Program Reviews

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!

As the title says, my experience with Corazon Cuba was way above my expectations. Everyone involved in the program made me feel like I am part of a big family and I really wish to thank them for that. Even though we didn’t do much volunteering in my 1 month in the program, there were a lot of things to keep me busy such as daily Spanish lessons, salsa lessons, cultural tours and trips outside Havana. I would like to give a big thank you to Leo, the amazing manager, as he always made sure that I am happy with my stay in Cuba. Whatever problem or concern you have, this guy can fix it! Thank you for the whole experience and I will surely return to you soon.

Corozon is perfect for the solo traveller with ages ranging from 20 to 70! Spanish lessons in small classes with amazing teachers. Beautiful terrace classroom, right in the hostel. Delicious meals that are vegetarian friendly. Dance classes are close by with fabulous Cuban teachers! Group evenings out to dance and experience incredible live music. But most important of all was the incredibly supportive atmosphere, from the moment you arrive you are family … which is why I can’t wait to return to Corozon!

If everyone reading this review spoke Polish I'd use two words to describe my experience with Corazon Cuba - "Było zajebiście!!!", which translates to the highest level of awesomness possible!

I cannot be more grateful for helping me live the best adventure of my live. ❤️❤️❤️

You can read on their website - "Corazon Cuba - Your home away from home" - when I've read it, my though was "Such a nice marketing statement" 😂 ... you will feel home... and you will NEVER want to go back to your real home. So, be careful, saying goodbye will hurt.

I could go on with all the amazing stories FOREVER. But I think it is better to leave some space for you to be surprised with the program.

Muchas gracias Leo & Tim and the entire Corazon Cuba family.

It was my first trip outside of Europe and by myself. I'm currently 28 years old and I never took a time off to travel and discover the world. This year I decided to travel to Cuba. My cousin went to Cuba three years ago and told me about the wonderful experience she had. I searched the internet for organizations that offer dance, culture, language and also volunteering and came across Corazon Cuba. Everything about the program appealed to me and the program seemed to include exactly what I wanted to experience in my three weeks. Which finally also proved to be true.La Habana or Cuba in general is completely the opposite of Switzerland, the country I'm from. I enjoyed the freedom and the warmth that was shown to me by all the locals and surprisingly by the tourists too. Can't be done, doesn't exist. Improvisation is on the agenda and no day is like the other. I could really live three weeks in the moment and enjoy every second without thinking about the next one. I have never lived so stress-free and relaxed as during these three weeks. I have met wonderful people from all over the world with whom I want to stay in contact. But more importantly, I have learned to know and love myself in a whole new way. I have made important decisions for my future life and realized what is really important to me in life. It was almost a bit of a "soul
journey" or retreat for me. And I fell in love with Cuba: its culture, its music, its flora and fauna…. simply everything. The hosts were fantastic. I felt like I was at home, although as I said, I have never traveled alone before and have never been outside of Europe. They welcomed me like a family member and they did this with all the residents. I found the stay so wonderful that I will repeat it soon. Any question or uncertainty they were immediately there to support me. So l actually did not travel alone at any second. I wish I had planned more time so that I could still travel around Cuba with the organization. Every weekend I spent at the beach. The beach and the sea in Cuba were simply breathtakingly beautiful and little filled. In the evenings during the week and on weekends, the salsa clubs were my to go place. I have never experienced so much emotion, passion and fire as at these salsa parties.
Furthermore in the house we often spent time together and I enjoyed this very much.
Cuba is a country where you can't do nothing by yourself, so don‘t be shy to ask the hosts for help, they are really happy to help. Everything is a bit more difficult and hidden, but it's even more fun when you've accomplished something. Don't be overwhelmed by the many impressions on the first day and connect with like-minded people so the start will be much easier. If you are willing to interact a lot you will get to know the country from all
facets and enjoy the most beautiful and free time of your life. My journey in Cuba had an extraordinary impact on my life, because I completely changed my professional development. I discovered a passion for traveling and learned that I don't need that much to live and be happy. I now have more self-confidence and dare to do much more in my everyday life at home. I also have become more relaxed. I‘m very grateful that the cuban people shared their country with me and I hope I left a positive Footprint there. I‘m sure I‘ll come back.

Although I have traveled widely in Latin America and in post-Soviet Eastern Europe, I found myself feeling nervous about visiting Cuba. The folks at Corazon Cuba created a rich and safe experience for me. I was picked up at the airport by a kind taxi driver arranged in advance (having the driver arranged in advance simplifies things for US visitors, as we cannot change US dollars at the airport). He brought me to my lodgings: a comfortable, air conditioned single room with bath in a family home. My language instructor was experienced and professional, able to work with my level and help me polish up my Spanish (I am very comfortable speaking Spanish, and have even lived in Central America, but over time had lost proficiency with some verb tenses and gotten quite lazy in other areas). The building where the language instruction is offered is very comfortable, and I immediately bonded with other program participants. There were people of all ages the week I was there, and I felt very welcomed despite being considerably older than some of the participants.

Cuba is difficult to visit. The poverty, created by historic and current US and Cuban government policies, is hard to witness. The facilities at Corazon Cuba and at the home where I stayed, while perfectly comfortable and impeccably clean, are meager by American standards. It's...a lot. That said, I am profoundly grateful I had the opportunity to visit. I brought some medications as donations, and would strongly urge other program participants to do the same. Some of the medications I brought are available in the US only by prescription (my child is very sensitive to medications and I have lots of prescriptions that she started but couldn't finish) and the folks at Corazon Cuba were able to get them to a local doctor who could make appropriate use of them.

Other important info: as a middle aged, vegetarian queer woman, I had no difficulties. I felt perfectly safe, accepted and well-fed the whole time I was there, and I hope to return soon.

For two weeks me and my mom joined the Spanish and salsa program. The first week we stayed in Havana and the second in Trinidad. Both of the places have their own charm and we had an amazing time. The Spanish classes are a good and you can discuss with the teacher what you want to learn. The dance classes are a lot of fun, good teachers and a great vibe. The program is flexible as well, so you can always add more hours of Spanish/salsa. The people at the house are super helpful and you can ask them anything! It feels like your own little family!! I would definitely recommend booking with corazon Cuba and you'll have a great time. I've loved it!!