The Cuba
you haven’t
seen.
Hidden gems, insider experiences, and unforgettable moments with the most interesting locals on the island. A small black book, sent twice a month.
We are not another
tour company.
We started as a newsletter to share Cuba’s true hidden gems and to introduce you to a small network of remarkable locals — photographers, chefs, scuba instructors, mountain guides, mechanics who can rebuild a ’57 Chevy with a butter knife.
Every story we publish, and every vote you cast, helps us decide which of these experiences to turn into something real — first as a piece of writing, then, slowly, as a small group trip. Locals get paid first, paid fairly. That is the whole moat. — The editors
Group size
3 – 12
most are 6 or fewer
Local share
70 – 85 %
paid before the trip runs
Provinces
11
across the whole island
Experiences
already gathering
interest.
Sierra Maestra Photography Expedition
Three days chasing golden hour with a Cuban photographer who knows every ridgeline by name.
Havana Family Kitchen Night
Cook a four-course Cuban supper in a Centro Habana home. Music, rum, real conversation.
Secret Scuba with a Local Legend
A dive with the man who taught most of the divers on the island. Reefs the boats never reach.
Hidden Waterfalls & Local Life
Trek to falls that don’t appear on maps. Lunch with the family who keeps them secret.
Help us choose
the first trips
we will run.
Sign in with Instagram and vote on what you’d most like to live. Top voted experiences get launched first — and voters get the first invitation, before the rest of the list.
Sierra Maestra Photography Expedition
Three days chasing golden hour with a Cuban photographer who knows every ridgeline by name.
- Length
- 3 days
- Cap
- max 6
- Region
- Granma province
- Funded
- 96 %
- №01+128
Havana Family Kitchen Night
- №02+96
Salsa Night on a Secret Rooftop
- №03+74
Sierra Maestra Photography Expedition
- №04+41
Vintage Car Mountain Road Trip
Field notes from the
other Cuba.
- №01Field notes
The fisherman who feeds half of Baracoa
Apr 2026→On the eastern tip of the island, where the road runs out, we spent a morning with Reinaldo and his grandson.
- №02Hidden gem
A coffee farm in the clouds
Mar 2026→Three hours up a mule track outside Santiago is a finca where the beans dry on the porch and the rocking chairs are always free.
- №03Local hero
Yoandra, the only female luthier in Holguín
Feb 2026→She builds tres guitars in a converted bedroom. The waiting list is now eighteen months long.
Portraits of the people
behind the magic.
Real Cuba, real people.
No cigar-rolling photo ops, no air-conditioned coaches. Every experience starts in someone’s kitchen, workshop, or boat.
Locals get paid first.
Fair, transparent splits with the photographers, chefs, and guides who carry the trip. That is the moat — and the right thing.
Stories worth telling.
You will come back with a phone full of moments, a name in your contacts, and one story your friends will ask to hear twice.