Bicycling Cuba: Fifty Days of Detailed Rides from Havana to Pinar Del Rio and the Oriente

Wally and Barbara Smith spent 6 months cycling 8,000 miles in Cuba to provide detailed directions for 50 days of cycling. The rides vary in length, many combining to create multi-day loops. Detailed directions describe rides leaving Havana to the west and east. Subsequent rides are clustered in the three best regions of Cuba for cycling: Pinar del Rio, Central Cuba, and the Oriente. A final section contains advice on connecting the regions for a long tour of the entire island. In addition, the authors provide information on getting to Cuba, equipment and accessories, food and water, safety considerations, overnight accommodations, and more.

Exploring this fascinating country on two wheels may just be the best way to fully appreciate its history, people, and culture. 50 black and white photographs, 12-page color insert, 15 maps, index.

• Most detailed routes of any Cuba guidebook
• Well written narrative gives travelers a feel for the island

I had spent three weeks in Cuba previously and had used two guide books. The Smiths' advice, while not replacing a guide book, was the best: succinct, accurate and introduced me to friendly and helpful people. Their three main cycle tours, west, central and eastern Cuba cover the most scenic areas as well as the historic gems of this wonderful country. The route descriptions were accurate, easy to follow and contained good advice about difficulty, water availability, traffic problems and special sites.

The Smiths obviously love Cuba and this comes out in their writing. They include inserts about various social issues, economics and politics -- each fascinating.

I thoroughly recommend "Bicycling Cuba" with no reservations. My only wish is that the Smiths would produce some more books for other countries.


A very useful guide   February 10, 2003
Aila Manninen and Pekka Sauramo (Helsinki, Finland)
Bicycling Cuba turned out to be invaluable during our three-week trip to the western part of Cuba. The authors really know what they are writing about. Some of the most interesting and rewarding routes suggested in the book were not on the best maps available. The authors' way of describing the routes kilometer by kilometer was of great help because very often roads were unmarked. At the intersections we had no problems in choosing the right road. The book also contains a lot of other useful information, for example, on accomodation.
We warmly recommend Bicycling Cuba for independent cyclists planning a trip to Cuba.


A very useful guide   February 3, 2003
Aila Manninen and Pekka Sauramo (Helsinki, Finland)
Bicycling Cuba turned out to be invaluable during our three-week trip to the western part of Cuba. The authors really know what they are writing about. Some of the most interesting and rewarding routes suggested in the book were not on the best maps available. The authors way of describing the routes kilometer by kilometer was of great help because very often roads were unmarked. At the intersections we had no problems in choosing the right road. The book also contains a lot of useful information, for example, on accomodation.

We warmly recommend Bicycling Cuba for independent cyclists planning a trip to Cuba.