Your holiday starts at the group accommodation in Havana. A group transfer is provided in the evening from Havana's Jose Marti Airport to our 'casa particular' accommodation in Havana. Casas particulares are simple guesthouses set up in private homes and have become the accommodation of choice for those wanting an insightful and authentic stay in Havana and elsewhere in Cuba. Welcome to Cuba! The largest island in the Caribbean, Hemingway's much-loved abode and one of the last planned economies in the world. You're soon to discover that Cuba is all that and much, much more. If you arrive early enough, there are many excellent restaurants in Havana offering a wide variety of cuisines and styles.

After breakfast we will transfer by bus to the Miramar district of Havana where our bike workshop is located. Here we'll get acquainted with our bikes, make any adjustments and fit your personal pedals or seats if required, before setting off on a panoramic tour of Havana. We'll visit the well-to-do Miramar district, home to the city's foreign diplomats and some of Havana's most striking 20th century architecture. Keep an eye out for the sprawling and quite strange Russian Embassy. We'll then cycle through the enchanting urban forest of Bosque Almendares and on to Nuevo Vedado, before stopping at Plaza de la Revolución, the political heart of Castro´s Cuba. From here, we wheel through the young and vibrant district of Vedado towards the famous Hotel Nacional, which has offered shelter to many a celebrity over the years, including Winston Churchill, as well as several prominent members of the American Mafia. Then, it's on through bustling Centro Habana to the famous Capitolio building. With the Capitolio behind us we veer left down the regal Paseo del Prado promenade, a favourite with street artists and skateboarders alike, and turn right to Havana's old train station (now an indoor market) and the ruins of the old city walls, before ending up in the Old Town. After lunch in a nearby 'paladar' restaurant, we'll board our transport for the 3-hour drive to Vinales in the beautiful western province of Pinar del Rio. Our home for the next 2 nights will be a casa particular in the town.

The small town of Vinales is nestled in the valley of the same name and surrounded by dramatic, steep-sided limestone outcrops known as 'mogotes'. Between these forest-covered crags there is rich agricultural land where the local 'campesinos' grow a variety of food crops as well as lots of high quality tobacco. On today's circuit ride we'll leave the hustle bustle of the town behind us and head east at a slow pace through rural Cuban countryside, seeing local folk go about their daily routines and no doubt an assortment of animals along the roadside. Road surfaces will be typical of rural Cuba; paved roads with sporadic potholes and rough sections making up the majority, plus some unpaved road with loose gravel. We will stop off in a suitably scenic spot to enjoy a packed lunch. Looping around through the town of La Palma, we cycle back to Vinales through some of the loveliest of Cuban landscape; forest, farmland and isolated palm trees. Returning to the town in the early afternoon, we'll have some time at leisure before regrouping and going out for dinner at an organic farm overlooking the town.

We are now heading back towards the east and after breakfast with our hosts we board our transport for the approximately 1-hour transfer to San Diego de los Banos where the day's cycling will commence. This is one of the most challenging day-rides of the trip, but it starts out easily enough on the old Carretera Central, a level and now quiet road which takes us from Pinar del Rio into the province of Artemisa. After around 25 kilometres, however, we turn north and make a loop up into the mountains of the Sierra de Rosario Biosphere Reserve. With plenty of ups and downs, curves and viewpoints, this road runs through a mix of tropical semi-deciduous forest, passing abandoned coffee plantations, lakes, rivers and waterfalls. It is known locally as the 'Skyline Route' and finally brings us back down to pleasant hotel above the small town of Soroa. Arriving mid-afternoon, we check in at our hotel and have a couple of hours to rest and relax before dinner. Within a few hundred metres of the hotel is a botanical garden which specialises in orchids, as well as the 20 metre-high waterfall - El Salto de Soroa, where it is possible to take a dip in clear river pools.

After our pleasant 3-day visit to the western provinces, today we will head east into the central part of the island. But, firstly, we will take to our bikes once more and cycle back up into the hills and then onwards to the Las Terrazas Biosphere Reserve. The ride is only 20 kilometres, but the first half of that is gradually uphill, gaining 300 metres, and is sure to get those leg muscles pumping. Turning towards the east, we descend and then enjoy an undulating ride through forest to Las Terrazas. Here, we'll load up the bikes, change into some non-cycling clothes and jump on the bus ahead of a 4-hour eastward transfer. We will make a stop for lunch on the outskirts of Havana, then continue on Cuba's main highway to Santa Clara, a city best known for being the site of the last battle of the Cuban revolution. In December 1958 Che Guevara and his troops ambushed an armoured train carrying arms to Santiago de Cuba and this was a major turning point in the revolution. After checking in at our hotel in Santa Clara, we'll have the chance to visit the Che Guevara Mausoleum which houses his remains. The museum attached to the mausoleum has many of his belongings and is a fascinating insight into one of the 20th Century's most revered icons.

