Cayo y Seis Ciudades (Private)
Bike and beach tour in Central Cuba
For those wishing to arrive earlier than the event dates we can arrange extra nights for your convenience. Should you wish to depart later than the posted dates we can also prolong your stay, in Havana.
Tour Leader
Cost
N/A. Should you register looking to share with another and we are not able to find an acceptable companion, you will need to pay the Single Supplement charge.
N/A.
Tour Details
- Destination: Central Cuba.
- Duration: 15 days.
- Arrives: 01/04/2023
- Departs: 01/18/2023
- Days of cycling: 11
- Usual daily distances: 57 km (35.4 miles).
- Terrain: Most of the cycling is on gently rolling back country roads with some city riding. The use of a hybrid or gravel bike is your best choice on this tour.
- Support vehicle: 100%
- Tour staff: 1 tour leader, 1 cultural guide, 1 driver, 1 bike mechanic.
Cuba, with its rich culture, natural beauty, friendly people and quiet roads is the Promised Land for cyclists. We at Bicycle Breeze have designed this new tour to take you through a variety of scenic landscapes that include beautiful beaches on the south and north coasts with overnight stays in-between in six of Cuba’s most historically significant and interesting colonial cities: Havana, the large and bustling capital whose well-preserved old city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; Cienfuegos, the lively, seaside “Pearl of the South” with its French-inspired grand boulevard and colonnades; Trinidad, a living museum of Cuba’s colonial past with its charming cobbled streets and another UNESCO World Heritage Site; Santa Clara, the university city famously captured by Ché Guevara to end the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and now the site of his impressive mausoleum; Remedios, one of Cuba’s oldest and most charming colonial cities that was deservedly declared to be a Cuban National Monument in 1979; and, Matanzas, a city of rivers and bridges, the former center of the sugar trade now known world-wide for its strong Afro-Cuban music and dance scene.
While Cuba’s rich colonial heritage is evident throughout the island, it is central Cuba that best recalls the days of the pirates of the Spanish Main and the boom and bust days of the sugar trade. Visually attractive, these urban centers reflect the long and colorful history of this region where early settlers were often forced to repeatedly move farther inland to escape pirate attacks, where sugar, slavery and tobacco fortunes were made and lost, and where many noteworthy people in Cuban history were born, including the current president, Miguel Díaz-Canel.
The tour will also allow for exploring the varied and often stunning Cuban landscape with its many hidden gems. It will follow the beach-lined shores of the Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs), site of the attempted invasion of Cuba in 1961 by CIA-trained Cuban exiles all the way to Playa Girón, named after a notorious French pirate from the early 1600s. Going on, the tour will follow the verdant Escambray Mountains through the picturesque Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills), another UNESCO World Heritage Site made up of three interconnected valleys watered by four rivers. A full two days will be spent at Hanabanilla, a spectacular and enormous man-made lake surrounded by a pine-studded forest high in the mountains not far from the archeological remains of many Indigenous Taino villages.
The tour will also provide an opportunity to experience some of the more off-beat aspects of Cuban culture such as the distinctive, but strikingly different replicas of the Statue of Liberty found in Remedios and Matanzas that are more expressive than the original that sits in New York harbour, the statue of John Lennon in a park named after him in Havana that has become a pilgrimage site for many rock music fans, and the restored 43.5 metre (143 feet) high tower, the freestanding Torre de Manaca-Iznaga in the Valle de los Ingenios that was allegedly built as a result of a silly wager between two brothers in the 1830s.
Cuba, renowned for its beautiful landscapes, glorious beaches, wonderful people, and packed with great cycling routes is a paradise for those seeking a memorable cycling and sightseeing holiday.
TOUR GALLERY
DAY BY DAY SCHEDULE
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1
Arrival Wednesday January 4th.
Fly into Havana and transfer to Vedado, the one-time red-light district facing the sea that is now the commercial heart of Havana and the site of many famous hotels and monuments. Settle into “casas particulares”, the Cuban equivalent of B&Bs, and set up the bikes in front of the CAFE RUEDA, our headquarters while in Havana.
Our evening meal at the Paladar Decameron, a well-regarded local restaurant, will give us an opportunity to chat and introduce ourselves.
- Cycling: 0 km
- Accommodation: B&B in Vedado.
- Meals Included: Dinner.
2
Thursday January 5th.
After breakfast we will take the bus to Jagüey Grande, a large agricultural town. After lunch at Finca Fiesta Campesina, a traditional-style restaurant serving good Cuban food, we begin our ride to Playa Girón. The road south is flat along the Bay of Pigs and there is an opportunity to take a refreshing dip at a dive center before arriving at our destination.
