Program Reviews

A friend and I booked the course through Tim of Corazon Cuba. Tim showed a lot of patience and good humor as we send a lot of mails correcting mistakes of previous emails and reasking question (traveling through india is mentally not a good time to book anything I learned...). But in the end we arrived in La Habana, got picked up by a nice taxi driver and had two amazing weeks. The course was on the rooftop of the school, so sunscreen and a cap were mandatory materials for class. Jose was an incredible teacher, also showing us La Habana and giving us tips where to go after class. The class itself was very intense (most of A1 and A2 in two weeks) but also very interesting and funny. The whole crew was amazing and most evenings we spent relaxing on said rooftop and just enjoying life with the other very cool students.

Excellent way to experience Cuba in a very friendly atmosphere. I stayed two weeks in Havana and one in Trinidad. Intensive Spanish courses in the mornings, salsa classes and city tours in the afternoon. Leo and his team's contribution to such a well-structured atmosphere for intercultural dialogue is amazing. I have met wonderful fellow students from all over the world, age range was 20-70. The extra weekend tour to Vinales is also highly recommended. The school's atmosphere is very cosy and it is just at the very center of Old Havana.

From our first contact with Tim through the final day of our two week stay, we were delighted with Corazon Cuba. We went for the Spanish lessons and they did not disappoint. After taking a quick assessment of our language knowledge so far, we were assigned a class. Surprisingly, the classes had only 1 - 3 students and personalization was a big benefit. Both of us felt our teachers were superb - mine was Daniela, and Jamie's was Delvis. They kept us on track with pre-planned daily lessons but we also had plenty of time to learn about Cuba and the people of Cuba (all in Spanish, of course.)

All the staff were fun and helpful. Miguelito, the chef, prepared plenty of tasty vegan food for us and we were so grateful. Andy was our tour guide for the culture portion of our program and he is a history buff who enjoys sharing stories. We spent many pleasant afternoons walking abound Havana Vieja with Andy. The salsa dance program is held in a lovely dance studio with a student/teacher ratio of 1:1. I didn't know it was possible to learn so many steps in a one hour class.

Rather than stay at the hostel, we chose a home stay. Accommodations were pretty basic but clean and included a refrigerator. The airport transfers were excellent. And, again, everyone we encountered was so welcoming and gracious. We highly recommend Corazon Cuba and hope you will have the same positive vibe and experience we had.

I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the Corazon Cuba experience. What stood out the most were the exceptional friendliness of the staff and the effective leadership and coordination provided by Leo, which included arranging excursions, taxis, and restaurant recommendations. The central location in Havana Vieja was perfect. The quality of the food and coffee was excellent, and I particularly appreciated the casual dining atmosphere. The teaching staff was excellent, patient and relatable. I highly recommend Corazon Cuba, and I have already suggested it to others here in the United States. The only areas of improvement that I can think of would be to provide Wi-Fi/Internet access.

I was joining this group to learn spanish. I cam with zero language skills and it was no problem. The teachers are really great so the time is flying during learning. Also the Management of the School was amazing, i had to shift my days twice and it was not at all an issue. They supported me an all belongings. Thanks a lot - highly recommend to everybody who wants to learn spanish or one of the other programs. Will come definitly another time again. I still have to improve my spanish a bit :-)
BR, Chris

I spent a week with the "Lean spanish, clulture and volunterr" program -- it was very organized from being picked up at the airport to being oriented to my housing. I greatly appreciated the assistance with the currency exchange. The teacher was knowledgeable and fun in teaching Spanish -- helped in making it fun and be more conversational vs focus on grammer. The additional activities -- I requested were wonderful . The Vinales trip was great and the activities planned were beyond my expectation. Leonel the director was easy to reach if there were a problem/question. All the people incovled in the program were great from the security guard at the school to the cook and the young man who helped carry luggage up the stairs. I can't say enough good things about how wonderful everyone was. I hope to be able to visit again!

