Best of Cuba Walk & Bike (Cultural Connections & Havana Highlights) 6D5N, Fully Guided

TWO HIKING OPTIONS:
Level 1, Approx. 6 km (4 miles), Elevation gain: 61 m (200 ft)
Level 2, Approx. 11 km (7 miles), Elevation gain:122 m (400 ft)

On the first day of the trip, meet your tour leaders at 9 a.m. at Hotel La Reserva Vedado in the Vedado neighbourhood of Havana, Cuba. Please ensure you arrive dressed in your hiking clothes and bring your luggage and a daypack containing anything you may want for the day's hike.

¡Bienvenidos a Cuba! Welcome to Cuba! Following our meeting in old Havana, we shuttle to Viñales, a tiny and fertile agricultural town in the Pinar del Río province. So we have enough energy for our first hike, we grab lunch at a paladar (privately owned restaurant) in a traditional wooden house set at the foot of a mogote (a striking domed hill rising sharply from otherwise level terrain). Then we set out on foot, navigating rural red clay paths—some shaded and others more exposed—through tobacco plantations. As we journey through the fields, we pause to participate in a coffee and tobacco-rolling demonstration with a local family who teaches us how they run their farm.

In Viñales, we arrive at our casual and stunning casa particular, or Cuban B-&-B homestay. You have enough time to freshen up before we meet our good friend and salsa teacher for an introductory course to get you moving like a Cuban!

We're served a classic Cuban meal for dinner at our hosts' home. While tasty homemade cooking, we get the chance to chat with the owners about the reality of running a small business in Cuba.

THREE BIKING OPTIONS:
Level 2, Approx. 48 km (30 miles), Elevation gain: 427 m (1,400 ft)
Level 3, Approx. 64 km (40 miles), Elevation gain: 457 m (1,500 ft)
Level 4, Approx. 80 km (50 miles), Elevation gain: 579 m (1.900 ft)

For today and several other days during this trip, we have the pleasure of sharing the roads with our friends from the Cuban Masters Cycling Team. Following breakfast, your tour leaders and local Cuban guide fit you to your bike and enlighten you briefly on Cuban driving culture and how to safely navigate local roads before we head out from the hotel to cycle one of Cuba's most picturesque routes. Pedalling along serene roads, we head back into the World Heritage site of Viñales National Park, travelling by striking rust-coloured soil and chartreuse-green tobacco plantations. Bucolic Cuba is accompanied by the sound of birdsong and barking dogs. You might even witness a cowboy on horseback! We cycle toward the northern coast to a hilltop viewpoint to green the expansive ocean vistas.

In Santa Lucía, we have coffee at our friends' home and chat about Cuban entrepreneurs and how small businesses run in Cuba. Over the hill, we cross a mangrove-covered cay fringed by turquoise waters at the gorgeous 6-kilometre-long Cayo Jutias beach, where we end our ride. Lunch is a casual affair at the local ranchón (open-air restaurant). Dig your toes into the white sand and relish the lunchtime view.

Dinner tonight is a delectably fresh meal at one of Cuba's prize-winning organic farms. When imports of pesticides and fertilisers stopped due to Cuba's economic crisis that began in 1989, Cubans had no choice but to produce food using biodynamic farming techniques. What began as a necessity has become a passion; ask your questions when we meet the family famed for this pioneering organic farm.

THREE BIKING OPTIONS:
Level 1, Approx. 31 km (19 miles), Elevation gain: 274 m (900 ft)
Level 2, Approx. 45 km (28 miles), Elevation gain: 366 m (1,200 ft)
Level 3, Approx. 64 km (40 miles), Elevation gain: 427 m (1,400 ft)

Prepare for another scenic biking adventure as we head toward the capital of Havana. We take a morning shuttle to the start of our ride, where we're welcomed onto our bikes at a friend's rustic home. Despite the generally quiet countryside, you can hear some trafficked sections between the larger towns. The route stays levelled as we journey through bustling Cuban communities, trading stories with our local master cycling guides. En route, we savour a lovely spread of products shared with a family in their home.

