Salsaville's Extended Weekend or Week Plus trip in Havana & Varadero, Cuba:
May 25th or 30th - June 3rd, 2024 |
Salsaville's four-night immersive Havana, Cuba experience, or extended 9-night version.
Option #1 - 4 nights, Havana only
This option is for those who have always wanted to visit and experience Cuba, but just don't have time in their schedules to take an extended length trip. We will experience many of the highlights of Cuba in a very compact time-frame.
Fly out early in the morning, Thursday, May 30th, and arrive that afternoon in Havana.
It will be intense and memorable 4 days doing dance lessons, exploring the main tourist sights, and experiencing the music & dance scene of Havana.
You will fly back home mid-afternoon on Monday, June 3rd, and, thanks to some great flight connections, you will arrive back home that night.
Basic activities which are all included in the package price are:
Dance Activities:
Other Activities:
It will be music and dance all over the place … but we'll also experience the best of what Havana has to offer outside of the music & dance world as well. All along the way, we'll be meeting all sorts of Cubans, dancers, musicians, and others from many walks of life. After having run 17 trips there now, we are feeling confident that we can offer all of the above compacted in this short time-frame so you can come home with having had an unforgettable, satisfying experience.
Option #2 - 9 nights, Havana & Varadero
Fly out on Saturday, May 25th, and arrive that afternoon in Havana.
Then, we will spend the remainder of the weekend in Havana going out dancing and experiencing live musical events.
Then, on Monday mid-morning we leave Havana, and take our own bus with a couple of short stops along the way, seeing gorgeous countryside and the coast, and arrive to the town of Varadero for the next three days & nights. Varadero is Cuba's most famous beach town with picture-perfect turquoise water and miles of white sand beach. Here we will relax, slow down, but still have some music & dance experiences. This includes, for the first time, arranging a special treat -- an exclusive interactive session with a highly-talented 12-piece band at the band director's home where they normally rehearse, where we will learn in much more depth about Cuban popular music. And then the following night we will watch them perform their big show at the "Casa de la Música" of Varadero.
Next, we return to Havana, and join the group coming for the last, more intense 4 days of the trip (Option #1), where we will focus on dance lessons, seeing the main sights of Havana, and going out and hearing some world-famous bands.
After 9 nights of getting a real good dose of Cuba, you will fly back home mid-afternoon on Monday, June 3rd, and, thanks to some great flight connections, you will arrive back home that night.
Trip price, including Cuban visa, but excluding roundtrip airfare:
Roundtrip airfare is currently running at between $590-$730 from Denver.
Airline ticket will be purchased by Salsaville in a very timely matter after receiving your deposit. If you want to use your airline points, you may purchase your own ticket in consultation with Salsaville. (Ticket would need to be purchased within one week of signing up for the trip.)
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
Testimonials from Salsaville's 14th Music & Dance trip to Cuba - November 2022
Testimonials from Salsaville's 15th Music & Dance trip to Cuba - February 2023
Testimonials from Salsaville's 16th Music & Dance trip to Cuba - November 2023
And finally, from our recently completed trip, in which we had our first short-format trip (like this one coming up):
Testimonials from Salsaville's 17th Music & Dance trip to Cuba - February 2024
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,
and each member of the trip should receive some individual attention.
In addition, we are staying in upscale accommodations, but as a home-stay or an independent apartment, not in hotels.
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:
The following is now included in the cost of the travel package:
The only things that are not included in the package price and for which you should bring money to Cuba are:
.
We have some options for deluxe rooms in Havana:
Payment schedule is as follows:
If you need to cancel for whatever reason, I'm afraid none of the payments are refundable, except if you are able to find a replacement traveler for the trip. (Your previously purchased plane ticket will likely become a full flight credit on the airline valid up to one year from the date of purchase.)
Why travel with Eric "El Cubanito" Freeman?
Eric has been traveling to Cuba since 1995.
He has traveled there 31 times, and spent a total of over 32 months on the island.
In addition, Eric has previously run a total of 17 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.
JOINING THE TRIP
The general process of joining the trip is:
1. You submit the application just below.
2. I read over it and likely accept it. (I will probably ring you up on the phone to have a brief conversation.)
3. I send you and then you read over and electronically sign the standard liability wavier, and then sumbit your intial deposit.
(Via Zelle normally, but there are other ways to pay.)
4. You will receive additional information about preparing for the trip.
5. I set up a time that we can all make for a critical orientation meeting.
6. We have an in-person or Zoom-based orientation meeting.
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/flights are you signing up for:
Option #1: May 30th - June 3rd (4 nights)
Option #2: May 25th - June 3rd (9 nights)
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.)
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.)
(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. Please indicate your origin and return airports:
Do you generally prefer window or aisle seats? (This could always be changed later on.)
5. Your email address:
6. Your cell phone number with the ability to receive text messages:
7. 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:
8. Contact info for any emergency:
Name of person:
Relationship:
Phone number:
9. Your mailing address:
10. Attach a good quality scan of your passport. (Taking a photo with a smartphone camera works fine.)
11. Do you have any physical and/or psychological issues that could impede your ability to successfully participate in this trip?
12. 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.
13. You will need to sign a fairly standard liability waiver to sign which will be delivered to you upon accepting of your application.
14. 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 assessed?
15. 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.)
16. Let me know if you have any particular expectations for this trip.
17. 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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