Cuba is an untapped paradise for adventure riders and motorcycle travellers—an island that deserves a top spot on your riding bucket list. Christopher Baker, a seasoned expert who runs Cuba Motorcycle Tours and leads rides there, shares his five best reasons why you’ll love exploring this wonderful country on two wheels.
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5 Reasons to Ride in Cuba
By Christopher P. Baker
Owner of Cuba Motorcycle Tours
The phenomenal yesteryear architecture and ubiquitous classic American cars clattering down the road to the rhythm of the rhumba on the radio… The ox-drawn plows and charming colonial cities casting you back even further in time… The revolutionary billboards of Che and Fidel… The music (everywhere sexy salsa and son!)… The vibrant arts scene… The Cubans’ heart-warming friendliness and welcome smiles… The feeling of being emotionally engaged in an enchanting, other-worldly realm of eccentricity, eroticism and enigma.
Countless writers have commented on the exhilarating sensations that engulf visitors to this most beautiful and beguiling of Caribbean isles. It is impossible to resist its mysteries and contradictions. You ride Cuba mostly for the fantastic cultural and visual experience rather than the thrill of twisties and sweepers.
Much of the riding is relatively flat, but the human-interest element is never-ending… be it 1950s classic American cars…. ox-carts ploughing tobacco fields… or even a Soviet-made Ural with a pig or a sheep in the sidecar. Which is not to say you won’t get to also enjoy twisties and sweepers along its several mountain chains.
And if all of that isn’t enough, here’s five more great reasons you’ll want to book your next motorcycle trip in Cuba…
Yesteryear Hollywood stage-set exoticism
Your first reaction of Havana is of having arrived at a 1950s Hollywood movie-set. Cars from the Eisenhower era—yes, even Edsels, Hudsons and Kaisers—are everywhere. Chrome-laden DeSotos… Corpulent Buicks… Stylish Plymouth Furies and other relics of Mafia-era ostentation putter along beside sober Russian-made Ladas, Czech-made Jawas, and venerable 650cc Urals with sidecars. That’s Cuba.
Everything looks so nostalgic, including the architecture in a spectacular amalgam of styles—from Moorish, Spanish colonial, and rococo to Beaux Arts, Art Deco, and stunning exemplars of 1950s modern. Our BMW F700GSs seem totally out of place in this twilight zone country half-frozen in time. With all the hoopla about politics, it’s easy to overlook the sheer beauty and time-warp exoticism of Cuba. The talcum beaches shelving into bathtub-warm waters of Maxfield Parrish hues.
The bottle-green mountains and emerald valleys full of dramatic formations. The ancient cities with their flower-bedecked balconies, and palaces, cathedrals, and castles evocative of the once-mighty power of Spain. Cities throughout the 850-mile-long island seem like they’ve sidestepped the currents of time. When walking Havana’s streets, you feel like you’re living inside a romantic thriller. It’s intoxicating, still laced with the sharp edges and sinister shadows that made Ernest Hemingway want “to stay here forever.”
To meet Cuba’s Harlistas
Before the Cuban Revolution, Harley-Davidsons were all the rage. Then Castro & Co. spun off into Soviet orbit, invoking the US trade embargo that slammed the door shut to U.S.-made imports. No more Harleys, nor American automobiles, were imported. Harleys may have dwindled in number, but the few that remain are now revered icons of Cuba’s moto culture.
It seems ironic that this archetypal American symbol should have such die-hard fanatics in communist Cuba. Yet the island’s tight-knit harlista community is just as passionate as its American counterparts. The social bond, however, is many orders of magnitude stronger, fired in the crucible of hardships their U.S. brethren can barely imagine. Sourcing parts is akin to a scavenger hunt, with the whereabouts of original parts whispered like tantalizing state secrets. “El cubano inventa (Cubans invent),” Luis Enrique González says, laughing, as he explains how Cuba’s harlistas go to absurd lengths to keep their aged hogs running.
What they can’t fix or cannibalize from cars they make ourselves. Their bikes’ intestinally reconstituted engines are monuments to mechanical wizardry. Every tour I arrange includes a memorable get-together with harlistas at the Cuban-Harley Club, where the salsa music is cranked up and the rum gets passed around.
For the rum and cigars, and the music and dance
Cuba and Cubans are currently going through extremely tough economic times—the latest in a series of troughs in the country’s roller-coaster ride the past few decades. That doesn’t stop Cubans enjoying life! Six decades of socialism hasn’t changed their hedonistic culture.
There’s son and salsa, plus mojitos and Cuba Libres to savor, and the world’s finest cigars to smoke fresh from the factory, or hand-rolled just for you on a tobacco farm in Viñales as you savor Cuba’s uniquely proletarian fusion of dialectics and rum. Before the revolution, Havana was a place of intrigue and tawdry charm. It’s remarkable how much of Cuba’s surreal demimonde lingers on.
In other ways, Cuba is abreast of the times. After sampling a classic ‘Papa Doble’ daiquiri like Hemingway in El Floridita, you may be surprised to find that Havana’s bar scene is hopping. Craft cocktails are all the rage at hip bars—from suave rooftop venues to hole-in-the-wall Latin jazz clubs—that today tap Cubans’ pent-up entrepreneurial savvy. Meanwhile, every town has its Casa de la Trova, where traditional, quintessentially Afro-Cuban rhumbas and Buena Vista Social Club music are kept alive.
Every town, too, has at least one saucy cabaret to enjoy, such as the Tropicana, Havana’s open-air extravaganza now in its seventh high-kicking decade of stiletto-heeled paganism.
