Salsaville's Post-Thanksgiving Music & Dance, Support for the Cuban People
Tour of Cuba: November 24th - December 10th, 2023 |
Salsaville's epic two-week plus Music & Dance Tour of Cuba is back with new destinations!!
Havana, Viñales, and Varadero!
The plan is to first spend 9 nights taking in the big city and salsa capital, Havana. We will explore the salsa scene in depth (parties, concerts, local dance clubs, and more), get to know several locals, and take in the architectural splendor that is Havana.
Then, we take our own bus for a 2.5 hour ride to Viñales, a small-town in the middle of the famous tabacco producing region of Cuba, and surrounded by spectacular nature.
Finally, we take another ride in our own bus, with a couple of short stops along the way, seeing gorgeous countryside and the coast, to arrive at the town of Varadero, which is lined for miles with one of the best beaches in the world. Here we will relax, slow down, but still enjoy going out dancing, and likely take a few dance lessons as well.
Each destination is very different and all provide unique and amazing experiences:
Here are the details of our travel plans:
There are three travel package options:
Option #1. Full trip: Leave Friday, November 24th and return Sunday, December 10th
I do recommend this first and longer option, as you will get to experience so much of what Cuba has to offer. Each place is so different, and seeing them all will provide a much more balanced & complete view of Cuba.
If your schedule simply does not allow you to be gone for over two weeks, we have two alternate options:
Option #2. Havana only: Leave Friday, November 24th and return Sunday, December 3rd
The main destination in a visit to Cuba is Havana, the capital of Cuba, which has the most access to music & dance events along with offering so many things to see & experience. You will leave with getting an extremely good view of the culture of Cuba.
Option #3. Outside of Havana: Viñales & Varadero only: Leave Sunday, December 3rd, and return Sunday, December 10th
Viñales & Varadero are such special places. Countryside & then some glorious beautiful beach. Recommended especially for those who strongly prefer smaller cities/towns with a laid-back experience, or perhaps for those who previously visited Havana but haven't yet explored other parts of the country.
Option #3 PLUS: If you want to get a quick peek at Havana as well, you could fly to Havana on Friday, Dec 1st, or Saturday Dec 2nd!
We won't be leaving Havana (for Viñales) until Monday morning. (The package price for this option wouldn't be much more.)
Testimonials from Salsaville's 1st Music & Dance trip to Cuba - November 2015
Testimonials from Salsaville's 2nd Music & Dance trip to Cuba - January 2016
Testimonials from Salsaville's 3rd Music & Dance trip to Cuba - March 2016
Testimonials from Salsaville's 4th Music & Dance trip to Cuba - November 2016
Testimonials from Salsaville's 5th Music & Dance trip to Cuba - January 2017
And the trips just keep getting better and better each time. Here are some testimonials from more recent trips:
Testimonials from Salsaville's 11th Music & Dance trip to Cuba - January 2019
Testimonials from Salsaville's 12th Music & Dance trip to Cuba - November 2019
And here are the testimonials from now two completed trips since after the pandemic began:
Testimonials from Salsaville's 14th Music & Dance trip to Cuba - November 2022
Testimonials from Salsaville's 15th Music & Dance trip to Cuba - February 2023
Any questions or concerns? Please just email me, or call me directly at 720-336-1239.
Back to the Cuba Trip home page
Read on for many more details ...
The Application Form is at bottom of this page.
This trip will be run under a legal "Support for the Cuban People" license (31 CFR § 515.574)
The group size will be limited to 16 or so travelers.
Please note that this will be run as a "semi-boutique" tour, meaning that the group size will kept on the small side, each member of the trip will receive individual attention, and the tour can be somewhat customized to your desires & interests. In addition, we are staying in upscale accommodations, but as a home-stay, not in a hotel. The group will be able to move around more efficiently and do more than a larger group could. This way we can all achieve my goal of making sure that each person has an amazing experience.
Included in the package price is:
Basic Travel:
Music & Dance Activities:
Additional activities:
Trip cost, which does not include airline travel from your home airport to Cuba & back:
The following is now included in the cost of the travel package:
All flight-related fees to get to Cuba and back are not included:
Info about airfare:
The only other things that are not included in the package price and for which you should bring money to Cuba are:
Payment schedule is as follows:
If you need to cancel for whatever reason, I'm afraid none of the payments are refundable, except for a partial refund if we can find a replacement traveler and transfer the plane tickets into their name.
Why travel with Eric "El Cubanito" Freeman?