- Cycling: 63 km (39 miles).
- Accommodation: B&B in Playa Girón.
- Meals Included: Dinner /Breakfast.
3
Friday January 6th.
Before leaving Playa Girón, we will assemble in the town center to visit the Museum recounting the failed attempt by Cuban exiles in 1961 to overthrow the Castro regime. Our ride east to Cienfuegos is along fairly flat roads through the farmlands north of the city.
- Cycling: 78 km (48.4 miles).
- Accommodation: B&B in Cienfuegos.
- Meals Included: Dinner/Breakfast.
Route:
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/47025699?privacy_code=ZBMih4efyi7w7fxL
4
Saturday January 7th.
We will start our ride by following the main road to Trinidad, but will stop after about 18 km to visit the Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos, an outstanding botanical garden stocked and maintained for many decades by Harvard University that is home to 285 types of palm trees and 2,400 species of plants. It is well worth the short detour down a tree lined road. Beyond the garden, the road heads down to the coast, giving glimpses of the Caribbean and the upland pine forests of the Sierra Escambray mountains. After arriving in Trinidad and settling into our casas, we will have time to explore the city and, after dinner, we will be able to enjoy Cuban music, dancing and mojitos at Café de la Música.
- Cycling: 83 km (51.5 miles).
- Accommodation: B&B in Trinidad.
- Meals Included: Dinner/Breakfast.
5
Sunday January 8th.
Today’s ride is a short one to Playa Ancon, a peninsula south of Trinidad with one of the finest white sand beaches on the south coast. After spending the afternoon at the beach, we will return to Trinidad by bus.
- Cycling: 16 km (10 miles).
- Accommodation: B&B in Trinidad.
- Meals Included: Dinner/Breakfast.
6
Monday January 9th.
We will depart Trinidad through the scenic Valle de los Ingenios to the Torre Manaca Iznaga. The astonishing view from this imposing tower more than justifies a short visit. We will then ride the green lower hills of the Escambray mountains before climbing to the village of Hanabanilla on the banks of Lake Hanabanilla, right in the Escambray Mountains– the main mountain range in the middle of the island. This hotel is perfect to relieve the stress produced by the hustle and bustle of the city. Its vast natural surroundings are rich in flora, where green semi-deciduous woods predominate, as well as vegetation on carso soil. Its fauna is rich in birds, reptiles and mammals.
- Cycling: 83 km (51.5 miles).
- Accommodation: Hotel Hanabanilla.
- Meals Included: Dinner/Breakfast.
7
Tuesday January 10th.
After yesterday’s climb, we will enjoy a relaxing day at the lake, starting with a guided walk in the morning and followed by a boat trip to the other side of the lake for lunch. Today is a much-deserved rest day.
- Cycling: 0 km.
- Accommodation: Hotel Hanabanilla.
- Meals Included: Lunch, Dinner & Breakfast.
8
Wednesday January 11th.
Today’s ride is a relatively easy 56 km descent from Hanabanilla on a well-paved road into Santa Clara, a youthful city known for its university and for the mausoleum of Che Guevara.
- Cycling: 56 km (35 miles).
- Accommodation: Hotel Los Caneyes.
- Meals Included: Dinner/Breakfast.
9
Thursday January 12th.
Before leaving Santa Clara, we will visit the mausoleum and the battle site where Che Guevara and a small number of men essentially ended the Cuban Revolution by derailing the Tren Blindado (armoured train) and defeating the government troops it carried. Following this visit, the day’s ride east through tobacco country to Remedios will be on a gently rolling road.
- Cycling: 51 km (31.6 miles).
- Accommodation: Hotel Mascotte.
- Meals Included: Dinner/Breakfast.
10
Friday January 13th.
In the morning, we will explore the old colonial city of Remedios, famous for the amazing state of preservation that makes it one of Cuba’s most charming and attractive cities. We will then ride to Caibarién, a colourful fishing town called “La Villa Blanca” (The White Town) for its white sand beaches. We’ll take some time to look around before riding to the causeway where we board the bus to arrive at the beautiful beaches of Cayo Santa María.
- Cycling: 15 km (9 miles).
- Accommodation: Hotel Starfish Santa Maria.
- Meals Included: All meals.
11
Saturday January 14th.
Today we enjoy a free day by the beach.
- Cycling: 0 km There are rideable roads on the cayo, but the beach might beckon.
- Accommodation: Hotel Starfish Santa Maria.
- Meals Included: All meals.
12
Sunday January 15th.
