Welcome to Cuba, the biggest and most fascinating island in the Caribbean! Cuba is a multiethnic country whose people, culture and customs derive from diverse origins, including the native people, the long period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of enslaved Africans and a close relationship with the Soviet Union during the Cold War... after being a US protectorate for many years! Definitely quite a unique mix and this is one of the reasons for this place being so special!
Being here, it would really be a pity not to visit Cuba's capital city, so we recommend to fly-in a couple of days before the tour starts (or to stay a couple of days after the tour ends). Havana was the most important city of the Caribbean when it was a Spanish colony, it was the gathering point for galleons returning to Spain full of treasures and therefore walls and forts were built to protect the city. The “Habana Vieja” (Old Havana) district is a testimony of those times and definitely the most picturesque area to visit.
Before the Cuban Revolution took place, under the American protectorate, Havana turned into being the "Vegas" of America, and this era is recognizable from the many Casino Hotels and, of course, from the numerous U.S. road cruisers and Harleys from the ‘50s that are still in use today. The city is nowadays a place full of life and also full of contrasts, definitely worth a visit! Cuban economy is struggling, and tourism is very important for the island, so don't hesitate!

The tour starts heading westwards and we start getting used to the Cuban roads, which are definitely not the best paved! Outside of the main towns or cities, there is almost no traffic and we soon reach Mariel, famous for its port with a modern container terminal. 

The port of Mariel is well remembered (also in the opening scene of the famous movie Scarface) for the most well-known wave of Cuban immigration in 1980, when the Cuban government permitted approximately 125,000 Cubans to leave Cuba, and people left with any kind of boats.

Back on the road, we pass through the beautiful nature reserve of “Las Terrazas” where we can have lunch at the Banos de San Juan. Following the “Circuito Norte” (which crosses the whole island through the northern side) and paying attention to some bumps, the landscape finally changes drastically, as we approach the area of the Viñales Valley with ist impressive karst formations, a series of tall rounded hills (called mogotes) that rise from the flat plain of the valley. This valley is a Unesco World Heritage Site for its landscape and for the tobacco… but we’ll talk about that tomorrow!

Today we spend the morning in the beautiful valley of Viñales, surrounded by tobacco fields and mogotes! A tobacco farm here is called “finca” and the biggest ones are well prepared to receive tourists, so we can go on a guided visit where we can learn more about the traditional agricultural practices related to growing tobacco… and maybe even taste a cigar! 

Another interesting thing to see in the area is the huge “Mural de la Prehistoria", painted on the side of a mogote. It's not a prehistoric painting, as some may think... and of course we pass-by!

After a whole morning in the Viñales valley, and after lunch in the finca, we continue the tour and, this time using the “Carretera Central”, head back to the “Las Terrazas” natural reserve, where we spend the night surrounded by lush vegetation!

This is the longest ride of the tour, around 350 km (220 miles) eastwards. To avoid passing through Havana, we take the road to San Antonio before entering the highway. After a couple of breaks, we reach the entrance of the Cienaga de Zapata (Zapata Swamp) national park, the biggest swamp of the Caribic. In this wonderful area we stop for lunch and, if anybody wants, also a swim in the natural pool named Cueva de los Peces… or in the clear water of the Bay of Pigs. Does this name sound new to you? The memory goes back to 1961, to the attempt to invade Cuba… and we can visit the museum in Playa Giron dedicated to this event!

Finally, riding through rural areas where time stood still, we reach Cienfuegos, nicknamed the Pearl of the South… and if somebody is not too tired can also enjoy a bit of nightlife!

Today a visit to the beautiful historic center of Cienfuegos is mandatory, before leaving the town. We reach there by motorcycle, park in the main square and spend around one hour, so there is enough time for a coffee and many pictures! After that, we head to the mountains of the “Sierra del Escambray”, the second highest mountain range in Cuba, where we can visit the “El Nicho” waterfall and stop there for lunch. The ride through the sierra is quite spectacular, and Trinidad is not too far, so we can reach the hotel in time to relax a bit and then walk through the picturesque historic center (a Unesco World Heritage site). Trinidad is one of the best-preserved cities in the Caribbean from the time when the sugar trade was the main industry in the region. In town there are many cozy “paladares”, little restaurants, and we make sure to choose one of the nicest ones for dinner! After dinner we can also enjoy some night-life… tomorrow it’s a rest day!

Trinidad, together with the nearby Valle de los Ingenios (where we'll pass-by tomorrow) is a site listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1988. The locality is nicknamed "Cuba's Museum City", so you can understand why the rest day is planned here. Quite many options for today: of course, the first one would be to spend the whole day in Trinidad, explore the very well preserved historic centre, visit a museum, try some local specialities or simply walk on the cubblestone streets and admire the local life. But of course we can also go for a ride, back in the nearby SIerra del Escambray and along the coast, where we can also spend some time at the beach. Back in Trinidad, the best idea is to go out for dinner all together!

Time has come to cross the beautiful island of Cuba from the south to north! Leaving Trinidad a beautiful road takes us through the Valle de los Ingenios, which was a very important region for the production of sugar. First stop at the Manaca Iznaga, once the tallest building on the island. It looks like a lonely belltower, but it was a watchtower used to control the work in the fields, and eventually spot a fire! The ride through the valley is another trip back in time, like it often happens in Cuba. Around lunchtime we reach Santa Clara, where we can visit the famous mausoleum dedicated to Ernesto “Che” Guevara, one of the heroes of Cuban revolution, and learn more about this event that has influenced the history of Cuba up to the present day.

Remedios, our destination for today, has a wonderfully preserved historic center, not as big as Trinidad, but we will have the chance to spend the night in an authentic local house! What an experience!

Today’s ride is not too long, so we can indulge in a little bit of sightseeing in Remedios and maybe take a look inside a local cigar factory, where selected tobacco leaves arrive to be processed by expert artisans and, if we are lucky enough, we can buy some cigars at “factory price”. Back on the bikes, using the bumpy Circuito Norte or the Carretera Central (depending also on weather) we start moving westwards. Again, passing through rural areas we feel like we are traveling back in time, we can see horse carriages, ox-drawn plows and sugarcanes almost everywhere. Approaching Varadero will have quite a strong impact, the most important resort town in the country is full of huge resorts run by mostly foreign hotel chains, but this island is full of contrasts and this is part of the experience! 

Also the most beautiful things come to an end, time to go back to Havana! Despite the quite short distance, this day will be very full of activities! Before leaving Varadero, we can visit the beach-house (nowadays a restaurant) that once belonged to Al Capone! This house was probably also used as a deposit to smuggle alcohol into Florida. Another iconic place will be the Bacunayagua bridge, Cuba’s biggest and tallest bridge built to ensure an easier and faster connection between Havana and Varadero. And, just before reaching the capital city, another stop at Cojímar, a small fishing town famous for being the setting of Hemingway’s most famous novel: “The Old Man and the Sea”. Back in Havana, one last photo stop at the “Plaza de la Revolución” and then, after returning the bikes, get ready for a tasty dinner in town! Time to say goodbye, Cuba has delighted our senses and for sure also conquered our hearts!