Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Women-only Cuba: Havana, Viñales and Trinidad
9 days for women only, led by a See Sight Tours woman guide: Havana, two nights in Viñales, the Bay of Pigs, Cienfuegos and two nights in Trinidad.
9 days · Round trip from Havana · up to 12 guests
The Viñales Valley from the Los Jazmines viewpoint, with the Dos Hermanas mogote beyond Photo: Rômulo Ferreira, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vi%C3%B1ales_-_Cuba_(40145119525).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 9 days, 8 nights
- Start and end
- Round trip from Havana
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Easy
Easy walking in heat on cobbles and farm tracks: about 2 to 3 hours on foot in Old Havana and Trinidad, a valley walk of about 5 km on flat, sometimes muddy farm paths in Viñales (with a ride in the vehicle instead if you prefer), steps up the Manaca Iznaga tower if you choose to climb it, and two long driving days, about 7 hours and about 5 hours, each broken by stops.
- Meals included
- 8 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 1 dinner
- Room of your own
- + CAD 610 (estimated price)
- Season
- Best November to April
Highlights
Why this trip
- A soft first evening: a frank briefing from your woman guide and a light supper a short walk from your casa
- Old Havana's four squares on foot at 9 am with a local woman guide where available, then a classic-car ride along the Malecón
- A morning walk across the Viñales Valley to a family tobacco farm, with lunch at the farm
- The Cueva del Indio, entered on foot and left by boat along an underground river
- A swim at Playa Larga and the Girón museum at the Bay of Pigs
- Two nights in Trinidad: the Valle de los Ingenios, the embroiderers of Manaca Iznaga and a salsa lesson
- A last evening on the Malecón and a farewell dinner, with your guide walking the group home
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 610 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Havana
José Martí International Airport to your casa particular in Havana
- Light welcome supper
- Stay in Havana
- Drive about 30 min
Fly into José Martí International Airport (HAV), about 30 minutes south of central Havana. A driver meets you outside arrivals with your name and your tracked flight time for the transfer to your casa particular, a privately owned guesthouse, in or near Old Havana.
Evening
Nothing is planned for the afternoon: unpack, rest through the heat, or walk a few streets to the Malecón, the long sea wall where Havana comes out in the evening. At about 6:30 pm your See Sight Tours guide, who is a woman, meets the group for a short, frank briefing: what women wear here and in churches, how to handle street comments and the people who approach visitors, which taxis to use, how rooms in the casas are shared, how to change money, since cash is what works, and what power cuts mean. Then we walk to a paladar a few minutes away for a light welcome supper and your guide walks everyone back early, so the first full day starts rested. Plan to land by about 4 pm; later arrivals are met at the casa and briefed over breakfast.
Included
- Pick-up at José Martí International Airport (HAV)
- Welcome briefing with your guide on dress, street attention, taxis, money and power cuts
- Light welcome supper at a paladar near the casa
- Your guide walks the group back to the casa after supper
Free time: Free until the 6:30 pm briefing
Activity: If you land after about 6 pm, your guide meets you at the casa and briefs you over breakfast.
Old Havana on foot, then by classic car
Old Havana's four squares, then the Malecón, Vedado and Plaza de la Revolución
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Havana
Afternoon
We start at 9 am on foot in Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982, before the midday heat. A licensed local guide, a woman where one is available, joins your See Sight Tours guide and links the four old squares in the order the city grew: Plaza de Armas with its secondhand book stalls and the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the baroque cathedral on Plaza de la Catedral, the restored merchants' houses around Plaza Vieja, and Plaza de San Francisco by the harbour. Lunch is at a paladar in the old town. In the afternoon the classic cars arrive: American cars from the 1950s carry us out along the Malecón, through the leafy avenues of Vedado and up to Plaza de la Revolución, where steel outlines of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos look down from the ministry buildings. The ride ends back at your casa by about 4 pm.
Evening
The rest of the day is yours: the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, a rest through the heat, or a drink on a rooftop at sunset.
Included
- Old Havana walking tour with your guide and a local guide, a woman where available: Plaza de Armas, Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza Vieja and Plaza de San Francisco
- Lunch at a paladar in Old Havana
- Classic-car ride along the Malecón, through Vedado to Plaza de la Revolución
Optional experiences
- Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Cuban art)
- The 9 pm cañonazo cannon ceremony at La Cabaña fortress, by a taxi your guide books
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 2 to 3 hours on foot on flat but uneven paving. Bring a hat and water.