Today we will begin the day by taking the bus from Cayo Santa María past Santa Clara to Colón, a small town with neoclassical architecture and an impressive statue of Christopher Columbus guarded by four lions. From Colón, we will ride to Matanzas, the former center of the sugar trade that sits on a wide and beautiful bay. We should have the wind at our backs for the entire ride from Colón to Matanzas.
- Cycling: 86 km (53.5 miles).
- Accommodation: Hotel Velasco.
- Meals Included: Dinner & Breakfast.
13
Monday January 16th.
Sadly, today is our last day of riding. We will leave Matanzas and ride alongside the bay before going inland to Via Blanca, the highway connecting Matanzas and Havana. On the way we will cross the Bacunayagua Bridge, Cuba’s tallest suspension bridge at 110 metres (360 feet) above the floor of the valley below. At Jibacoa, the site of a beautiful white sand beach, we will enjoy a bag lunch and a quick dip in the Caribbean before taking the bus to the Havana Velodrome to visit and leave donations for the young cyclists supported by Bicycle Breeze. We will then take the bus into central Havana.
- Cycling: 47 km (29 miles).
- Accommodation: B&B in Havana.
- Meals Included: Dinner & Breakfast.
14
Tuesday January 17th.
Today is the day to explore Havana. We will take the bus to the bottom of the Paseo del Prado, a long tree-lined boulevard that leads into the center of Old Havana and its main squares and monuments. We will have time to explore and to have lunch in the 5 Esquinas Trattoria in a quaint part of the old city near one of Cuba’s most famous churches.
Be ready with your cameras for a fun drive in vintage American cars through parts of Havana that you may have heard about like the University of Havana where Fidel Castro studied, Chinatown, the National Theater, the well-known hotels frequented by American mobsters before the Revolution, the long and impressive Malecón seaside boulevard and esplanade for which Havana is famous and more. This will allow you to see the modern city.
- Cycling: 0 km.
- Accommodation: B&B in Havana.
- Meals Included: Lunch, Dinner & Breakfast.
15
Wednesday January 18th.
Today is departure day and the bus will take us to José Martí airport for the flight back home. We hope you have enjoyed the ride, our country and its people and that we will see you again soon.
Cycle Rental
Bicycle Breeze has bike rentals at great prices. For this tour you will need either hybrid or gravel bike. Should you prefer to bring your own that is fine with us, you will get the same mechanical assistance as the renters.
Check your travel company for costs of shipping your bike. Depending on your country of embarkation you may be better to rent. Renting has other positive aspects. Your bike will not get lost in transit. It is far easier to travel without a bike box and spare bikes are on the bus for renters. The negative side is that this is not your favourite ride.
Customize This Tour
With a group of 10 or more riders, Bicycle Breeze can offer the ability to customize a tour to suit your needs. Contact us to start planning your next great adventure.
James reviews the tour
I just want to follow up and tell you what a great tour we had. This was maybe the best tour I have been on for many reasons:
The 3 support people, Karel, Joyany, and Reinier, were outstanding. Besides being experts in their roles, they were all very personable, helpful and mixed with the group well. Karel went out of his way and did a lot of extras like leading walking tours of the different towns we stayed in. I think the clients really appreciated their support and reflected it in the tips.
The accommodations were also outstanding especially for Cuban standards or at least from some of my previous tours.
Building in a couple of rest days at Hanabanilla and Cayo Santa Maria was a good idea. They were welcome stops and ideal locations for a rest day. The hiking option at Hanabanilla was well participated. Unfortunately the weather turned bad on the off day at Cayo Santa Maria and we couldn’t swim because of high winds and rough surf. Most of us got in the water the afternoon we arrived so it wasn’t all lost. But people still made good use of the resort.
I heard lots of comments from the group about the variety of activities provided in the tour. They appreciated the museums, the walking tours, hiking, riding in the old cars, etc. It wasn’t all biking.
I don’t know if it was the average age of the group, the heat, the lack of being able to train because of winter, or starting late in the day but 35 miles seemed about the most people were up to riding. Karel was quite flexible on re arranging the itinerary to accommodate the group and ordering box lunches.
I think the way we met with the bicycle teams and handed out the parts was a fun piece for the group. It gave them a chance to meet with the kids, ask them questions, and appreciate some of the worn and old equipment they are using.
The diversity and maturity of the clients was a big contributor to the success. I had to go far and wide to recruit people for the tour, some of which were friends of friends, but the spread in ages, geographical and cultural backgrounds, and educational backgrounds all contributed to a good mix of interesting people. All were very open minded and were in Cuba for the experience. There were no complaints.
Howdy folks, sorry for the delay, I have been on the go quite a bit this summer. Jim has sent me mail that says you people are requesting registratiion and bike order, how do I do that.
Thanks, Dan Taylor