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| May 2010 College of Wooster Multidisciplinary Cuba Research Tour |
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| PROGRAM OVERVIEW |
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| CITIES AND SITES VISITS |
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Ancient and modern Havana |
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Las Terrazas eco-community |
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| TRIP ACCOMMODATIONS |
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Former Havana Hilton, now Hotel Habana Libre An upscale luxurious respite during an action packed itinerary at this historic five-star facility. |
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Island transportation You travel in a private fuel-efficient luxury air-conditioned tour coach chauffeured by a full time professional driver.
Message from Marcel Hatch, president of Cuba Education Tours: "It's been a pleasure working with Alison Schmidt and the rest of the College of Wooster team to bring this stellar program to fruition. My organization is thrilled to help Wooster professors realize their research objectives and witness Cuba intimately.
"My colleagues in Cuba and Canada are here for you prior, during and after travel. Contact us with with any concerns, any time."
Details from two stone monuments in Havana honoring US civil rights heroes Malcolm X and Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.
Click logo to learn more.
Meet a giant of Caribbean anthropology, ethnology and history. Click pix to learn about the Cuban thinker and scholar, Fernando Ortíz, who developed the theory of syncretism.
 Casa del niño y la niña director Rosita Saradiñas and student in Havana. You'll meet them. Click here to learn more about this school. |
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On the island from Friday 14 May to Sunday 23 May 2010: Ten incredible days in the Pearl of the Caribbean on the 51st anniversary year of the Cuban Revolution |
| Wooster faculty participants must complete steps 1 to 4 ASAP |
1 Register for the tour via our secure web interface. Click here to register.
2 Provide us with a personal and academic profile via our secure web interface. Click here to provide your profile.
3 Prepare your General Research travel license documentation. Click here to go to the Legal Cuba Travel website. Important This is not an application. You do not submit this material for approval prior to travel. You simply prepare it, take it with you to Cuba, and present it to US immigrations upon return to the States.
Your final documentation kit must include (download templates at above site):
 A) General Research License Affidavit
B) Cuba Research Letter
C) Cuba Research Itinerary (specific to Wooster group, see item 4b below)
D) Proof of Employment (supplied by employer)
E) Excerpt from Treasury Department regulations on the General Research License
Please feel free to contact Cuba Education Tours if you have any questions regarding the preparation of your General Research License documentation.
4a Your detailed Day-by-Day Itinerary is available as an Acrobat PDF file download. It serves as your calendar and compass for all activities while on the island. It's not part of your license documentation, and is different from your Cuba Research Itinerary.
4b Your Cuba Research Itinerary is an essential part of your General Research documentation package (item 3C above). It is a summary of academic activities only. Print it and combine it with your General Research documentation.
The program is fully escorted from the minute you touch down in Havana until you return home. While on the island you're in the conscientious care of your expert multilingual Cuban guide together with our professional bus chauffeur. Our Canadian, Cuban and American staff ensures worry free Cuba travel before, during and after your trip.
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| MEALS INCLUDED |
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Delicious complementary breakfast buffets are served daily from 7:00am to 10:00am at your hotel. Lunch is included on Days 2, 3, 4 and 8, and Dinners on Days 1, 2 and 6. Your guide is available to suggest eateries for every taste and budget for meals not included in tour package. |
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| SERVICES INCLUDED AND NOT INCLUDED |
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Included in program cost Nine nights at Hotel Habana Libre with breakfast included. All entrance fees and activities listed in day-by-day itinerary unless noted as "optional," "on your own," or "not included in cost." Expert multilingual Cuban guide and translator. All meals noted above. Luxury air-conditioned coach for all the activities in the program, together with a professional driver for the duration of your stay. In and out transfers at Havana's José Martí International Airport. Return airfare from Toronto to Havana. Visitor's health and medical insurance while in Cuba. Not included in program cost Transportation from Ohio to Toronto. Gratuities for guide, bus driver, hotel restaurant staff, chambermaids, porters and taxis. Cuban airport departure tax of 25 CUC. Lunches and dinners not listed above. Overweight luggage charges. Personal spending money. |
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| SPECIAL APPEAL TO THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER FACULTY |
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Consider helping other professors and educators As part of your General Research legal travel obligation, teachers visiting Cuba on under this provision are required to publish their findings to their colleagues, community, friends and family.
