10 BEST SCENIC DRIVES

Cuba is a visual delight and anyone who enjoys driving (and can handle the sometimes daunting obstacles that pave the way) will thrill to the following scenic drives.

Pinar del Río Province

Mariel to Valle de Viñales via Circuito Norte

Winding ridge-top drive between mountain and sea, with quintessential rural scenery. The jade-colored waters make a startling contrast to the forested Sierra del Rosario. At San Vicente, turn south for Viñales, passing between mogotes to enter the most beautiful setting in Cuba. You might break this five-hour drive with a detour to Las Terrazas for a meal (there are few other dining options en route), or even overnight at the Hotel La Moka, with time for visiting the local artisan community and hiking the forested trails.

Viñales to Guane via Sumidero

This mountain drive through a valley farmed with tobacco shows off rural Cuba at its most scenic. Much of the terrain resembles that of Viñales, with ox-drawn ploughs and thatched bohíos (peasant homes) adding to the romantic time-warp effect. The road is badly potholed, however, and there are no restaurants or places to buy food whatsoever. And don’t forget your camera!

Sancti Spíritus Province

Chambas to Caibarién via Circuito Norte

This route (which begins in Ciego de Ávila Province and ends in Villa Clara Province, or vice versa) offers quintessentially Cuban rural scenery: tobacco fields tended by ox-drawn plows, shaded by royal palms, with rustic bohíos in the lee of mountains. En route, stop at Jaguajay to visit the Monumento y Museo Camilo Cienfuegos. Westbound, end your trip with an overnight in Cayo Santa María, partaking of the gorgeous beaches.

Trinidad to Sancti Spíritus via Circuito Sur

This roller-coaster ride leads through swathes of lime-green sugarcane in the Valle de los Ingenios, where you should call in to climb the tower at Hacienda Iznaga. Here, a former hacienda now serves traditional Cuban meals. Further east you’ll pass the rugged heights of the Alturas de Banao.

Cienfuegos and Villa Clara Provinces

Trinidad to Santa Clara via Manicaragua

Mountain drive with steep climbs and hairpin turns winds through forests (south side) and rolling tobacco country (north side). The distance is short, so you don’t need to worry about accommodation en route. Drive cautiously on the ascent to Topes de Collantes, as the switchback road can be treacherous in the bends.

Holguín Province

Rafael Freyre to Flor Pérez

Wheel-bending potholes don’t deter from the enjoyment of this short drive past dramatic mogotes, palm-shaded bohíos, and tobacco fields tended by guajiros in straw hats and linens. It’s a lonesome drive (you don’t want a flat tire!). Westbound, you can overnight in Holguín or Gibara; eastbound head for Guardalavaca.

Guardalavaca to Banes via Carretera 6-241

This road wends between soaring mogotes, with stands of royal palms in the vales, and more ox-drawn plows and endearing rusticity than you can shake a stick at. An interesting stop en route is the Museo Aborigén Chorro de Maíta, Cuba’s most important aboriginal site.

Granma Province

Bartolomé Masó to Marea del Portillo

A four-wheel drive challenge via the Sierra Maestra, with steep, looping road in awful condition, but the staggering mountain vistas are topped by views down over the coast and sea. The beach “resort” of Marea del Portillo offers a choice of accommodations, plus food (there is otherwise none en route).

Granma and Santiago Provinces

Marea del Portillo to Santiago de Cuba

A lonesome drive featuring awesome coastal scenery, with the jade-colored sea hemmed in by cloud-tipped mountains. Copper-colored cliffs loom massively out of the sea, with Cuba’s highest peaks within fingertip distance beyond the stark low-desert plains. There is no habitation, not a single hamlet, for miles, but food (and accommodation, if you wish) are eventually available at the town of Chivírico, two-thirds of the way to Santiago de Cuba.

Guantánamo Province

Cajobabo to Baracoa via La Farola: An awesomely steep ascent through the pine-clad Sierra Cristal, with snaking bends and occasional pullouts for savoring the vistas. On the north side of the mountain, the road loops down through more jungly terrain. The weather is often inclement, and it can be cold near the summit, where the only food en route is available (sometimes) at a roadside shack billing itself as a café.