Travel to Cuba

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

Format: Paperback
Author: Wally Smith
ReleaseDate: November, 2002
Publisher: Backcountry Guides
Rating:

Buy This Book
If you think you might tour Cuba,BUY THIS BOOK. If you are visiting Cuba in the near future, BUY THIS BOOK. If you don't plan to visit Cuba but enjoy reading travel narratives by those who have traveled to exotic places, BUY THIS BOOK. I have just returned from a two week bicycle trip with two friends and can report from experience that Bicycling Cuba is spot-on about everything. The Smiths have many years experience leading bike tours for a large bicycle touring company, so their guide book and route directions are presented as cyclists need and use them. Their routes cover the entire country, and the routes we follwed along the South Coast out of Santiago were accurate to a fault. Everything the Smiths wrote about the terrain, historical sites, social mores, laws,lodgings, and Cuban culture and society proved enormously helpful because everything is written clearly and, most importantly for cyclists, accurately. Anyone planning to tour Cuba by car, train, or bus will also find the book useful. I can't think of anything the Smiths left out, except maybe Fidel's personal telephone number! Europeans and other nationals should not pass up this book because it's in English. Even though written in English they will find the book invaluable. Now that I have been home for a couple of weeks I find myself picking the book up and reading about the places I have been and enjoying them all over again. Bicycling Cuba is about as close to Plato's Ideal Travel Guide as we are likely to see. Congratulations to the Smiths, and if you are thinking about a trip to Cuba, buy Bicycling Cuba. I'll bet you go.

Cycling in Cuba made Easy and Enjoyable
I found it all and more in "Bicycling Cuba" by Wally and Barbara Smith. Having never done any cycle touring, speaking very little Spanish and being a middle aged women travelling alone, I thought a few tips and hints and route advice would make my trip a little easier. Their advice on what to take, where to go, where to stay, and gems to see was unsurpassed.

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
The authors really know what they are writing about. Bicycling Cuba turned out to be invaluable during our three-week trip to the western part of Cuba. 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.

Related products:
click image or link for details on these Cuba travel books.

	The Handsomest Man in Cuba: An Escapade
	The Rough Guide to Cuba 3 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)