If you come to Havana , this is the best way to discover the city 🚴🏻♀️🚴🏻
A few weeks ago, when we made this post, we passed by the headquarters of Velo Cuba.
Velo Cuba is a small business that manages the Ha'bici project. In turn, Ha'bici is the service of the Office of the Historian of the City for renting bicycles to both tourists and locals.
My girlfriend had learned to ride a bike a few months ago thanks to Citykleta, so this was the opportunity to explore the city for the first time. Just us enjoying the Caribbean sun and a different kind of ride.
Today I won’t talk about the ride, but about Velo Cuba , its shop, and more ...
Workshop
The store is located at the beginning of Paseo del Prado, just behind the Hotel Paseo del Prado. One of the things that caught my attention about the place is the workshop they have inside the store.
This workshop is operated by mechanics with hearing difficulties, as VeloCuba believes in integrating these individuals into society, and here it shows the value they can bring.
They told me that on average (when they have the supplies), they can provide maintenance to more than 10 clients per day. Currently, they have had to take reservations and reduce the catalog of services they offer due to the tough situation in the country.
Leaving the workshop, I saw my upcoming companions in this new adventure, commonly known as bykes.
Ha'bici offers two types of bicycles. The one in the photo would be the Low Cost, due to the absence of gears and its relative simplicity, which, at least for me, was more than enough.
We just wanted to enjoy the Malecon at our own pace. But if you need more, you can opt for bikes for more demanding needs.
In this case, that offer is only available in USD or Euros (this rate started at 20 USD - 2 hours of bike rent).
Once inside the office, we found out that they not only rent bicycles but also offer tours and guides in several languages.
Here something curious happened.
Some clients from the United States wanted to rent those bikes, but the girl in the store was new and didn’t have much English knowledge. So I tried to help, and they ended up renting the bikes, and Velo Cuba offered me a job with them. Unfortunately, due to university commitments, I couldn’t, but we agreed that I would come back one day to share what a day working at Ha'bici is like. If you don’t want to miss it, you know, follow me, as we’ll soon be cycling tour guides. Now, let’s get back to it...
In the office, we saw that they had several discounts for retirees, students, and even families.
In other words, they have everything planned for you to have a good day, whether with friends or family; their goal is for you to pedal through Havana.
The only thing I didn’t like about this process is that you have to sign a sort of "contract" where they take a photo of your ID.
I didn’t feel very comfortable with that, and I don’t know how they handle tourists (if you’re a tourist, I recommend going with a local so you don’t have to share your personal information)
At the same time, I understand this because it’s the only way to ensure that you won’t steal the bike, which would be the usual in Cuba
We rented the bikes for 3 hours. The weather wasn’t going to let us keep pedaling, especially since it was my girlfriend’s first time on the streets of the city.
We paid in cash (they accept transfers from local banks). It cost us less than 3 USD for two people (three hours of rental)
IMPORTANT: Always Check their Instagram for prices because a friend I recommended the experience to told me they increased a bit.
After that, they adjusted the bikes for us. They gave us helmets and, most importantly, locks. Finally, it was time to hit the city.
We had an incredible day!
We decided to ride along the Havana's Malecon but towards Vedado, trying to find the Torreon de La Chorera (*for another post)
We didn’t make it because we stopped at the Grand Aston Hotel to grab some sandwiches, soft drinks, and coffee. We enjoyed the breeze and then slowly returned along the Malecón.
The day was amazing!
We were very happy with this service from VeloCuba, although I must say that the service could be improved a lot, but well, it’s Cuba, and given the prepaid price, you can’t expect much more.
It’s not a new service. In fact, VeloCuba has been around for almost 10 years, but it’s not very promoted.
If you come to Cuba, if you have a local guide and want to get to know Havana in a unique way, renting a bike is a good option, and the prices are quite competitive.
The truth is that there are other private projects with more professional bikes, but they usually have a predefined route, and the prices are higher.
Ha'bici and Velo Cuba are a very good option to consider.
Conclusion
✅ Positive:
Very good price.
The freedom to choose your own route.
If you wish, you can have a guide.
The Low Cost bikes are quite decent, and the Premium ones are of high quality.
First-class service and a lot of safety.
They offer classes to learn how to ride a bike (just in case you don’t know, although for this, I recommend Citykleta).
⛔Negative:
You have to provide your personal information, and in the end, you’re just renting a bike.
Prices vary depending on the time of year (I don’t understand why since it’s a service that doesn’t have much demand).
Personally, we loved it, and soon we’ll be going with a group of friends to enjoy a full day, from breakfast to the afternoon, all thanks to this service.
I’ll be sharing the experience here, which I hope will be pleasant.
Now it’s your turn.
I know that in many countries this is a normal service and even automatic, with multiple points to pick up a bike and explore the city. Cuba is unique in many ways, and these services are not abundant.
If you’d like, leave me a comment about how the bike service is in your city.
PS: All images are mine.
