Cycling Cuba

The holiday was pretty much as described in the Trip Notes - a chance to see beyond the beaches and bodegas and experience, as much as you can as a tourist, a little bit more of real Cubans living their lives, as well as visit some of the different areas of this fascinating country in a period of transition. The cycling was challenging but it certainly did improve my fitness. The food was rather unexciting and the lavatory arrangements unpredictable, but these had been well signalled by the literature. The weather was consistently hot and humid, so the excellent backup from the support team, whether water, fruit, local knowledge or just encouragement on the road, was very much appreciated.      

I had a very delayed start to my trip thanks to airline issues, all was forgotten on getting out of the airport and an arranged taxi driving me through Havana to my first destination. 1am and I was wide awake and glowing. All thanks to Exodus service (for the tour and for sorting my unexpected transport with no hassle), Cuba, the tour guide and drivers, the tour group, Cuba, Cuban people, Cuban architecture, the Cuban landscape, Cuba and Cuba. Oh, and the Atlantic and the Caribbean. And Cuba.

Fantastic way to see the country, meet the locals, get very fit and experience the very essence of Cuba.

If you want to see Cuba 'as it is' rather than through a windscreen, cycling is the only way to do it! Each day takes you to a different location to find and experience different aspects of life in Cuba. The cycling side of things isn't too onerous if you are a regular cyclist, averaging 40 to 50 miles a day at most. There were a couple of 'hilly' days, where the total climb was in the region of 2500 to 3000 feet, but most days the rides were fairly flat. A little hill climbing practice may be a good idea if your biggest hill is normally a railway bridge!

Just returned from this trip (land-only option) and have to say it exceeded my already-high expectations. Itinerary was action-packed without being exhausting, with a decent amount of free time including in the evenings and on rest days. I was pleasantly surprised how early we reached our overnight hotels on most days, enabling plenty of siesta time in between cycling and sightseeing. The route was also great, taking in the vast majority of Cuba's surprisingly diverse landscapes and cultures whilst also providing a good variety of accommodation, from private casas particulares, jungle lodges and provincial hotels to the occasional luxurious, American-style resort. The cycling itself was enjoyable and never too tough - perfectly within the reach of the averagely-fit rider, especially given the pretty capable hire bikes provided, although the heat/humidity obviously adds an extra element of challenge at times. Roads were generally quiet but I was also pleasantly surprised by the courtesy shown by vast majority of drivers - if only British drivers were this considerate! There are a fair amount of coach transfers to contend with in between cycling legs, too, but these passed quickly in our comfortable vehicle and enabled us to miss out the less interesting bits of a road whilst also taking in additional sights. In particular, our tour leader Freddy was absolutely superb - by far the best guide I've ever experienced. Highly-organised but also very funny and unafraid to give us 'warts and all' insights into the realities of Cuban life. Our two other support drivers were also great and it was good to know they were on-hand constantly. Overall, I'd thoroughly recommend this trip as a great way to experience a fascinating and superbly atmospheric country whilst also working off some of those endless rum cocktails with a bit of exercise.

16 day cycling holiday in Cuba, covering most of the island. Cycling between 35-80k for 10 days, with back-up support and bus transfers. Staying in huge variety of accommodation, from 5 star luxury hotels, to Russian utilitarian hotels, to beautiful colonial hotels, and a couple of casas, giving insight into how the locals live.

This is a great way to see the countryside in Cuba which is, on the whole, amazing and quite diverse.  It's also a good way to meet local people as the guide fixed toilet and coffee stops along the way.

An amazing country, friendly people, excellent cycling and lots of strong mojitos.  Everybody should do this trip!   

A unique country and a fabulous holiday! A heady mix of great scenery, friendly people, top cycling, vintage cars, music, dancing, Caribbean coastline and cocktails galore!

Enjoyed getting to see Cuba up close and personal in a way that most tourist won't. Found the group really compatible and lots of variety in the places we cycled.