Grand Bicycling Tour of Cuba

Cycling the country roads of Cuba
  • Length 15 days
  • From USD$8995
  • Style/Level Classic 2.0
  • Countries Cuba
  • Begin/End Santa Clara / Havana
See related tours

This 15-day tour combines our central and western tours to give you an in depth experience of one of the most fascinating countries in the world. Pedal past much of Cuba’s less-traveled countryside on quiet roads with visits to local farms, national parks, and even snorkeling in the Bay of Pigs. You’ll have a chance to take in Havana’s colorful rhythm as you explore the city’s culture, architecture, and history. Then continue your bike tour of Cuba off the tourist track. Along the way you will see Cuban cigars being rolled, taste some of the finest food the country has to offer and spend time with locals learning about the history of agriculture and revolution in this lush land. From its crystal blue coast to its lush forested hills, this stunning route will show off the best of Cuba’s culture and landscapes.

Although this is a Classic tour, there are a few elements that make this unique to the tour style and deserve your attention prior to booking. PLEASE READ these details to make sure you aware what joining this tour entails. If this sounds great but you’re short on time check out Cycling Central Cuba or Bicycling Western Cuba

Highlights

  • Colonial cities and architecture of Cuba, Historic Trinidad, Bay of Pigs museum, Snorkel the Bay of Pigs, Take a swim in Playa Larga, Havana, Cycle To The “Rainbow of Cuba”, Tobacco Plantation/Cuban Cigars, San Carlos Valley, Limestone caves of Viñales, Organic farm visit, La Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve

Includes

  • 14 nights accommodation, meals as noted on itinerary, bilingual tour leaders, all activities as described in itinerary – compliant with Support For the People General License for group travel.

  • All Classic tour inclusions

Keep in mind

We work hard to maintain consistency across all of our tours, but some trips have unique differences. Here are some things to keep in mind about this tour.

There will be sections of the route where the roads have potholes and are in rough condition. Some days there are optional longer options. Shuttles in and out of towns are included more than usual on this tour due to lodging logistics.

We recommend you bring an attitude of flexibility and an understanding that you may not find the amenities that exist in other destinations. But, a trip to Cuba could be one of the most fulfilling travel experiences you can have.


Date Price Private room fee Note
Mar 30-Apr 13, 2024 USD$8195 USD$650 E-bikes not available.  Departure confirmed to go!
DateMar 30-Apr 13, 2024
PriceUSD$8195
Private room feeUSD$650
NoteE-bikes not available.  Departure confirmed to go!

Download Itinerary

We’ll send you a link to a full day by day tour itinerary that can be downloaded and printed so you can review all the details online and offline. This packet also includes details about what to expect on tour and arrival and departure details.
Name(Required)
Email(Required)
Tour date(Required)
Have you traveled with us before?(Required)
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Opt-in to weekly news, recipes, and tour updates
Privacy(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

  • Total distance 571 km (354 miles)
  • Average daily distance 57 kms (34 miles)
  • Tour style Classic
  • Tour level 2.0

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.

Meals : Dinner
Lodging : Hotel Barcelona

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 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.

Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging : Hotel del Rijo , Hotel Don Florencio

Highlights: Manaca Iznaga estate, walking tour of Trinidad

Today’s ride will take us 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.

Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging : Casa Particular

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.

Meals : Breakfast, Dinner
Lodging : Casa Particular

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.

Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging : Meliá San Carlos

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.

Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging : Casa Particular

Highlights: Korimacao Community Project

After a short ride, we’ll 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.

Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging : Hotel Grand Aston La Habana

Highlights: Explore Havana

We will enjoy a guided a guided tour of Havana or the museum today and will ensure there’s ample time for you to explore all the wonderful sights of this bustling city on your own as well. We’ll meet for dinner tonight to welcome those joining us for the second part of the trip.

Meals : Breakfast, Dinner
Lodging : Hotel Grand Aston La Habana

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.

Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging : Horizontes Villa Soroa

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 Baños, a once-popular thermal hot springs vacation town. After our ride, we’ll 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.

Meals : Breakfast, Lunch
Lodging : Hotel Vueltabajo

Highlights: Mogotes and limestone caves

Today we continue West from Pinar del Río. After a shuttle out of town, we start our ride crossing the Sierra de los Organos and follow the downhill in the beautiful Viñales Valley. 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.

Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging : Horizontes Los Jazmines , Hotel Horizontes La Ermita

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.

Meals : Breakfast, Lunch
Lodging : Horizontes Los Jazmines , Hotel Horizontes La Ermita

Highlights: Pedal the Carretera del Norte

We pedal north and away from the tourist track today through small rural farming villages, crossing the mountains to the village of Entronque de Herradura 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.

Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging : Hotel Moka

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.

Meals : Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Lodging : Hotel Grand Aston La Habana

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

Meals : Breakfast

Visit our Tour Level page to learn more about terrain levels and how we determine day and tour levels.



Pre-trip planning checklist



  • How would you describe this tour to a friend? Hard to describe!!! We have done this many times in the past two weeks. It””s so different from the Europe trips and people have many misconceptions about Cuba. Wonderful experience and REALLY pleased that we had the time to do the full tour. THANK YOU for taking the huge effort in organizing this Cuba tour. This is a tour that I”ll never forget and I”ll be telling many people about the tour in the near future.

    Lou G., Fort Collins, CO – December 2017
  • Exceptional! I have done nothing but talk about the trip since I got home. It was the variety of activities that made it stand out.

    Marge M., Colorado Springs, CO – December 2017
  • How would you describe this tour to a friend? Outstanding,the best ever as this was the third time in Cuba for me and I felt I really got the best feeling for the people and culture. The cultural experiences were outstanding.

    Ole L., Fort Worth, TX – January 2018