Cuba Education Tours is eager to assist. Our organization's mandate demands that we inform North Americans on all aspects of Cuban life, society and culture based upon reports from our travelers. We'll gladly produce a gorgeous website to accommodate your reports, photos and findings – any content you provide. Materials you submit remain your property, and copyright is duly credited. We provide this option for several reasons: 1) To assist in the completion of General Research license obligations, 2) To inform teachers who want to visit Cuba to get to know the country in advance, and, 3) To help the North American public read findings by actual visitors, as too many news and research items about Cuba are produced by authors who've never been to the island. Thanks in advance for considering this offer. |
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| CHECK OUT DAYS ONE AND TEN TO GET A FEEL FOR YOUR CUBA RESEARCH TOUR |
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| Day 1 :: FRIDAY |
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HELLO HAVANA |
Rooftops in Old Havana. |
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Cuban girls perform folk dance. |
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One-in-ten cars in Cuba are pre-1959. Click photo to enlarge. |
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Streets are alive with music. |
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Cuba's capital city is Havana. This is the fortress El Morro across the harbor from your hotel. |
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Arrival at Havana's José Martí International Airport.
Collect your bags and go through customs. See What to take to Cuba.
You're welcomed at the airport by your Cuba Education Tours guide and professional bus chauffeur.
Your Cuba Education Tours guide will direct you to a bank or exchange bureau (CADECA) to purchase Cuban Convertible Pesos.
Group transfer to the Hotel Habana Libre located in Vedado, the heart of Havana's cultural and entertainment district.
Private check-in with assistance from your guide.
Meet and greet Welcome gathering at the Habana Libre's Bar Las Cañitas to meet your travel mates and tour guide.
After you've freshened up, you'll enjoy a group welcome dinner at your hotel's restaurant.
Evening is free for you to settle in, and later explore Vedado's vibrant music milieu or stroll the Malecón seawall next to your hotel. |
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Havana's Malecón seawall near your hotel – a place for relaxation and new friendships. |
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| Most common questions 1 Is Cuban food good? It's healthy, simple and not spicy. 2 Am I free to ask any question? You'll insult your island hosts by being less than candid. 3 Is the water safe? Yes, but we suggest bottled water for peace of mind. 4 Are vaccinations needed? No. 5 Can Americans join? They are especially welcome to do so! 6 Can I stay in Cuba after the tour? Absolutely and we are glad to help. 7 Do Cubans like tips? Yes, please see our Gratuities Guidelines. |
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Colorful indigenous Cuban Tody. |
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CUBA IS THE LARGEST and least commercialized island in the Caribbean. It hosts 6000 plant species, half of which are endemic. There are 20 million palms in Cuba comprised of 30 species. Other flora includes the rare cork palm, a holdout from the cretaceous period; the jagüey, a fig with aerial roots; the palma barrigona (pot belly palm); the ceiba (sacred silk-cotton tree); and the mariposa (butterfly jasmine, Cuba's national flower). The most abundant land fauna is reptilian: crocodiles, iguanas, lizards, salamanders, turtles and 15 species of nonpoisonous snakes. The biggest land mammal is the jutía, a tree dwelling rodent the size of a cocker spaniel. The native bee hummingbird or zunzún is the world's smallest warm-blooded vertebrate weighing between 1.6 and 1.8 grams. The Cuban trogon or tocororo is the national bird – its red, blue and white plumage reflecting the colors of the Cuban flag. |
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| Day 10 :: SUNDAY |
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GOODBYE TO THE UNITED COLORS OF CUBA |
| KEEP IN TOUCH with your new Cuban friends – exchange email addresses! Bring some business cards to pass out on the island. Take pictures and keep a journal. Upon your return, we'll post them on this website for all to see and enjoy. |
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Early morning transfer to Havana's José Martí International Airport for your return home. Don't forget to save 25 CUC for your Cuban airport departure fee and some money for meals on the airplane.
Want to stay longer in Cuba following your tour? Contact us and we will help make it happen. |
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| Old Cuban saying, "a true friend remembers the song in your heart when you have forgotten the lyrics." |
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We'll miss you and hope you return soon! |
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