Fat Mary
For this cycling tour our destination is María la Gorda, located at the extreme west of Cuba.
Tour Leader
Cost
Extra USD $350. 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.
USD $2900.
Tour Details
- Destination: Western Cuba, from Varadero.
- Duration: 15 days.
- Arrives: 01/25/2025
- Departs: 02/08/2025
- Days of cycling: 10
- Usual daily distances: 36 km to 90 km (with flexible options).
- Terrain: Quiet backroads, 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: 1 tour leader, 1 culture guide, 1 driver, 1 mechanic.
On this route you will cycle from Matanzas to Havana and beyond, all the way to the western tip of Cuba at María la Gorda (the tour’s namesake). In Havana, we will pause for a few days to explore the treasures of the capital city, including the old town and we will witness the traditional “closing of the city” ceremony. Beyond the north coastal route, we cycle through the western province of Pinar del Río and the Valle Viñales. The quiet back roads of western Cuba will take you past lush green fields of tobacco, alongside turquoise beaches, through the Viñales Valley surrounded by unique limestone formations and on to islands, beaches and coral reefs.
This amazing tour includes visits to famous caves, interesting pueblos and ancient coffee farms. From all-inclusive beach resorts to mountain shacks, this ride covers some gentle roads in the Sierra del Rosario biosphere and incredible experiences in Valle Viñales. The trade winds traditionally blow from the east providing our tour with a gentle tailwind (part of the reason why this ride is so popular). After we reach María la Gorda, we return to Varadero in our air-conditioned tour bus, where we spend a few days on the pristine white sand beaches before flying home.
As a tour company, we have long supported Cuban youth cyclists. We will visit a club at the Havana velodrome and the Punta Brava cycling club on the west side of Havana. This will bring you one of many opportunities during the tour to meet and learn from local Cubans and gain an appreciation for the resilience and warmth of Cuba and its people.TOUR GALLERY
DAY BY DAY SCHEDULE
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1
January 25th.
You can arrive in either Havana or Varadero and transfer to the Hotel Velasco in Matanzas. You will have time to set up your 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 chat and introduce ourselves. Matanzas is a beautiful small city and a great start point for this adventure.
– Cycling: 0km.
– Accommodation: Hotel Velasco.
– Meals Included: Dinner.
2
January 26th.
On your first day cycling, with the wind at your back, we ride about 45 km to the beach. Before leaving Matanzas we will tour the Bellamar Caves (Cuevas de Bellamar), with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites, crystals and an underground stream.
Our cycling route takes us on a back road out of Matanzas, to the Valle Yumuri and along the “Via Blanca”. On the way we will cross the Puente de Bacunayagua, Cuba’s highest bridge at 110 metres above the valley below, and enjoy a stunning lookout, before arriving at our all-inclusive hotel in Jibacoa.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26432515
– Cycling: 45km (+353m), a few rolling hills.
– Accommodation: Memories Jibacoa.
– Meals Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner.
3
January 27th.
Today, we ride 63 km along the ocean on the Vía Blanca to Havana passing the Havana Club Rum Factory along the way. We stop at the Panamerican Stadium and meet youth cyclists and their coach. We will also stop for a panoramic view of Havana before crossing the bay to Old Havana.
In the afternoon we walk the Historic Centre of Havana, “La Habana Vieja”, and tour an artisan’s market. Later we will dine in Havana Centro, before watching the evening ceremony “Re-enactment of the Closing of the City”.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31224220
– Cycling: 63km (+345m) largely flat.
– Walking: 3 km.
– Accommodation: Casa particular (B&B).
– Meals Included: Dinner/Breakfast.
4
January 28th.
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 a local restaurant in a quaint part of the old city.
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.
– Cycling: 0 km Walking: 4 km.
– Accommodation: Casa particular (B&B).
– Meals Included: Breakfast/Lunch /Dinner.
5
January 29th.
This day starts in Mariel. We will ride to a town called Alquizar to meet a youth cycling club and leave our donations of cycling equipment to support the club. From here we continue riding west through Artemisa and onto Soroa in the foothills of the Sierra Rosario.
On the way we will lunch in Artemisa, then visit an old coffee plantation ruin, built by the wealthy Haitian French around 1800. These are the people who first developed commercial coffee production here in Cuba.
– Cycling: 62 km (+519 m)
– Accommodation: Hotel Horizontes Villa Soroa
– Meals Included: breakfast/dinner
6
January 30th.
After breakfast we visit the spectacular Soroa orchid garden just beside the hotel in Soroa. This orchid garden contains an immense collection of 18,000 orchids from all over the world, maintained in the unique microclimate of Soroa.
