Celia Sánchez
Tour Leader
Cost
N/A. Should you register looking to share with an 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: Cuba, Eastern Cuba.
- Duration: 15 days.
- Arrives: TBA.
- Departs: TBA.
- Days of cycling: 10
- Usual daily distances: 25 to 100k.
- Terrain: Quiet back roads, for the most part, a little city cycling. There are hills and rolling countryside. A reasonable level of fitness is recommended.
- Road Surfaces: As through most of Cuba, roads can be rough in places so wider tires (28-35 mm) are recommended.
- Best Bike to Use: Hybrid, gravel, or touring.
- Support vehicle: 100%
- Tour staff: Guide/ leader/ mechanic/ driver(s).
Enjoy a great ride, through some of the most beautiful and historic parts of Cuba – where revolutions are born. Enjoy a walking tour in the mountains where coffee, fruit and cocoa are grown. See the City of Santiago de Cuba and ride the coastal road where the Sierra Maestra falls to the sea. The breathtaking vistas will stay with you forever. Walk to La Plata, Fidel’s hideaway camp, high up in the mountains and see where the Granma boat disembarked the rebels to start the armed struggle. You will be amazed that those young men made ashore to rid Cuba of Batista.
Celia Sánchez for whom this tour is named, was the heroine of the revolution. She was a girl from the Sierra Maestra and knew the area well and she was acquainted with the mountain people because she assisted her father in his medical practice serving the poor people who lived up in those high mountains. Not only did the locals know Celia well, they loved her for her kind work helping the people as she worked with her father, who had his practice in the small town of Pilón at the western end of these famous mountains.
In the City of Las Tunas, we will be hosted by a youth cycling team and donate bicycle equipment. Our involvement with this club has produced a number of regional and national champions. These achievements would not be possible without your help. Your support for this group keeps their high school cycling program alive and well.
A visit to eastern Cuba will benefit from learning the history, you will be passing so much of the revolutionary culture on this tour. We suggest reading the book: Nancy Stout, One Day in December: Celia Sánchez and the Cuban Revolution.
TOUR GALLERY
DAY BY DAY SCHEDULE
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1
February 17th.
You will arrive in Holguin and transfer to the Hotel Mirador de Mayabe, known for its spectacular views of Holguin. You will have time to set up your own bike, or meet our mechanic and set up your rental bike to fit you.
Our evening meal at the hotel will give us an opportunity to chat and introduce ourselves.
- Cycling: 0 km.
- Accommodation: Hotel Mirador de Mayabe.
- Meals Included: Dinner.
2
February 18th.
After breakfast, we hop on our bikes and descend a hill as we leave Holguin behind. We have a pleasant ride south along a flat road to the historic City of Bayamo, the capital city of Granma province.
Along the way we will stop in Cauto Cristo before crossing the longest river in the Caribbean the Río Cauto.
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31363957
- Cycling: 82 km (+235 m)
- Accommodation: Hotel Encanto Royalton.
- Meals Included: Breakfast, dinner.
3
February 19th.
Today, we ride 80 km to the northern edge of the Sierra Maestra mountain range. Along the way we will stop for lunch in the Town of Contramaestra before starting the final 29 hilly kilometres to the mountain retreat at El Salton. Hop on the bus if the hills feel too much.
Our hotel is far from the beaten path and set in the mountains providing a great place for a post ride drink and relaxation.
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/8141883
- Cycling: 80 km (+916 m) rolling terrain, until last 29 km which are hilly.
- Accommodation: Hotel El Salton.
- Meals Included: Breakfast, dinner.
4
February 20th.
Today we will hike and explore the rural Cuban mountain lifestyle in the centre of the Sierra Maestra mountain range. A local guide will introduce you to coffee and cocoa plantations, and you will meet some local farmers and experience their mixed farming practice.
Along the way you will see the unique flora and fauna of the area. If we are lucky we may come across a Tocororo, the national bird of Cuba, whose bright colours match the Cuban flag. There can be an optional short bike ride along the mountain ridge.
- Cycling: 0 km Walking: 4 km.
- Accommodation: Hotel El Salton.
- Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
5
February 21st.
We begin our day taking the tour bus to the Town of Contramaestra and then cycle to Palma Soriano for lunch. After lunch, we continue the ride with a view of the mountains and valleys to visit the most significant church in Cuba, the Basilica Nuestra Señora de la Caridad at El Cobre.
After a visit to the church, we ride the tour bus to our hotel in Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city in Cuba, where we will spend an extra day exploring this historical city.
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/8142211
- Cycling: 62 km (+728 m)
- Accommodation: Hotel Rex.
- Meals Included: Breakfast, dinner.
6
February 22nd.
Today we will explore Cuba’s second largest city, beginning with a relaxing tour of Santiago de Cuba by bus. We will visit the Santa Ifigênia cemetery, the resting place of many notable Cubans, including Jose Martá and Fidel Castro. We will enjoy lunch in a restaurant in the city.
A walking tour in the afternoon will take in famous city squares, cathedrals, and the rooftop bar at the Hotel Casa Grande with an exceptional view of the city.
- Cycling: 0 km, walking: 4 km.
- Accommodation: Hotel Rex.
- Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
7
February 23rd.
Today we leave behind the City of Santiago de Cuba to begin exploring the most amazing road for cycling in Cuba, the South Coast Road. In the morning, we will take the tour bus to La Plaza de la Revolución in Santiago to see the equestrian monument to General Antonio Maceo, second in command during the Cuban fight for independence.
