Cuba cycling and culture tour

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

We seek to provide people with slow adventure travel itineraries consisting of walking, kayaking, hiking, biking, wildlife viewing, and more. Biking is a minimal-impact activity and offered throughout the entire itinerary from anywhere. Since the main other attractions of the tour are hiking, snorkeling, and wildlife viewing, this tour is almost entirely human-powered. This not only gives a more intimate experience with the land, but it doesn't harm the sea creatures and natural environment we treasure.

We try our best to choose paladars and restaurants that have vegetarian and vegan options available for travelers with a variety of dietary needs. From the minute you inquire about one of our tours we discuss what your dietary needs are and do our absolute best to ensure you are well fed, energized, and satiated throughout your adventure travels with us. Dietary restrictions are always communicated from our office staff to our guides on the ground to ensure our guests are well taken care of.

ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE

To save on energy some of the private homes we stay at on this tour have inverter ACs. Since water is supplied by the aqueduct every other day or so, water is not wasted.

Additionally, in an effort to reduce our impacts on the natural environment, in our packing list, we suggest that our guests bring a water filter to filter tap water. Otherwise we ask that guests bring a wide-mouth water bottle so we can dispense from larger water bottles and reduce use of single use plastic

This tour also includes a visit to the Topes de Collantes National Park. This is an important nature reserve in Cuba as it serves as an important ecosystem for many of Cuba’s endemic bird species.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY

As a group of people that feel passionately about traveling to Cuba, we recognize the impact tourism and travel can have on a destination. Monetary and economic gain from tourism can be very important to the country of travel, but that gain should never be at the expense of its habitat, culture, or inhabitants welfare. Because of that, our Cuba tours are locally sourced and aim to provide our fellow adventurers with experiences that have a positive influence on the locales they visit, therefore further developing and supporting responsible travel in Cuba. As guests in another country, we should never force our own lifestyles, heritage or beliefs on others but rather work to appreciate and recognize the culture of the locals and experience their genuine, albeit different, way of life.

We feel that giving back to the community we travel to is crucial, because it is this community that ensures that our tours are such a success. We enjoy working with our employees, clients, fellow travelers, and local contacts to ensure that the achievements of our organization go straight back into the community as well as into protecting and preserving Cuba’s treasured environment. We are actively striving to share what responsible travel in Cuba entails and we take it very seriously

Most of the accommodations on this tour consist of Casa Particulars, which are locally owned bed and breakfasts. This aligns with our purpose of travel to Cuba - to support the Cuban people. By staying in Casa Particulars we are putting money back into local families rather than large corporations taking up resources and money from the local communities.

On this tour, we almost exclusively eat meals at paladars. Paladars are small, local, family-owned restaurants serving authentic Cuban food. We do this in effort to support the local community we are visiting and to give guests the opportunity to try a variety of local cuisine options, and to connect with the locals.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY

We are able to accommodate people with physical limitations, disabilities and medical conditions; please speak with our team ahead of time if you think you will require any additional assistance while on the trip.

All of our group tours in Cuba are LGBTQ+ friendly. Everyone is welcome on our tours regardless of identity.

We only employ Cubans and most of the time when visiting specific natural areas or cultural homages, we require a local expert guide to educate us on the area.

All of our operating staff and guides get paid at least minimum wage.