rent a motorcycle
rent a motorcycle

Until recently people that wanted to rent a motorcycle could only rent 50cc scooters that were not fit to discover the whole island. And those are no real bikes at all. 

Piaggio

Something in between the scooter and a real bike is the Piaggio

It’s not a real motor cycle but not a shitty scooter either. It’s something in between. Ecoturs rent them and you pick them up at hotel Bello Caribe in Marianao. They are hard to find online! But there is a trick for that :-). Use this form and fill in Havana (not one of the areas, just the whole of Havana, Bello Caribe is far from the centre and not in one of the main tourist areas. Btw you definitely not want to sleep there! 

Scroll around the offer until you find the Piaggio and book it 🙂

But there is a better way to rent a motor cycle:

Cuba is relaxing its laws slowly, and now you can rent a motorcycle! With some restrictions that is… It’s still Cuba!

You cannot just rent one (or two) hop on and discover the island. (Well, there is a way: find a foreigner that has temporary residency and a motor and is willing to rent it to you… I’ve done that a few times, and it is great although the motorcycle had some problems.) In practice this is just not possible as a tourist. Forget about it.

Brand new BMWs

To avoid those problems you can now rent a brand new BMW Enduro. That’s the perfect bike for the Cuban road conditions.

Profile organises motor tours all over Cuba with those BMW F700 GS.

motorcycle adventure
Motorcycle adventure

The advantage is that you and your group (individual subscriptions are welcome) always will have a guide and troubleshooter with you. Cuba is bound to give you some trouble at some time. The guide speaks English and is a motor fanatic, so you are in good company.

9-day motor tours

They organise three different tours, all nine days. See their website for details. They take care of everything (lodging, food and motorcycle) so you can concentrate on cruising. (Prices are sleeping and eating included and about 60% of the competition’s.)

Now for most bike enthousiasts, an organized tour with people you don’t know, is not the perfect trip. Legally there is no other way however. Except if you are The Conga (thats me). I’ve found a (legal) way around this but only for more than 2 people… (Which I can’t publish on the web). Renting a bike on your own to roam free is just not possible. Forget it until they change the law.

Sent me a mail with your wishes cubabookconga@gmail.com and I’ll see what I can do (no guarantees and you will still travel with a Cuban guide).

Back to the Germans

I did a tour with them; it was a great adventure! Great company too. All bike enthusiasts like me. We had a ball, and the bikes were perfect. (One broke down and got replaced within 4 hours!) That’s a miracle in Cuba!

motorcycle rental
Waiting for a new bike

But

Before you rent a motorcycle, you should familiarise yourself with Cuba. It is a totally different culture, and nothing is what it seems to you. Here’s for instance how to save a few hours upon arrival.

Or read this to understand Cuba is a different ballgame!

We realise that we see Cuba in a different light than the main stream travel stuff… here’s how we handle the Jineteros. (And you will run into them!)