Cuba’s 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.

Mariel to Valle de Viñales via Circuito Norte: This winding ridge-top drive between mountain and sea begins one hour west of Havana [1] and offers lovely views of the mogotes of the Sierra del Rosario.

Chambas to Caibarién [2] via Circuito Norte: This route offers quintessentially Cuban rural scenery: tobacco fields tended by ox-drawn plows and shaded by royal palms, with rustic bohíos in the lee of mountains.

Trinidad [3] to Sancti Spíritus [4] via Circuito Sur [5]: A roller-coaster ride through swathes of lime-green sugarcane in the Valle de los Ingenios [6]. Farther east, you’ll pass the rugged Alturas de Banao [7].

Trinidad [3] to Santa Clara [8] via Manicaragua: This mountain drive with steep climbs and hairpin turns winds through forests and rolling tobacco country. Drive cautiously on the switchback ascent to Topes de Collantes [9].

Bartolomé Masó to Marea del Portillo: A four-wheel drive challenge via the Sierra Maestra, with a steep, looping road in awful condition — but the staggering mountain vistas are topped by views over the coast and sea.

Marea del Portillo to Santiago de Cuba: This lonesome drive features awesome coastal scenery — copper-colored cliffs loom massively out of the sea, with Cuba’s highest peaks within fingertip distance beyond the stark low-desert plains.

Cajobabo [10] to Baracoa [11] via La Farola [12]: A steep ascent through the pine-clad Sierra Cristal, with snaking bends and occasional pullouts for savoring the vistas.