Havana 7 Day Itinerary (No Tourist Traps)
Seven days keeps the full 6 day itinerary , Habana Vieja, Vedado, Fusterlandia, Callejon de Hamel, cigars, Centro Habana, Miramar and a live music night, and closes with a seventh day for cigar and rum shopping done properly, plus enough slack to actually make your flight. A full week inside one city is a lot; if you would rather split the time, our Havana as a base guide covers Vinales, Varadero and the rest as a separate trip.
Money first. Cuba’s only currency is the CUP, US cards have never worked, and since 6 June 2026 Cuba’s central bank suspended Visa and Mastercard processing islandwide, for every card regardless of issuing country. Bring all seven days of cash in clean, small USD or EUR bills and change it through your casa host or a hotel desk, never a street changer. Our Havana guide has the full detail, and US travelers should verify their legal basis against the OFAC Cuba sanctions FAQ before booking.
Book these before you go
- A casa particular or hotel room: search Havana casas and hotels on Booking.com ; a full week in a good room needs booking well ahead in 2026.
- A classic-car loop with a locked-in car and price: browse GetYourGuide’s Havana tours .
- A guided Habana Vieja walking tour: check Viator .
- The Partagas cigar factory tour is not bookable online; reserve it a day ahead through your hotel’s tour desk once you land.
| Day | Focus | Money note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Habana Vieja’s four plazas, Capitolio exterior | Free to walk; $10 to 15 for dinner |
| 2 | Malecon, Hotel Nacional, classic-car loop | $35 to 80 an hour for the car, cash |
| 3 | Fusterlandia, Callejon de Hamel, rum museum | Free to wander; tip musicians $3 to 5 |
| 4 | Partagas cigar factory, Museo de la Revolucion, Centro Habana | About $10 for the factory tour |
| 5 | Miramar, Capitolio interior tour | $20 to 30 cash for the Capitolio |
| 6 | Old Havana catch-up, live music night | Tip musicians $3 to 5, guides around $8 a day |
| 7 | Cigar and rum shopping, departure | Keep $20 to 30 aside for last-minute cash needs |
Day 1: Habana Vieja on foot
The four plazas, Plaza de Armas, Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza Vieja and Plaza San Francisco de Asis, are free, connect on foot in under 20 minutes, and anchor the UNESCO-listed Old Havana . Take the morning for them. The Capitolio’s exterior and Parque Central cost nothing; the interior tour waits until Day 5.
Have your first paladar meal near Plaza Vieja, $10 to 15 per person, cash only, and treat an unavailable dish or two as routine in 2026 rather than a bad sign. Close with a free sunset walk on the Malecon.
Day 2: Vedado, the Malecon and a classic car
Walk more of the Malecon in the cooler morning; the full seawall runs 8 kilometres into Vedado. The Hotel Nacional’s grounds and Missile Crisis-era bunker museum are open to non-guests, and a Malecon-view cocktail at the terrace bar runs a few dollars cash.
Agree the route and hourly rate for your classic-car loop, roughly $35 to 80, before you climb in. Settle your cash-changing plan for the rest of the week today.
Day 3: Fusterlandia, Callejon de Hamel and rum
Fusterlandia in Jaimanitas is free to wander, with a small tip expected for artisans on site. Callejon de Hamel’s mural alley is free daily, with live rumba on Sunday afternoons.
Close with the Havana Club Rum Museum tour and tasting; prices online vary too much to trust, so confirm on site. Dinner at a paladar, same $10 to 15 band as Day 1.
Day 4: Cigars, the Revolution Museum and Centro Habana
Book the Partagas Cigar Factory tour through your hotel’s tour desk a day ahead; about $10, 30 to 35 minutes, weekday mornings only, closed weekends and the first three days of the month. Follow it with the Museo de la Revolucion in the former Presidential Palace; expect a small cash sum in USD or EUR on site despite the low posted CUP figure.
Spend the afternoon in Centro Habana, grittier and less restored than Habana Vieja, home to the densest concentration of budget casas particulares.
Day 5: Miramar and the Capitolio interior
Miramar needs a taxi or a classic car, not a walk: quiet, residential, full of neoclassical and 1950s mansions now serving as embassies and boutique hotels. Give it a slower morning.
Take the Capitolio’s guided interior tour in the afternoon, roughly $20 to 30 cash, Tuesday to Saturday, four fixed daily slots; verify the current schedule. Make this a splurge dinner night, $20 to 30 or more at a well-known paladar.
Day 6: Old Havana catch-up and a live music night
Spend the morning on anything the week has left out: a second museum pass, the booksellers around Plaza de Armas, or just sitting in a plaza with a coffee.
Build the evening around live music. Paladares and casas across Centro Habana and Vedado regularly host live son, and Callejon de Hamel’s rumba is free on Sunday afternoons if your dates fall that way. Tip musicians $3 to 5 cash, guides around $8 a day, and taxi drivers roughly 10% of the fare; tips are a meaningful share of income here, not an optional extra.
Day 7: Cigar and rum shopping, departure
Buy cigars and rum on your last morning from a state shop, a hotel humidor, or the Partagas factory shop itself, never a street seller offering a “discount,” which is almost always counterfeit or stolen stock. Have a final paladar lunch at the same price bands as the rest of the week.
Keep $20 to 30 aside in cash for last-minute needs and the ride to Jose Marti International Airport, roughly 20 to 25 minutes from central Havana by state taxi ($25 to 35, fare agreed before the car moves) or a prearranged private transfer. Allow at least two hours from central Havana to the airport, more if you still need to change your last bills.
Is a week too long for just Havana?
Not if you use all seven days on the city rather than padding; this route covers all four plazas, Vedado, Fusterlandia, Callejon de Hamel, the cigar factory, Centro Habana, Miramar and a full music night without repeating a single stop.
Should I use one of these 7 days for a Vinales trip instead?
You can, and plenty of travelers do, but treat it as a genuine substitution for Day 5 or Day 6 rather than an add-on; Vinales is 2.5 to 3 hours each way and deserves its own overnight more than a rushed round trip. Our Havana as a base guide has the honest version of that trade-off.
Reconfirm your flight and airport transfer the evening before departure. Fuel-shortage disruptions have made same-day taxi availability less reliable in 2026, and a week of goodwill with your casa host is worth spending on a locked-in ride to the airport.