For the utterly unique revolutionary culture
Understanding this enigmatic society isn’t easy. And that’s part and parcel of Cuba’s unique appeal. It’s so close to the USA yet so utterly different. Billboards reading “Socialism or Death!” and “Fidel Still Lives!” leave visitors no doubt that they’re in a Communist—or at least a Castroite—nation. There are no Walmarts. No MacDonalds along the Malecón. And, refreshingly, no advertisements imploring Cubans to buy, buy, buy!
Any well-planned motorcycle tour of Cuba will include a stop at the Bay of Pigs, site of the disastrously ill-conceived CIA-sponsored invasion in 1961. Lounging with your cocktail in hand at the white-sand beach where socialism and capitalism squared off, it’s difficult to imagine that blood and bullets had mingled with the sand and the surf here five decades before. There’s the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana, too, with its massive murals of Che Guevara, floodlit at night… and the Plaza de la Revolución in Santa Clara, with its Che museum and mausoleum topped by a granite monument of Che portrayed mid-stride, toting a rifle, on the scale of the Colossus of Rhodes.
Then there’s an astounding ration store (yes, Cuba still has them!) whose location I like to keep secret (although I guarantee to take all my tour groups), with peeling walls painted with fading image of Lenin, Che Guevara, Fidel, and others in the leftist revolutionary pantheon. You don’t need to be a socialist to appreciate these historic icons, nor the indisputable benefits of the Revolution for so many Cubans.
Because the Cuban people need you
The tidal wave of tourism that swept Cuba in the Obama era has waned. Cuba and Cubans today are economically hurting, not least as a consequence of the U.S. embargo, which was recently tightened. Regardless, Cuba’s material impoverishment and six decades of antagonistic relations haven’t stifled the passions or generosity of this disarming and genteel people.
Everywhere you ride you are fêted. It seems a strange juxtaposition. Rousing anti-imperialist murals offset by three generations of Cubans—most well-nourished, well-shod and clothed, and beaming benignly—sending welcoming waves as you ride by. Motorcycling through Cuba in 1996, I was scolded by an old Cuban lady: “Why does your government not like us?” she asked. “They’re too hard on us!” Then she kissed my cheek and thrust a bag of ripe tomatoes into my hand.
It’s like that all over the island. Cubans you’ve met only moments before embrace you, call you “amigo” and invite you into their homes. They pass around rum and beer. Friends and neighbors arrive. Hands are extended; strangers hug you warmly. It’s hard to believe that the U.S. government’s 60-plus-year-old embargo still puts the squeeze on these genuinely warmhearted people.
How often have I teared up and cried while laughing and dancing with our “enemy.” I return to Cuba year after year because I love the Cubans, because I want to contribute to their livelihoods, and because I admire the irresistible spirit and soul of this iconoclastic socialist isle in the sun.
How to ride in Cuba
Convinced? Perfect! We have a dedicated guide explaining everything you need to know on how to join a tour in Cuba with lots of additional info on riding in the country. Have a read of that next.
READ MORE: How to Join a Motorcycle Tour in Cuba
About Cuba Motorcycle Tours
Cuba Motorcycle Tours specializes in designing and arranging custom-designed group tours on demand for motorcycle associations, clubs, and riding buddies. All tours use a fleet of BMW F700GSs that are owned by a German company and permanently maintained in Cuba.
All tours are accompanied by a qualified, experienced Cuban road guide on a motorcycle. Christopher P. Baker is available as a tour leader upon request (and usually rides sweep), subject to availability. The bikes come with panniers, and a support van to carry luggage (and usually a spare bike) is available.
All programs are U.S.-legal under the Support for the Cuban People (SFCP) license. Due to U.S. embargo regulations prohibiting use of Cuba’s state-owned hotels, all accommodations are in private B&Bs and meals are in the very best private restaurants, many of which are world-class.
Individual motorcycle rental isn’t possible, due to Cuba’s import regulations relating to the BMWs and other motorcycles. However, we’re able to arrange solo rides accompanied by a Cuban road guide on a separate bike. Plus, individual riders can book into year-round scheduled tours offered by the German company that owns the BMWs, subject to availability.
If you’re interested in joining a tour, get in touch here.
Email: cpbaker@earthlink.net
Phone: 760-285-9827
Note: The tours and rentals mentioned in this post are offered by the guest author, Christopher and his company Cuba Motorcycle Tours. Please contact him directly for details.
About the author
Christopher P. Baker
In 1996, professional travel journalist and guidebook author Christopher P. Baker shipped his BMW R100GS PD to Cuba and rode more than 7,000 miles during a three-month journey, resulting in publication of his award-winning National Geographic travelogue Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro’s Cuba, plus three Cuba guidebooks.
In January 2013, he secured a license from the U.S. Treasury Department authorizing the first group motorcycle programs in Cuba. He has since arranged and led group motorcycle tours through Cuba for such entities as Bob’s BMW of Maryland, Edelweiss Bike Travel, and the BMW Rider Academy of Turkey, among others.
He speaks regularly about motorcycle touring in Cuba at such venues as the BMW MOA International Rally and Horizons Unlimited, etc. His other books include BMW Motorrad: A Two-Wheeled Legend and Harley-Davidson: Engines & Evolution.
You can get in touch with him at cubamotorcycletours.com
Read more on motorcycle travel in Cuba and North America
Thanks for checking out the 5 Reasons Why You’ll Love Riding in Cuba Guide. We hope you enjoyed it! Here’s a few more articles on motorcycle travel in Cuba and North America that we recommend you read next.
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Are you planning a motorcycle trip in Cuba? Do you have any questions, tips or great route suggestions? Let us know in the comments below.
Fantastic article. I’ve never really considered Cuba as a motorcycling destination before, but this has certainly given me something to think about. Thank you for taking the time to put this together.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the article Owen.
Andy