12 days
10 places
7 days
Group travel
This group cycling tour starts in Havana with a bike fitting and a guided bike tour around the outskirts of the city so you can get to know the city and the Cuban streets. Then it goes straight on with a relaxed day of cycling to Soroa through Las Terrazas, Cuba’s unique eco-community in a bio-reserve. The bike tour then takes you to Viñales through beautiful landscapes full of tobacco farms and “mogotes”, an incomparable landscape that you can only find in this region of Cuba. After a day of cycling in the region, you head to Cayo Jutía, a white sand beach and stretch of coast on the north coast of the country. Here you can cool off briefly in the water. Then you continue to a farm near Pinar del Rio before being taken to Cienfuegos via Playa Larga. After an afternoon city tour in Cienfuegos and an overnight stay, you spend a long day in the saddle along the coast to Trinidad. After saying goodbye to your bikes, you can take a walking tour to discover the history and culture of this UNESCO World Heritage city. You will spend your last day and evening on the beaches of Varadero before heading home with fresh Cuban air, memories of nature and good company.
Day 1: ¡Bienvenidos a Cuba! After landing in Varadero, a representative from Cuba Buddy will meet you in the arrivals area of the airport.
You will be taken together to your Casa Particular in Havana . Depending on availability, we will book the whole group in the same Casa Particular if possible. Before you set off on your Cuban adventure, you can sit back, relax and enjoy your first evening in magical Havana.
Day 2: The morning begins with a quick bus transfer to the bike repair shop in Miramar, where your bikes will be professionally adjusted to ensure everything is working. Feel free to bring your own pedals and saddles. To get familiar with the bikes before hitting the Cuban country roads, you’ll take a guided bike tour of the outskirts of Havana. You’ll start in the affluent 1950s district of Miramar, home to some of Havana’s most impressive 20th-century architecture, and pass many neoclassical houses, many of which are now embassies. On your way through the young and vibrant Vedado, you’ll visit the Necropolis of Cristóbal Colón, Plaza de la Revolución, the center of the Castro regime, and the National Theater. Before you turn right onto the Malecón, you will pass the Hotel Nacional, which has housed many celebrities over the years, such as Winston Churchill and members of the Mafia.
The city tour then takes you through the lively streets of Centro Habana and past the famous Capitolio building and ends in the center of Old Havana. After lunch, you continue the city tour on foot through Old Havana and visit some of the most beautiful renovated plazas. The evening is then at your leisure – ask your tour guide about the best cocktails in Havana!
Day 3: Today you say goodbye to the busy streets of Havana. After a bus ride out of the city, you saddle up and ride 6 km through beautiful tropical landscapes and Cuban back roads to “Las Terrazas”, a unique eco-resort. Upon arrival, you will have lunch and then explore this fascinating place in the Sierra del Rosario, which was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1985. The afternoon is free for you to do as you please. We recommend trying out the famous cable car or taking a refreshing swim in Lago San Juan. Ask the hotel or guide for other activities or restaurant tips! The first section of the road to Soroa is along a beautiful, hilly road that climbs 200m and then descends into the valley. After that, the ride is fairly flat and passes through a series of small towns and agricultural areas.
Day 4: After breakfast at your accommodation in Soroa, you will be transferred to a crossroads near San Diego de Los Baños. San Diego de los Baños was once famous for the healing properties of its waters. You will then make your way to Viñales, the capital of Cuba’s cigar country. Here you can enjoy an on and off road drive through the mogotes (unique mountain formations in Cuba) and Cuban villages hidden in the landscape.
Day 5: Today you will explore the best tobacco growing area in the world on foot – the Viñales Valley. The guide will pick you up from your accommodation in the morning and drive you through the Viñales Valley. A unique landscape characterized by high limestone cliffs and green tobacco fields. Here you can admire and enjoy the mogotes. The path takes you past fields and coffee farms – if you are lucky, your guide will take you to one that you can visit! The last stop is a finca where you can have lunch and recover from this unique experience in one of the most beautiful valleys in Cuba. Although Viñales is a quiet rural retreat, there are several places with live music! In the evening we have organized a group salsa class where you can learn the basic dance steps and enjoy a few drinks.
Day 6: And here comes another beautiful day of cycling… today you will ride from Viñales via Pons to the 2 miles long beaches of Cayo Jutía along the north coast of the province of Pinar del Rio. The route is peppered with short climbs and will test your skills on bad road sections. But you will be rewarded on arrival with breathtaking views on the winding roads and a beautiful golden sandy beach. Here you will have lunch and spend some time on the beach. Lay back on the sand, swim in the inviting waters or discover the underwater world of the cayo. Your accommodation for the night is in the neighboring village of Santa Lucía.