Fusterlandia, Las Terrazas and into Viñales
Havana to Jaimanitas and Las Terrazas, then west to Viñales
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Viñales
- Drive about 3.5 h
We leave Havana at 9 am heading west. The first stop is Jaimanitas, a fishing suburb where the artist José Fuster has covered his house, and much of the street around it, in ceramic mosaics; locals call it Fusterlandia. About an hour further on, Las Terrazas sits in the hills of the Sierra del Rosario, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, in a village built in the late 1960s as part of a reforestation project.
Afternoon
A local guide takes us to the ruins of the Buenavista coffee estate, worked by enslaved people in the 1800s, for the view back towards the coast, then we have lunch in the village. The afternoon drive runs through tobacco and sugarcane country past Pinar del Río. Just before Viñales we stop at the Los Jazmines viewpoint, where the valley opens below you: red earth, royal palms and the round limestone hills called mogotes.
Evening
We reach Viñales by about 4:30 pm, with the evening free in a town of single-storey houses and porches lined with rocking chairs.
Included
- Fusterlandia in Jaimanitas
- Las Terrazas with a local guide and the Buenavista coffee estate ruins
- Lunch in Las Terrazas
- The Los Jazmines viewpoint over the Viñales Valley
Free time: Evening free in Viñales
A tobacco farm walk in the Viñales Valley
Viñales town across the valley to a tobacco farm, then the Cueva del Indio
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Viñales
- Drive about 30 min
The cool hours belong to the valley. At 8 am a local guide, a woman where one is available, walks us out of town on farm tracks between fields of tobacco, maize and cassava, with the mogotes rising on every side. The Viñales Valley is a UNESCO cultural landscape because farming here is still done much as it was: oxen pull the ploughs and leaves are cured in tall palm-thatched drying barns. At a family tobacco farm, where a woman of the family hosts us if we can confirm one, the growers show how the leaves are picked, hung, cured and fermented, explain how most of the crop goes to the state, and roll a cigar in front of you; there is coffee grown on the farm and a glass of guayabita, the local guava liqueur.
Afternoon
Lunch is a long farm meal of roast pork, rice and beans, root vegetables and salad. Afterwards we drive a few minutes north to the Cueva del Indio, a limestone cave you walk into and leave by small boat along an underground river.
Evening
The late afternoon is free, and at sunset the valley turns gold from the viewpoints just outside town.
Included
- Valley walk with a local guide, a woman where available
- Family tobacco farm visit with cigar rolling, coffee and guayabita
- Farm lunch
- Cueva del Indio with the underground boat ride
Optional experiences
- Horse ride through the valley with a local guide
Easier option: Ride to the tobacco farm in the vehicle instead of walking, and meet the group there.
More active option: Carry on with the local guide after the farm on a longer loop through the valley floor, about 4 km more, and rejoin the group for lunch.
Free time: Late afternoon free
Activity: About 5 km on flat farm tracks, muddy after rain. What is growing depends on the month: tobacco is planted around October to December and harvested roughly January to March.
To the Bay of Pigs and Cienfuegos
Viñales to Playa Larga and Playa Girón on the Bay of Pigs, then Cienfuegos
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Cienfuegos
- Drive about 7 h
Today is a full day of about ten hours, with about 475 km and seven hours of driving.
Evening
There is no road from the far west to the south coast that avoids Havana, and stopping a night at Playa Larga or back in Havana on the way would cost a night in Viñales or Trinidad, so we drive it in one day and break it three times. We leave Viñales at 8 am and stop for coffee after about two and a half hours, as we skirt Havana on the motorway. Lunch is at Playa Larga, at the head of the Bay of Pigs, booked ahead for about 1:15 pm so nobody waits for a table; if the sea allows, there is time for a short swim off the rocks before we move on. At about 3 pm we stop for 45 minutes at Playa Girón and its museum about the invasion of April 1961, when an exile brigade trained and backed by the CIA came ashore on these beaches and was defeated within three days. The last 90 minutes run through cane fields to Cienfuegos, arriving at about 5:30 to 6 pm. The evening is free.
