Little Havana Walking Tour

Welcome to the Little Havana Walking Tour

2012-03-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

Take a private tour with an experienced, local resident and guide through one of Miami's oldest neighborhoods where waves of events changed the landscape every decade.

This is a two hour walking tour through a humble but lively neighborhood, a kaleidoscope of culture, traditional customs, and vivid colors. Weave in and out of streets that mark the site of secret ritual offerings, the very location where the Bay of Pigs was planned, and the fountain of youth called Dominoe Park. Sample pure sugar cane juice from a local fruit market, the classic Cuban Sandwich at family restaurant, and watch cigar rollers follow a decades-old technique to create the finest cigars. The owner, a third generation cigar roller, shares the history and myth vs. fact.

Enjoy this boutique service, where Christine Michaels can answer any questions about the history, the people, the politics. Christine is also bilingual and speaks fluent Spanish should the need arise to translate. She'll also gladly take your photos for your entire group so no one is left out. It's like having a concierge, tour guide, local friend all in one.

For cost of tour and reservations, click here.

Price of Tour and Reservations

2012-03-11T03:00:00.001-07:00

This private tour is only offered with advance reservation, Saturdays 10am, 1pm, 4pm. Sundays at 10am. For availability of dates please email christine.michaels@yahoo.com or call 305-218-9952. Text or email is best as she is often giving tours.

Price is $35 per person and the tour is offered for a minimum of two people. Full payment is required to reserve.

1- Receive a payment link to your email and comfortably pay with your Credit Card (the email will come from service@PayPal but you do not have to register with PayPal unless you already have account)

--or-- if you do not have access to internet

2- Pay with credit card over the phone. Please know there is a $2.00 service charge for this method.

Upon receipt of the payment, a confirmation will be sent with the meeting place and other helpful tips.

Please do not hesitate to ask any questions. Large group tours or customized tours are available. Advance planning is recommended.

CANCELLATION POLICY
The deposit is non-refundable except for an official Hurricane Watch/Warning the day of the tour. Also, if it should rain for more than 15 minutes along the tour route, you may terminate the tour and the deposit is 100% refundable.

The Debate: To Travel or Not to Travel to Cuba

2012-03-11T01:00:00.001-08:00

During the tour, I share the political debate among Cuban exiles and between young vs. elder Cubans on whether President Obama's lifting of travel restriction by Americans to the communist island will have a positive impact for the people of Cuba and Castro regime.

The controversy continues. Republican presidential candidates vow for continued isolationism. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen criticized a recent tour hosted by the Smithsonian Institute.

Here is one article that appeared today in the Miami Herald by reporter Elissa Vanaver sharing her visit to Cuba.

We were stunned by the one-time opulence of Havana — a scope that exceeds the most spectacular of photo books — and dumbfounded by its ruination. The contrast gave scale to the loss and longing of the exile, and made the peril of crumbling buildings, reported in recent headlines, a comprehensible concern.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/10/2686812_p2/cuba-why-we-made-the-trip-and.html#storylink=cpy

One hardliner, Carlos Saladrigas, has changed his decision and will be visiting Cuba for the upcoming Papal visit. In an interview by WPLG in Miami, Saladrigas shares,

"Why do we think that after 53 years of failure, all of a sudden, there's going to be a silver bullet, and all of a sudden, it's going to work, when it hasn't, and it hasn't anywhere else?" Saladrigas said.

For the complete interview, click here.

Another observer, Humberto Fontova shares a forensic analysis of the faux embargo and maintains that the US should remain resolute in prohibiting travel to Cuba. According to Fontova,

The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom shows no loosening in Cuba’s repression during this tourism windfall. For over a decade Cuba has consistently ranked as the most economically repressive regime in the hemisphere and among the four most repressive on earth, consistently nudging North Korea for top honors... For much of the past decade the United States has been among Cuba’s biggest food suppliers. The expenditures by an estimated 400,000 travelers from the United States combined with a blizzard of remittances puts the estimated cash-flow from the United States to Cuba last year at $4 billion. While a proud Soviet satrapy, Cuba received $3 billion to $5 billion annually from the Soviets. So to label our current relationship with Cuba an “embargo” is laughable.[For the complete article, click here]

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/10/2686827/why-we-remain-resolute-against.html#storylink=cpy
For much of the past decade the United States has been among Cuba’s biggest food suppliers. The expenditures by an estimated 400,000 travelers from the United States combined with a blizzard of remittances puts the estimated cash-flow from the United States to Cuba last year at $4 billion. While a proud Soviet satrapy, Cuba received $3 billion to $5 billion annually from the Soviets. So to label our current relationship with Cuba an “embargo” is laughable.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/10/2686827/why-we-remain-resolute-against.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/10/2686827/why-we-remain-resolute-against.html#storylink=cpy

Miami is deeply embedded in a triangular relationship with Washington DC and Havana. Whoever holds office in the US Presidency will no doubt continue to influence policy and the outcome of Cuba's economic and social state of health and growth.

Testimonials

2011-11-11T01:00:00.001-08:00

Keith and Blake Bankwitz (father and son)
At the Cuban Cigar Company in Little Havana with Pedro Bella III
(August 21, 2011)

This was a memorable tour where Christine brought to life the fascinating history of this working class neighborhood that was once the proposed Hollywood of the south for movie-making films.

Alex and Cindy Crawford, Minnesota (July 2011)

As history and cultural buffs we immensely enjoyed this tour. Christine thoroughly presented the struggles of Cuban immigrants, the cultures and traditions carried over, and the firework politics from Cuba to Miami to Washington will expand your knowledge and heighten your awareness of the constant debate of US policy toward the communist island just 90 miles away.

It helps to have a tour guide that speaks Spanish. We sampled a Cuban sandwich (delicioso!) and tried pure sugar cane juice and the market owner happen to be there and explained the difference in the coconuts. Who knew!"

E. Tamayo, Texas (June 2011)