Further Travel Information
If you want to know more about Cuba before you book your flight, you can check out our Travel Guide section, there you will find a lot of useful information regarding food, money, communications, general necessities and lots of other travel tips specific to Cuba. Our Blog is also a good place to learn more.
Know more about your flight
All our tours usually start in one of three places: Havana, Varadero (Matanzas) and Holguin. These places all have airports. This allows our tour participants to arrive directly to the city in which their tour starts.
Havana. If your tour starts at Havana Air France and Iberia Air fly out of Europe (Air France is best). There are currently no direct flights to Havana from Toronto, but Air Transat flies from Montreal, one-stop flights are available. From America there are many flights, mostly from Miami, by American Airlines, Delta, and United.
If your tour begins in Varadero. There are flights from Europe that will generally have a stop in either Toronto or Miami. Air Canada, Air Transat, and WestJet all fly directly into Varadero from Toronto and Montreal. American groups can fly with American Airlines directly from Miami to Varadero. You may also want to fly to Havana and travel from Havana to Varadero in our tour bus (no charge). This is a fairly short bus ride of about 3 hours.
If your tour starts at Holguín. There are flights from Europe that will generally have a stop in either Toronto or Miami. There are numerous flights from Toronto or Montreal with Air Transat, Air Canada, Sunwing, and others. American groups can fly with American Airlines directly from Miami to Holguin. You may choose to fly to Havana and travel from Havana to Holguin on our tour bus (no charge). Keep in mind that this is a long bus ride (12 hours).
There is much changing in the air travel business, and flight schedules change, so we recommend consulting a non-American flight aggregator such as Skyscanner.ca or Rome2rio.com (Do not use Expedia as it blocks flights to Cuba), or a licensed travel agent. Covid rules can change and exchanging money can require some effort, check our Current News Section for updated information.
More information
Passports’ & Visas:
Visitors from the UK & Ireland – A passport with a Cuban tourist card is required for entry into Cuba, by UK & Irish citizens. The tourist card is obtained by sending copies of travel documents and a fee of £15 to the Cuban Embassy in London. The turnaround is very quick–usually, the tourist card is sent back to you within 1 or 2 days. You can also get tourist cards issued by visiting the Embassy in person. These visas are good for 30 days
Visitors from Canada – A current passport is required and your Cuban visa will be issued on the airplane, this visa cost is included in your air ticket. The visa is good for 30 days but as a Canadian, it is possible to extend to 90 days.
Visitors from the USA – A current passport is required. If traveling in an official OFAC group you will be put in contact with a qualified travel agent within the USA. This agent will both issue air tickets and visas.
Cycle Rental: Bicyclebreeze has bike rentals at great prices. Should you prefer to bring your own that is fine with us, you will get the same mechanical assistance as the renters. Check you 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.
Geography & Climate: Cuba is a tropical island in the Northern hemisphere. It is 1350km long and covered with a variety of mountains, forests, rich farmland and golden beaches. There are some desert-like areas in the Guantanamo area but this MTB event is far away from this, in Havana and Vinales. Cuba has a warm and dry season from November to April, with average daily temperatures between 20 and 25 degrees. This is the time of year we choose to conduct our tours. May to October is the rainy season, which is hotter and also prone to hurricanes.
Accommodation & Food: We use a combination of 3-star hotels with en-suite rooms and casas. All places provide good food. We visit many local cafes, restaurants and bars so you get a full flavor of local culture and cuisine. All breakfasts and dinners are included .For meals not included (lunches), there are many places to eat with prices ranging from $3 to $6 for an on the way lunch in a roadside café. All ride drinking water is supplied from the support bus. We advise that if you normally use ride gels and energy bars or electrolyte powder, you will need to bring from home because these items are not commonly for sale in Cuba
Travel Insurance: Trip cancellation insurance is highly recommended. This is often covered by the high-end credit cards, but please check with your specific provider. Please visit this page for more information.