The Cuba Tobacco Trail: From Plantation to Pipe

As travel restrictions are becoming more lenient for Americans who wish to visit the Caribbean nation of Cuba, it’s finally time to start planning that long-awaited holiday down south. Piggy-backing on this new travel allowance is the tourism industry which is now offering one-of-a-kind cultural experiences that you may only be able to find in Cuba.

This month, the Tourism Ministry of Cuba plans to initiate a Tobacco Trail, a guided or self-guided tour that takes visitors through the tobacco valleys and plantations where the tobacco for Cuba’s world-famous cigars is grown and produced. Guests will learn the traditional process involved in creating some of the world’s favorite and most-coveted cigars, from planting to smoking.

The Tobacco Trail will begin in the Pinar del Rio province, on the west side of the island, and continues to Vinales Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home of Cuban cigar manufacturing. The tour will allow interested travelers to enter the factories, view the cultivation process and learn about packing, marketing and distribution of the Cubans cigars, of which more than 140 million are produced each year. Tour participants can even take home a piece of Cuba’s pride and joy, if so desired.