Cycling directly from our hotel on the western side of the city, we'll ride around the ring road in an anti-clockwise direction before turning off and heading due south. Our route takes us down through a landscape that is a mix of uncultivated savannah and farmed land, with coffee, tobacco and grassland predominating. After 35 kilometres we reach the town of Manicaragua where we turn abruptly back towards the west and enter the more mountainous and forested terrain of the Sierra del Escambray. The final stage of the day's ride involves a difficult 300 metre climb up to our final destination on the shores of Lake Hanabanilla. Our hotel tonight is something of a Soviet era giant. Although it may look a bit out of place in these luscious surroundings, it does have a wonderful swimming pool and great views from the rooms!

We have an easy start to the day; freewheeling the first 10 kilometres and then continuing to retrace our route of yesterday as far as Manicaragua. From Manicaragua, we cycle in a south easterly direction down a pleasant open valley with the forested slopes of the Escambray hills on our right hand side. When we reach the small 'pueblito' of General Lino Perez we take a very minor road which heads due south into a sleepy backwaters and further in to the Escambray range. We have a couple of significant climbs to make as we cross into the province of Sancti Spiritus on a road that cuts through this forested upland area to eventually arrive in a region previously well-known for its sugar mills. Turning onto the 'Circuito Sur' (southern coast road), we cycle the last 10 kilometres or so back towards the west and into the UNESCO-listed town of Trinidad where we check in for a 2-night stay. Dinner tonight will be on the beautifully relaxing patio at Casa Alberto y Osmary.

After a week, cycling every day, this is a good opportunity to take a break from the bikes and do some exploring in one of Cuba's most special towns. The guide will take the group on a short orientation tour and then the rest of the day is at leisure for you to do as much or as little as you please. Trinidad's main square provides a snapshot of Spanish Colonial architecture with its cobbled streets and pretty, pastel-coloured houses with their wrought-iron grilles. Amongst the stand-out buildings on the Plaza Mayor are the Santisima Trinidad Cathedral and the San Francisco Convent. For anyone who wants to cycle today, there is the option of a circular route to and from the nearby beach at Playa Ancon. Trinidad is a hot spot for music and there are plenty of live music and dance venues to visit in the evening.

After breakfast we'll leave Trinidad, heading west with the Caribbean Sea on our left hand side and the green tree-clad mountains of the Topes de Collantes National Park on our right. We'll stop in La Vega community for a short visit and to pick up our packed lunches. After around 40 kilometres, we'll leave the coast and head inland on an undulating road that leads through farmland and via several small hamlets to the Botanical Garden of Cienfuegos where we'll stop for refreshments before cycling down towards the city. We'll stop at a strategic point just outside the city and drive the final stretch in order to avoid cycling in busy traffic. We'll be staying once more in a casa particular tonight. The city of Cienfuegos has a delightfully restored central plaza, and also boasts an iconic 'malecon' coastal road where many locals gather in the evenings to fish, chat, and share a rum or two.

We take a short road transfer (approx. 1 hour) out of Cienfuegos to the town of Jaguey Grande where today's cycle begins. We have a shorter cycling stage today and this should allow us a bit of free time at the end of the afternoon. Our route takes us on well-paved roads northwards through central Matanzas Province all the way to 'Finca Coincidencia' a family-run farm that specialises in organically grown food and pottery artwork. After a delicious lunch here, we'll transfer the remaining distance to the authentic north coast city of Matanzas in the bus. Upon arrival we'll have a short orientation walk around the centre. Matanzas was known as the 'Athens of Cuba' and had a thriving literary and music and dance scene in the 19th Century. Some of the town's cultural riches can still be discovered within the space of a 1-hour stroll.

We will be returning to Havana today, but not before we complete an excellent final day's ride. Climbing out of Matanzas to the west, we'll follow the main road as far as Ceiba Mocha where we turn off onto quiet back roads that take us high up to a mountain viewpoint where we can look down on the Picadura Valley. From this point, 28 kilometres into the day's ride, we are faced with a long and fast descent pretty much all the way to the northern coastline, where we'll emerge at Playa Jibacoa for lunch and celebratory drinks on the golden sand beach! There'll be time for a swim in the sea, before we board our bus for the little more than 1-hour transfer back to Havana where we check in at our casa particular for a final night in the Cuban capital.

Your holiday ends after breakfast. For those with flights late in the day, there is a guided walking tour of Havana's Old Town in the morning. Afterwards you'll have some free time to go souvenir shopping. A group transfer is provided to Havana Airport in the evening.