks to the expertise of Javier, our guide. I will talk more about him at the end.

We arranged the tour well in advance by going to fertours2havana.com and sending an email with our request, the Havana’s Highlights tour. We received an affirmative reply the next day with instructions to meet our guide at 10:00 am at the Fountain of the Lions in Saint Francis of Assisi Square, directly across the street from the cruise terminal. We had enough time to get off the ship and exchange money in the cruise terminal before the meeting. The cost of our tour was 140 CUC’s (about $160 US), paid in cash at the end of the tour.

Javier was waiting with a sign with our name, it was easy to find him. He told us at the beginning that there was a standard itinerary for the tour, but he welcomed any changes that we wished to make. We had nothing specific in mind, and began our tour. The first part of the tour was a walking tour through old Havana. We walked through the major four squares and other areas as Javier explained the history and significance of what we were seeing. We went at a comfortable pace, stopping for photos, entering the buildings that interested us, and taking a couple of breaks on a warm day.

After about 2 hours of walking we were picked up in a beautiful green and white 1950 Chevrolet with air conditioning. I cannot recall our driver’s name. We drove around Havana, stopping at several places including Revolution Square, the “El Cristo de la Havana” statue, and an old fort from which we had lovely views of the city.

Next it was time for lunch. At the start of the tour Javier asked if we had any restaurant preference, and we asked for Cuban cuisine. He took us to a very nice outdoor covered restaurant with great food and service. I had Ropa Vieja, and it was delicious. For the two of us, lunch cost about 50 CUC, including drinks and tip. Before lunch, Javier mentioned a few ideas for the remainder of the tour, and we planned the rest of the day as we ate.

We wanted to buy cigars and rum, and Javier took us to a nice place that had a great selection of both. The prices at the official cigar stores are standardized throughout Cuba, so there is no need to waste time shopping around. Just be sure that you go to an official store, so that you know that you are getting the real thing.

After the cigar store was some more driving around and sightseeing, including lovely views as we drove along the Malecon.

For our final stop we chose the National Hotel, located right along the water. The grounds and building are beautiful, and rich in history, with hundreds of photos of famous visitors, from its opening in 1930 to the present. It costs 5 CUC to visit, but that includes a drink at the bar at the end. We had very good mojitos. We were also able to exchange some more currency at the hotel. At the end we asked to be dropped off at a square in Old Havana to do more sightseeing. This was 45 minutes past the scheduled end of the 6 hour tour, but Javier and our driver didn’t mind at all.

So those are the details, now here is why it was so wonderful and why I would recommend it to anyone. Javier was a fantastic guide. He is a very intelligent and personable 30 year old man who speaks great English, and has a terrific sense of humor. He made it clear at the beginning that we could discuss any subject and ask any question. We discussed history, education, sports, politics, economics, culture and other topics. You just don’t get that kind of personal interaction in a group tour. We didn’t just get to see great sights in Havana, we felt like we really got to meet the Cuban people through our talks with Javier. Our close neighbors to the south are now our friends. It’s the best day we have ever had in a port.

used fertours on the inaugural majesty sailing for just 4 hrs and our guide crammed in as much as he could getting all the highlights in that i asked for. i highly recommend them. fernando will tailor your tour to whatever you want it to be.

While cruising on the NCL Sun to Cuba last week with our friends we used FerTours. Fernando was quick to respond to my e-mails and assigned Alain as our guide for the Barefoot Havana tour. Alain was not only a fantastic and knowledgeable guide, he is also a great human being and we all enjoyed meeting him and learning about Cuba and his life. The plan was to meet Alain at 10:00 AM just across from the cruise terminal. We were off the ship by 9:00 AM, and just enjoying the action in the square while waiting. Alain arrived by 9:30 AM with my name clearly visible on a piece of paper. After introductions, we began our walking tour. We walked and talked for approximately four hours. During that time, Alain secured us a lunch reservation at Habana 61. We insisted he join us for lunch, and he was gracious enough to accept our invitation. Habana 61 was more than we could have ever possibly found on our own. The restaurant is privately owned, very clean, very cool, and has delicious food and drink. Bathrooms have toilet paper, paper towels, and toilet seats! After lunch we walked to a parking lot and picked a beautiful car that would hold six for the driving part of our tour. We secured what I think was a 1958 red Buick convertible. During our drive and stops, Alain continued to narrate and answer all our questions. At the end of the drive, we were back near the ship with only a stop by a cigar store needed. Again, Alain recommended a shop we would have never found and our friend was able to purchase the cigars he wanted before getting back on the ship. By the time we left Alain around 4:00 PM, we all felt like we had made a new friend for life and had learned so much about his country. We cannot thank Fernando or Alain enough for our memorable day in Cuba.