Eric has been traveling to Cuba since 1995.
He has traveled there 28 times, and spent a total of over 30 months on the island.
In addition, Eric has previously run a total of 14 group trips there, and is well-versed in the ins and outs of navigating Cuba and providing an amazing experience for all who choose to go on a Salsaville trip to Cuba.
He has studied dance there extensively and has developed numerous connections over the years.
Join him to explore and experience the amazing things Cuba has to offer.
The focus of the trip will be dancing and music, but the tour includes exploring Cuba's history, architecture, beaches, and their fascinating people.
APPLICATION FORM:
Please copy & paste the below text into an email, fill in, and send to eric@salsaville.com.
(Please avoid printing out this form and writing in answers by hand.)
1. Which dates are you signing up for:
Option #1: Full Trip: November 24th - December 10th
Option #2: Havana Only: November 24th - December 3rd
Option #3: Viñales & Varadero only: December 3rd - December 10th (or departing and day or two earlier to check out Havana a little bit?)
2. Would you like single or double occupancy?
If double occupancy, tell me the number of beds needed and the name of the person you are sharing a room with.
(Or, although tricky, let me know if you would like me to attempt to match you with another traveler to share a room with.)
Note: All rooms have AC and en-suite bathrooms (i.e. the bathroom is directly connected to your bedroom.)
3. Do you want any room upgrades? (This is on a space-available basis only.)
Havana: We have some options for room upgrades, which include ocean-views, and/or deluxe apartments. Prices will be from $10-$40 per night extra. Please indicate if you're interested, and if looking for a lower or higher-end upgrade. (Or you can copy & paste which room you'd like from the list that appears about 7 paragraphs above.)
Viñales: Upgraded rooms @ additional cost of $5-10 per night. (Please indicate if you're interested, and if looking for a lower or higher-end upgrade.)
Varadero: Upgraded rooms @ additional cost of $10-$15 per night. Please indicate if you're interested, and if looking for a lower or higher-end upgrade.
(These prices are per room, not per person. So if you are doing double occupancy, then the additional cost is only half that per person.)
4. Your email address:
5. Your cell phone number with the ability to receive text messages:
6. Fill in the info below as it appears on your passport:
First name:
Middle name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth:
Gender:
Passport #:
Passport date of expiration:
7. Contact info for any emergency:
Name of person:
Relationship:
Phone number:
8. Your mailing address:
9. Attach a good quality scan of your passport. (Taking a photo with a smartphone camera works fine.)
10. Do you have any physical and/or psychological issues that could impede your ability to successfully participate in this trip?
11. This tour will involve walking a total of 1-3 miles per day. Are you able to do this while maintaining an average moderate pace? (If not, it does not mean you cannot come on the trip. I would just need to know this ahead of time in order to possibly make some adjustments.)
In addition, on several days, we will be doing 2 to 3 hours a day of dance lessons in well-ventilated, but non-airconditioned rooms. Some evenings we will be going out dancing for 2-3 hours. All activities are optional. If you are tired at any point, you can always opt-out and go back to your room to relax, rest, etc.
12. You will need to sign a fairly standard liability waiver to sign which will be delivered to you upon accepting of your application.
13. From time to time you will be asked for your input on some aspect of planning the trip. You will sometimes be asked to respond in as little as 24 hours. (Examples include RSVP'ing to a proposed group orientation meeting time, and getting your go-ahead in purchasing specific airline flights.) I will need your response in a timely manner in order to help effectively plan the trip. Do you agree to do your best to respond in a timely manner and understand that a pattern of not responding within the time requested may result in monetary penalties being accessed?
14. Now that Cuba has a functional mobile cell network with decent mobile data access, we will be using WhatsApp as the primary means of communciation (both before and during the trip) to plan/accounce various details about each days' events when we are not all together as a group. Do you agree to making sure you are comfortable using WhatsApp, and agree to bring or rent a carrier-unlocked phone in order to have appropriate access to WhatsApp?
(Unlocking your phone should be easy, but needs to done ahead of time.) (You can use your U.S.-carrier based service while in Cuba if you like, but it is not recommended as it would be normally very expensive to do so.)
15. What are your expectations for participating in this trip? (Two sentence minimum here please.)
16. Please list any dietary restrictions that could be relevant to this trip - like if you don't eat red meat, poultry, fish, dairy, etc.
Eric "El Cubanito" Freeman
Owner, Salsaville Dance Studios
www.Salsaville.com
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