Cuba, the Caribbean island full of history, is not only famous for its communist regime, but also for its cities, beaches and the hospitality of the people. Discover the secrets of Cuba on this motorcycle tour!
Starting in La Habana and heading out West, we ride to Vinales, famous for its beautiful landscape full of limestone rocks and caves as well as for its tobacco fields. Learn about the production of the famous Cuban cigars and taste one if you feel like it. On we ride to the nature reserve of Las Terrazas to take a bath in its beautiful waterfalls before we will visit the museum at the Bay of Pigs on our way to Cienfuegos. Our next stop is the city of Trinidad, part of the UNESCO world heritage and considered by many as one of the most beautiful cities at the Caribbean coast.
Curvy streets will then take us up the mountains of Topes de Collantes, where we get to see lush tropical forests and waterfalls and enjoy the view over Lake Hanabanilla. The island of Santa Maria with its white dream beaches and crystal-clear turquoise sea is our next destination, before we head to Remedios and back to the idyllic North to Varadero – and eventually reach our starting point, La Habana.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR US CITIZENS Since 2011 all U.S. citizens can participate in ‘people-to-people’ programs that provide for ‘meaningful interaction’ with Cubans. We have designed special departures for U.S. citizens that conform to the requirements of a general license for “people-to-people” educational exchange per Cuba Assets Control Regulations, 31 CFR Part 515 administered by the Dept. of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Renowned motojournalist and Cuba expert Christopher P. Baker will be acting as one of your tour leaders on those specific dates (look for the * people-2-people approved mark) and guarantees that your itinerary combines the very best riding in Cuba with activities that provide a fascinating overview of Cuban culture by maximizing interaction with Cubans from artists and musicians to baseball players and local harlistas (owners of pre-revolutionary Harley-Davidsons).
Christopher has been acclaimed by National Geographic as “one of the world’s leading authorities on Cuba travel and culture.” His seven books about Cuba include the National Geographic Traveler Cuba guidebook and Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro’s Cuba.
Meanwhile, Cuba has been in news quite a bit the last couple of months and if you are worrying if it was the right time to take this motorcycle tour with Edelweiss, please read the following personal note from Christopher, who just returned from leading our first ‘Classic Cuba’ trip of 2019:
THERE’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO VISIT CUBA
Recently Cuba has been in the news quite a bit. First, I wish to assure you that Cuba has recovered fully from post-Hurricane Irma. I just returned from leading Edelweiss’ first ‘Classic Cuba’ trip of 2019 (my eight trip to Cuba in the past 12 months) and things on the ground are totally normal and safe.
More importantly are the charges by the Trump administration of ‘sonic attacks’ on U.S. diplomats in Cuba. Four FBI teams were sent to Havana at the invitation of the Cuban government, and their report states there is no evidence whatsoever of any ‘attacks.’ The symptoms, most medical authorities agree, appear to be consistent with mass psychogenic illness (MPI), and the Trump administration’s allegation has the appearance of being nothing more than a politically motivated attempt to reduce U.S.-Cuba travel: READ MORE. For that reason, the State Department Travel Advisory now lists Cuba as Level 2 for safety – the same as France, Germany, and the UK.
Meanwhile, on January 18, 2018, Cuba was named “Safest Country for Tourism” at the 38th annual International Tourism Fair (FITUR), in Madrid, Spain. And the Cubans are wholeheartedly warm and welcoming. Reason enough to visit!
