It’s finally time for your long-awaited departure to Cuba. Wave goodbye to friends and family, before you board the flight and embark upon your challenge! You will arrive in Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the capital of Cuba. You'll receive a warm welcome from the local team and take a short transfer to the hotel for check in and dinner. Tonight you will be welcomed and given a full briefing on the week ahead. (D)
Accommodation: Hotel
This morning after a full safety briefing and bike fitting, you will enjoy a leisurely introduction to Cuba on a two-wheel tour of Havana. You will ride through the Miramar district, the Paraque Metropolitano de la Habana and Nuevo Vedado before stopping at Plaza del la Revolucion, the political heart of Castro's Cuba. Ride through vibrant Vedado towards the famous Hotel Nacional, which has offered shelter to many a celebrity over the years, including Winston Churchill. You will finish your cycling tour on the edge of the Old Town next to the Bay of Havana, where you will have a group lunch before a transfer to your hotel in Playa Jibacoa. (B,D,L). Cycling elevation +212m/-2oom.
Accommodation: Hotel
After breakfast transfer south towards Trinidad and start your day's cycle from Playa Jibacoa to Matanzas. You will have plenty of refreshement stops along the way today and of course time to take in the beautiful countryside scenery. Stop for a picnic before this afternoon continuing your ride towards Matanzas. Regroup at the entrance to cycle through the city together. Matanzas was built with sugar money, and in the 18th and 19th centuries was the centre of the Cuban sugar industry. Today, much of this heritage remains, with sugar plantations, a sugar refinery and sugar exporting facilities. (B,L,D). Cycling elevation: +558 /-561m.
Accommodation: Hotel
This morning you will cycle directly out of your hotel in Veradero where you will enjoy a ride along the beautiful coastline. You will continue inland towards Cardenas before heading onto a single lane road, used for local traffic; Soviet tractors, inter town buses, 50's American cars, horses and carts and of course other cyclists! The route today takes you through what was once the prime sugar cane land, but is now mainly pastureland.
After approximately 40km, you will stop for a well deserved lunch to refuel for this afternoon's ride to Jaquey Grande where your cycle ends for the day. There's a short transfer to Santa Clara for dinner and an overnight stay. (B,L,D). Cycling elevation: +315m/-312m
Accommodation: Hotel
Cienfuegos was founded on the fortunes of the sugar industry in the 1700s. The roads are generally good and your first climb upwards is just 300m.
You will set off this morning from the hotel, and your first stop of today's ride is at the Che Guevara Monument which is built to house the mausoleum of revoluntionary heroes who died fighting to free Cuba from Batista's dictatorship. Saddle up and set off on a fast 25km ride on Cuba's autopista, a quiet 3-lane road before exiting off onto the scenic roads that border Cienfuegos, where you will encounter plenty of other local riders.
Late afternoon you will get a chance to explore the city either by bike or on foot. Cycle your way down to the end of the Malecon to see the Palacio del Valle before visiting the city centre where you will have some free time to explore by foot before cycling back to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay. (B,L,D) Cycling elevation: +558m/-561m
Accommodation: Hotel
Today, you will transfer to start your day's ride close to the village of Arimao. You will begin your cycle on an undulating road through pastureland before the hills level off and the views of the Escambray Mountains come in to site. Cycle with the majestic mountains to your left and rolling countryside dotted with palm trees to your right.
Enjoy a well-earned Cuban country lunch before a relatively flat cycle to reach the outskirts of Trinidad where you will take on your final short hills to bring you into the World Heritage town of Trinidad. A jewel of colonial architecture where traditional methods of transport and cobbled streets give it the feel of being trapped in a time warp. (B,L,D). Cycling elevation: +545m/-565m
Accommodation: Hotel
This morning we set off for an orientation tour of Trinidad. Trinidad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (since Dec. 1998) is like a living museum, with cobbled streets and colonial housing, which has changed little in more than 150 years. Lunch today is in a local paladar in town and the afternoon is free for more exploration or for relaxation on the beach (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Hotel
Following breakfast, check out of the hotel for the transfer back to Havana. Stop for lunch on route and arrive mid afternoon to set off on a walking tour of Old Havana. Tonight you can enjoy a celebratory dinner and the chance to sample some of Cuba’s finest exports (optional) – rum and cigars! (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Hotel
This morning enjoy a leisurely breakfast and some relaxation time. The day will be free at leisure until your afternoon transfer to the airport for your flight to London. (B,D)
Arrive back in the UK in a whirlwind of emotions as you return to your nearest and dearest, but part ways with new-found friends and cycling partners.
BELIEVE >> ACHIEVE >> INSPIRE
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