Thanks a lot for all this good info. We will book Fertours for our Oct. Cruise.

I think that your experience will be heavily influenced by who you have as your guide. If you get a great guide, you will have a fantastic time. Our guide was good, but perhaps not the most outgoing. We had to ask a lot of questions about various places where we went. We assumed that she would have volunteered a lot more information without our prompting.

We used Fertours and were VERY pleased. We had selected a specific 6 hour tour but were able to change some of the places we visited. Our guide was great and we were driven around in an immaculate red '57 Chevy with air conditioning. We had both a guide and a driver.

It was our second visit, the first time we used a ship tour.

I would recommend Fertours

enjoy

M

You said you bought cigars...is there a limit as to how many the US allows you to bring back? Exchanging money? is it easy and we are right at the canadian boarder would it be better to get Canadian money?

My wife and I used FerTours Havana when we visited Cuba on May 17th, 2018 as part of a cruise on RCL Majesty of the Seas. We are very glad that we did. It was an enjoyable and educational day in Havana, thanks to the expertise of Javier, our guide. I will talk more about him at the end.

We arranged the tour well in advance by going to fertours2havana.com and sending an email with our request, the Havana’s Highlights tour. We received an affirmative reply the next day with instructions to meet our guide at 10:00 am at the Fountain of the Lions in Saint Francis of Assisi Square, directly across the street from the cruise terminal. We had enough time to get off the ship and exchange money in the cruise terminal before the meeting. The cost of our tour was 140 CUC’s (about $160 US), paid in cash at the end of the tour.

Javier was waiting with a sign with our name, it was easy to find him. He told us at the beginning that there was a standard itinerary for the tour, but he welcomed any changes that we wished to make. We had nothing specific in mind, and began our tour. The first part of the tour was a walking tour through old Havana. We walked through the major four squares and other areas as Javier explained the history and significance of what we were seeing. We went at a comfortable pace, stopping for photos, entering the buildings that interested us, and taking a couple of breaks on a warm day.

After about 2 hours of walking we were picked up in a beautiful green and white 1950 Chevrolet with air conditioning. I cannot recall our driver’s name. We drove around Havana, stopping at several places including Revolution Square, the “El Cristo de la Havana” statue, and an old fort from which we had lovely views of the city.

Next it was time for lunch. At the start of the tour Javier asked if we had any restaurant preference, and we asked for Cuban cuisine. He took us to a very nice outdoor covered restaurant with great food and service. I had Ropa Vieja, and it was delicious. For the two of us, lunch cost about 50 CUC, including drinks and tip. Before lunch, Javier mentioned a few ideas for the remainder of the tour, and we planned the rest of the day as we ate.

We wanted to buy cigars and rum, and Javier took us to a nice place that had a great selection of both. The prices at the official cigar stores are standardized throughout Cuba, so there is no need to waste time shopping around. Just be sure that you go to an official store, so that you know that you are getting the real thing.

After the cigar store was some more driving around and sightseeing, including lovely views as we drove along the Malecon.

For our final stop we chose the National Hotel, located right along the water. The grounds and building are beautiful, and rich in history, with hundreds of photos of famous visitors, from its opening in 1930 to the present. It costs 5 CUC to visit, but that includes a drink at the bar at the end. We had very good mojitos. We were also able to exchange some more currency at the hotel. At the end we asked to be dropped off at a square in Old Havana to do more sightseeing. This was 45 minutes past the scheduled end of the 6 hour tour, but Javier and our driver didn’t mind at all.

 

So those are the details, now here is why it was so wonderful and why I would recommend it to anyone. Javier was a fantastic guide. He is a very intelligent and personable 30 year old man who speaks great English, and has a terrific sense of humor. He made it clear at the beginning that we could discuss any subject and ask any question. We discussed history, education, sports, politics, economics, culture and other topics. You just don’t get that kind of personal interaction in a group tour. We didn’t just get to see great sights in Havana, we felt like we really got to meet the Cuban people through our talks with Javier. Our close neighbors to the south are now our friends. It’s the best day we have ever had in a port.

You can bring 100 cigars for personal use, without paying duty.

The "exchange math":

100USD=87CUC in Cuba (fixed rate)

Changing to CAD first at home may save up to about 10%, MINUS any fees (up front or built in) for the exchange at home, and minus 3% exchange fee in Cuba, along with any time and effort spent at home to change money. Although, maybe your Canadian Boarder 's rent would help defray costs. LOL

take-away: If you're not planning to spend much, it may not be worth it.