Included
- Lunch at Playa Larga with a swim stop on the Bay of Pigs
- The museum at Playa Girón about the 1961 invasion
Optional experiences
- Snorkel gear hire at the swim stop
Easier option: Skip the swim and stay in the shade at the lunch stop.
More active option: Snorkel along the reef edge at the swim stop, where the water is clear and full of fish.
Free time: Evening free in Cienfuegos
Activity: The longest day: about seven hours of driving, broken into stretches of no more than about two and a half hours. Bring a snack for the morning, wear swimwear under your clothes and keep a towel in your day bag.
Cienfuegos in the morning, Trinidad by evening
Cienfuegos to Punta Gorda, then the coast road to Trinidad
- Breakfast
- Stay in Trinidad
- Drive about 1.5 h
Cienfuegos was founded in 1819 by French settlers from Bordeaux and Louisiana, and its grid of wide streets and neoclassical facades is why the centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At 9 am we walk Parque José Martí, with the cathedral, the columned Colegio San Lorenzo and the Teatro Tomás Terry, opened in 1890, where we step inside when it is open to see the painted ceiling and the wooden tiers of boxes. Then a short drive down the peninsula to Punta Gorda and the Palacio de Valle, a mansion of Moorish arches and tilework finished in 1917; climb to the rooftop for the bay.
Morning
By late morning we take the coast road east, about 80 km and an hour and a half, with the Escambray mountains on one side and the Caribbean on the other.
Afternoon
Lunch in Trinidad is your choice. At 4 pm, when the cobbles have cooled, your guide walks you to the Plaza Mayor and the lanes around it.
Evening
The evening is free, and live music starts on the steps beside the church after dark.
Included
- Cienfuegos walk with your guide: Parque José Martí, the cathedral and the Teatro Tomás Terry (when open)
- The Palacio de Valle at Punta Gorda
- Trinidad walking tour: the Plaza Mayor and the old town
Free time: Lunch on your own and the evening free in Trinidad
Activity: Trinidad's streets are rough cobbles on a slope; wear shoes with a firm sole.
The Valley of the Sugar Mills and a salsa lesson
Trinidad to the Loma del Puerto viewpoint and Manaca Iznaga, then back to Trinidad
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Trinidad
- Drive about 1 h
We leave at 8:30 am for the Valle de los Ingenios, the valley of the sugar mills, listed by UNESCO in 1988 together with Trinidad itself. In the 1800s dozens of mills here made the town rich on sugar and on the labour of enslaved Africans, and the mansions you walked past yesterday were built on that money. From the Loma del Puerto viewpoint the whole valley lies below, green with cane and palms. At Manaca Iznaga, the old estate of one of the wealthiest planter families, you can climb the tall watchtower once used to watch over the fields, or stay below with the local women who embroider and sell tablecloths and blouses; your guide introduces them, and nobody is asked to buy.
Afternoon
Lunch is at a farm restaurant in the valley. We are back in Trinidad by about 2 pm for a free afternoon: a museum, a rest, or a taxi to Playa Ancón, about 12 km away.
Evening
At 5 pm a local teacher, a woman where one is available, gives the group a one-hour salsa lesson, so you have a few steps ready for the music on the steps tonight.
Included
- Valle de los Ingenios with your guide: the Loma del Puerto viewpoint and Manaca Iznaga
- Time with the women embroiderers at Manaca Iznaga
- Lunch in the valley
- One-hour salsa lesson with a local teacher, a woman where available
Optional experiences
- Taxi to Playa Ancón for the afternoon
- The Museo Romántico or the Museo de Historia Municipal in Trinidad (when open)
Easier option: Skip the tower climb at Manaca Iznaga and wait in the shade of the estate house.
More active option: Instead of the free afternoon, a guided hike to the Salto del Caburní waterfall in Topes de Collantes, about 5 km return on a steep trail (extra cost, confirmed at booking).
Free time: Afternoon free until the 5 pm salsa lesson; evening free
Activity: The Manaca Iznaga tower has steep, narrow stairs.
Back to Havana for a last evening
Trinidad to Cienfuegos and the Autopista Nacional, then Havana
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Havana
- Drive about 5 h
We leave Trinidad at 8:30 am for the drive back to Havana, about 330 km and five hours of driving by way of Cienfuegos and the Autopista Nacional.
