For 2026 I have combined my Garden/Cultural tour with aspects of the Birding tour to offer a good mixture of both tours. Like all my Cuba tours, I will only take a maximum 14 people and require a minimum 8 to confirm the tour. I hope after reading through the program you will be interested in signing up for a unique experience in a country which offers so much, but presently struggling with its economy and greatly in need of tourism.
Hope to hear from you.
DAILY ITINERARY
DAY 1 – Arrive in Varadero and transfer to a 4* all inclusive resort.
DAY 2 – Breakfast and transfer to Playa Giron in the Zapata Swamp region also known as the Bay of Pigs. This area was declared a biosphere reserve in 2000 and a Ramsar site in 2001. It covers an area of 628,171 hectares and is the largest and best-conserved wetland in Cuba and the Caribbean.
You will have an opportunity to see many different species in this area with a professional local guide. Accommodation, lunch and dinner at Playa Giron resort.
DAY 3 – Breakfast and begin with an excursion to Las Salinas to view a myriad of shore birds and return to Giron to view the bee hummingbird, smallest of the species. Afternoon will be free to chill on the beach and possibly visit the museum to the Bay of Pigs invasion or a local cenote and swim with the fish. Lunch and dinner included.
DAY 4 – Breakfast and a morning of birding before transferring to the city of Cienfuegos, the ”pearl for the south”. It is a small, clean and very safe city surrounding a huge, protected bay. Lunch is not included, but we will stop en route. Accommodation and dinner will be at the hotel San Carlos or similar.
DAY 5 – Breakfast and visit to the Cienfuegos botanical garden which was a former botanical institute and research centre for Harvard University. The garden has a remarkable collection of tropical palm trees among other peculiar plants such as the “Cavanillesia platanifolia”, “Lecythis spp” and “Strychnos nux-vomica”. The garden is located just outside the city and you will have a local guide to walk you through the varieties finishing at the greenhouse area. We will continue along the Caribbean coast before we arrive in the UNESCO heritage town of Trinidad. We will have lunch at a local restaurant in the centre of the city and after, a short city tour before heading to the mountainous area to Topes de Collantes. Accommodation and dinner at Los Helechos hotel.
DAY 6 –Breakfast and begin your birding hike with a local guide. The hike is moderate and then truck to Codina valley. Short hike around Codina. Lunch at the Codina farm and then transfer back to the bus by Russian truck and continue to lake Hanabanilla where we will spend the night and have dinner and accommodations at hotel Hanabanilla.
DAY 7 – Breakfast and birding with local guide. Lunch at the hotel and then transfer to the city of Santa Clara with accommodation and dinner at Los Canayes hotel.
DAY 8 – Breakfast and transfer to Vivero Organoponico Alamar in east Havana. You will meet up with a worker who will explain the origin of the garden and how it functions. Then you will walk around the garden area to have an up close look at the production. You will learn all the aspects of Organic gardening in Cuba and how they operate and sustain themselves. You will have lunch in the fishing village of Cojimar where Ernest Hemingway once kept his boat, the Pilar and have lunch at Las Terrazas restaurant which he frequented. Accommodation and dinner at a 4 star hotel.
DAY 9 – Breakfast and transfer to the National Botanical Garden in Havana. First, you will have a briefing about the gardens and then visit the amazing green houses with displays of cactus, ferns and many other species. You will then drive to and walk in some of the more interesting parts of the garden. Lunch is not included this day, but arranged at a local restaurant. After lunch, tour of old Havana, before returning to the hotel. Dinner at the hotel.
DAY 10 – Breakfast and transfer to Soroa in the Sierra del Rosario mountain range. Visit to the Orquiderio Soroa (famous orchid garden) built between 1943 and 1953 by a Spanish lawyer in memory of his wife and daughter (google). There are 700 orchid species, 6,000 ornamentals, various growing houses and research facilities. Lunch at a local restaurant.
Accommodation and dinner at the Soroa hotel.
DAY 11 – Breakfast, birding hike with a local guide and then transfer to the all inclusive beach resort, Memories Jibacoa to the east of Havana and west of Varadero. You will spend you final two night here and have the opportunity to swim, snorkel, hike or just relax on the beach. All meals, snacks, beverages are included
DAY 12 – Free day…
DAY 13–Breakfast and transfer to the airport.
If you wish to add more days in Cuba, you can do so on your own or ask Sue at Square1travel to book property of your choice.
PRICE – $3300 DOUBLE occupancy
$3790 – SINGLE occupancy.
All pricing is in CAD and includes taxes
INCLUDED:
Excellent accommodations
All ground transportation
Breakfast and dinner daily
Lunches where mentioned
3 nights at all Inclusive resorts
All entry fees
Guided tours
Cuban guide and driver
NOT INCLUDED:
Air fare from Canada (suggested Westjet into Varadero and out of Varadero)
Beverages (except at all inclusive resorts)
Tips for bell boys, chambermaids, bar tenders (a collection is made at the beginning of the tour for tips of guides and driver and you will be informed of the amount with other detailed information mailed to you once you sign up)
Trip insurance (cancellation and medical if required).
Deposit: A $500 per person deposit is required at time of booking and can be done by cheque made out to Square1travel and mailed to the office (attention SUE). If you are using credit cards for payment of Cuba portion there will be a 2% – 3% service charge added or you can arrange an e transfer by calling Sue at Square1travel. When making your deposit, by cheque, credit card or e transfer, please state the tour name and date as well as your name and email address in order to have a receipt sent to you. Please email Tom Robertson at tom@cuba1tours for any additional tour information.
SQUARE 1 TRAVEL
449-B Fifth Street
Courtenay BC V9N 1J7
250-334-0355 1-877-334-0355
garden/culture/birding tour with Tom Robertson
IMPORTANT: Flights to be booked once a minimum 8 people are confirmed. You will be informed and for this reason, it is important to book early.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PAYMENT WITH CUBA1TOURS IN ASSOCIATION WITH SQUARE1TRAVEL, COURTENAY, BC
Deposit: A $500 CAD deposit is required at time of booking and unless the tour is cancelled, it is NON- refundable, but can be held by Square1travel and put towards a future tour within 1 year.
Full payment due sixty (60) days prior to date of the tour.
Once final payment is made it is 100% non refundable unless the tour is cancelled by the operator in which case it is then 100% refundable.
Money for all Cuba tours is transferred to Cuba and their policy is “non refundable”.
No travel documents are issued by Cuban tour operators prior to arrival in Cuba.
All vouchers are presented direct to the hotels and other services by the Cuban tour guide.
When payments are sent to Square1travel, you will be informed by the office when they arrive.
TO BOOK…
USE CONTACT FORM BELOW or email tom@cuba1tours.com or contact Sue at Square1Travel – 250 334 0355 or toll free – 877 334 0355
Please enter the following in the message section of the contact form: CUBA GARDEN/CULTURE/BIRDING TOUR – FEBRUARY 17 TO 28, 2026