Cultural Island Travel - Travel To Cuba Legally Bewertungen 

Our experience was amazing, from the planning all the way to the actual trip. Every change we requested was accommodated, Teresa answered all of our question and walked us through all the preparation paperwork for a smooth departure and return. Our in-country guide Ebony was also amazing, with her knowledge of Cuba, its history, the culture and Cuba's people. Every activity was well planned and Ebony emersed herself as part of our group, she is a keeper!!! If you want the best experience in Cuba, partner with Cultural Island Travel they are great people that enjoy their work!

To start, the trip was absolutely amazing. My partner and I both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We really loved our time with Irma and Eduardo, too! Dariel was a great tour guide as well. We also loved our tour guide in the alley. His name is escaping me, but he was head of the experience & the gallery.

Havana was amazing & we LOVE Cuba!! It was definitely one of my best trips from the immersive cultural experiences. One of our favorite things were the activities/tours that allowed us to be immersed like the Cuban dance company experience, Tropicana Cabaret, the Art Factory, visiting the alley, and even seeing street performers during certain parts of our tours. We also loved the tobacco farm tour. We were able to bring back a few cigars, coffee and honey. We thoroughly enjoyed those elements and would love to explore more of that the next time we are there. Maybe even doing something like a cooking class to learn more about Cuban cuisine would be fun.

The accommodations were gorgeous and the staff was very helpful. We enjoyed all of our tours & all of the evening restaurants were amazing. We were a bit bummed about the first restaurant, but it all worked out as one of the staff members walked us to a nearby restaurant called Son D’Lorenzo that was great.

All in all 10/10. We will definitely be back and we will use CIT, too. We are already talking about doing a trip with Irma in the future to Trinidad (in Cuba) and we would love to do Mexico City, too.

Also, an additional highlight from our trip was distributing blessing bags to individuals. I created a number of blessing bags that contained toiletries and essentials and gave them to individuals we met while out on tours.

Hands down one of the most enjoyable trips I have ever experienced. The entire process was world-class. From the communication and inclusiveness of the event planning with Teresa to the shared experience with our onsite guide, Ebony, this could not have been a better vacation. Take a bow Cultural Island Travel. You exceeded every expectation and created a lifetime memory for my group that will be forever relived and cherished. We all thank you!!!

Irma was a great guide. It was wonderful to have a native show us the sites and explain all of the cultural nuances. Even though we had a planned daily itinerary, Irma was flexible based on our interests and would gladly accommodate us. She was also extremely helpful when it came to routine things like checking into our hotel, making purchases at local shops/stores and helping us exchange money. I feel like she went above and beyond.

I also liked having a dedicated driver. This was very convenient and is preferable to having to depend on taxis all day.

I thought the trip was an excellent value for what was included. The hotel accommodations were what I am accustomed to when I travel, having guides/drivers from our arrival at the airport until our departure, the included activities were great experiences and the meals that were included were all excellent.

I would recommend this trip to others and am looking forward to future travel to additional destinations with your organization.

From the moment my husband and I landed the tour was off and running. Irma our tour guide was exceptional. She was knowledgeable, flexible and genuine. She introduced us to so much more than we could ever of found on our own. From touring the Hemmingway house, cooking classes, dance shows ,fabulous meals, local art studios/markets and even mojito making classes. The BNB we stayed in was gorgeous and unique. We cannot thank everyone enough who made this great travel adventure so perfect. Cuba is a must see. Hopefully you get Irma as your guide and Julio the awesome taxi driver. 

We used CIT for our trip to Habana from NYC and it was well worth it! From the great pre-trip communication from Teresa to the fun local guide Laura in Cuba, we had all the information we needed for an amazing trip and all of our initial hesitancy was alleviated. I would recommend this agency to all! We spent five days in Habana, I think we could have used one more day to get the whole picture. Make sure all of your meals at restaurants are reserved ahead of time, and have plans every night to go out. Favorite dinner: Atelier Favorite bar: Ley Seca Favorite activity - Fabrica de arte Cubano. Drink like Hemingway, smoke like Capone, explore like Bourdain - enjoy

Teresa was wonderful from the very beginning of our planning process. She was very patient and thorough in helping us plan out our custom trip. The guide and driver in CUBA that were assigned to us were also wonderful!! Definitely recommend their services!!

