Grand Bicycling Tour of Cuba

Highlights: Exploring Remedios, Fit Bikes

Fly into Santa Clara and join our group shuttle to the city of Remedios. Once in Remedios we will have an orientation talk and bike fitting. If you arrive in Santa Clara a day early, you’ll see why the city is fittingly nicknamed Ciudade de Che for the spirit and history of this revolutionary figure.

Highlights: Quiet roads, sugar cane fields and colonial Sancti Spíritus

Ride today from Remedios to Sancti Spíritus, pedaling through rolling hills, past small villages, and historic Ride today from Remedios to Sancti Spíritus, pedaling through rolling hills, past small villages, and Spanish colonial facades weathered by time. Lunch is en route before we end our day in Sancti Spíritus, one of the first colonizer settlements on the island. Established in 1514 by conquistador Diego Velázquez, the present-day city is full of history and Spanish colonial architecture. Before we enjoy a delicious dinner, explore town with a walk across the Puente Yayabo, a quadruple-arched bridge fit for an English countryside, stroll through the plaza, and admire the Teatro Principal, Cuba’s oldest theater still in use.

Highlights: Manaca Iznaga estate, walking tour of Trinidad

Today’s ride explores the Valle de los Ingenios – the Valley of the Sugar Mills – a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988. Rolling hills lead us to the 18th century Manaca Iznaga Hacienda, a former sugar plantation northeast of Trinidad. Climb its 44-meter tower, originally used to oversee the enslaved laborers below, for a bird’s eye view of verdant valley. We’ll shuttle into Trinidad for lunch then check into our Casa Particulares (B&B) for the next two nights before exploring the cobbled streets of this 16th century town on a walking tour. After dinner together, stroll the streets in search of salsa beats floating on the warm night air.

Highlights: Loop ride or rest and explore Trinidad

Take a rest day and continue exploring Trinidad or join us on a short bike ride to the turquoise waters of Playa Ancon and nearby fishing villages. This visit provides an interesting glimpse into the contrast between sleepy fishing towns and the tourism economy on the beach and in Trinidad.

Highlights: Ride along the coast, fresh seafood lunch

We say goodbye to Trinidad and pedal along the southern coast, passing fields, beaches and estuaries – keep your eye out for flamingos. Feel free to take a swim or stop for a snack at a beachside bar. At lunch we’ll enjoy lobster and shrimp caught just a few miles away. We’ll shuttle to beautiful Cienfuegos after lunch. Settle into our centrally located hotel before joining our tour of the colonnaded Paseo del Prado or the Punta Gorda with its grand 20th century palaces.

Highlights: Visit Bay of Pigs, Pedal the Coast

We shuttle out of Cienfuegos and then pedal past rice paddies toward Playa Girón, landing site for the Bay of Pigs invasion. From there you can extend the ride all the way to our night’s destination in Playa Larga or jump in the shuttle for a ride. En route you have the chance to stop and snorkel in the Bay of Pigs if the cool water beckons. Tonight, sleep in a local home stay and enjoy a traditional home cooked meal.

Highlights: Korimacao Community Project

We shuttle to Havana today with a morning stop to visit the nearby Korimacao Community Project, a collective of teachers and young Cubans investing in local performance and musical arts. We’ll be in Havana in time for lunch. After lunch we’ll take a tour of town before checking into our hotel to unwind. After dinner in a local restaurant, take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy some live music.

Highlights: Explore Havana

Join a guided tour of Havana or the museum this morning. The rest of the day is for you to explore all the wonderful sights of this bustling city. We’ll meet for dinner tonight to welcome those joining us for the second part of the trip.

Highlights: Bicycle Carretera Central, cycle to the Rainbow of Cuba

We shuttle out of Havana this morning to begin our ride through western Cuba. The bustle of the city fades away as you bicycle quiet roads into the hills toward the UNESCO Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve that surrounds the town of Soroa in the Cordillera de Guaniguanico. Aptly named the “Rainbow of Cuba,” the reserve brims with rivers, waterfalls, and orchid-laden trees. Our hotel is nestled in a lush and tropical garden filled with orchids. Have a cool drink by the pool before dinner.

Highlights: Learn about Cuban Cigars

Follow Cuba’s Carretera Central as you pedal deep into the heart of tobacco country. Coast down to the plains and wind your way through small towns to San Diego de Los Bańos, a once-popular thermal hot springs vacation town. We’ll have lunch after our ride and then shuttle to Pinar del Rio. This evening we’ll visit a local arts organization that provides much-needed support to adults and kids with developmental disabilities. Dinner is on your own tonight.

Highlights: Cycle through the San Carlos Valley, Mogotes and limestone caves.

Today we continue West from Pinar del Río. After a shuttle out of town, you’ll cycle the beautiful San Carlos Valley which boasts incredible views of limestone bluffs blanketed in lush forests overlooking isolated huts and rust-colored tobacco fields. The stocky limestone “mogotes” abruptly rise from flat plains, giving the valley a fantastical appearance. Lunch is along the way before shuttling into Viñales. Tonight we have dinner at our hotel.

Highlights: Explore the limestone caves of Vinales, visit an organic farm

Take the day to stretch out your legs and explore the wonderful town of Viñales and its surrounding valley, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 for its outstanding natural beauty, unique landscape, and traditional agricultural practices. We’ll organize a group hike to explore the mogotes before heading to lunch at a local organic farm where we’ll learn about smallholder sustainable agriculture.

Highlights: Pedal the Carretera del Norte

We pedal north and away from the tourist track today through small rural farming villages en route to the coastal village of Palma Rubia where we’ll regroup, have lunch and then shuttle back to the hills for a relaxing stay at Las Terrazas, a small community with a vibrant creative scene within an eco-community and nature reserve.

Highlights: Pedal ridgeline roads

Our ride today takes us through a variety of routes with varying terrains and views. Enjoy some of Cuba’s lushest landscapes as we head out of La Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve where stretches of forests and grasslands, rounded hills and waving royal palm trees surround you. The beautiful lush hills then give way to cultivated farmland and small rural towns as we pedal our final kilometers outside Havana. We’ll regroup for a picnic lunch before shuttling into Havana. We’ll celebrate the end of our tour in style tonight at a local restaurant in Havana for dinner.

Highlights: Explore Havana or head home

We’ll have breakfast early before sending you on your way to explore Cuba or head home! If this sounds great but you’re short on time check out our Bicycling Central Cuba or Bicycling Western Cuba