Cuba-Finally!

Day 1: Havana
Day 2: Havana - Las Terrazas, 31 mi. (50 km)
Day 3: Las Terrazas - Viñales, 40.6 mi. (65 km)
Day 4: Puerto Esperanza and Viñales, 18.6 mi. (30 km)
Day 5: Viñales - Pinar del Río, 46.8 mi. (75 km)
Day 6: Pinar del Río - Soroa, 31.2 mi. (50 km)
Day 7: Soroa - Havana, 31.2 (50 km)
Day 8: Havana
Day 9: Departure

The itinerary and activities you see below are subject to change due to factors such as weather, transportation schedules, and availability of guest speakers. Every attempt is made to replaced missed activities with similar opportunities that maintain the spirit of the tour as well as the focus on People-to-People exchanges.

Day 1: Havana
Let the adventure begin! Your tour leader will provide a brief orientation for those who have arrived the previous night, before heading off to the airport to greet other arriving participants. The midday meal will be experienced at a local palador, a privately owned restaurant. Cuban cuisine is a reflection of its history and has been influenced through the ages not only by different cultures but the political situation as well. A walking tour of the city is on the agenda next, spotlighting "Habana Vieja", or old Havana. You just have to experience Havana! Your dinner will be at another local paladar and you are then free to explore the city on your own. Meals included: L, D

Day 2: Havana - Las Terrazas, 31 mi. (50 km)
After a short morning transfer out of the city, your cycling itinerain Cuba begins. From San Antonio de Los Baños, the undulating ride leads past Vereda, Caimito, Guayabal, and Cayajabos.  Artemisa Province is one of the best citrus producers in the country and there are plenty of cooperatives peppering the towns. There will be an opportunity to visit one, sample some of the famed fruit, and meet with a manager. Your tour is not only cycling but also a  "People-to-People" experience. You will learn about Cuba’s agriculture, the role of cooperatives in the market, and the people who manage these resources. Meals included: B, L, D

Day 3: Las Terrazas - Viñales, 40.6 mi. (65 km)
The terrain today is varied, comprised of some of the most lush landscapes in Cuba. You will pedal through La Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve, stretches of forests and grasslands, waving royal palm trees, and over rounded hills with incredible rock formations jutting from the earth. The meandering route leads to Bahía Honda for a lunch stop and passes through several beautiful towns such as Cabañas, Palma Rubia, and La Palma. Here, a transfer to Viñales is provided.

Viñales, the overnight destination today, is  a region surrounded by the misty, pine-covered hills of the Sierra de Los Órganos. Valley de Viñales has a fantastical appearance with dome- like limestone mogotes erupting from the flat plains and labyrinths of caves secreted away in the crags. You will want to explore the nearby paths and take in the impressive scenery before dinner and overnight in a Casa Particular. Meals included: B, L, D

Day 4: Puerto Esperanza and Viñales, 18.6 mi. (30 km)
After breakfast, there will be an opportunity to explore by bike the incredible sprawling karst landscape. Then the cycling route to Puerto Esperanza leads through plantations with bright green swathes of tobacco leaves and rural villages with their sillo bedecked porches.

Puerto Esperanza is a fishing village and primary port for Viñales. Expansive mango trees said to have been planted in the 1800s line the entry road, and the gentle crash of waves greets your entrance to this peaceful town, largely untouched in the last 50 years. Here you will enjoy lunch before a transfer back to Viñales.

In the afternoon, there is opportunity to walk along the arbitrary “trail systems” that unfurl throughout the valley or visit a nearby organic farm. The trail systems lead through the unique landscape of rising, vertical walls of mogotes, pock-marked faces of the caverns, and obscure river systems. Visiting an organic farm allows you to engage with the local people who tend to the land that sustains them and provides insight into their daily lives.

