Baracoa to La Fe 1088 miles
In March and April 2015 I cycled a Cuban End to End. There’s no standard route for crossing the country. I started at Baracoa, at the eastern extremity of the island, and rode across to La Fe, at the western end.
The total End to End distance was 1088 miles, and took three and a half leisurely weeks of 40–80 miles a day. I was in Cuba five weeks in all.
I took my own bike for the trip: a Raleigh Royal budget tourer, bought new for £395 from a London bike shop in 2010.
At the time, 10 Cuban pesos (the local currency) was worth about 35p sterling. A CUC, or $1 (the official tourist currency) was equivalent to 20 pesos. I never had any problems converting pounds sterling to local pesos in banks (and no problem spending them). It made Cuba a very cheap place to travel, buying from local kiosks, cafes and bars.
It was a tremendous experience, and a privilege to see one of the world’s most distinctive, welcoming and likeable countries for cycling. Blog posts are linked below.
Day -3: Havana
Day 1: Baracoa to Imías
Day 2: Imías to Guantánamo
Day 3: Guantánamo to Santiago de Cuba
Day 4: Santiago de Cuba to Chivirico
Day 5: Chivirico to Pilón
Day 6: Pilón to Manzanillo
Day 7: Manzanillo to Bayamo
Day 8: Holguín
Day 9: Bayamo to Guáimaro
Day 10: Guiámaro to Camagüey
Day 11: Camagüey to Ciego de Ávila
Day 12: Ciego de Ávila to Sancti Spíritus
Day 13: Sancti Spíritus to Trinidad
Day 14: Trinidad
Day 15: Trinidad to Cienfuegos
Day 16: Cienfuegos to Playa Girón
Day 17: Playa Girón to Australia
Day 18: Australia to Matanzas
Day 19: Matanzas to Guanabo
Day 20: Guanabo to San Antonio de los Baños
Day 21: San Antonio de los Baños to Las Terrazas
Day 22: Las Terrazas to Soroa
Day 23: Soroa to San Diego de los Baños
Day 24: San Diego de los Baños to San Juan y Martinez
Day 25: San Juan y Martinez to La Fe
Day 30: Viñales
Day 37: Havana
Cycling Plus article
I wrote about the trip in my September 2015 column for for Cycling Plus magazine, which you can read in full here.