The experience was great! Would definitely ask for the cooking class because it was such a fun time. Our guide did a great job taking us around Havana and answering all our questions!

Cultural Island Travel was marvelous to work with from the first call until we left Havana. Teresa was extremely responsive and understood the experience we wanted. The itinerary was perfect. When our flight was delayed a day due to weather, the itinerary was adjusted perfectly. Laura was our tour guide, and Carlos was our driver. The were SO nice and helpful. Both worked hard to make sure we had an enjoyable trip. We are already looking forward to our next trip!

Everything about our trip with Cultural Island Travel was thoughtful, responsive and friendly. From the first call I had with Teresa to our departing ride to the airport with Irmita and Julio, Cultural Island Travel made it both easy and enjoyable. Traveling with three kids ranging from age 11 to 19 is never simple. Teresa planned our trip with an eye to how to please this range of ages and attitudes. She was incredibly responsive and flexible as we adjusted and amended the final itinerary and got everything in order. We planned our trip about 5 weeks from our actual departure date but Teresa made it feel like we had all the time in the world. Even when we had a little mix up with our visas Teresa kept me calm and ensured that all would be well - and it was. Upon reaching Havana we met the warm, kind and funny Irmita, who surely must be one of the best tour guides in this hemisphere. Irmita made sure we felt both extremely informed and involved in our trip - and made us really feel like we were getting to know a slice of Havana and Cuban history. She did this with grace and humor and made herself accessible to all of my kids while also being incredibly well-read and thoughtful with the adults. When half of our party got a touch of a stomach bug Irmita was both quick to help us adjust our schedule and made sure those feeling lousy had what they needed. I truly cannot say enough about Irmita. I want to book a trip to Mexico City just to see her again. Our driver Julio, with very little English but clearly a big heart - was always waiting for us with a cool and clean car (it was HOT when we visited) and a smile. Our trip was eye-opening, enjoyable, tasty and hassle-free. I would recommend Cultural Island Travel to anyone visiting Cuba or Mexico - and hopefully other destinations in the future.

We just completed our trip to Mexico City and San Miguel and couldn't have been more pleased with our tour. We were a large group of 10 including 3 grandparents, 4 parents, and 3 kids ages 9-12. Irma and Amado were amazing tour guides. They helped plan our itinerary including booking restaurants and hotels for us. They spent the entire time with us ensuring that we felt safe and comfortable. They provided translation services and got tickets to sites where others had to wait hours in line to get in. Amado made sure our youngest was engaged and even carried him around at times. They supplemented their knowledge by hiring local guides at the various sites. Some of the trip highlights included the pyramids, horseback riding, various magical cities, gondola rides with mariachi bands, thermal spas with grottos, cheese and wine tasting, tequila tasting and much much more. The tour wasn't cookie cutter, we were able to customize everything. I highly recommend them.

This trip was so successful for my group because of the thoughtful planning by CIT and the expert guides they selected. The CIT crew was friendly, well-organized, and our guide Ivan was amazing - not only as a guide, but as a person. Ivan really made our trip great and I'm thankful we had him throughout the week. There's simply no way we would have figured out how to do everything we did without Ivan and CIT.

CIT provided regular communication and feedback during the entire preparation for our trip. With regard to the actual trip, it was fantastic. Teresa Sanchez with CIT was so helpful before the trip and our guide in Cuba, Ivan, was a real pleasure to have with us in Havana.

I recently took a group of 12 to Cuba and the experience with CIT was beyond amazing. From the first phone call with Teresa I knew I had found the right tour operator. She answered all of my questions, attended zoom calls with my travelers and touched base via text and email from the time I booked until after we traveled. Our guide was Ebony and she effortlessly managed our tour and all of its logistics. She even worked with me on adding additional stops and sites. By the end of our tour, everyone had established a bond with her and felt like they were leaving a friend.
I’ve been so impressed with CIT that I have two more tour groups scheduled for this year and I’m happy to work with Teresa and Ebony again and again.