Dinner will once again be prepared with of fresh ingredients and Cuban authenticity! Meals included: B, L, D

Day 5: Viñales - Pinar del Río, 46.8 mi. (75 km)
Morning transfer will deliver the group to Puente de Cabezas, a rural town surrounded by green. The cycling begins here and leads through the San Carlos Valley with incredible views. Limestone bluffs, blanketed in foliage, overlook secluded huts and rust-colored tobacco fields.

You will cycle to Cuba’s tobacco mecca, San Juan y Martínez, whose abundant rainfall produces some of the country’s finest tobacco leaves. On foot, you will visit the Alejandro Robaina Tobacco Planation and gain insight into the cigar production process from sprouting plant to fragrant-wrapper rolled treat. Though the vegas (fields) have been producing quality tobacco since 1845, the Vegas Robaina cigars didn’t gain international acclaim until the late 1990s. 

Back on the bike, the group heads to the day's destination, Pinar del Rio, named of course, for the pines that adorn its river banks. Though the city has a bit of a reputation for its jinteros, it has an intriguing energy and an abundance of well-maintained neoclassical architecture.  Accommodations this evening are in the Pinar del Río Hotel. Meals included: B, L, D

Day 6: Pinar del Río - Soroa, 31.2 mi. (50 km)
The cycle route today leads along the La Carretera Central highway passing through Herradura, Capilla, and Paseo Real de San Diego to Fierro.  A picnic lunch is scheduled at a scenic spot en route and opportunity for a People-to-People interaction when visiting a small Cuban industry.

The afternoon will find you in the evergreen rainforests of Soroa—aptly named the “rainbow of Cuba” as the regular rainfall commonly disperses shimmering rainbows over the rivers, waterfall, and orchid-laden trees. Located high in the Cordillera de Guaniguanico, it’s a secluded haven in nature. Accommodations: Soroa Hotel. Meals included: B, L, D

Day 7: Soroa - Havana, 31.2 (50 km)
Today’s lively ride leads out of the calm countryside  and into the urban bustle of Havana. You pedal smooth, gently winding trails from Soroa to Guanajay, another town surrounded by sugar cane and coffee plantations. From here, by transfer, it is back to Havana whose vivacious spirit and near-constant motion are an invigorating change from the repose of the countryside.

After a lunch at a paladar, it is off to Jaimanitas and the created fantasy-world of artist José Rodriguez Fuster. Fuster took the streets of the formerly average town and shaped it into a widespread art exhibition Picasso would have felt at home in. A walk through Fusterlandia reveals the incredible world where roofs, doorways, benches, and city blocks become expressions of the artist and iconic Cuban images.

As night falls, you will explore the as Cubans do—in classic cars that haven’t lost their 1950s glamour—before making your way to a paladar for dinner. Accommodations this evening will be at Havana Hotel. Meals included: B, L, D

Day 8: Havana
Today is a day of rest as you can take a  casual bike ride or, explore Havana on foot. There are several options for the day’s activities. One option is to learn about Cuba’s artistic and manufacturing culture by touring museums and factories. In this case, you can visit the Museo de Ernesto Hemingway, Cuba’s favorite literary expatriate, located in his former home at Finca Vigía.This tour is paired with a visit to one of Havana’s premier cigar factories.

The other option for this last day is to take a tour of the city, both by bike and on foot. Strolling the Malecón, explore the narrow streets of Habana Vieja and visit the Plaza de la Revolución at your leisure. It’s an immersive day of architecture, history, and the ever-evolving Cuban culture, following the labyrinth of Havana’s history.

The final dinner experience will feature classic and authentic dishes with a Havana flair followed by an evening on the town, enjoying, Havana’s salsa-filled nightlife. Meals included: B, L, D

Day 9: Havana
Adios Habana!
Enjoy your final Cuban breakfast before a transfer to the airport for departing flights. Meals Included: B

Be sure to check out all of featured bike trips, specials, and news.

During your time in Cuba, you will be accommodated in a wonderful mix of comfortable and authentic Cuban hotels, as well as casas particulares, family run accommodations similar to bed & breakfast establishments.