Then we will hop on our bikes to begin the exquisite ride along the South Coast Road with vistas beyond imagination. We will stop at the funky seaside town of Chivirico for the night before continuing the South Coast Road journey on the following day.
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35091224
- Cycling: 73 Km (+550 m)
- Accommodation: Hotel Los Galeones.
- Meals Included: Breakfast, dinner.
8
February 24th.
The ride from Chivirico to Marea del Portillo is the most beautiful part of the South Coast Road, where the Sierra Maestra dips to the sea. This ride will be well worth the effort. As our tour bus cannot follow us due to a few broken bridges, we will provide 100% support along the way with jeeps carrying water, fruit and snacks.
If you wish to avoid the ride, you may travel with our bus around the mountains via Bayamo and onward to Marea del Portillo.
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31340483
- Cycling: 96 km challenging ride due to hills and occasional irregular surface, supported by jeeps (+1,121 m)
- Accommodation: All inclusive hotel, Marea del Portillo.
- Meals Included: Breakfast, dinner.
9
February 25th.
Today we ride to Las Coloradas the landing site of the Granma boat which carried 82 revolutionaries from Mexico in 1956 to start the revolution. Along the way, we will stop in Pilon at the museum Casa Celia Sánchez Manduley where our heroine Celia lived from 1940 – 1956 working alongside her father at his medical practice.
At Las Coloradas we enjoy a guided tour of the landing site of the Granma boat and a museum – along with lunch at a paladar in Las Coloradas. We will then make our way to the quaint village of Niquero with its sugar cane mill, and stay at the colonial-style Hotel Niquero in the centre of town.
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31340776
- Cycling: 78 km (+454 m)
- Accommodation: Hotel Niquero.
- Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
10
February 26th.
We will take our tour bus from Niquero to Balcón de la Sierra, where we transfer to jeeps that take us onward and upward to the Hotel Santo Domingo for lunch with Cuba’s highest mountain Pico Turquino looming in the distance.
After lunch, the jeeps will ascend the steep winding road up to the trailhead at Alto del Naranjo. From there, we will hike to La Comandancia de La Plata located within the Pico Turquino National Park. We will explore Fidel’s mountain top headquarters where he based his operations during the revolution. This location is so hidden and remote that Batista’s army never found it.
- Cycling: 0 km, hike 6 km to the Comandancia de La Plata
- Accommodation: Hotel Santo Domingo.
- Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
11
February 27th.
Today we leave the Sierra Maestra behind as we return to the sea side City of Manzanillo near the delta of the Río Cauto we passed a week earlier in Bayamo. This city is known for its arabesque gazebo the Glorieta de Manzanillo in the central park.
Our ride is a flexible route with more downhill than uphill and typically a tailwind (how cool is that).
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35111912
- Cycling: 50 km (+236 m/-343 m)
- Accommodation: Hotel Guacanayabo.
- Meals Included: Breakfast, dinner.
12
February 28th.
Today we have a special opportunity to ride with a Cuban youth cycling team. We will meet the cycling team from the Las Tunas EIDE (Schools for Initiatation into Scolastic Sport) during our ride and cycle with them to the hotel in Las Tunas.
In the evening, we will join the youth cycling team at the home of the coach for a barbecue dinner.
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/8142508
- Cycling: 95 km (+247m)
- Accommodation: Hotel Las Tunas.
- Meals Included: Breakfast, dinner.
13
February 29th.
Today we head back to the ocean to spend a day at the white sand beaches of Guardalavaca in Holguin Province. We will take the bus to the City of Holguin, then ride the final 55 km of smooth rolling hills to our all-inclusive hotel on the beach.
We will spend the afternoon swimming in the ocean, and relaxing pool side.
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/8142537
- Cycling: 55 km (+334 m)
- Accommodation: All inclusive hotel, Brisas Guardalavaca.
- Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
14
March 1st.
From our all-inclusive hotel in Guardalavaca, we will ride 30 km to Bariay and see a monument where Christopher Columbus first landed at Cuba. We will also visit a recreation of an indigenous Taíno village representing pre-colonial Cuba. The Taíno inhabited Cuba before Columbus arrived.
After that, lots of time to spend on the white sand beaches of the hotel.
- Cycling: 30 Km.
- Accommodation: Hotel Brisas Guardalavaca.
- Meals Included: All meals.
15
March 2nd.
Sadly, today is departure day and the bus will take us to the airport for the flight back home. We hope you have enjoyed the ride, our country, its wonderful people, and that you will return for more cycling with the Bicycle Breeze tour team.
Cycling: 0 km.
Accommodation: Hotel Brisas Guardalavaca.
Meals Included: Breakfast.
Cycle Rental
Bicycle Breeze has bike rentals at great prices. For this tour you will need either a hybrid or a gravel bike. All will work. 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.
read this book, it should be mandatory for those doing the Celia Sanchez tribute tour., and also a good one prior to Turquino :- One Day in December: Celia Sánchez and the Cuban Revolution
Amazon
/www.amazon.com/One-Day-December-Sánchez-Revolution/dp/1583
Beth and I are very excited to be returning for the third time to do this tour. The route is amazing and often spectacular. The Cuban revolutionary history is woven into each day. Feel free to contact me with any questions.
I’m interested in the upcoming Celia Sánchez cycling tour, does the price include the flight from Canada to Cuba return?