Christopher P. Baker
Start/Finish: | La Habana (Havana) |
Nearest airport: | Havana |
Duration: | 11 days vacation, 9 riding days |
Route: | Total distance: 1617-1857 km, 1005-1154 miles Daily distances: 70-360 km, 43-224 miles |
Accommodations: | Comfortable middle-class hotels und Casas Particulares |
Rest day: | Trinidad |
Highlights: | Mural de la Prehistoria, Viñales Valley, Las Terrazas, Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs), Topes de Collantes National Park, Valle de los Ingenios, Monumento-Memorial Che Guevara, Cayo Santa Maria beaches |
Minimum number of participants: | 8 Please note paragraph 4.2. a) of our terms and conditions of travel to find out more about the cancellation of tour through Edelweiss Bike Travel when the minimum number of participants is not reached - Terms and Conditions |
DAY 1: | Arrival in La Habana (Havana) |
DAY 2: | La Habana (Havana) - Viñales |
DAY 3: | Viñales - Las Terrazas |
DAY 4: | Las Terrazas - Cienfuegos |
DAY 5: | Cienfuegos - Trinidad |
DAY 6: | Trinidad |
DAY 7: | Trinidad - Cayo Santa Maria |
DAY 8: | Cayo Santa Maria - Remedios |
DAY 9: | Remedios - Varadero |
DAY 10: | Varadero - La Habana (Havana) |
DAY 11: | Departure from La Habana (Havana) |
The daily riding kilometres are approximate distances and may vary. The first and last days mentioned in the itinerary are the arrival and departure days; there is no riding on these days. Bear in mind the time difference between your country of origin and your travel destination. Arrival time should be arranged before 3 pm on the arrival day. Please book your flights accordingly. Route and overnight places may change due to unforeseen events.
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
---|---|---|---|
Tour price per person | sharing room, riding 2 up | sharing room, riding solo | single room, riding solo |
BMW F 700 GS | $ 5.540,- | $ 6.760,- | $ 7.200,- |
BMW R 1200 GS | $ 5.730,- | $ 7.130,- | $ 7.570,- |
Harley-Davidson® Electra Glide Harley-Davidson® Road King | $ 5.940,- | $ 7.560,- | $ 8.000,- |
OPTIONAL: Guided City Tour (Minimum number of participants: 1) | $ 195,- | $ 195,- | $ 195,- |
OPTIONAL: Cuba Travel Authorization Documents (mandatory for US citizens) | $ 200,- | $ 200,- | $ 200,- |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
---|---|---|---|
Tour price per person | sharing room, riding 2 up | sharing room, riding solo | single room, riding solo |
BMW F 700 GS | $ 5.540,- * | $ 6.760,- * | $ 7.200,- * |
BMW R 1200 GS | $ 5.730,- * | $ 7.130,- * | $ 7.570,- * |
Harley-Davidson® Electra Glide Harley-Davidson® Road King | $ 5.940,- * | $ 7.560,- * | $ 8.000,- * |
OPTIONAL: Guided City Tour (Minimum number of participants: 1) | $ 195,- * | $ 195,- * | $ 195,- * |
OPTIONAL: Cuba Travel Authorization Documents (mandatory for US citizens) | $ 200,- * | $ 200,- * | $ 200,- * |
* Please note that the dates and prices for 2020 are not confirmed yet. The dates shown on our website are preliminary dates for 2020 and might change. Also, for this tour there are yet no prices confirmed for 2020. If the tour price differs more than 5% from last year’s pricing you can cancel your participation until October 31, 2019 without any cancellation fee.
CUSTOM TOURS: For custom tour bookings please refer to the pricing included in the special tour offer for your tour. If having any questions please contact our service team at customtours@edelweissbike.com! |
18.02. - 28.02.2019 |
25.03. - 04.04.2019 * People-2-people approved // Ride with Christopher Baker |
28.10. - 07.11.2019 |
25.11. - 05.12.2019 * People-2-people approved // Ride with Christopher Baker |
13.01. - 23.01.2020 |
17.02. - 27.02.2020 |
23.03. - 02.04.2020 * People-2-people approved // Ride with Christopher Baker |
26.10. - 05.11.2020 * People-2-people approved // Ride with Christopher Baker |
23.11. - 03.12.2020 |
Day 10, Varadero - Havana Back to Havana, also the most beautiful things unfortunately come to an end! We left Varadero not ...
Day 9: Varadero - Havana Last riding day! Today we gotta ride back to Havana. We can afford a late start from ...
Riding day 9, Varadero - Havana Today we started our engines for the last time and cruised back to Havana, but despite ...