Our recent trip to Cuba offered me the opportunity to participate in a form of tourism that was new to me, cultural tourism. The Hola Cuba: Person to person for US Citizens is a multi-destination tour of Cuba offered by Intrepid Travel. Due to restrictions placed upon U.S. travelers by the State Department, we are not permitted to tour Cuba in the typical leisure style of which I am accustomed. This type of travel forced me to analyze why and how people travel and those aspects of a trip that can make the biggest impact on a customer’s experience. The first lesson I learned was that people who participate in cultural tourism are prepared to “rough it” to some degree. However, the experience Americans have can be greatly influenced by certain basic amenities that are expected when we travel within the States. Such amenities are hot water for showers, warm breakfast options, and access to the internet. The second lesson I learned is that breaks are important. The itinerary set for this trip had to meet the requirements for a person to person educational visa. The itinerary is museum and tour heavy leaving little time to recoup mentally and physically. One of the most highly rated experiences of the trip was an afternoon at the beach. This gave us the opportunity to kick our feet up, relax, and unwind. And the crazy part is that the only reason we went to the beach is because heavy rain forced the cancellation of a scheduled walking tour. Any company offering cultural tourism as a product should consider embedding periods of rest throughout the itinerary to prevent mental and physical exhaustion. The last lesson I learned regarding cultural tourism is how important it is to manage the expectations of the client in a group setting. There were several issues encountered on the tour that would have had little or no impact had they affected the entire group and not just one or two travelers. As stated before, there were certain amenities missing throughout the trip like the lack of hot water in certain lodgings. The effects of these issues on the travelers were compounded by the fact that their fellow travelers were not experiencing the same hardships. Companies like Intrepid who offer tours in a group setting need to focus on maintaining a consistent experience among all the travelers when planning their meals, lodging, and activities.