Day 7: Today is another day of cycling with winding roads through rural Cuba. Be prepared for rickety bridges, steep hills and open fields. Depending on the condition of the bridges, the support vehicle may not be able to follow the group for the entire ride. After cycling up and down a mountain and enjoying stunning views from the top, you can relax your burning legs and have lunch at a peaceful finca outside Pinar del Rio. Afterwards, you can hop on the bus and enjoy the Cuban roads from the bus as you are taken to your accommodation in Las Terrazas. Enjoy the evening in the peaceful bio-reserve before the long drive awaits you the next day.
Day 8: Prepare for a longer drive of up to 4 hours today as you continue east from Las Terrazas to Cienfuegos in central Cuba. Your guide will accompany you on the bus all day and entertain you with facts about Cuba. Be ready to ask questions and challenge your knowledge! Lunch will be in the remote beach village of Playa Larga, also in the historically famous Bay of Pigs. You will have plenty of time to digest the food before getting back on the bus to end the day in Cienfuegos, Cuba’s “Pearl of the South”. Cienfuegos is known for its stylish French architecture and its mini-Malecon, a waterfront promenade that stretches around the city’s bay. Here you will have time for a quick check-in and freshen up before setting off on an evening city tour to get to know the World Heritage city.
Day 9: Today is certainly the longest day of the trip! Make the most of the winding coastal roads from Cienfuegos to Trinidad. Along the way you will see pastures, the Escambray Mountains and, if you look closely, even some sugar cane fields. You will have lunch in a restaurant along the way and don’t worry, after enjoying the Cuban specialties you will have time to digest before moving on. The last part of the route runs directly along the Caribbean. As always on the trip, you have the option of hopping on the bus if the road becomes too strenuous. After arriving in Trinidad, a colonial city that has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, you will have time to check into your Casa Particular. The evening is at your leisure – if you need tips for good food or cocktails or still have legs to dance, don’t hesitate to ask your tour guide or host.
Day 10: Trinidad is considered one of the most beautiful cities in Cuba and one of the best preserved colonial cities in the Caribbean. You will enjoy a guided tour through the colonial, slightly dreamy city and have the opportunity to admire numerous magnificent buildings. Your local tour guide will provide you with the most important information about the history of the city and the daily life of the residents. It quickly becomes clear why the city is attracting so much attention. Cobblestone streets let us travel through a lost time.
Surrounded by pastel-colored houses, tiled courtyards and artistically turned wooden grilles on the windows, you will experience pure colonial flair on the city tour in Trinidad. The city palaces of Trinidad’s rich families are crowded around the elegant “Plaza Mayor”. Afterwards, you will visit one of the local museums and get to know the traditional pub La Canchánchara. After lunch, you have the afternoon free. Perhaps you would like to explore more of the city or spend the afternoon on the beach? The afternoon is yours!
Day 11: Today you will be transferred to Varadero, where white sandy beaches and a great hotel await you. In the afternoon you will arrive in Varadero. Here you will spend your last night on one of the best beaches in the world. Enjoy the peace of the calm waters on Varadero Beach. Optionally you can book 3 more nights in the same hotel to spend a few more days in the Caribbean sun.
Day 12: A bus transfer will pick you up at your hotel for the short journey to the airport. Today you say adios to Cuba or as we prefer to say “Hasta luego”. We wish you a safe journey home and hope to see you again on the Caribbean island as soon as possible!
Of course, depending on how you travel through Cuba, you’ll need different equipment. If you’re taking a sailing tour along the cays, you’ll probably need less mosquito repellent than the birdwatchers in the swamp of Cienega de Zapata National Park.
Whether you’re a last-minute packer or planning weeks before departure so that you don’t forget anything and have everything with you, we’ve put together a packing list for you based on our experiences in Cuba. You can find it here .
Then all you have to do is pack, tick off the list and set off. We wish you an unforgettable trip!
Checklist before your trip:
Check if your passport is still valid
Read the Foreign Office’s travel advice
Organize tourist cards (e.g. About us )
Take out international health insurance and request proof in Spanish
Possibly take out travel cancellation insurance
In our opinion, the blog of viel-unterwegs.de offers a very good packing list
If you’re traveling from the U.S. to Cuba, it’s important to know that not all credit cards will work in the country. Visa cards tend to be the most reliable and are accepted at most ATMs and banks across Cuba. However, even with Visa, availability of ATMs can vary depending on your location, so it’s best to withdraw cash when you can.
Mastercard may pose challenges at ATMs, but you can still use it to withdraw cash directly from bank counters in Cuban cities. Be aware that bank queues can be long, so plan accordingly.
Important: Due to U.S. sanctions, credit cards issued by U.S. banks are generally not accepted in Cuba. Make sure to bring enough cash to exchange during your trip.