A few issues with my visit, the tours were not what was described to me or as sold to me. Ivan the tour guide was great as were the drivers and the historic Havana tour guide. Teresa said “ our tours are better and much more personalized “ that was not quite the case at all.
The information she gave me regarding what currency that I should bring was wrong and created a problem.
When I tried to reach out to her, I didn’t hear back. Shabi (the owner) stepped in and took care of it. She also issued a partial refund for the tours.

Shabi did everything she could to ensure my trip was enjoyable.
In my opinion, the issues were from poor communication from Teresa.

If I returned to Cuba, I would use another agency or do everything myself.

Teresa Sanchez, our Cuba Travel Specialist for Cultural Island Travel did an outstanding job putting our itinerary and travel together. She is from Cuba and very knowledgeable. We will definitely be using Teresa in the future. She is based out of New York. Our tour guides who live in Cuba, Irmita and Ivette were awesome. They knew everything about Cuba culture, history, etc. We attended the 2023 Jazz Festival in Havana. Spent total of 11 days in Cuba and all of our accommodations were excellent. Private concerts were arranged for our group. The music, art, food and everything we did in Cuba was first class and worth the trip. We spent one day in Trinidad and stayed at a lovely B&B. Had a courtyard so we could all enjoy refreshments and cocktails in the evening. Also went to Cienfuegos for a day. This is a beautiful city. Our itinerary was tweaked to include things we had said we were interested in doing and seeing in Cuba. We got to see and do things outside of our group which made us feel very special. My husband celebrated his birthday in Cuba for days! Thanks to Teresa, Irmita and Ivette. Let's not forget our driver, Henry. He was courteous and very caring for everyone in our group. If anyone needed any assistance; Henry was there immediately...without being asked!

I highly recommend Cultural Island travel for holiday to Mexico City. We travelled in December '22. We were 2 families - 6adults and 2 under 19 and Irma, our tour guide, did an excellent job of ensuring our trip went smoothly and arranged a minibus for our daily tours and travel. Nothing was too much trouble for Irma, and she took care of our every need, right from our dietary requirements to arranging tours to entertain all ages. Irma booked lovely boutique and luxury hotels in the city, which had incredible sense of history. Irma organised a local dance class which was very educational and entertaining to watch some of the family moves!!
I highly recommend visiting some of the museums, the artisan markets, canals of Xochimito-with live entertainment aboard our own private gondola. Also the most picturesque spot was visiting the monarch butterflies reserve, which took us halfway up the mountain on horseback.
Our highlight of the tour was watching a freestyle masked Lucha Libre wrestling show and New Year's eve in San Miguel.
Thank you so much Irma and team for making this trip a memorable one for me and my sister's family, and
would recommend you without any hesitation.

Karell (Carlos) is an excellent and knowledgeable Tour Guide. He is what we call in the States the GOAT 🐐 of “Tour Guides.”He made our trip to Cuba one of the most memorable trips we have ever experienced. We learned so much from him about Cuban culture, there was nothing that we couldn't ask him that he couldn't answer for us, and he made sure he made sure we were always comfortable no matter the situation. I would give him ten stars if I could that's how great he was. I promise you can't go wrong with him as your guide. You will leave knowing that you have had an authentic cultural experience.

My experience was amazing. The team is professional and the itinerary far exceeded my expectations. I would definitely work with them again.

CiT experience was great to Cuba with Ebony and Yusi who was our Tour guide our drivers and House Host was very great. This was our second time in Cuba , and the learning experience of the Cuban culture never cease to amaze me. I admired the Cuban mind set of resilience and determination. With such a large group Ebony and Yusi were able to make transitions very easily and successfully through our journey with not missing out any of our activities. Will highly recommend CIT travel agent great experience