I just had the most magical 9 days with Corazon Cuba. The Spanish teachers are so smart--they are great educators who know exactly how assess your skills and build from where you are. The staff is incredible--creating a safe, clean, fun environment. There is round-the-clock security, regular cleaning, air conditioning, laundry service, bottled water and incredible food from in-house chefs. The staff is always available for needs, questions, advice and help---they take you to get SIM cards, get a VPN, help you change money, find anything you are looking for, make sure you pay reasonable prices, feel like a local--plus they are so nice and fun and soon become family. The program is structured and organized and every experience and lesson offered is high quality and meaningful--but you also have as much free or alone time as you want. The location is perfect in Habana Vieja--safe, walkable to shops, restaurants, music, museums, the Malecón, and more--it is a very cool building with multiple levels and roof decks with great views. They have apartments down the street if you'd rather not share a room. Although I am on the older side, I decided to stay in the main house and share a room and I'm so glad I did--the fellow students were amazing--from everywhere--Germany, Sweden, Italy, Norway and even my hometown in Colorado. We bonded and will be life long friends. It's like camp! I just can't say enough good things about the program. Everything was perfect; every day was great. Magic is the only way I can describe it. They really have created a very special community here and I can't wait to get back.

This was a great experience overall! My goal was to practice Spanish as much as possible and this was easily reached thanks to the great staff of the school and friendly Cubans around. You do feel at home!

As September is a low season, I was alone in my Spanish class which was more of an advantage in the end as the topics were tailored to my needs and interests. The lessons included all types of activity: grammar, speaking, listening, and the most valuable - immersion into the Cuban culture. Daivy, the teacher, was eager to share her personal stories, everyday routine and aspirations. It was not just a standard teacher-student interaction, but friendly conversations about everything. We still keep in touch!

I was supposed to have a shared room, but as there were few people I had it all for myself😉 Even though I was warned that there could be hot water and electricity problems in Old Habana, nothing of the kind happened during my stay. The place is clean, nice and really authentic! From the balcony you can see the street with all its night life and daytime events. The food was good as well. Even though the variety of products is limited, the cooks Miguelito and Tania managed to satisfy all the needs, both vegetarian and not. I had a chance to try some fruits that I have never eaten before. There was always somebody of the staff around. Aylin has answers to all your questions during the daytime and Kidsue and Arkeli keep you company at night as night guards.

In the afternoon I had salsa classes and excursions. The dance classes were great even though I'm a really poor dancer and remain such in spite of the teachers' efforts.They were attentive and understanding. Even if you have no experience in salsa, you will still enjoy this activity. The only downside was that every class I had a new teacher. Somehow they managed to understand from where to continue and my experience seems rather smooth in general. The excursions were informative and my guides, Laritza and Jose, added a great personal touch to the history of Old Havana with their own stories.

The school manager Leonel is just charming. He does his best to make sure that everyone is happy. Despite the fact that he has lots of work to do, he is always available. The pre-trip email support from Tim was indispensable as well.

Old Havana is a safe place even if it does not seem so from the first sight. It may happen that some seller will cheat on you charging more money or will sell you fake cigars, but no violence occurred in my presence. I had no health issues, but do take all the medicine with you. There is a lack of it in Cuba. You can share it with the locals when leaving. Besides, I would recommend to bring fewer personal things and more donativos.

Administration attentive to our needs: changing money, getting SIM card , arranging single room with. En-suite bathroom housing in old Havana near the school. Pablito is an excellent teacher: lively, knowledgeable, entertaining and helped me with conversation and verbs. Larissa took us on tours, Willie is an excellent Salsa teacher and is incredibly patient. I plan to return to daily classes and daily Salsa . And some nightlife of course. This is Cuba. There was plenty of time to go out in the evenings

tl;dr If you're hesitant about going, go. This was safe and a truly unique experience, and I had a wonderful time.

This program is great! Here is a general idea of how the days went:
Monday-Friday: 8am breakfast, 9am-noon Spanish classes, noon-1pm lunch, rest of the day is free (sometimes there were guided excursions at various times depending on the activity).
Weekends: Breakfast and lunch provided but otherwise on your own.

