7 Days in Havana: The First-Timer Itinerary

A full week is the most complete version of this itinerary, covering every core sight from the six-day plan plus a genuine wrap-up day for last-minute shopping and a final unhurried paladar meal. Need less time? Drop to 4 , 5 or 6 days ; anything shorter than that, see the 3-day version instead.

Book these before you go

  • Casa particular or hotel: check current listings on Booking.com
  • Classic-car sunset tour: browse routes on GetYourGuide
  • A Habana Vieja walking tour: search dates on Viator
Day Focus
Day 1 Arrival, Habana Vieja’s four plazas, the Capitolio
Day 2 Vedado, Hotel Nacional, classic-car sunset loop
Day 3 Callejon de Hamel, Fusterlandia, rum museum, FAC
Day 4 Harbor forts, Museo de la Ciudad, cannon ceremony
Day 5 Cigar factory, Miramar, San Jose market, jazz club
Day 6 Coppelia, a salsa lesson, a second Malecon walk
Day 7 Last-minute shopping, a final paladar, departure

Day 1: Arrival and Habana Vieja

  • Land at Jose Marti International Airport (HAV), fixed state taxi fare roughly $25-35 cash, agreed before the car moves
  • Check into a casa particular and change your first stack of pesos with the host
  • Walk the four plazas: Plaza de Armas, Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza Vieja and Plaza San Francisco de Asis, all part of the Old Havana UNESCO site inscribed in 1982
  • Calle Obispo to the Hotel Ambos Mundos, Hemingway’s room 511
  • The Capitolio, $20 cash for the guided interior tour Tuesday through Saturday
  • Dinner at a Habana Vieja paladar, live son music after

Day 2: Vedado and the Malecon

  • Plaza de la Revolucion and the Che Guevara silhouette on the Interior Ministry facade
  • Museo de la Revolucion in the former Presidential Palace, the Granma yacht out front
  • Hotel Nacional’s grounds and bunker museum, a terrace cocktail over the Malecon
  • A classic-car sunset loop, price and route agreed first
  • Dinner near Vedado

Day 3: Callejon de Hamel and Fusterlandia

  • Morning at Callejon de Hamel, tip musicians $3-5 if a Sunday rumba is running
  • Taxi out to Fusterlandia in Jaimanitas, budget 90 minutes; details in our Fusterlandia guide
  • A guided tasting at the Havana Club Rum Museum
  • Evening at the Fabrica de Arte Cubano in Vedado, Thursday through Sunday only

Day 4: The Harbor Forts

  • Morning at the Museo de la Ciudad inside the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales
  • Cross the harbor to the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana and the Castillo del Morro
  • Stay for the 9pm cañonazo cannon ceremony
  • Dinner at Paladar San Cristobal or O’Reilly 304 and El Del Frente

Day 5: Cigars, Jazz and Miramar

  • The Partagas Cigar Factory tour, about $10, mornings on weekdays only, booked through a hotel tour desk, not online
  • Wander Miramar’s embassy row and 1950s mansions
  • The Mercado de San Jose for crafts and souvenirs
  • An evening at La Zorra y el Cuervo jazz club

Day 6: A Slow Day

  • Coppelia ice cream park and a walk through the University of Havana campus
  • A home cooking lesson or salsa lesson arranged through your casa host
  • A second, slower Malecon walk at a different hour than Day 2’s sunset run
  • La Bodeguita del Medio or El Floridita for the classic touristy mojito or daiquiri, worth doing once

Day 7: Last Looks and Departure

  • A final morning back at Plaza de Armas for the second-hand book stalls and any last craft shopping
  • Buy any cigars or rum from a state shop or your hotel’s own humidor only; street sellers offering “discounted” cigars are almost always selling counterfeit product
  • A relaxed final paladar meal rather than a rushed airport-adjacent dinner
  • Taxi to Jose Marti International, same fixed-fare discipline as Day 1, and leave more buffer than feels necessary given the general unpredictability of transport during the current fuel crunch

Is 7 days too long for Havana?

Not if you want the slower version of this trip rather than the sprint. A week covers every sight in the six-day plan plus a real cushion for delayed buses, an extra casa-arranged lesson, or simply a second visit to the paladar you liked best on Day 1. Anyone wanting a beach or a Vinales overnight added to this should look at our Havana, Cuba guide instead, since that’s a separate trip built around leaving the city.

What’s the single most common mistake on a 7-day Havana trip?

Underestimating cash needs for a trip this long. Seven days of paladares, tips, a cigar tour, a classic-car ride and casa payments adds up fast, and with Visa and Mastercard suspended islandwide since June 6, 2026, there’s no card to top up with if you run short. Bring more cash than a week’s budget math suggests, in small clean bills, not less.

Leave your last full day genuinely light. By Day 7 you’ve walked two neighborhoods repeatedly, crossed the harbor, taken a cigar tour and probably learned to move to a clave rhythm badly, and a slow last morning beats cramming in one more museum before a flight.