Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Finishing the last leg of the last day and managing to keep up with everyone else - not something I'd managed on the other days!!   Arriving at a village park on the day of Fidel Castro's Birthday to be greeted by children dancing salsa and being offered huge slabs of "Birthday Cake" with nothing other than Cuban Cola on sale which went perfectly with the Rum one of our party had purchased - classic!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose was a great guide, very knowledgable, enthusiastic and a great sense of humour.  He definitely inspired an interest in the life and history of Cuba and the Cubans.

Advice for Potential Travellers

As I said in my summary be warned it is hot in August but the support vehicle is always there so if waivering just give it a go you'll see a life in a completely different way, take your own saddle or at least a gel cover as you don't want saddle sores to blight your trip.  Fabulous people, so friendly, welcoming and generous when they have so little compared to us for such a well educated population, our driver was a lawyer and our guide was a languages teacher!

Most Inspirational Moment

Listening to our guide Jose singing the Cuban national anthem in Revolutionary Square

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was great - very helpful, up-to-date with political, social and environmental issues in Cuba, and funny!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take your own saddle - those ones supplied by Exodus are ungiving to put it mildly. If you're fair-skinned invest in kaftan-type tops made of light material such as cheesecloth. You're in the sun for a long time each day. Take gifts such as soap, pens and pencils, which are in short supply in rural areas.

Suggestions

Yes, a very well organised trip by Exodus: the local team were all very well trained, and always helpful. I liked the fact that we found out quite a lot about local life, and were invited into people's homes as well.

Most Inspirational Moment

I enjoyed stopping off for breaks from the rides in the villages and sometimes in peoples' houses. The minibus driver would always have water, fruit and other snacks available to keep us going.  The stay in the rainforest lodge was fab.  The history provided us by our guide brought everything we saw into perspective - you wouldn't have got that out of a guidebook on your own!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Hose was an amazing guide. He treated us like friends, really wanted to inspire us about his country, had a great sense of humour, was extremely well organised, and it all just ticked over perfectly.

Advice for Potential Travellers

August was hot, very hot.  Obviously while you are cycling the breeze keeps you cooler, but as soon as you stop you realise how daft you've been to go out cycling. If you aren't very good with heat, avoid mid summer! Having said that the beer tastes oh so good in the heat!  And its nice to go out at night in a T-shirt!Don't expect to stay in touch with the world with internet apps. Infrastructure currently not there, very slow and expensive. Just relax and pretend it 1960!

Most Inspirational Moment

The toughest cycling day was also one of the best. It was nothing like as horrendously tough as I'd been expecting after the description our group leader had given, but it was certainly a long slog. The final, off road stretch was probably my favourite bit of cycling on the whole trip. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose was great, extremely knowledge and very enthusiastic to tell us about his country.  The drivers/cycle mechanics were really friendly and helpful too.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take cash - ATMs are few and far between.

Suggestions

Cycling was a great way to see Cuba, and this was a brilliantly hassle-free trip - fresh fruit and drink stops provided at regular intervals to keep us going, bike mechanics on hand to sort out any issues, bags carried...

Most Inspirational Moment

At the end of every day i was always happy that i could keep up with the enthusiats and we could all relax with a few beers or Mojito in the bar before dinner.  We also learnt alot about the events of the Cuban revolution and Cuba's history and the vital parts played by Castro and Che. The cuban people were welcoming and proud of their country.It was refreshing to see a country not blighted by commercialism. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Jose our group leader was fab. Full of energy and laughs and every day we were told of the program and the route. The two drivers were also lovely and on a few evenings we were salsaing with them to improve our steps. We also were lucky to be invited to one driver's house for lunch. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

As long as you are relatively fit this tour is not too difficult, there is always a back up bus that i went into for two short times. Cycle shorts are a must!  If you have time and money you may want to stay on a bit longer in Havana after the tour as there is not much time to take in all of Havana. Around Trindad locals kept asking for soap i gave them my soap that we invariably received in the hotel rooms they were only small bars but they were happy to receive them!If you have a video on your camera you can record some of the fantastic music and the memories will flood back when you get home 

Suggestions

Yes it is very hot on a bike in the midday sun so cover up or put loads of sun cream on and use sunglasses and hat/helmet.A holiday of a lifetime but i  will return soon! 

