It’s human nature to want something we can’t have. For many travelers, adventurers, and basic seekers of that which has been out of reach, Cuba has been one of those places we as Americans could not experience, until now.

For over 50 years, Cuba has been off-limits to U.S. citizens. We have been able to travel almost anywhere, but Cuba has been forbidden. However, in September of this year, for the first time, Abercrombie & Kent begins Cuba travel for Americans. Working with a registered not-for-profit group, they have created an itinerary that explores the soul of this island nation – the largest of the Caribbean Islands, situated 90 miles south of Florida’s Key West.

A&K’s Cuban adventure is aptly entitled Cuba: The Forbidden Island Revealed. It spans 11 days where the traveler can walk the cobblestone streets of Old Havana; look at the old, colorful cars at Havana Bay; travel to Trinidad, a city founded 500 years ago, and has been a UNESCO World heritage Site since 1988. Also, the itinerary includes Matanzas, a city on Cuba’s north shore, founded in 1693. Also called the “Venice of Cuba,” as there are seventeen bridges crossing the three rivers (Rio Yumuri, San Juan, and Canimar) that traverse the city. While at Matanzas, the travelers can go to the famed Teatro Sauza.

Then, balancing the exceptional history of the area – after all, Columbus discovered Cuba in 1492 – is Cuba’s literary importance, where Ernest Hemingway wrote The Old Man And The Sea, For Whom The Bell Tolls and A Moveable Feast. A&K travelers can explore Hemingway’s home, now a small museum, called Finca la Vigia. It is now being restored, and A&K travelers can experience it before it is opened to the general public.

In addition to this literary component is another of Cuba’s unique offerings: the natural/ecological dimension. On this trip, A&K travelers can explore Viñales, a fertile valley where tobacco, taro and bananas are grown. Also, there are plants, trees, birds endemic to this area. The Viñales Valley has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage List since November 1999 as a cultural landscape enriched by traditional farm and village architecture. Old-fashioned farming methods are still used in Viñales, notably to grow tobacco. Visit AbercrombieKent.com to learn more.

Viñales Valley

Hemingway Marina

Havana Cathedral

Trinidad