This program offers opportunities for several days of casual birding, with some early departure times and evening sessions. Birding days may provide leisure time after lunch and before our afternoon excursions. Physical exertion will be light to moderate on most days, with the longest walks approximately 2.5 miles. Terrain is mostly flat and dry, except for the Western Mountains, where we will encounter some walking up hills. Be prepared for strong sun, with temperatures in the mid 70s – 80s during winter, and into the 90s in spring and summer months. Mosquitoes can be bothersome in the Zapata Region. Rain can be expected from time to time throughout the trip, though this trip takes place in the dry season.

Clothing: Pack light field clothing of neutral colors. Bring several pairs of long pants and comfortable, light, airy shirts. Long-sleeved (relaxed fit) shirts are useful for protection from the sun, as is a light hat or cap. Be sure to have a pair of comfortable walking shoes or hiking boots, plus a second pair of tennis shoes or sandals. A fleece, a hat, and gloves are important for our visit to higher elevation areas where it can be quite chilly. You may want more casual clothing for traveling or dinners. A small washcloth and handkerchiefs will be helpful.

Equipment: Bring a pair of binoculars, a field guide, and a camera with extra batteries. The guides will have spotting scopes. Pack sunglasses and sunscreen, a small flashlight or headlamp, a small alarm clock (a smartphone will work), insect repellent, a small daypack, and a small folding stool if you get tired standing for long periods observing birds and other wildlife.

Chip Darmstadt, Birding Ambassador and "emeritus" executive director of North Branch Nature Center, is an avid neotropical birder and naturalist. Chip has guided birding trips around the US and around the world for nearly 25 years, observing over 2,300 bird species along the way. 

NBNC’s partners for this trip, The Caribbean Conservation Trust (CCT), offer exclusive, US-managed birding and natural history excursions in Cuba. These programs are coordinated under U.S. government authorization through Connecticut-based CCT, which is proud of its 27 year history managing bird conservation natural history programs in Cuba. In addition to CCT Founder and Executive Director Gary Markowski, our team will include esteemed Cuban biologist Dr. Giraldo Alayon or Nils Navarro) and local naturalists who are experts in their respective geographic regions of Cuba.

Dr. Giraldo Alayon (March Trip) is well known in the Caribbean as the foremost expert on spiders of the West Indies and Central America. He has published more than 100 papers on the systematics and biogeography of spiders and other insects in the region. Giraldo has been birding seriously since 1977, and has also published 15 papers related to avian biology and behavior. He is currently working on a book about the Ivory–billed Woodpecker, which he claims to have seen in eastern Cuba in 1992. Dr. Alayon has traveled to various island nations in the Lesser Antilles, and has made many trips to the United States with grants from the American Museum of Natural History; Smithsonian Institution; Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard University); Field Museum; Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences; Peabody Museum (Yale University); Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor); and California Academy of Sciences. From 1995 to 2001, Dr. Alayon was president of the Cuban Zoological Society. He is currently curator of Arachnida at the National Museum of Natural History at Havana, where he has worked since 1988.

The U.S. Department of Treasury has provided a license for conducting bird and habitat conservation work in Cuba to the Caribbean Conservation Trust, Inc. (CCT), a U.S. based organization committed to the conservation of endemic and migratory birds and their habitats in the greater Caribbean region. The primary objective of CCT is to enhance the ability of North American and Caribbean ornithologists, naturalists, resource managers, conservation organizations, institutions, and local citizens to conduct research and initiate programs to help conserve the birds of the Caribbean and their habitats. CCT is dedicated to bird and habitat conservation through education and relationship building and is in compliance with U.S. Treasury licensure for travel to Cuba. CCT’s license also authorizes the examination of a wide range of environmental topics related to Cuban conservation and natural history.

