Overview
This trip is authorized by the US Government under the category of Support for the Cuban People.
Join Jim Cline on this memorable photo tour to Cuba’s two most photogenic destinations. Jim has travelled to Cuba since 1997, leading photo groups there since 2011, and has established long-time relationships with many people there. We’ll get to see many of the finest iconic sights that Cuba has to offer, but we will dig much deeper into the lives of the amazing Cuban people. We will interact with Cubans from all walks of life while taking advantage of the best light, and with a flexibility that allows us to make the most of opportunities as they arise.
We will start in Havana, with its world-class street shooting and so much more. We will organize photo shoots, such as the most important boxing gym in Cuba, Afro-Cubano dancers, and ballet dancers from the Cuban National Ballet posing in an old mansion. We will be assisted by local Cuban photographers, and everywhere we go we will meet and photograph the friendly people of Havana. We will eat at some of the best privately owned restaurants, and maybe sample some of the local mojitos.
Also, we will explore the tobacco-growing region of Vinales – with its stunning limestone cliffs, or Mogotes. Vinales would be an important photo destination just for the scenery alone, but it is the traditional farmers that make it so great. We are friends with many of the farmers in the area, and they will invite us into their homes, providing photo opportunities that the typical group will never have. Also, we’ll be working with a local photographer who was born and raised there. We will be in the Vinales area at the peak of the tobacco harvest time, so we can witness a great deal of activity in the fields, the tobacco barns, and their homes.
This trip has been designed to offer a combination of the best urban and rural photography and experiences that Cuba has to offer.
Itinerary
Day 1: (Jan 20)
Arrival Havana – check into your room in our private B&B. We’ll have an orientation meeting, followed by dinner at a terrific private restaurant. Spend the night in Havana.
Day 2: (Jan 21)
In the morning, we’ll visit a boxing gym where some of the top boxers in Cuba train. After lunch, we’ll visit Galeria Raul Corrales, a studio dedicated to the famous photographer’s work, and run by his granddaughter and contemporary photographer, Claudia Corrales. We’ll have a late afternoon photo walk in Centro Havana, finishing at the malecòn. There, we’ll photograph the sunset, with old cars rumbling by along this seafront boulevard offering a microcosm of Cuban life: the elderly walking their dogs; fishers casting their lines, and musicians practicing their instruments. We’ll walk to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Spend the night in Havana.
Day 3: (Jan 22)
After breakfast, photograph Ballerinas from the renowned National Ballet, in a beautiful old mansion, using the light streaming through windows and doorways. In the afternoon we’ll take a photo walk with our Cuban photographer, introducing you to Cubans along the way–a chance, perhaps, to poke and photograph inside humble homes, speakeasy nail salons, Santería shrines, etc. In the evening we’ll ride in classic convertibles and tour parts of the city, including Revolution Square, with a stop at Revolution Square with its giant monument to the national hero, Jose Marti, finishing at our dinner restaurant, the famous La Guarida. Spend the night in Havana.
Day 4: (Jan 23)
In the morning drive to Viñales. We’ll have lunch in a private restaurant with a beautiful view of the Viñales Valley and the iconic mogotes (the limestone cliffs) which surround it. We’ll make a stop at a tobacco farm, where we may get a cigar rolling demonstration, and maybe stop at a rural school. We’ll then check-in to our rooms in private homes in the center of the town. In the late afternoon we’ll photograph in town. Dinner in a private restaurant in town. Spend the night in Viñales.
Day 5: (Jan 24)
Early morning at a tobacco farm for sunrise, then a farmer’s breakfast before heading out to visit another tobacco farm. In the late morning back to our casas for some rest, and lunch on our own. In the afternoon we’ll venture to areas seldom visited by tourists – we’ll explore an authentic town unchanged by tourism and visit with farmers who seldom see outsiders. We’ll finish with dinner at a restaurant with its own organic farm in a terrific location to view and photograph the sunset. Spend the night in Viñales.
Day 6: (Jan 25
In the early morning we visit tobacco farms at the height of the harvest season. We’ll have a mid-day rest and some time to further explore the town. In the afternoon we’ll visit some colorful and friendly farmers and go to a farmhouse (the family has been friends of Jim’s for 22 years) for dinner, drinks, and music. Spend the night in Viñales.
Day 7: (Jan 26)
Depart Viñales, have lunch when we arrive in Havana, then visit the iconic and beautiful Hotel National, the base for the American Mafia in the mid-20th century. We’ll arrive at our B&B and check in to our rooms. Dinner on our own. We will arrange an optional evening at the Tropicana floorshow. Spend the night in Havana.
Day 8: (Jan 27)
Havana – In the morning we’ll enjoy a private photo shoot with an exciting Afro-Cuban dance in a colonial building. We’ll finish with an afternoon photo walk, and maybe catch one more sunset on the malecòn. We’ll have our farewell dinner at a rooftop restaurant, then image-sharing party in the B&B. Spend the night in Havana.
Day 9: (Jan 28)
Departures, you will be transported to the airport in a classic car.