CARS, CIGARS, AND CABARETS

So you enjoy indulging your fancies and fantasies à la Ernest Hemingway? Nothing wrong with that. Cuba is the mother lode for anyone who loves classic American autos, fine cigars, quality rums, and Las Vegas–style cabaret revues. Before 1959, Havana was the hottest spot in the Caribbean, notorious for its glittering cabarets, smooth rum, and chrome-laden Cadillacs. The good news is that the tail fins of ’57 Eldorados still glint beneath the floodlit mango trees of nightclubs such as the Tropicana, the open-air extravaganza now in its seventh decade of stiletto-heeled paganism. OK, big spender, let the fun begin.

Day 1

Arrive Havana’s José Martí International Airport; transfer to a hotel or casa particular in the Habana Vieja or Vedado districts.

Day 2

This morning concentrate your focus around Parque Central, where the highlight will be a guided tour of the Partagás cigar factory. After buying some premium smokes, head to either the earthy art deco bar in the Edificio Bacardí or the sophisticated bar in the Hotel Saratoga to enjoy your stogie with a Cuba libre, then rent a classic 1950s auto from Gran Car and set out for a tour of the city. This evening, enjoy dinner at the Comedor de Aguiar restaurant in the Hotel Nacional, then thrill to the sexy spectacle of the hotel’s Cabaret Parisien.

Day 3

Today, follow Hemingway’s ghost. Drive out to the village of San Miguel del Padrón and the Museo Ernest Hemingway, in the author’s former home. Afterwards, head to Cojímar for a seafood lunch at La Terraza restaurant, once popular with Papa and his former skipper, the late local resident Gregorio Fuentes. Return to Havana for a mojito and stogie at La Bodeguita del Medio. Explore Plaza de la Catedral and Plaza de Armas, being sure to stop in at the Hotel Ambos Mundos (Room 511, where Hemingway was a long-time guest, is a museum) and the Museo de Ron, a splendid museum giving insight into production of Cuba’s fine rums. This evening, sample the daiquiris at El Floridita.

Day 4

Rent an Audi from Rex car rental (the company has chauffeur service) for a day trip to Pinar del Río. Visit the tobacco fields of Valle de Viñales, and the Finca El Pinar San Luís, finca of Alejandro Robaina, a living legend after whom the Cuban state even named a brand of cigar. Return to Havana this evening and dinner at El Aljibe. Share fine cigars and añejo rums with connoisseur cigar lovers at the Casa del Habano, in Miramar.

Day 5

Head out to Marina Hemingway for a full-day sportfishing for blue marlin in Hemingway’s “great blue river.” This evening, enjoy dinner at La Guarida, Havana’s chicest private restaurant. If you still have energy after a day battling game fish, take a taxi to the Macumba Habana cabaret and disco.

Day 6

This morning visit Fábrica El Laguito, where Cohibas (Cuba’s premier cigar) are handmade. Then head to nearby Club Habana, a private and very chic members club (open to nonmembers for a fee) where you can relax on the fine beach, partake of water sports, and sample cocktails and fine cigars. After dinner at Cocina de Lilliam paladar head to the Tropicana nightclub for the most sizzling, sauciest cabaret in Cuba.

Day 7

Transfer to the airport for your departure flight.