Evening
That is over our cap of about four hours a day because there is no shorter road, and splitting it would need an extra night on the road or a night cut from Viñales or Trinidad. We stop for coffee after the first hour and for a sit-down lunch at about the halfway point, so no stretch runs much over two hours. We skip the Santa Clara detour, which adds over an hour. We are back at a casa particular in Havana in the late afternoon, with time to rest. In the early evening your guide walks the group along the Malecón as the light drops behind Vedado and, on windy days, the spray comes over the wall. Our farewell dinner is at a paladar, and afterwards your guide walks the group back, or takes anyone who wants to go across the harbour by booked taxi to La Cabaña fortress for the cañonazo, the 9 pm cannon firing in colonial uniform.
Included
- Drive from Trinidad to Havana with your guide
- Sit-down lunch on the way
- Evening walk on the Malecón
- Farewell dinner at a paladar
- Your guide walks the group back after dinner
Optional experiences
- The 9 pm cañonazo at La Cabaña fortress, with your guide, by booked taxi
Free time: Late afternoon free
Havana and home
Havana to José Martí International Airport
- Breakfast
- Drive about 30 min
Morning
The last morning is yours. If your flight leaves later in the day, have a last coffee on Plaza Vieja, visit the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, or walk the Paseo del Prado under its laurel trees. Check-out is usually late morning, and your luggage can wait at the casa until the driver comes.
Evening
A private transfer takes you to José Martí International Airport (HAV), about 30 minutes away, and your guide confirms the pick-up time with you the evening before. Allow three hours before an international departure, since check-in and security at HAV can be slow. Book a flight home leaving after about 12 pm. If you want to stay on in Havana, ask us to add nights at the same casa before the trip. Cuban pesos are hard to change back outside Cuba, so spend or change what you have left before security, and keep a few small notes for coffee at the airport.
Included
- Drop-off at José Martí International Airport (HAV)
Free time: Morning free until your transfer
Activity: Book a flight leaving Havana after about 12 pm.
- Havana2 nights
- Viñales2 nights
- Cienfuegos1 night
- Trinidad2 nights
- Havana1 night
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: November to April is the dry season, warm by day and pleasant in the evening, and the best time for walking in Viñales and Trinidad. From May to October it is hot, humid and wet, with heavy afternoon showers. The hurricane season runs from June to November, peaking from August to October, when plans can change at short notice. The tobacco fields are green from about December to March and bare after the harvest.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Women travelling solo who want company and a woman guide without being paired up by default
- Women who want to meet Cuban women where it is real: casa hosts, local guides, the embroiderers of Manaca Iznaga
- Travellers who like history, music and countryside more than nightlife or shopping
- A steady pace with a soft first evening and free time in every base
Not for you if you want
- Mixed groups or couples: the dated small group is for women only
- Travellers who need reliable power, Wi-Fi and hot water every day
- A beach holiday: there is one swim stop at Playa Larga and an optional afternoon at Playa Ancón
- Step-free access: Trinidad's cobbles are rough and steep in places
- US citizens who have not checked that their trip fits a US authorized travel category
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
8 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Havana2 nights
- Viñales2 nights
- Cienfuegos1 night
- Trinidad2 nights
- Havana1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 8 nights: 2 in Havana, 2 in Viñales, 1 in Cienfuegos, 2 in Trinidad and a last night in Havana
- Privately owned casas particulares in Havana, and central casas or small private hotels elsewhere, each room with its own bathroom and air conditioning; casas run by women hosts where we can confirm them; we name each one when we confirm your dates
- Twin rooms shared with another woman, roommate matching on request, or your own room for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up and drop-off at José Martí International Airport (HAV)
- A private air-conditioned vehicle and driver for the group for the whole loop
- A classic-car ride in Havana
- The boat inside the Cueva del Indio
- Taxis booked by your guide for the optional evening outings
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours woman guide with the group from day 1 to day 9
- Licensed Cuban local guides in Old Havana, Las Terrazas and the Viñales Valley, women where available
Activities
- Havana: Old Havana walking tour, the classic-car ride to Plaza de la Revolución and a Malecón evening walk
- Fusterlandia in Jaimanitas
- Las Terrazas and the Buenavista coffee estate ruins
- Viñales: the Los Jazmines viewpoint, the valley walk, a family tobacco farm and the Cueva del Indio
- Bay of Pigs: a swim stop at Playa Larga and the museum at Playa Girón
- Cienfuegos: Parque José Martí, the Teatro Tomás Terry (when open) and the Palacio de Valle
- Trinidad: an old town walking tour and a salsa lesson
- The Valle de los Ingenios and Manaca Iznaga, with time with the women embroiderers
- All entrance fees for included sights
Meals
- 8 breakfasts
- 6 lunches, including a farm lunch in Viñales and sit-down lunches on both long drives
- 2 dinners: a light welcome supper and a farewell dinner at paladares in Havana
Not included
- International flights to and from Havana
- Travel health insurance valid in Cuba (required for entry) and the tourist card if your airline does not supply it
- Travel insurance for cancellation and baggage
- Meals not listed
- Drinks
- Tips
- Optional activities and the taxis to them
- Personal expenses
- Currency exchange costs
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 610 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the women-only Cuba trip price include?
