District Cuba — Local services in Washington

Hola Rafael, District Cuba has two very big fans as a result of our interactions with your team in Havana last week. Douglas Cortes was fenomenal! He was punctual, professional, witty, extremely knowledgeable, and accommodating. In addition to satisfying all of the items agreed upon in our original itinerary agreement: Douglas is attentive and LISTENS. He didn’t just forge ahead and go from place to place, he listened to what we were interested in and took special care to modify the schedule according to our needs. Douglas is fun to be with. He is very personable, welcoming, made us feel safe and comfortable, is very well read, and is simply a delight to be around. Douglas truly loves Cuba and that passion and love for the country manifested itself in his enthusiasm and the breadth of research he had done. Douglas was willing to go the extra mile ….in every sense of the word. There were several times when he could have just ended the tour, but, instead of just walking the most direct route back to the hotel, he showed us how to get to a place we were interested in going when he was not going with us. He even invited us to meet him at a night club on his own time!! It was so great because we got to see parts of Havana we would not have gotten to see if he didn’t go out of his way. Douglas is very well organized. He made sure that our drivers, Rolando and Alfonso, were punctual and responsive. Douglas also arranged for our transportation to the airport for our return trip, which we appreciated very much. Rafael, I hope you send this note to Laura, Douglas’ boss, to let her know what a gem you have in Douglas Cortes. Because of his orientation and guidance, we were able to pack so much into our trip and have a terrific time.

Thanks so much for all of your help in arranging for our exceptional and memorable tour of Havana.

Sincerely,

Maryann Jablonowski and...

We had an incredible experience in Cuba thanks to Rafael and his District Cuba team! I work a busy schedule and wanted to visit Cuba, but didn't have the time to do all the research and planning. Rafa took care of every detail personally! We told him what our basic interests and budget were and he took care of the rest, visa included! We had a detailed itinerary from airport pick up to drop off, and he allowed us the flexibility to make changes after we arrived and wanted to change our plans slightly. He was constantly accessible and accommodating to every request. Being two American's who don't speak Spanish, my boyfriend and I were concerned we'd have a hard time getting around. But Rafa set us up with his right hand woman, Laura, who speaks perfect English and was our point person to contact for day to day needs. Her husband, Charlie, is a FANTASTIC tour guide and gave us the most incredible history lesson and walking tour of Old Havana. In addition to the tourist spots, they showed us some local hang outs and knew where to go for the best food. Without question they took us to places that we never would have found on our own. They made us feel like we were friends, not tourists!

I would highly recommend District Cuba and their whole team to anybody wanting to travel to Cuba. The key to any successful trip is in the details, and that is what they did so well. Cuba is beautiful, rich in history and culture, and very safe to travel to. The people made us feel right at home and we look forward to our next trip!

And don't miss the horseback tour in Vinales!! Its a few hours outside Havana, but without question one of the most beautiful places we've ever been...

D.C. District Cuba has fulfilled and made possible, in a five star manner, one of our long time dreams-a visit to Cuba before it's inevitable and ultimate evolution. Our first contact with D.C. Cuba was a mere two weeks before our trip. The people to people educational agenda created by Rafael and his associates was outstanding and we will be forever indebted to these fine individuals for a job extremely well done. Our guides, drivers and their ability to make us feel genuinely welcome was complimented nicely with the professionalism and vast knowledge they displayed in a most accommodating way. We were able to see and do so much more than I thought ever possible in such a short visit. We were treated like we were family in every aspect and we will most certainly make use of their services again and again and again. Our experience was simply marvelous and far exceeded our educational expectations. Mike and...