Cuba

Cuban Tody © David Ascanio

A unique opportunity for United States citizens to experience the culture and birds of Cuba legally through the "Support for the Cuban People" program.

We are thrilled to again offer this outstanding opportunity to travel to Cuba, where we will present a cultural and birding program in a place most Americans could only dream of visiting in the past.

This special program engages participants with Cuba’s birds, nature, and people. We’ll explore the countryside and the historic sections of the cities of Camaguey, Trinidad, and Havana; travel to different geographic areas to explore swamps, scrubby vegetation, dry forest, the coast, and the wetlands of the Zapata Peninsula; and visit some of the island’s most beautiful natural areas, from the lush Viñales Valley to the Zapata swamp and the Bay of Pigs. As part of the "Support for the Cuban People" program, we’ll interact with individuals and their families and friends in villages. We look forward to meeting naturalists, farmers, musicians, and others, as we move about.

Although this trip is about cultural interaction, we’ll enjoy excursions with local birding guides and conservationists to find many of the island’s specialty birds from the imposing Great (Cuban) Lizard-Cuckoo to the tiny Cuban Tody. We’ll seek species that range from the widespread, including Cuban Green Woodpecker and the striking Cuban Trogon, to rarer ones such as Blue-headed Quail-Dove and Giant Kingbird. Of particular interest, Cuba is the home of the world’s smallest bird, the Bee Hummingbird. Other birds we hope to encounter include Cuban Crow, Cuban Gnatcatcher, and Cuban Grassquit in addition to a range of more widespread regional specialties.

Our trip has been designed as a rare opportunity to interact with the Cuban people as ambassadors and not as “typical” tourists. While the trip retains a strong cultural blend, we have tailored the itinerary to add additional time in nature, particularly in some of the best birding locations. Since we have been granted a specific license for people-to-people cultural exchange, there will be no time allotted for independent travel or exploration. Our itinerary offers a schedule of immersive experiences in cultural exchange and education. It is the aim of the program that in engaging with Cuban naturalists, birders, and conservation groups, we all learn about the transformative power that real contact can have in the lives of ordinary people.

A cultural and educational exchange program that blends time in nature with opportunities to interact with native Cubans; accommodations range from good to very good; temperate weather with little to no precipitation expected.

Blue-headed Quail-Dove © David Ascanio