Our bike ride takes us to San Diego de los Baños located just west of the Sierra de los Rosario, in the foothills of the Sierra de los Organos. San Diego de los Baños was made famous for its hot mineral springs believed to have medicinal properties, along the Caiguanabo River.
– Cycling: 57 km (+362 m)
– Accommodation: Hotel Mirador de San Diego, in San Diego los Baños
– Meals Included: breakfast/dinner
7
January 31st.
Today we ride quiet roads to our mountain retreat at Mil Cumbres. This location is well off the beaten path surrounded by countryside with expansive views of low mountains.
Tonight we stay in a mountain hut and eat the best of Cuban country-style food cooked over a wood burning fire, and dance under the stars, mingling with wonderful local country people.
– Cycling: 51 km (+863 m)
– Accommodation: Mil Cumbres
– Meals Included: breakfast/dinner
8
February 1st.
In the morning, we take our bus to the Cueva de los Portales where Che Guevara had his headquarters during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and have lunch. Then we visit the local yet internationally renowned artist Miguel Antonio Remedios and stay for a fabulous cup of espresso.
The afternoon ride is 28 km to Viñales. The Viñales Valley was declared a national monument in 1978, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. It is known for the outstanding karst landscape and traditional agriculture as well as architecture, crafts and music.
– Cycling: 28 km (+292 m)
– Accommodation: Casas Particulares (BnBs)
– Meals Included: breakfast/dinner
9
February 2nd.
Ride through the Valle Viñales to Pons and over the ridge to Santa Lucia, and out to Cayo Jutias, a wonderful beach area. Enjoy lunch on the beach and some beach time at a white sand paradise. Later we return to Viñales by the tour bus.
Route:
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/8413584
– Cycling: 62 km (+447m).
– Accommodation: Casa Particular (B&B).
– Meals Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner.
10
February 3rd.
Wake up in the Valle Viñales and enjoy breakfast at the hotel surrounded by the Sierra de los Órganos mountain range. The area is known for its dramatic formations known as mogotes towering over the landscape. The mogotes – large, rounded mountains – are all that’s left of a limestone plateau that existed here 160 million years ago. We have two options today either a short ride with a hike, or a longer 68 km ride. At the end of the day we will arrive at the historic town of Pinar del Rio.
Route:
Short ride 28k: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/8414372
Long ride 67k: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31088498
– Cycling: Two Options. Short route 28 km (+239m); or, long route 67 km (556m).
– Accommodation: Hotel Vueltabajo.
– Meals Included: Dinner/Breakfast.
11
February 4th.
A very flat ride beginning in the historic city of Pinar del Río, winding through fertile farmland dominated by tobacco fields and ending at the world-famous dive centre on the western tip of Cuba, remote and beautiful, even exotic.
Route:
First part 78k: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/8414559
Coastal ride near hotel 14k: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/8414638
– Cycling: Morning 78 km (+437m) and then afternoon 14 km (+40m).
– Accommodation: Hotel Maria La Gorda.
– Meals Included: Dinner/Breakfast.
12
February 5th.
We will enjoy the day swimming and hanging out at the beautiful beach called María la Gorda. Previous tour riders have recommended we add a day here, so we have done just that.
There is a beautiful coral reef for snorkelling just offshore, and a chance that we can rent a dive boat to snorkel or dive farther offshore. At the end of the day, we will have dinner and watch the sunset over the ocean.
– Cycling: 0 km.
– Accommodation: Hotel María la Gorda.
– Meals Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner.
13
February 6th.
You have spent the last 12 days on a journey to the western tip of Cuba. Today, taking advantage of our luxury tour bus, we will fight the headwind back to Varadero in Matanzas Province, near where we began our journey.
Along the way we will take a coffee break in Hotel Pinar del Río and have a chance to tour a cigar factory. Upon reaching our all-inclusive hotel, we will enjoy a walk to stretch our legs before dinner.
– Cycling: 0 km.
– Accommodation: Hotel Cuatro Palmas.
– Meals Included: Breakfast/Dinner.
14
February 7th.
Our all-inclusive hotel in Varadero will provide a picturesque beachscape base for our last few days in Cuba.
We will cycle Varadero from tip to tip, then pack up our gear and hit the beach for one last time. You will have lots of free time to spend at this tourist hot spot, with some of Cuba’s best beaches. You can visit an impressive cave (Cueva de Ambrosio) with Indigenous drawings on the walls.
On our last night together we will have a farewell dinner at the Xanadú Mansion.
Route:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31398915
– Cycling: 36 km (+127m).
– Accommodation: Hotel Cuatro Palmas.
– Meals Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
15
February 8th. Departure Day.
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 Cuatro Palmas.
– Meals Included: Breakfast.
Cycle Rental
Bicycle Breeze has bike rentals at great prices. For this bicycle tour in cuba 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.