TravelPulse Quebec is in Cuba for Transat's FAM Trip with 20 travel consultants from across Quebec. For one week, 7 hotels in Havana and 16 hotels in Varadero will be visited, including some beautiful Transat premieres.

“Havana imposed itself in the FAM Trip in a completely natural way because we have new flights to Havana and it is a destination that we wanted to introduce to the agents. And Cuba remains one of the destinations that we sell the most as well,” explains Valérie Gagnon, Transat's business development representative.

Transat is taking advantage of this FAM trip in Cuba to present three great new features in Havana that will be added in the coming weeks for reservations for the winter season.

“These are new hotels for our portfolio that will really complement our offer in Havana,” says Valérie Gagnon.

The Grand Aston is a 5-star hotel which opened its doors last March. Located in the Vedado district, by the sea on the Malecon, a 10-minute drive from the old town, there is an elegant infinity pool and 600 rooms on 25 floors. The Marqués de Cardenas de Montehermoso is a small 5-star boutique hotel with 21 large rooms in the former home of a wealthy 19th century family. At the heart of the Place Saint-François-d'Assise, it is part of the large family of Habaguanex hotels in Gaviota.

"We are really looking forward to welcoming Canadians to our home," says Evelin Leon Herrera, the group's sales representative.

A few steps from the latter, the Palacio De Los Corredores, also from the Habaguanex group, offers top-of-the-range accommodation with 56 rooms including 6 suites in a building that was once the customs office.

The Duo 7 or 14 days in Havana and Varadero

Offered in Duo by Transat, customers can opt for a stay in Havana of 3 or 4 nights and complete their vacation with 4 or 10 nights in Varadero in the hotels Iberostar Parque Central and Iberostar Bella Vista or Mélia Cohiba and Mélia International.

For Nathalie Boudreau, who has just opened Voyage Azza, it was her first visit to Havana: “it was really important for me to come and discover a destination so loved by Quebecers. To have the chance to discover Havana, it was super interesting and enriching, colorful, it's a must for me to come here and complete with the beach afterwards”.

Josée Tougas of Voyage des Laurentides mentions having been thrilled by the capital and, like several other advisers, having had a big crush on the Iberostar Grand Packard, due to its location near the old town and its design which integrates well with Cuban culture.