Walking Tour of Havana with Classic Car Tour, lunch at a Paladar and a drink at Hotel Nacional... read more

Walking Tour of Havana with Classic Car Tour, lunch at a Paladar and a drink at Hotel Nacional... read more
This review is long overdue! My husband and I went to Cuba in January 2020 as our last trip before... read more
We visited Havana in December 2014 and took the Havana Walking Tour through Locally Sourced Cuban Tours. It was a great day. Our guide, Patricia Garcia Placeres, was very knowledgeable and friendly. She gave us a great introduction to Havana, with lots of interesting background to the various sights she took us to and was very open about what it was like to be a "local".
She was very responsive to our interests and there is no way we could have seen or learned so much without a guide of Patricia's calibre.
The final part of the tour was a ride in a classic car. Well you have to if you are going to Havana. Definitely worth doing.

My wife and I and 2 friends recently spent 4 days in Havana and we used the excellent services of the Havana Tour Company to organise our time. We were very impressed with the thoroughness of Dan and his team prior to our arrival and then absolutely delighted with our guide Barbie who kept us informed, entertained and feeling that we really got to see Cuba from the inside. We took 2 al day and 2 half day tours and an evening show. Our Spanish is very limited but our guide was fluent in English and was a great souce of information both historical and current. I would highly reccomend The Havana Tour Company for anyone wanting to see more than just the tourist spots.

This tour was exactly what we would want from any other tour. We spent a whole day seeing what I feel would take many a traveller 3 or 4 days to do independently. The morning was a two hour walking tour which was tailored to the individual including or excluding sights or museums as you wished with a 3 course lunch and drinks included. Then after lunch a classic car tour showing off the highlights of Havana's farther areas. A stop for a drink at the Hotel Nacional or from a hotel with 360 degree views.
That is a brief outline of what the tour was, and I don't think I could ever do it any justice by writing in words what made this tour so much more special. I'll attempt a few of my highlights.
The 1959 Cadillac Eldorado, wow!
Anilka our guide, a knowledgeable, enthusiastic, amenable, friendly person who was incredibly easy to take a liking to, great sense of humour, we felt comfortable with her straight from the off, more like being taken on a sight seeing tour with a friend.
The pace of the tour was 100% in the control of ourselves taking breaks and drinks and choosing where and when to go. The guide's knowledge of the most photographic and historically relevant sights was very impressive.
Of course you can do a tour cheaper, but you are not doing the same tour as this. The classic car was stunning, the food very nice, the cocktails, the taxi from the resort airport comfortable and punctual, the individual nature of choosing where and when and not being herded like sheep, it was perfect. When you get home you won't say "I wish I'd saved a few Pounds/Dollars and done it on the cheap, but you are more likely to say, wow, I'm so glad I booked with Havana Tour Company.
Seriously this was the best one to one tour we have ever done.





We pre-booked two tours of Havana. One was very poor and not worth the money. The second was excellent and I would recommend it to everyone.
The BAD. We booked the Export Tour, a half day of cigar factory, rum factory and tasting, Hemmingway's bar, etc. When we met our guide, Alex we discovered it was a walking tour (not mentioned in the web site). Alex confirmed that the cigar factory was closed so we decided to go to Hemmingway's bar. This was also closed for the day and Alex seemed not to know that nothing opens until 10.a.m. We wandered aimlessly around town and at 10 went to a cigar shop and liquor store and purchased some spirits and cigars. The owner offered coffee, but we were surprised to be charged $5 for what we thought was free coffee. We then went to the rum factory and found that the visit and free rum, was only after having to pay $8 each entrance which was not mentioned in the guide. We then went to see cigar rolling only to find the person was not coming in that day. We had a free cocktail in Alex's favourite bar and instead of a 4 hour tour we were all done by 11.15 having paid $60 each for a very poor tour.
The GOOD. We chose a full day tour with a classic car ride and met our super guide, Patricia at 9.00a.m. She took us on a walking tour of Havana and although we crossed some of the same streets as the day before, Patricia was full of interesting details and historical stories. She then took us to lunch is a private restaurant where we have a great meal and drinks. At 2.pm. our classic car was waiting outside and we spent nearly two hours touring Havana and the outskirts. Fabulous.
The car dropped us at the La Torre Tower (an old skyscraper office block) and on the top floor we were treated to a free drink and a 360 degree view of all Havana. We finished around 4.30. after a great day. Many thanks to Patricia and it was well worth the $99 each. I recommend this tour to everyone.

A family member did a tour through this company last year and recommended them.
Deborah was my guide. Her English is great & she is very knowledgable. I learnt a lot about Hemingway, Havana, and Cuba. Deborah was happy to chat about life in Cuba which I found really interesting.
If I had more time I would have done another tour with them.

I was a solo traveller and had a day tour with two other couples from Canada. We all commented on how lucky we were to have Deborah as our guide. She was brilliant, professional and great fun. Knew all the better places for us to eat well and at great prices. Do ask for her - you will not regret it.
