Experiences

I recently arrived home from the Havana Jazz Plaza Festival Tour with Havana Musical Tours. It was an uplifting, music and art-filled, educational, delicious, and deeply insightful immersion into... read more the musical culture of Cuba and its' historical roots. The experiential quality of the tour.... being led by wonderful local musicians and brought into their creative environments and processes, as well as the plentiful, authentic, high quality and diverse musical offerings, made this experience especially unique and valuable. Leveraging their own rich musical backgrounds, Chaz and Yami brought us inside the world of Cuban musicians, including young people crafting their individual paths.

We added on their extension to Trinidad and a day trip to the tobacco farms of Vinales, both worthwhile and enjoyable.

We had an interesting international group of travelers, which added to the richness of the experience. Chaz and Yami paid attention to our individual needs and preferences at the same time as organizing the many group activities. The non-compulsory nature of all activities allowed each person to pace the tour in an optimal way for them.

The one caveat I would share with prospective participants relates to choosing the accommodations. I would suggest future participants inquire of Chaz about the particular casas before finalizing their accommodation choice between a casa and a hotel.

Cuba is going through some very difficult economic times now. It is not over-run by tourists and has the feel of an undiscovered gem, full of unique surprises. The people are warm and hospitable, and it is a safe country in which to walk around. There is lots of beautiful art to take home, as well as a deep and wide well of fabulous music to enjoy. This tour is a great way to get to know Cuba, and we added on a few days on both ends so we could pursue additional individual interests.

I highly recommend tours with Havana Music Tours and I will be exploring their Musical Getaway Experiences to other countries in the future.

Havana Jazz Festival! - My wife and 26 year old son spent 9 days of amazing immersion in the jazz music scene in Havana hosted by Havana Music Tours. We had been to the... read more jazz festival in 2015 with Blue Note and had a great time, but Havana Music Tours blew that experience out of the water! Led by the founders Chaz Chambers and his Cuban wife Yami - he is a professional drummer and she is musicologist - we not only saw an extraordinary array of world class performances - including an incredible performance by Los Van Van in an out door square - but also met a wide variety of musicians, all of whom were friends with Chaz and Yami. The customisation of our tour was also incredible and impressive - including a Cuban drum lesson for our son, a hip hop rooftop party and a private performance in a private residence/restaurant, and watching the students of the performing arts HS rehearse for the performance at the Teatro Nacionale.

I am also really interested in the dance world in Havana and they were able to arrange visits to 4 companies to observe class and talk with the artistic directors.

Havana can also be a little tricky to navigate, both from a language and transportation perspective and nothing was too much (or too late at night) for the Havana Music team.

I would strongly recommend them if you are considering a trip to Cuba and love Cuban music and culture!

We signed up for a VIP tour in Havana that involved a visit to the amazing Fabrica del Arte Cubano with the wonderful guide Miguel. The venue was amazing, the... read more main concert fabulous and Miguel was a wonderful host committed to sharing his knowledge of and passion for Cuban music. The tour was a highlight of our visit to Cuba and we’d highly recommend making Havana Music Tours part of your visit to Cuba.

If you want a 5 star music and life changing experience, you’ll get it, including the unexpected as happens in Cuba plus the 5 star improvisations. I have done lots... read more of music travels round the world, and this is right up there. Go for it!