Reviews and Testimonials

  Im a holistic wellness chef, musician, agroecology farmer, and Cuban American. I partnered up with Havana Music Tours this past summer to lead a cultural tour and mindfulness retreat experience... read more in Havana. Chaz the director, is as friendly as can be, professional, knowledgeable, a pleasure...More

  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.

  I had just returned from Cuba and the Havana Jazz Festival when the snows began. What better opportunity to reflect on a truly fabulous trip. Not only did Chaz and... read more Jami select an intriguing and diverse range of performances for us to attend, but we luxuriated in our classy casa particular and indulged in excellent meals in unique paladars, rooftops and restaurants. In between we were treated to numerous instances of Cuban positivity, resilience and creativity. Consider the mosaic wonder that is Fusterlandia; an exposition of Afro Cuban religions at the Callejón de Hamel; agriturismo at an ecological farm; and of course, wandering Vieja Habana and ducking waves on the Malecón. Perhaps, the highest peaks of these mountain top experiences, though, were the amazing, private concert by the HS jazz band of Conservatorio Amedeo Roldan and the morning spent in a recording studio with another group of musicians. Wow! No detail was left to chance, not transportation, umbrellas, nor even the red tape of travel in time of Covid. I cannot imagine a better way to travel. Pack now.

  My wife and I just returned from a trip to Havana with Havana Music Tours. We have never traveled to Cuba, most of our Caribbean trips have been to Aruba,... read more which is like traveling to Florida...no worries. Any anxiety we had about doing this trip evaporated almost immediately.

  Chaz was fantastic to work with! Since we only had a short time in Havana during our cruise, we asked if Chaz could create something for us based upon our... read more interest in Cuban music (my husband is a drummer). The itinerary included addresses, maps, cab...More

  I've spoken to several travelers that did not have the same great time in Cuba as I did and I think its because I had Chaz, and they didn't. Through... read more his tour I was able to experience several off the beaten path shows that really...More

  My wife and I just returned from a trip to Havana with Havana Music Tours. We have never traveled to Cuba, most of our Caribbean trips have been to Aruba,... read more which is like traveling to Florida...no worries. Any anxiety we had about doing this trip...More

  I went to Cuba with Chaz Chambers and his company Havana Music Tours, from the beginning I was immersed in the Cuban culture it was wonderful! We stayed at a... read more lovely casa with breakfast made every morning, we got to explore old Havana, it was filled with the most delicious food!

  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!

  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.

  I felt taken care of, totally, in all aspects of this tour (Jazz Plaza 2022). Chaz and Yami are wonderful "hosts". The evening jazz performances, incredible restaurants, salsa lessons, visit... read more to a music school, really nice accommodations and fantastic transportation.

A big shout out to the local tour guides. Would love to go again.!

  Read all the reviews on this Tripadvisor site, then add our names to the list of enthusiasts! The praise for Chaz and his Havana Music Tours is well deserved. Chaz... read more knows his music, he knows Cuba and he knows how to put travelers at ease. For us, it began ahead of the trip as Chaz worked with us to tailor it to our needs. With his good suggestions, it included fabulous late-night jazz fusion, personal salsa instruction, sitting in on a rehearsal of a world-famous Rumba group, beach time and -- bonus-- a Cuban wedding. In addition we visited all the colorful, iconic Havana sites -- in vintage cars, of course. We saw the old city, the Cuban Art Museum, El Morro fortress, the markets, the residential neighborhoods and more. We enjoyed experiences with Chaz we might never have found on our own. After 5 days, we felt like Chaz and his crew -- special shout out to Rocia and Miguel -- were family. They proved that in Cuba, warmth is more than the weather. Read no further -- just sign up for a tour with Havana Music Tours now.

  We booked a 6-day tour with Havana Music Tours to attend the Havana Jazz Festival in January 2020. The group went out to listen to music every evening and... read more sometimes pretty late into the night for the festival. Chaz's arrangements for transportation, seating, accommodations and meals were excellent. During the day we did several walking tours, went to a music conservatory where the students played for us, took a salsa ("casino") dance lesson and went to an organic farm where we had a delicious lunch. As a musician himself, Chaz was great in helping us understand more about the music and the Havana music scene, about which he is very knowledgeable. There were only 7 people and it was great to have a small flexible group. And Cuba is a fascinating place for many reasons. I didn't know what to expect, but this was a wonderful experience even more than I had anticipated and I recommend it highly.

  We normally don't take tours... as we prefer to explore places on our own. However in the case of Cuba and the Havana music scene in particular, if you want... read more to visit for a relatively short time (i.e. can't stay for a month+) and be able to pack in a whole lot of unique experiences without being frustrated by the complexity of dealing with "word-of-mouth" music venue details, then we highly recommend Havana Music Tours run by Chaz Chambers. We went as a family with a teenager who plays saxophone in a couple of high school jazz bands. We wanted our son to be able to experience the music and be inspired by the Cuban musicians. Chaz was able to customize our tour and set up private saxophone lessons for our son with some great local musicians and arrange for him to sit in with them for a couple of performances. This was a great experience and it was wonderful to feel the sense of joy and local community among the musicians... meeting them and their families offered a much more personal experience than you would be able to get by just showing up at a jazz club. Chaz and his local Cuban contacts do a ton of work behind the scenes to make sure everything is customizable, flexible and runs smoothly. Going on the tour was like spending time with a group of friends who just happen to have inside connections in the local community to avoid tourist traps and make it pain free to maximize the musical and cultural experience. In addition to the personalized music lessons, we toured the city, took a day trip to the Vinales agricultural region, went to the beach for a refreshing swim, and had free time to explore on our own.
Writing this review because we had a great time and wish Chaz the best of luck ... but please stay small and keep it personalized. We'd like to come back when next we get the chance.
Things you should know:
* Plan to spend late nights out listening to great music (Some performances don't really get going till around midnight)
* Some clubs have age restrictions so aren't available for < 18 yr old
* In addition to music, plan to see Havana, take a day trip, and just wander around (Cuba is very safe ... a little Spanish speaking ability is really helpful but not required)
* No issues with US customs/immigration at all (we flew JetBlue through JFK... really easy)
* You can get cell service and internet, but try to disconnect for a while if possible.

  We normally don't take tours... as we prefer to explore places on our own. However in the case of Cuba and the Havana music scene in particular, if you want... read more to visit for a relatively short time (i.e. can't stay for a month+) and be...More

  My wife and I attended the 2020 Havana Jazz Festival with Chaz Chambers, who operates Havana Music Tours. It was a wonderful experience in every respect. Chaz made arrangements for... read more accommodations and meals, as well as a few touristic activities (walking tour of old Havana, visit to the music conservatory, etc). There were activities from midday until late at night, but tour participants could choose to come along, retreat to their hotel or pension, or set out on adventures of our own choosing. Chaz had anticipated just about every eventuality and all arrangements went off very smoothly.
The tour included passes to hear music afternoons and evenings at a variety of venues in central Havana. Chaz, who himself is a professional drummer, curated the selection of concerts and provided transportation for our group of 7 to and from all the events. The performances, which included both Cuban and foreign musicians were all good and most were excellent. The musical level in Cuba is extraordinarily high. We hear some of these performers on tour in the US and on recordings. But to hear so many of them playing together in a single place in a single week is a privilege.
At present it's much easier than most people imagine for Americans to visit Cuba. You can fly from several US cities to Havana, and you buy a visa at the airport. The US government places restrictions on where you can stay and what you can buy, but these restrictions are easy to work with. Best of all Havana Music Tours looked after all the paperwork, so we never had to give the matter a second thought.
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