At the moment, the import of GPS-enabled devices, including GPS-enabled smartphones, is (actually) prohibited. As I said: “actually”. We have never heard of a case in which Cuban customs officials confiscated a cell phone from someone upon entry. The same applies to GPS trackers.
We keep hearing that GPS-enabled devices don’t work in Cuba. That’s not entirely true. In the Sierra Maestra, we had a GPS tracker with us on our hike and it worked perfectly.
In the meantime, the laws in this area are being relaxed step by step. Nevertheless, GPS navigation systems are still not allowed in Cuba. It is best to get a map in advance or install an offline map. That’s what we do when we travel with Cuba Buddy. One recommendation that we use ourselves is Map of Cuba offline.
If you need more tips, please feel free to ask us. The current apps have the advantage that they contain street directories, maps, points of interest, etc. and you can also enter your accommodation, for example.
We can also recommend Maps.Me, as the app works great offline. Install the apps while you are still in Germany and start them to test them. Often some settings still need to be updated or maps downloaded. So really take a short time in Germany and test all the apps. Try to see it as the start of your Cuba adventure. That way it will be more fun and easier.
You can find the most detailed description of customs regulations on the website of the Federal Foreign Office . Here are excerpts from the most important topics so that you don’t have to search for long:
Only take things that are for your personal use or that you could do without. Excess quantities may be confiscated because they are considered unauthorized gifts.
“Electrical devices may also only be imported to the extent that they are intended for personal use, not as gifts for Cuban citizens. For gifts (non-commercial imports) with a value of between 50 CUC and 250 CUC, customs duty of 100% is levied. Further information can be obtained from the relevant Cuban diplomatic mission abroad. The import of walkie-talkies, satellite phones and GPS devices is not permitted or requires prior approval from the relevant Cuban authorities. Laptops, cameras and mobile phones with GPS function are not affected by this. The import of fresh food (e.g. fresh sausages, dairy products, vegetables, fruit) is prohibited for health reasons.”
Do not take any objects from Cuba that could be considered Cuban cultural property. This may also apply to older coins. Information on this and export permits are available from: Bienes Culturales, Calle 17 #1009, entre10 y 12, Vedado, Telephone: 839658. The permit only costs a few pesos, but saves you potential trouble when leaving the country.
“Export regulations for tobacco products
Up to twenty (20) loose cigars may be exported without having to provide proof of origin and purchase. Up to fifty (50) cigars may be exported provided that they are in their original, closed, sealed packaging with an official hologram. More than fifty (50) cigars may only be exported upon presentation of an original invoice issued by the officially authorized state stores. This invoice must include the total quantity of tobacco intended for export. In these cases too, it is essential that the cigars are in their original, closed, sealed packaging with an official hologram.
Detailed information on Cuban import and export regulations is available on the Cuban Customs website at www.aduana.co.cu.”
You can obtain further customs information on importing goods from the embassy of your destination country. Only there can legally binding information be given.
You can view the customs regulations for Germany on the German customs website at www.zoll.de or inquire by telephone.
Climate information: You should expect a hot, subtropical climate in Cuba all year round. A constant wind moderates the heat. In summer there is more rainfall than in winter and temperatures are around 25-30°C. In winter around 20-25°C.
Best time to travel: November to April.
The main travel season in Cuba is from mid-November to mid-April. The temperatures are a little lower during this time than in the other months, although there are generally very little temperature fluctuations in Cuba. The temperatures are between 25°-28° with a water temperature of 25°. From November to around March/April it is also tobacco season and you get a great insight into the tobacco harvest.
Cuba can experience heavy rainfall, tropical storms and sometimes landslides from June to November (hurricane season). We recommend that you follow regional weather forecasts and heed the advice of local security authorities during your trip.
Current information is available online at www.nhc.noaa.gov and www.weather.com.
You can find more information about the best time to travel here .
The hygienic conditions for processing and preparing food in Cuba are generally good, which means that the risk of catching dangerous diseases through food is low. Salads and freshly prepared cold dishes are also generally hygienic. Unlike in other Central American countries, you can buy and consume open lemonade or soft ice cream on the side of the road without having to worry about infection. But here too, anyone who knows that they are sensitive to unfamiliar food should be careful. Even on our group trips, diarrhea occasionally occurs, as can be the case in any southern country. It is better to be cautious than to have a “ruined” vacation. Everyone knows themselves and their body best and knows what they can put it through.
Cycle together into the sunset on the Malecón!
Our bike tours are for the whole family.
Discover Viñales by bike!
Explore Cuba in the original bicycle taxi.
We are travel specialists for individual trips to Cuba! From vintage car trips, family trips to diving trips, discover our travel suggestions here and ask us about your personal Cuba trip.
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