Accommodations feature hotels and tourist board-approved stays in privately owned B&Bs in Havana and 3 additional provinces. Our Cuban accommodations are staffed by friendly, helpful hosts and represent the best Cuba has to offer in the regions we visit, and may include refurbished vintage 4 star hotels and private villas, modest 3 star facilities, and simple beach-front bungalows. All accommodations are safe, clean, air conditioned tourist facilities. It should be noted that standards in Cuba differ from those in the U.S. and other developed countries, but we strive for clean, comfortable, and friendly lodging everywhere we stay.

The trip cost includes:

• Pre-departure orientation gathering (virtual).
• Two expert guides.
• All food and accommodations in Cuba.
• Entrance fees to parks and tours.
• All ground transportation and drivers.
• Gratuities for in-country support (drivers, restaurants, etc.).
• A donation to CCT for conservation efforts in Cuba.
• Carbon offsets for all airfare and travel to, from, and during this trip.

The trip cost does not include:

• Airfare to/from Florida and Florida to/from Cuba.
• Cuban Visa (about $90).
• Lodging and food in Florida.
• Travel insurance.
• Alcoholic beverages, snacks and other incidentals.
• Bar and housekeeping gratuities.
• Lead guide gratuities.

NBNC is proud to announce that all of our trips from 2025 onward are 100% carbon-neutral. This includes each traveler's flights to and from this destination, as well as carbon emitted during the trip.

How it Works: The voluntary carbon market has come under intense scrutiny in recent years as the legitimacy and effectiveness of many carbon offsetting projects have been called into question. That's why we're proud to be working directly with the Northeast Wilderness Trust's Wild Carbon program. The carbon credits we purchase to offset our carbon emissions are used to permanently conserve forestland as wilderness. Why wilderness offsets?

• It's Permanent: Unlike most contracts in the voluntary carbon market that have a lifespan of just 10-20 years, wilderness conservation is forever. 
• It's Additive: Acreage purchased and conserved through wild carbon offsets would not be protected anyway through another mechanism later.
• It's "Leakproof:" Forest protection often just shifts and concentrates timber harvest elsewhere. But wilderness conservation is different–wilderness protection here doesn't just move carbon emission over there. That's because old forests function very differently than young ones. Big trees and old soils capture and store vastly more carbon than a young forest of the same acreage. Growing an old forest is like building a natural carbon sequestration factory!
• It's More than Carbon: With wilderness protection comes additional co-benefits like biodiversity conservation, flood resilience, and habitat connectivity. This way, going carbon-neutral isn't just negating our carbon footprint, it's also actively helping conservation in other ways.

Want to learn more?: 

• Read The Ecotourism Dilemma our article on how we think about carbon emissions in the context of nature travel.
• Check out this FAQ for NBNC travelers about Northeast Wilderness Trust's Wild Carbon Program.
• To learn more about forest carbon storage, please watch Understanding Forest Carbon by climate forester Dr. Ali Kosiba.

Ready to go to Cuba?
Email [email protected] to get signed up.

Payment Schedule

• A $500 deposit is required to reserve your space on the trip.
• 50% of the trip balance will be due 6 months before the departure date.
• The remaining trip balance will be due 3 months before the departure date.

All payments can be made via ACH withdrawal, or by check. Credit card payments will incur a 3% surcharge.

Cancellation Policies

We understand that incidents and emergencies arise that may force you to cancel your trip. However, NBNC invests considerable time and, in many cases, non-refundable payments to lodges and local contractors to secure our rooms and programming. NBNC aims to be as flexible as possible in our refund policy, but a full refund of your payments may not be possible after the dates indicated. All cancellations must be made via email to NBNC.

• Cancellation more than 180 days before the trip: Full refund of all payments.

• Cancellation 90-180 days before the trip: Refund of any payments minus the $500 deposit. If your space is filled by another traveler, we will also refund your deposit.

• Cancellation 30-90 days before the trip: No refund guaranteed. If your space is filled by another traveler, we will provide a full refund minus the $500 deposit.

• Cancellation less than 30 days before the trip: No refunds guaranteed.

We highly recommend purchasing private travel insurance to cover expenses that are outside of NBNC's cancellation and refund policies.