Most Inspirational Moment

Sitting with the crew late in the night in the jungle/mountains having conquered the hills!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Great - encouraging, enthusiastic about his country, fun.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Cycle at your own pace and don't panic about the cycling; head off in small groups in evenings for a while to discover your own side of life; ie find a bit of opprtunity on and off bike to do your own thing

Suggestions

Cash points ARE an issue so just take a plentiful supply of sterling to tide you over between them!Go to Cuba :-)

Most Inspirational Moment

We saw and did so much that it's hard to pick out any one thing.  But for me, cycling through rural towns and villages and seeing and meeting real locals was quite special.  But the history, the architecture and the cars were all pretty amazing too.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our Group Leader was fantastic.  He was a local man and very knowledgeable and took a lot of trouble to make sure we were looked after and well informed about the places and things that we visited, saw and experienced.  He was also a real 'people person' and kept everyone happy.  I'll always carry the memory of him saying "Listen! I have something to tell you."The drivers and cycle mechanic were also excellent and very friendly.This is probably the first holiday I've ever had that was entirely incident-free.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Relax.  With Exodus there's really nothing to worry about.

Suggestions

Cuba is an amazing place and I doubt there's a better way to see it than from a bicycle, especially when everything was as well organised as this holiday was.

Most Inspirational Moment

The people singing and dancing everywhere. Beautiful buildings in various states of renovation. Laz, our guide who kept us entertained and educated the whole time and lastly just getting on your bike and seeing the country.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Laz, our guide was outstanding. He had an exceptional command of English, looked after the group well and had a devilish sense of humour. His story telling on the bus was particularly enjoyable, as were his inspirational team talks. The group were always well looked after even on the dance floor! 

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go to Cuba now before it really starts to change. It is an amazing country with a lot to offer.  Cycling is ideal as it allows you to get out and see lots of different places.

Suggestions

Don't really need to add anything other than advising everyone to go! The trip couldnt have been better and the memories of it will warm up a cold winter here!

Most Inspirational Moment

Flexible to change itenary so we could go the the North coast for a swim.Excellent support from both drivers (van and coach).Good support from the rest of the group. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent, he watched over us like a hawk especially in resturants ensuring that service was forthcoming and was ashamed when his expectations of his fellow country men fell short of adequate.He was a good tour guide and was helpful to everybody.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just do it!!  You cycle for about an hour, where the support van will be waiting for refreshments (fruits, peanuts and sometimes cakes) and water replenishment before continuing.  Do not worry about tiolets as the tour guide will just knock on somebodies door and pay out of the kitty.

Suggestions

It was an excellent well organised but hectic holiday.

Most Inspirational Moment

I'm not the best cyclist in the world, far from it. So I think, for me, I achieved a lot of cycling...which was very inspirational because I wanted to do more.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader was fab! He certainly knew his stuff and was like a walk in encyclopaedia to Cuba!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Keep your eyes on everything! The roads can be quite uneven! Bring lots of antihistamines...the mosquitos certainly get ya! When you're cycling, all you need is a camera and a little bit of sun cream on you, you can leave your day pack on the coach because the coach is always with you. So just a little bum bag is sufficient. Museli bars....I brought some with me which were great for a little snack. You do get lots of fruit and snacks when you stop but I found a muesli bar a day gave me a bit more energy!

Suggestions

Unfortunately I only cycled for the first week, because I came off my bike halfway through the holiday. I think I was more gutted about missing out on the cycling for the rest of the holiday than the fact that I'd fractured my wrist. The group leader was fantastic....got me to a hospital and generally acted quickly. The medical service in Cuba was great and I was looked after properly.