Eight nights in casas particulares and small private hotels, 8 breakfasts, 6 lunches, a light welcome supper and a farewell dinner, airport transfers both ways, a private vehicle and driver, a See Sight Tours woman guide throughout with Cuban local guides, and every visit in the day plan, including the tobacco farm, the Cueva del Indio boat, the classic-car ride and a salsa lesson.
How big is the group, and who can join?
The small group runs with 7 to 12 women, travelling alone or with friends, so everyone fits around one table at a paladar; G Adventures and Intrepid Cuba departures take up to 16. Guests and lead guide are all women, while drivers and some local guides and hosts will be men. For a mixed group, book our regular Havana, Viñales and Trinidad trip.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours woman guide travels with the group from the airport on day 1 to the airport on day 9. Licensed Cuban guides join in Old Havana, Las Terrazas and the Viñales Valley, women where available, and we confirm who with your dates. We name your guide when we confirm your departure.
I'm travelling solo. Do I have to pay a single supplement?
Only if you want a room of your own, which is from CAD 610 more and shown before you book. If you would rather share, ask for roommate matching and we pair you with another woman on the same departure at the shared price. If no match is found, we tell you before you confirm.
Is Cuba safe for women, and what should I wear?
Many women travel in Cuba alone, and your guide and vehicle are with the group every day. Street comments from men and approaches selling taxis, cigars or company are common; a polite no and walking on works. Carry little cash in a cross-body bag. Shorts and sundresses are normal; cover shoulders and knees in churches. Read your government's travel advice before booking.
How fit do I need to be?
Easy fitness is enough. The longest walk is about 5 km on flat farm tracks in Viñales, and you can ride to the farm in the vehicle instead. Expect heat, rough cobbles in Trinidad and two long driving days of about seven and five hours, each broken by stops.
How long are the drives on this Cuba trip?
Most days drive well under four hours: about 3.5 hours to Viñales, 1.5 hours to Trinidad and an hour in the sugar valley. Two days are longer because Cuba's roads give no shorter way: Viñales to Cienfuegos, about seven hours with coffee, lunch, a swim and a museum stop, and Trinidad back to Havana, about five hours with coffee and lunch.
Should I bring cash, and what are power cuts like in Cuba now?
Bring cash for the whole trip in Canadian dollars or euros, because cards and cash machines are unreliable and US-issued cards do not work. Power cuts are common, and fuel, medicines and some foods run short. We look for casas with backup power, but bring your medicines, period products, a headlamp and a power bank, and expect shorter menus.
When is the best time to visit Cuba?
November to April is the dry season, warm by day and comfortable for walking. May to October is hot, humid and wet, and the hurricane season runs from June to November, peaking from August to October, when plans can change at short notice.
How does booking work?
Choose your start date and request to book. We check availability and provide the final quote, itinerary and booking terms before you accept. No payment is taken when you send the request. The women-only small group starts from CAD 3,385 per person sharing, with taxes included.
Can I travel on my own dates?
Yes. The trip comes as a private trip for your party only, with your own guide and vehicle, on a date you choose; ask for a woman guide and we confirm one if available. If you would rather travel independently, ask us from the dates section and we quote the same casas, drivers and local guides.
Do I need a visa for Cuba, and can US citizens join?
Canadians need a Cuban tourist card rather than a visa, plus the D'Viajeros online form and proof of travel health insurance; we confirm current rules when you book. US law does not allow tourism to Cuba, so US citizens must fit an authorized US travel category, under rules tightened in 2025. Ask us first.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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