Midday, we arrive in the beachside Havana suburb of Jaimanitas, where lunch is the catch of the day at a restaurant famed for having Cuba's best seafood! Afterward, we stop in for an interactive discussion over coffee at the nearby home of Jose Fuster. Fuster is a Cuban artist renowned for his ethereal, colourful, and entrancing works reminiscent of Gaudi and Picasso. Over the years, he has decorated over 80 houses with ornate murals and mosaics—just visiting the neighbourhood (also known as "Fusterlandia") is a sensory experience you'll not soon forget. If the artist himself is not available (he's often showing his work intentionally), his son is usually happy to discuss his father's work and its influence on the local community.

After Fusterlandia, we head to our home for the next two nights, the boutique Hotel La Reserva Vedado, located in a restored colonial house in the trendy Havana neighbourhood of Vedado. This evening, we'll be hosted for a delectable meal together in the warmly inviting courtyard of La Reserva.

THREE BIKING OPTIONS:
Level 1, Approx. 24 km (15 miles), Elevation gain: 122 m (400 ft)
Level 2, Approx. 40 km (25 miles), Elevation gain: 152 m (500 ft)
Level 3, Approx. 56 km (35 miles), Elevation gain: 183 m (600 ft)

We dedicate today to experiencing rural Cuban's sensations, smells, and textures up close. Our route takes us directly from Havana, winding its way into the countryside, passing through fields and villages on the way to an organic farm that welcomes us for lunch. First, however, we meet the animals and stroll the grounds of this self-preserved country property for a true farm-to-table experience. Then, we're treated to the luscious flavours of traditional Cuban roast. After lunch, choose between shuttling back to Havana or completing a loop ride that ends at the hotel door where you began. We say goodbye to our Cuban cycling guides.

Later in the day, we have the opportunity to meet with a well-known geopolitical specialist who provides us with yet another perspective. Bring your questions and prepare to learn about the economics of modern Cuban life within the global context.

In the evening, you get to dine on your own at one of the capital's privately-owned paladares—you'll be selecting from a bespoke list of our Havana favourites!

ONE HIKING OPTION
Level 1, Approx. 3 km (2 miles), Elevation gain: 30 m (100 ft)

We eat breakfast and venture out with our expert local guide through Old Havana to experience an official introduction to the awe-inspiring architecture and vibrant ambience. Traversing once-posh avenues and cobblestone streets decorated by baroque, neoclassical, and art-deco facades, we see the glamour of a bygone era coming to life. But the collapsing stone and rickety scaffolding on nearly every building let us understand the city's formidable challenges in restoring its deteriorating infrastructure. Observe preservation efforts firsthand while visiting with community members involved in ongoing restoration projects and compare them with similar projects in the US.

We carry on through narrow side streets and bustling plazas, taking advantage of stops to observe and interact with various businesses, studios, and galleries in Cuba's capital. We have lunch within Callejon de los Peluqueros (Hairdressers' Alley), where a unique community project is centred around one of Cuba's most popular hairdressing salons. Since 2002, Papito's Arte Corte project has brought barbers, hairdressers, models, artists, and historians who seek to preserve the history of hairdressing in Cuba. Papito's social business projects help feed an elder home and a school.

This evening, savour a cocktail at our farewell reception as you soak in a performance by the talented young dance group Habana Compás, directed by one of Havana's best percussionists. With Compás’ dynamic mix of Moorish, Spanish, and Afro-Cuban rhythms still ringing in our ears, we head to an exquisite restaurant in Havana to celebrate our final evening together in Cuba.

ONE HIKING OPTION
Level 1, Approx. 5 km (3 miles), Elevation gain: minimal

Following a hearty breakfast, we dive into the isolated corners of Vedado, the neighbourhood around our hotel, which is more modern and less touristy than Old Havana. Check out a bodega (ration store) to learn about the government-subsidised rations book, the liberta, which Cubans use to buy fresh foodstuffs. Then, we experience the outdoor market as we bargain alongside locals and learn about the nuances of shopping in a communist country. Continuing our walk, we pass by the storied Hotel Nacional, famed for the opulence and drama of pre-Revolution era Havana. Today is all about getting a feel of the day-to-day lives of Hbaneros, both past and present.

After our final lunch together on a stunning Vedado rooftop, we head back to Hotel La Reserva, where our trip ends.

NOTE: This itinerary is provided as an example only – prevailing conditions and local arrangements may cause variation.