Orkney Island Holidays
Special Holidays
Cuba special tour
Paul and Louise lead these tours accompanied by local Cuban guides. The Cuban Tour Operator Havanatur, UK ATOL Number 4636, organise our hotel & ground arrangements, and book and arrange flight tickets.
Cuba has probably the best birdwatching in the whole of the Caribbean and in the early spring months it is particularly busy with migrants swelling the numbers of resident birds, 24 of which are endemic. We utilise the experience of local bird guides to help us experience the best bird watching at each site.
We have put together a great tried and tested programme, which will enable us to see and experience the wealth and quality of Cuba’s birds, including most of the endemics and other wildlife, and to enjoy the spectacular scenery, at a relaxed pace. And that’s not all!
In addition we will have a local Cuban guide with us throughout our trip, ensuring we get a flavour and in-depth insight in to the Cuban way of life and history.
Our Cuban guides are fantastic fun and are great communicators. They help us understand the history, politics and culture of Cuba. The standard of accommodation and food is good, and stops along the way are likely to be enhanced by live Cuban music, as the Cuban welcome is as warm and sunny as the weather!
This is a four centre tour using excellent quality hotels in four very different regions of Cuba.
Download your illustrated Cuba Brochure for full details.
Costs include
Return scheduled flights to Cuba, Full board ensuite accommodation, Transfers and transport within Cuba, Daily excursions as per itinerary, Comprehensive Guiding. Entrance fees, Tips to Havanatur staff.
Extra costs
Personal insurance, Extra tips to staff at your discretion, Departure tax from Havana, Things of a purely personal nature.
Cuba highlights
The smallest bird in the World – the bee hummingbird, good views of most of Cuba’s endemic species of birds plus a wide range of confiding bird life, beautiful scenery, first hand explanations of the Cuban way of life from our Havanatur Guides, fascinating towns & cities, Cuban music & dance, lovely food, relaxation & glorious warm weather.
Specimen Itinerary
| Day 1 | - | Your flight to Havana from UK or other airports. Flights from other areas are easily organized. From Orkney and the North of Scotland it is best to go from Aberdeen via Paris. Drive straight to our first Hotel in the heart of the ancient City of Havana. |
| Day 2 | - | Drive a short distance from Havana to a mixed woodland in Soroa. This is an excellent introduction to Cuban birds. There are plenty of the endemic woodland birds such as Cuban Vireo, Cuban trogon, Cuban tody –what a little gem, Cuban green woodpeckers, plus lizard cuckoos, flycatchers and the ubiquitous Greater Antillean grackles and Turkey vultures, as well as mixed flocks of warblers. This area also has good numbers of the Cuban Solitaire with its strange, haunting flute-like song. We will do our best to see and hear this species here, as we will not see it again in other parts of Cuba. The birds quieten down by about 11am because of the heat. So we will take a break, have lunch in a local taverna, and rest a while. Later we will travel back to Havana calling in at a reservoir on the way for a few duck species like ring-necked ducks, some pied-billed grebes and perhaps brown pelicans. Returning to Havana early afternoon will give those eager to explore a chance to stroll around the ancient city, while others to take a swim or rest. |
| Day 3 | - | After a leisurely breakfast, we will drive east to our second hotel in Cayo Coco. The drive takes most of the day but we’ll make a few stops, especially if we see something interesting near the road. At our lunch stop it is quite likely that we will be introduced to our first Cuban impromptu live music and dance. The causeway out to the key itself can be an excellent spot with a variety of waders and lots of Rosy Flamingos. |
| Day 4 | - | The first early-morning visit on Cayo Coco is just a short drive away to look for the local race of Cuban Zapata Sparrow in a coastal woodland called Cueva el Jabali. This is also an excellent spot for other Cuban species such as Oriente Warbler, Stripe-headed tanagers, yellow-faced grassquits, Cuban bullfinches, prairie warbler and la Shagra’s flycatchers, and there may be lots of migrants around. Mid morning we will rest at a shady beach bar where those who wish can enjoy snorkelling and swimming, whilst others can bird from the bar whilst sipping a Mohita or two! In the afternoon we will drive up to Cayo Guillermo to try to see the rare Bahama Mockingbird, and search the mudflats and lagoons for a variety of waders, herons and egrets. |
| Day 5 | - | We will set off early from our hotel on Cayo Coco to drive on to Cayo Paredon Grande, about an hour away. The coastal scrub near the lighthouse in this remote area is the only place to find the Cuban subspecies of Thick-billed Vireo. It is also a great spot for seeing the beautiful endemic Cuban Gnatcatcher and there is a chance of Mangrove Cuckoo. We will return to our hotel for some free time to relax, walk around the lovely hotel grounds, do some reading, and perhaps have a swim in the pool or the sea. Those keen to do more birding can take advantage of the late afternoon cooler air and visit a nearby beach and mudflats to look for the rare Piping Plover, plus other waders and gulls. |