Food:
I have a sensitive stomach and was concerned about not having a lot of control over that. The staff is extremely accomodating and I did not have any tummy troubles in my week there! I'm lactose intolerant and do not eat red meat, which they easily accomodated. There was another person there who had Celiac's, and she also did not have any issues. They have filtered water available as well. I brought a Life Straw but didn't need it.

Lodging:
While I was there, everyone else had paid to upgrade to private rooms so I ended up having a private room myself! There is AC in the rooms which I did not know about the first night. They provide you with a basic pillow, fitted sheet, and flat sheet. I can't imagine sleeping with more than a flat sheet given the heat though. There is a small lock box for your belongings and a space to hang your clothing. The door of the hostel is always locked and there is always someone on staff, so I never felt like any of my belongings were at risk. There are multiple toilets and showers available to use, but bring everything you will need (they provide a small towel).

Spanish:
We took a placement test on the first day, which I was excited about. Because there weren't a ton of people during my week, we all had one-on-one lessons which was AMAZING. Everything was catered to my ability level. I took Spanish for several years in high school (and have a bachelors in linguistics--I'm a dork), and the amount of latent Spanish I was able to revive in this week was truly astonishing. I loved my lessons so much.

Staff:
The staff here feels like one big family. They speak varying degrees of English, but if you don't speak Spanish, you'll usually find at least one person who can act as an translator if need be. You can also practice your Spanish with any of them judgement-free. They truly made me feel so welcome.

Transportation:
Biggest recommendation besides to do this trip is to pay for the add-on for transportation to and from the airport. I like to travel and would never opt for this service, but it was so nice to have one less thing to worry about. Also, it was the only cab ride where I didn't get ripped off. There are no meters like we're used to in the US and they will overcharge you if you're a tourist (which ends up still being cheaper than an equivalent ride in the US).

Internet:
Assume you will not have access to internet. The wifi at the airport does not work. The wifi at most places that have wifi did not work for me. My understanding was that SIM cards could only be purchased with a credit card, and they do not take American cards. We were lucky to find a bar that had outstanding wifi and I used that to contact my family and check my email.

Safety:
I felt safe for the entirety of my stay. There is a ton of catcalling but it doesn't go beyond that. If you look like a foreigner, you will be approached often and people will try to scam you. People are not forceful though and you can always walk away. I had a cab try to overcharge my friend and I once after we had pre-agreed on the amount and we said no and were able to leave the cab. I wouldn't walk around late at night but yourself but I wouldn't recommend doing that pretty much anywhere. LIke I previously stated, the hostel itself is extremely safe as well.

Other info:
-Do your research beforehand. Assume nothing you need will be available here (shampoo, soap, tampons, medicine).
-Bring a small first aid kit. My must haves were aleve, claritin, and an anti-itch cream (I got quite a few bug bites).
-I went the first week of June. This is the off-season for tourism as it tends to be excessively hot and humid, and is the start of hurricane season. If you come during this time, bring more clothing than you will need as you will sweat through just about everything. (Also, I would honestly consider returning during this timeframe because despite how terribly hot it was, there are less people)
-Wait to exchange your money until you get to the hostel. Make sure all of your bills do not have writing or rips/tears.
-Download maps.me and download the map for Cuba so it will work offline.
-I booked some afternoon excursions through Airbnb and was so glad I did. The excursions the staff offers are great, but if you're looking for something more specialized, you can book it yourself. Make sure you do this all before you leave, as you will likely not be able to access Airbnb while you're in the country.
-Make sure to bring donativos!
-If you're a light sleeper, maybe bring earplugs.
-While it is safe, leave your jewelry or nice handbags at home. Cuba is extremely poor and it just looks like you're flaunting your wealth. I saw people (not in this program thankfully) doing this and it was embarrassing.
-Have an open mind and you will have a fantastic experience!