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Field Trips for La Habana, Cuba

You are encouraged to participate in the organized field trips, which are included in your program fees. In addition to the included program field trips, you'll also have field trips as part of many of your courses and have numerous informal activities that expose you to the local culture as well. Destinations may change at the discretion of the Resident Director.

The following are possible destinations, view term calendars for specifics.

The library and desk area of Ernest Hemingway's home in Cuba.Hemingway Museum

Finca Vigía was the home of Ernest Hemingway and has now been turned into a museum. Hemingway lived in the house from mid-1939 to 1960. It was here that he wrote much of For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea.

Students standing on the steps of Universidad de Habana holding the Cuban flag in La Habana, Cuba.Old Havana and Universidad de La Havana

Old Havana is the city center and one of the 15 municipalities forming Havana, Cuba. It has the second highest population density in the city and contains the core of the original city of Havana. Explore Old Havana and visit Universidad de La Havana, the oldest in Cuba and one of the first to be founded in the Americas.

Clear waters and beautiful beach at Playas del Este in Cuba.Playas del Este

Playas del Este is the home of Havana beaches. Just 11 miles east of the city of Havana, beautiful beaches stretch up the north coast for more than 12 miles. These beaches are favorites of the local Habaneros.

Two people walking on the beach of Santa Maria del Mar in Cuba.Santa Maria del Mar

Santa Maria is the most famous beach in Havana. It is characterized by its lack of residential areas unlike other beaches, with only some isolated houses. It is located along a coastal strip with abundant sand, vegetation that protects it, and crystalline water.

Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve in Cuba.Terrazas Eco

About an hour west of Havana is the Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve, declared a reserve by UNESCO in 1985. Centuries of timbering and subsequent harvesting for charcoal led to the deforestation, erosion, and infertility of this once lush area. Similar to the Agrarian Reform laws, the people were provided with housing and employement. In return, they were tasked with replanting the area's forests. Today, the 61,775 acre reserve is one of the world's greatest reclamation projects.

A view of the lush landscape of the Viñales Valley in Cuba.Viñales Valley

The day trip to Viñales, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, includes visits to a tobacco plantation, a burgeoning activity center, and site of the earliest surviving coffee plantations in Cuba. The trip will help you experience the full range of Cuba's agricultural history, present tourism economies, and natural beauty.