Discover Cuba with Ernesto Guevara on a Harley-Davidson

#1 The arrival in Havana

Island of the Caribbean, the name alone plays a melody and symphony of adventure, magic and myths in your head.

On the Harley-Davidson discover the dream island of the Caribbean, the Cuban cigar, the Cuba Libre and let the evening fade away with salsa music in the background - we could do that every day.

I know Ernesto Guevara many years, we have already met in Germany, Finland and also in Russia, but we didn't tour Cuba together until spring 2019.

Ernesto has about 12 Harleys, which he offers for guided tours, from the Electra Glide, Street Glide to the Sportster, everything is included.

In Cuba you get to see beautiful beaches, palm trees, rum, cigars, salsa, horse-drawn carriages, ox carts and especially the old American cars that characterize the cityscape of Havana.

Arrival in Havana at the airport

At the airport in Havana, I started to cause a commotion, as there was a drone among all my technical equipment, which promptly caused a flurry of activity among the officials. Despite my really good contacts on the island, I had to leave it at customs for the time I was in the country and was not allowed to take it into the country.
We drove to our accommodation in Havana with our driver Ivan, who picked us up at the airport. We arrived the day before the official tour and stayed in a high-rise building right on the Malecon for the night.

We live in a private apartment, not a luxury, but clean, spacious and air-conditioned. An older Cuban woman makes breakfast for us in the morning, so a lot can be arranged to make it as comfortable as possible.

Havana is on the agenda for the first day

We arrived in Havana a few days early to get used to the climate and it's also an ideal opportunity to explore Havana. On my travels, I always try to see as much as Contact us with the locals.

Of course, this works particularly well if you stay directly with them and not in the hotel. But we will move to the 5-star hotel after two days, then we have to cross the street once with our suitcases and arrive at the hotel.

Discover Havana

It is a good idea to explore the capital of Cuba with the HOP ON-OFF bus, the journey costs a one-off 10 CUC (2019 approx. 1 CUC = 1 EUR) and you can also change buses for the same price and get on another HOP ON-OFF bus with the same ticket if you want to visit something in between.

The El Floridita Bar

Our visit to one of the most famous bars in the world

The first compulsory visit is the El Floridita Bar in the center of Havana. The Hemingway Stamm-Bar is one of the most famous in the world and one of its most famous regulars was the world-famous writer Ernest Hemingway, which one encounters again and again in Cuba.

The Daiquirí cocktail is said to have been invented in this bar, which has been around for over 200 years.

The bar really has a very interesting history and is a must-visit, but obviously 90% of the tourists in Cuba see it that way too, the bar is regularly quite full.

The insider tip - Chacon 162 Bar in Havana

But there is an even better tip than the Hemingway Bar and that is a Harley-style bar in Old Havana that is dedicated to Harley riders. When you walk in, you see an old Harley-Davidson hanging above the bar, so you know you've come to the right place.

The Chacon 162 Bar in Old Havana is a popular meeting place for Cuba's Harlisti scene.

The food is very good, they offer a great fish platter at normal prices, which is really a highlight. Even those who don't eat fish will find something good here.

The beer tastes good and the mojito anyway, we've been to this bar several times and if I lived in Havana, I'd be a cigar-smoking regular here.

Restaurant tips

We have only had good experiences with the restaurants, sometimes even really good ones. But I also know that this is not the case everywhere. You should always make sure that there is movement in the restaurant.

Best of all, of course, if you see locals eating. The cocktails were also great at 90% and the Cerveza Cristal beer goes very well chilled in the world.

At first glance, Havana looks rocked out.

We will have this experience more often, some houses look ready for demolition from the outside and as soon as you step over the threshold, you don't recognize it.

On our first day in Havana we gather so many impressions, although you get the feeling that time has stood still here for 50 years, the city has its own special charm.

The people are friendly and respectful, there are a few beggars in the center who are not welcome, a single no is enough if you don't want to give them anything.

I had a very safe feeling the whole time, you can definitely walk through the city in the evening.

The people don't have much, they would certainly like a little more, but they have basic services that provide them with healthcare and schooling. that is different in many countries.

Cuba lives almost self-sufficiently from the rest of the world

In Cuba, the food supply is self-sufficient; fresh fruit is brought in from the countryside every day by ox cart. Much of the food is fresh and the locals receive their rations with ration cards.

There are often long queues in front of the issuing offices, as well as at the bank and in the telephone store for Internet cards.

My passion for Harley-Davidson has already taken me to many countries, but here I am in a very special place, you first have to learn to understand how everything works here. You are completely slowed down, everything runs much more smoothly, it's a completely new feeling.

The Cubans are patriots, they love their Country and Che, Anyone who drinks rum with Cubans in a private setting will see that the first sip is always for Mother Earth and only then is it distributed into the glasses.

Exploring Cuba is a real adventure, characterized by prejudices, one is surprised at how content the people actually are.

We take over our Harleys from Ernesto

It's almost time to go, we have the Harley and we want to start the next day. I have the Harley-Davidson Dyna Street Bob otherwise I always drive the big ones. touring car and fortunately my luggage will be in the car, which is a good opportunity to take the Dyna Street Bob to go on tour.

We spend the next night in the hotel opposite our private accommodation. After a nice evening at the bar, we look forward to the next day.

The next day we head to Pinar del Rio to the tobacco plantation

We will go to Pinar del Rio to one of the best tobacco plantations in the world. The selected cigars from this plantation are sold commercially as the legendary Cohiba cigars.

The Cohiba brand only sources its products from particularly good plantations in Cuba.

But you can read more about this in the second part of the tour.

Travel tip - Who wants to come along in 2021?

If you are already on fire for Cuba, I will be flying to Cuba again with two friends in February 2021, we still have 6 places available. The tour goes from Havana to Santiago, the route is not available anywhere else. Anyone who would like to join us is welcome to do so. Info@harleysite.de

Planned Cuba tour February 2021