Havana Cuba 7 Day Itinerary

If you’re relying on an old guidebook, the first thing to unlearn is CUC. Cuba scrapped its dual-currency system back in 2021, and the peso, CUP, is now the only official money on the island, though US dollars in cash are quietly accepted almost everywhere and get you a better real-world exchange than the official rate. Seven days in Havana, with one solid excursion out to Viñales, gives you time to actually settle into the city instead of sprinting between photo stops.

Day 1: Arrival and Old Havana

Land at José Martí International Airport. A fixed-price taxi into central Havana runs about 25 to 35 US dollars and takes twenty to thirty minutes; agree the fare before you get in, since meters are essentially decorative here. Note for US travelers: pure tourism is still not authorized under US law, so trips are booked under one of twelve permitted categories, most commonly Support for the Cuban People, which in practice means staying in casas particulares and eating at privately run paladares rather than state hotels, which fits this itinerary well anyway.

Check into a centrally located casa or hotel in Old Havana, then spend the afternoon on foot through the UNESCO-listed historic core: Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza Vieja, and El Capitolio, whose dome was modeled on the US Capitol but predates most of the surrounding restoration work by decades. The Museo de la Revolución, in the former presidential palace, is worth an hour for the bullet holes still visible from a 1957 assassination attempt on Batista, a detail more striking than anything in the exhibit text. For dinner, book ahead at a paladar like San Cristobal, one of the private restaurants that only became legal to operate at scale in the past couple of decades and now define Havana’s better dining scene.

Day 2: Vedado and modern Havana

Walk or taxi to Vedado for the Malecón, the five-mile seawall promenade where half the city seems to gather at sunset. Fusterlandia, artist José Fuster’s mosaic-covered neighborhood in Jaimanitas, is a longer trip out but genuinely unlike anything else in Havana, an entire block turned into tiled fantasy architecture. The Hotel Nacional de Cuba is worth walking through even if you’re not staying there; its gardens and the cannons out front tie to the 1933 Sergeants’ Revolt, and the guest register reads like a mid-century celebrity list. Spend the afternoon at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, split across two buildings, one for Cuban art and one for international collections, and don’t try to do both in one visit if you’re pressed for time. Keep the evening loose for Vedado’s bars, which have a calmer, more local feel than the tourist-heavy strip in Old Havana.

Day 3: Markets and art

Almacenes San José, the covered craft market on the harbor, is the honest place to buy souvenirs since prices are posted and haggling is lighter than at the informal stalls elsewhere. If you skipped Fusterlandia or want a longer look, this is a natural second stop for it. The Hemingway house at Finca Vigía, in the Havana suburb of San Francisco de Paula, is a worthwhile half-day detour if you have any interest in the writer; the boat, the pool, and the study are preserved essentially as he left them in 1960. For dinner, a rooftop paladar in Old Havana gives you the skyline and the harbor in one view, and reservations matter more here than the food itself justifies, since the good ones fill up by mid-afternoon.

Day 4: Viñales day trip

Viñales sits about two and a half hours west of Havana in Pinar del Río province, and a day tour, whether booked through Infotur or a private driver, typically runs somewhere in the range of 50 to 80 US dollars per person depending on group size and inclusions. The tobacco farm stop is the highlight: watching a grower hand-roll a cigar from leaf to finished product makes clear how much of what’s sold to tourists in Havana is a shortcut version of this process. Horseback riding through the mogotes, the limestone hills that give the valley its surreal shape, costs a modest amount extra and is worth it for the views alone. Lunch at a paladar in Viñales town rounds out the day before the drive back; don’t schedule anything demanding for the evening; the roads and the heat make this a tiring day even when it’s a good one.

Day 5: Beach day

Playas del Este, the string of beaches east of the city including Santa María del Mar and Guanabo, is a straightforward taxi or bus ride and a legitimate break from the city’s noise and heat. The sand is genuinely excellent and less crowded on weekdays. Eat at one of the casual beachfront spots rather than expecting anything elaborate; this is a swimming day, not a culinary one. Back in Havana for the evening, street food stalls in Vedado are a good, cheap way to eat without another sit-down reservation.

Day 6: Music and Afro-Cuban culture

Fábrica de Arte Cubano combines a contemporary art gallery, a live music venue, and a bar in a converted former cooking-oil factory, and it’s one of the few places in Havana that draws a genuinely mixed crowd of locals and visitors rather than feeling built purely for tourists; arrive early since the line can stretch around the block by 9pm. Casa de la Música or a smaller neighborhood spot offering a salsa class is a good afternoon activity if you want more than spectating. Callejón de Hamel, the narrow alley covered in Afro-Cuban murals and religious Santería imagery, has an informal rumba performance most Sundays around noon, so try to time this stop around that if your schedule allows. Keep the evening flexible for live music; Havana’s best sets often aren’t the ones advertised to tourists.

Day 7: Departure

Use the morning for any souvenir shopping or sights you missed, then allow more buffer than you think you need getting to José Martí Airport; security and check-in lines can be slower and less predictable here than at airports you’re used to.

Practical notes

The Cuban peso, CUP, is the only official currency; the old CUC no longer exists anywhere. USD cash is widely accepted informally, and MLC, a digital currency pegged to the dollar, exists for certain state stores, but as a visitor you’ll mostly deal in cash CUP and USD. Internet is improving but still limited: ETECSA Nauta cards cost roughly one to two dollars per hour of wifi access at hotspots in parks and plazas, cheaper if bought at an ETECSA office rather than through a hotel markup, and a short-term Cubacel tourist SIM with a few gigabytes of data runs around 14 dollars for a week. Travel insurance is a legal requirement for entry, not just a good idea, so bring proof. Basic Spanish goes a long way outside the main tourist strips, and casas particulares generally offer a more textured, better-value stay than the state-run hotels this itinerary might otherwise default to.