| Day 6 | - | After a leisurely breakfast, we'll drive to our next hotel in the city of Camagüey. After lunch we'll do a lovely shady walk in the grounds of La Belen nature reserve in Najasa. This reserve hosts 95% of all Cuban bird species. We will see lots of woodland species in this beautiful place. |
| Day 7 | - | We will revisit Najasa in the cool of the morning. This is the place for the rare Cuban Palm Crow and the endemic and little-known Giant Kingbird. We'll also see Rose-throated Parrots, flocks of the endangered Cuban Parakeet and Plain Pigeon. This is an excellent place to see nesting Gundlach's hawk and caracaras if we are lucky, plus Cuban pygmy owls are quite common, along with a host of brightly coloured warblers. We will return to our Hotel in Camagüey for lunch. After the siesta our Guide will lead us on a tour of this fascinating city. We will arrange a fleet of 'bicitaxis' with strong local men peddling us around the sites. This is great fun. We will learn a lot about the place and laugh a lot. The hotel in Camagüey is another great venue for local music. |
| Day 8 | - | After breakfast we drive to our next base, Playa Giron in the Zapata Swamp. We may make a birding stop on the way, and stop for lunch in another roadside taverna with musical and dance possibilities. Local musicians will probably play whilst we eat. Cuban guitarists play Tres guitars peculiar to Cuba, plus a double bass, bongos, maracas and singers. The Zapata Swamp is the richest bird area in Cuba and THE best birding. Bee Hummingbird, Greater Antillean Nightjar and Stygian Owl have all been seen in the grounds of the accommodation next to the sea. There will be (optional) early starts every day here to make the most of our time, but plenty of relaxation during the middle part of each day. We will arrive in Playa Giron on the shores of the famous Bay of Pigs in the late afternoon, check in to our individual cabanas in time for a swim in the pool or the sea, or a stroll on the beach as the sun goes down. |
| Day 9 | - | A short drive takes us into the dry woodlands near the tiny village of Bermejas in the heart of the Zapata swamp. A local guide will join us, who knows the best route and the best sites here. The birdwatching is excellent. Flocks of warblers move through the trees and the woodland trails have the endangered Blue-headed and Grey-headed Quail-doves. Dead palm trunks may have Cuban Pygmy Owls or Bare-legged Owls nesting in them and this is the best place to find Fernandina's Flicker. |
| Day 10 | - | We will spend another day in Zapata. There are lots of places to explore in the woodlands around the villages of Soplillar, La Majagua and Los Sábalos. Cuban Parrots and Parakeets should be in evidence. We'll look for Cuban Red-shouldered Blackbird and there may be many migrants moving through. Local guides will help us locate the tiniest bird in the World, the Cuban Bee hummingbird which is only found in Cuba. It weighs 500th of an ounce and is only 2 inches long! They are quite numerous in Cuba, but they are secretive and not found in towns and gardens, unlike the only other resident hummingbird in Cuba, the Cuban Emerald, which is twice as big, and widespread in woods and gardens around our hotels. |
| Day 11 | - | Playa Larga. We will make an early start to drive and walk into the heart of the Zapata Swamp to find the Zapata Wren and Zapata Sparrow. The Zapata Rail is also in this area but almost impossible to find. In the late afternoon after our siesta our Guide will give us a tour of the Playa Giron museum. Playa Giron was a major strategic site in the Invasion in the Bay of Pigs in 1962. Cuban-Americans tried to set up a temporary government in Playa Giron with an invasion force of 1500 men. However, in less than three days they were defeated by Fidel Castro's forces. The whole story and more will be ably explained by our lively and well informed guide, with the aid of the museum's illustrations, photographs and memorabilia. |
| Day 12 | - | Playa Larga. We will drive through the swamp to La Salinas. All along the coral road are pools to see lots of waders, Double-crested Cormorant, Common Black Hawk, Roseate Spoonbill and then, at the end of the road, huge numbers of Rosy Flamingo. There is excellent bird watching in open mangrove swamps and mudflats, with the occasional raised platform especially for our purpose. We could see blue winged teal, Caspian terns, tricoloured herons, snowy egrets, ospreys and reddish egrets. |
| Day 13 | - | After our final swim and a leisurely breakfast we will drive back to Havana. We will take lunch in a lovely restaurant in Arm's Square in the old part of town, serenaded by our final musicians as we eat. Then our Guide will give us a walking tour of Havana. It is a World Heritage site, and as such many of the buildings of all types have been renovated to their former glory. You can imagine Hemmingway here. The old town is traffic free, making for a pleasant place to walk around taking in the atmosphere. Finally we will bid our farewells to our friends the Cuban guides and driver, and head for the Airport in the late afternoon for our evening flights home. |
| Day 14 | - | We will arrive back in the UK or other destinations in the morning. Farewell to our fellow travellers with some wonderful memories of Cuba and hopefully a few photos to share with friends back home. |
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