Little Havana Food and Walking Tour Review | Is It Worth It?

My First Time in Little Havana

I’ve been to Miami numerous times in my lifetime and that has only increased over recent years with my brother and his family living in South Florida. Yet, I had never gone to Little Havana!

The last couple times I’ve been in South Florida, I stayed with my niece and nephew who are completely self sufficient at this point. So I started looking for things to do in Miami! I’ve gone paddle boarding in Key Largo, I did the art deco tour in Miami Beach, snorkeled in Key Largo and finally the Little Havana Food and Walking Tour!

Even though it took me a while to get to Little Havana, now that I’ve gone I absolutely recommend it as one of the top things to do in Miami, especially for first-timers.

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What Is the Little Havana Food and Walking Tour?

The Little Havana Food and Walking Tour offers a guided experience through Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. It offers insight into the history of this area, the Cuban culture, and of course, a taste of Cuban cuisine.

The tour lasts two and half hours, but it goes by fast. While the neighborhood is small, there is so much rich history to learn and the food stops really add to the experience.

Booking Process

I booked the Little Havana Food and Walking Tour in Miami the day before, and while there are numerous time slots to choose from, I was naturally more limited. A friend would be joining me and we each booked the 12PM.

I received a confirmation upon booking and the morning of our tour, I received a text message from our guide. He checked for any dietary restrictions. Of course, they cannot cater to everyone but they will try to work with some basic and non life threatening dietary restrictions.

I responded that I had no allergies or preferences. He followed up with the meeting point, parking information, weather, arrival and note to advise him if arriving late (spoiler, we did).

Arriving Late

Now I’m one to arrive early typically, but this day we ended up being late. We were driving from a suburb of Miami and well, Miami traffic is real. Upon arrival, we had to find a parking space which also proved slightly difficult.

The guide gave a tip for where to park for free in the text message but there were no spaces available. It was around lunch on a Saturday, so perhaps that was the issue? Either way, we told him we were running late and he updated us on where to meet up with them once we arrive.

Little Havana is not a large area, so it wasn’t difficult to find the group. As we walked to our next spot, some on the tour mentioned we had missed a brief stop at a cigar shop, but we did go into another cigar shop later!

Review of the Little Havana Food and Walking Tour in Miami

Our Guide

Our guide Orlando is Cuban and arrived in the USA in 2019! He told some of his story of why and how he got here and it was so fascinating. He’s not the only guide though, so if you book this tour, you might get another guide, but it won’t be a loss. This tour has excellent reviews!

He learned English in Cuba as he worked in Tourism there. There’s little political talk if that would bother you. I wouldn’t have issue with hearing more about it and his perspective. However, he stuck to more cultural information which is probably for the best.

The Food Tour of Little Havana

Overall, our guide was fantastic in explaining the reasons behind why their food is made a certain way, how it became famous or even how it was changed. For example, Empanadas, though not originally from Cuba, are made with potato and meat. The reason potato was introduced was it was a cheap way to fill it the empanada.

We got our taste of Cuban coffee at the empanada spot and he also explained how it’s made and even the why behind it. Cuban coffee has sugar prepared into it so it is quite sweet compared to what I’m used to, which is coffee with cream and no sweetener added. However, it’s delicious and a perfect pick-me-up.

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When the Mojito was brought to us during the Little Havana Food and Walking Tour, he explained Americans would go to Cuba to drink during the prohibition. Well, as more and more Americans went there to get drunk off the Mojito, it became famous!

When the Mojito arrived, we also were given a Cuban sandwich. The sandwich was delicious and that’s saying a lot because I don’t like ham really! Of course, he explained the Cuban sandwich as we know it is not authentic to Cuba. Through many influences, it has morphed over time in Miami (or apparently Tampa has some claims) to the Cuban sandwich we know today.

Habana Vieja > Versailles

The restaurant stop we made for the Cuban sandwich and Mojito looked like such a great place to eat! I have eaten at Versailles in Miami and while the food was good, the vibe was dated and felt more American diner. However, the vibe at Habana Vieja, right next to Domino Park on 8th Street was stellar!

Walking in, there was a live band playing (Saturday afternoon, so I’m not sure how it would be during the week), but the energy was lively and upbeat! We were taken to a back porch area that had a spot likely set apart for the food tour. The whole restaurant was busy and I don’t think there was an empty table!

I’d recommend Habana Vieja in Little Havana over Versailles!

Now that I’ve experienced Versailles and this Little Havana Food and Walking tour stop, I’d definitely recommend Habana Vieja! The energy and atmosphere are far superior and the Cuban sandwich and Mojito were delicious!

The next food stop was a juice stand with the most adorable older lady. She had this extra class about her that grandmothers usually possess! The drink was supposed to be a sugar cane drink, which I KNOW I would have loved. However, there was a lack in sugar cane supply.

Instead of the sugar can drink, we were given a small sample of mango juice. Every tropical destination has mango trees everywhere so this was fitting! The mango juice was SO fresh! It seemed like mango was thrown into a blender and that was it. I felt like I was drinking mango, with the fiber still in tact! Absolutely delicious!

Another quintessential stop was a bakery where we were given a guava and cheese pastry. This is one of my favorite Hispanic offerings so I really enjoyed it! Guava and cheese? Always yes!

The last item on the food tour was a churro and the churro was delicious! Though can you mess up dough with cinnamon and sugar?

Walking Tour of Little Havana

In between the food stops, the history of Cuba and Little Havana is explained. There is also a stop in a cigar shop with a brief explanation of Cuban cigars while we watched Cuban cigar makers take the organic ingredients and assemble a cigar.

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Is the Little Havana Food and Walking Tour Worth It?

Overall, I really loved this tour! You can’t go anywhere in Miami without sensing the Cuban presence, but finally getting to Little Havana was worth it! There’s elements of the art deco like you would see along South Beach, yet with a Cuban presence and history. It’s not a big area, but felt authentic even with plenty of tourists around!

While I loved the Art Deco Tour in Miami Beach, there’s some pretentiousness that is off-putting to me in South Beach. On the other hand, Little Havana didn’t give me that impression. It felt more comfortable in its own skin, and where the Cuban culture is celebrated but also is simply a result of Cubans making their home in Miami.

Yes, It’s Worth It! (Updated)

I absolutely recommend this tour, especially after a couple of experiences following this review.

First, I returned to Little Havana on my own to explore. It definitely didn’t come alive on its own in the same way as it did on the tour. If you can afford it, do the Little Havana Food and Walking Tour.

Second, I recently did a St. Augustine food tour and it didn’t live up to my expectations after the Little Havana food tour and the St. Augustine one was way more expensive! Overall, the Little Havana food tour is still an experience I think of fondly and if it’s in your trip budget, I think it’s worth doing!

Can’t Do the Tour?

If you can’t afford or don’t have time for a tour in Little Havana, definitely stop there and have coffee or a guava and cheese pastry! Or stop at the juice stand where they will hopefully have a sugar cane drink!

I can’t believe it took me so long to get to Little Havana, but it certainly won’t be the last time!

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